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

Richard Devine seems to have got himself well and truly absorbed on the world of modular synthesis, with every machine he's purchasing looking like it's twice as large as the last one. Have you got a big modular network going on somewhere in the Ae cave, or do you find these huge beasts impracticable ?

i.e. these sized monsters -

earlier you mentioned how, when working in certain ways, it's "just nature telling us who's boss" and that sometimes you find after tweaking a track that it "was just totally meant to be that way and it couldn't tell us." do you think there is an interesting distinction beween discovering and creating when producing music, or art more generally? if so, how do you think of your own work, is it more uncovering something already there, or building something from scratch (or is ths a false dichotomy)? do you think of autechre's music as somehow autonomous or indepedent of you?

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:23 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

i can't get past thinking eldon is a real nasty fucker underneath

i used to like simon munnery as well but not seen him in years

 

didn't pick up that vibe, usually reserve that sentiment for boyle or carr. perhaps you've conditioned yourself by falling asleep to jam;) but I'll stop before this place turns into cook'd+bomb'd.

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:29 PM, SUPiERo said:

 

Hello, Rob and Sean! Thank you so much, that the answer to the questions of fans here

Excuse my bad english, I'm from Russia

Please answer my questions:

1. 2 weeks ago I got married. The best gift for me and my wife would be if you wrote a few words on my photos. Certainly no need to print and scan photo. Just draw something in Paint, if not difficult. Received an unusual electronic signature. Here's a link to the photo:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/o9s3.jpg/

2. Which track Autechre us to include? He will always be associated with our Honeymoon

3. We fall in love with photography. Please give the name of my camera

4. What are your favorite wine and cheese?

5. FC Barcelona or Real Madrid? Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi?

6. Porsche or Ferrari?

7. What is the most surrealistic place in the world where you've been?

8. What are 5 albums Autechre would you take to a desert island?

P/S/: My wife and I will be perfectly happy if you follow our small request and answer our questions.

P/P/S: You - the most brilliant artists in the world! Thank you for what you are! We wish you good health, great shape and good mood! In addition to new albums waiting for your boxes with rarities, remixes and live performances! Come to Moscow! In advance many great big thank you!

 

this can't be real, can it?

  On 11/5/2013 at 3:25 PM, cult fiction said:

Are you interested in exploring mechanical instruments, Pierre Bastien style?

 

I think it'd be fun to have some good general purpose mechanical instruments, like a percussion system with a handful of surfaces and mallet types that could be combined easily, or a box with a few different tunable strings and various plucking and bowing attachments.

nah every cunt's doing that

leave it to the aspirational types

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:33 PM, mcbpete said:

Richard Devine seems to have got himself well and truly absorbed on the world of modular synthesis, with every machine he's purchