AAA - Ask Autechre Anything - Sean and Rob on WATMM!

How about Mark Fell's Composing With Process PodCast?

in the upcoming second part of the first episode they will play a track by Sean Booth called Horizon

31:44 Sean Booth 'Horizon', 2004 (20 min)
'Horizon' is a generative piece composed in the BBC BASIC programming language. It was composed for the rand()% generative internet radio station in 2004 but was never broadcast. The aim of the piece was to use as little code as possible and be interesting enough to hold the attention.

Where is it?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:07 PM, jules said:

can you name my first born son pls?

your first born son is now called ian

  On 11/3/2013 at 3:34 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 1:28 PM, salvaKPO said:

Did you ever have very little sleep (Like what RDJ said he used to do)?

Did you ever heard Caustic Window LP (Cat023)? If so; How it was?

I forget to say this yesterday but, this is so cool of you to talk with us! Thanks!

 

yeah sometimes i work with next to no sleep

rae was made in that kind of warm fuzzy state

 

yeah i like almost everything richard's done

 

But Cat023 was made available to only a couple of guys (Cylob, Mike Paradinas and a few others I think).

Do you work standing up, sitting down?

Do you make music in nature, gardens or places like that?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:10 PM, eclipsis said:

I can see you are pretty good at naming synths and similar gear so I have a bit of a challenge for you. Can you name my electric guitar? I tend to use it mainly as a source of sound for some very processed and textural things if it helps. And I think it's "she" but what do I know.

 

your electric guitar is now called hilda

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:12 PM, Friendly Foil said:

Is it actually possible to add too much reverb to a track, or is that simply a myth?

no

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:19 PM, vincentvc said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:16 AM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 1:03 AM, vincentvc said:

so you like the venue to be dark, but what about over-the-top visuals like Amon Tobin's ISAM? (did you see it?) do you think something similar would work for an autechre set? i mean obviously the identity of the space is still there, but the crowd gets really focused on an object etc that's in front of them - so in that sense it gets removed..right?

 

it's not just about removing identity it's about occupying the space with sound

it's something that used to happen in really dark clubs and warehouses, the sound became more physical and tangible, it works my synaesthesia more

what i like about sound is how it surrounds you, you are inside it even if it's coming out of one speaker

visual things can't really do that yet

 

oh not to mention the cheesiness of using projection mapping, it's like a corporate presentation or something

 

 

haha fair enough (wasn't a fan of the ISAM set musically anyways - what do you think of Amon Tobin other than that?). the oversteps set you guys did in AB (Brussels) is still pretty much the most mind-blowing gig I've ever been to.. but anyways recently saw Tim Exile, not sure if you're familiar with what he does but it's pretty much all improvised on the spot with a lot of interaction with the crowd which is an entertaining dynamic to say the least. musically not as interesting as what you guys do live - but still good fun and in a way on the same track. but you actually see him press buttons/pads, tweak knobs etc .. don't you feel that's something what is missing in your sets? (well you probably don't, but don't you think a crowd sort of needs some visual feedback of the band they went to see play?)

 

tbh i haven't heard much amon tobin so i can't really comment

i think tim's excellent tho, really talented

nah i mean, we're not doing the same kind of display, hopefully the details are all audible enough not to require gestural accompaniment or illustration

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:27 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 5:41 AM, digit said:

each of your albums have their own unifying 'vibe' or identity that comes both from the hardware / software used as well as the compositional process:

 

untilted - densely programmed step sequenced kit.

quaristice - looser & sparser live jams with hardware.

oversteps - evolving generative melody (i'm assuming sequenced via Max?).

 

i'm curios what the process/vibe was for Exai? what was the hard/software situation that the album grew out of and how were those early experiments refined and evolved to get the 'Exai sound' ?

 

the software used for exai grew out of the software we made for oversteps

mostly realtime stuff so, long jams edited down

not all of it tho, some of it was worked on more compositionally (the software can do both)

Is this software that's part of something else (Max/Msp or whatever) or software that you two've created entirely on your own?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:10 PM, lumpenprol said:

 

- do you guys ever pull any practical jokes on each other?

- is there any "myth" about ae that you'd like to dispel? Or any myth that has been kind of fun or useful so you let it stick around (I'm thinking along the lines of the BoC myth of cultlike activity, or the Aphex myth of sleeping in a bank and driving a tank around, etc). I can't think of any ae myths offhand...maybe something to do with generative music doing all the work for you? Is there any myth you'd like us all to propagate for you?

 

no

I wanted to ask this for years:

How can someone learn to compose great melodies?

Do you start tracks by loading midi files of tracks you like and start to manipulate until they sound like you like them?

Do you generate your melodies using tools or do you jam them on a keyboard?

Do you take melodies of tracks you like and change them?

What is your favorite key?

what ae track has the lushest pad?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:23 PM, Gocab said:

What is your take on the latest trend of toylike synths that are coming out at the moment? I'm thinking about the Korg Volcas and the likes, and to some extent the teenage engineering OP1 (although that is pretty much it's own thing). Are you mainly creating your audio in computers or do you play around with outboard gear as well? Any new musical gear that has you all giddy (software or otherwise)? I get the impression that you're mostly building the stuff you need in max and that's that.

yeah p much

not bought anything new for a bit but i like the look of tempest, might get one just for sport

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:27 PM, pigster said:

 

do you have any desires to release more ridiculously long pieces of music in the future?

i ask because perlence subrange 6-36 is really fucken incredible. the way it plays with perception is sort of amazing, and the length of the track plays a big part into how well the track works overall.

 

i was also thinking, the longest track on an autechre album is sublimit, which is the length of a record side. but you've also released through your webcast an 18 minute version of uviol.

do you have any preference for longer more drawn out versions of your tracks, that don't make it onto an album for whatever reason?

thanks:)

 

not really a preference, but often if we're recording in realtime we'll go way over time just cos we're into it and we know we can chop it later

the long versions that we play on radio or whatever are (parts of ) the realtime jams usually

i remember an interview with russian film maker Andrej Tarkovsky, he said that as an artist, he did not fear anything, but as a man, he feared for his family and beloved ones. do you have that same confidence regarding your creativity ?

The collab with The Hafler Trio is pretty different to your Ae stuff. What's the main idea / philosophy behind this collab?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:31 PM, Jev said:

Hello guys, I have been making music till 7 AM here today. I often find out that stuff that I really enjoy making at night often suck a lot when listening in to them in daytime. Obviously it has something to do with how brain works. Do you know this situations too? How do you "combat" it? Are you limiting yourself in this situations when to do music and when not?

 

Another question,

 

I know that you used to, lets say, "not use deliberately" musical theory approach with your music when composing. But have you ever been in a composition of a track that you could not figure out at all (because of so many notes in complicated compositions on different tracks and so on) that you had to use some of the classical, methodological approach to complete your track? For example looking up the scales for notes in question? Or is it mostly trial and error? OR you have developed some software that can check it for you?

 

Again, excuse my English.

1. yeah night tracks are just different to day tracks

i find the deeper stuff works better at night

no idea why, i just make both kinds of tracks and that's that really

2. it depends on how we're working. if it's some rule based thing then it can take care of itself usually, but we might still tweak events here and there if we think it needs it. otherwise we just go by feel. it's not like there are many options to try out with there only usually being 12 notes.

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:31 PM, danshoebridge said:

Autechre tracks are a bit unique for me in that for the most part I have literally no idea how they're made. I'm really curious what the process is, especially on the later stuff like oversteps and exai. Whenever you drop little snippets in interviews (like the beat in pen expers coming out of a sample-loaded md player on random) it's always pretty much the opposite of what I expect. Would you be willing to talk us through the creation of one of your more recent tracks, or is that giving away a bit too much?

it would take too long cos often the programming is something that happened in weird increments over years, and then the actual track might have been done in a day or something, realtime. it gets too fuzzy to be able to explain what led to it

is there any audio available from the last gig at DOUR festival belgium, it was amazing and i was stoned like helll while people in front of me were puking out their drugs, it was with VxSx and otto von schirach i would like to hear that again

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:32 PM, digit said:

do you guys still build synths in Max or just use it for sequencing hardware?

we use it for both, and as a hub for connecting other bits of software, and sometimes hardware but increasingly less

the line between sequencing and synthesis is pretty much gone now. textures are sequences, sequences are like harmonies. it's all the same thing when you get down to it.

Hi

How do you guys agree wich each other on the "sound -style" for your next album ?


for example Untilted is very hardware related and harsh , oversteps is more software i guess and sounds friendlier and happier for me.

or does is simply evolve ?

thx for the answers !

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:39 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 11:00 AM, feltcher said:

so we picked up on the vague album numbering system. Someone here said you should name your next release "twelb", is this up there with some of the hot favourites?

twelb is hilariously bad

i doubt anyone will ever top that, but peely almost managed

 

Who is peely? Are you referring to John Peel?

(Btw, I came up with Twelb. If you two have any other albums or objects lying around that need naming, just let me know.)

  On 11/3/2013 at 4:11 PM, Ivan Ooze said:

is there any audio available from the last gig at DOUR festival belgium, it was amazing and i was stoned like helll while people in front of me were puking out their drugs, it was with VxSx and otto von schirach i would like to hear that again

Farkin' lol!

Kinda like Glade 2006 for me, first time I ever saw Autechre live. Rob Hall nailed it DJing beforehand (as standard), but when Ae came on it all went pear shaped and I completely span out. Think the daytime heat had got to me, proper roasting that year. Wish I could hear that set again, it made no sense at the time and really shit me up.

So a question, do you plan a set differently for a festival gig? Sometimes festivals are part of a larger tour where I guess you just carry the same sound on, but (iirc) the Glade gigs were kinda separate?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:35 PM, rd1994 said:

do you think about what people will think of your tracks while you make them or is it just about pleasing yourselves

 

also I saw that my questions sometimess come across weird...english is not my first language so that might be a factor

we make stuff for ourselves, each other and mates. it's easy to have a person in mind when you make a track cos they have their vibe and you can easily make something you think they might like. i mean you might be wrong but it's a good starting point, and it can become a good game making tracks for people and not telling them you did that, and seeing if you can get it right eventually.

making tracks for people you never met is basically impossible without resorting to some lowest common denominator tactics

which i mean, that works for some people but for me it doesn't really go deep enough

  On 11/3/2013 at 4:07 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:31 PM, Jev said:

Hello guys, I have been making music till 7 AM here today. I often find out that stuff that I really enjoy making at night often suck a lot when listening in to them in daytime. Obviously it has something to do with how brain works. Do you know this situations too? How do you "combat" it? Are you limiting yourself in this situations when to do music and when not?

 

Another question,

 

I know that you used to, lets say, "not use deliberately" musical theory approach with your music when composing. But have you ever been in a composition of a track that you could not figure out at all (because of so many notes in complicated compositions on different tracks and so on) that you had to use some of the classical, methodological approach to complete your track? For example looking up the scales for notes in question? Or is it mostly trial and error? OR you have developed some software that can check it for you?

 

Again, excuse my English.

 

1. yeah night tracks are just different to day tracks

i find the deeper stuff works better at night

no idea why, i just make both kinds of tracks and that's that really

 

 

2. it depends on how we're working. if it's some rule based thing then it can take care of itself usually, but we might still tweak events here and there if we think it needs it. otherwise we just go by feel. it's not like there are many options to try out with there only usually being 12 notes.

 

Interesting, L-Event is very night-time stuff for me. It seems to not have enough impact during daytime, especially Osla for n. I mean I can hear the, lets say, compisitional logic in those tracks during daytime but at night real emotions come into it and everything seems more enjoyable.

One of my theories is that brain tends to make up more things into the tracks yet in reality those things are not there. I mean sleep has to have effect on the brain comparable with passing out because that is how brain defends itself and the body so that you don't feel pain anymore etc. So maybe the brain is making up things to "sound better" then they really are? But I am not saying that L-Event suck during daytime :-D not at all.

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:35 PM, jules said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:31 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 7:18 AM, jules said:

ol dirty, gza or rza?

 

anyone better then rakim, if so, who?

 

I'd love some insight into your role in the design process of the last few album identities that tdr had the pleasure of making basic shapes for.

gza obviously

 

they're not basic shapes, you're seeing it wrong

ha ok. I've been in the design world for a long time, I'd really love some insight as to how you work with creating the album art recently. do you guys give a set if parameters or just look at some options they come up with and shape it from there?

 

we usually go to ian with something. either some ideas, images, or actual instructions. sometimes we are ultra-specific about it, sometimes we give him a lot of freedom to see what he comes up with

the last couple of albums were quite different, for oversteps we gave him very little but for exai we gave him tons of written stuff

just depends really

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:36 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

Do you have other creative outlets besides music? If so, what are they?

yeah i mess with visual stuff, so does rob

and sometimes i do other programming/related stuff that somehow relates to music or generation/composition

I am going to keep on the Gescom theme. What makes a Gescom track? Is it something you fuck around with and end up liking but does not go with current Autechre and it gets filed under Gescom. How does this Gescom thing even work? A group of individuals make their things and share and let others mess around with it and then something eventually gets released?

This is top banana, btw. Thanks.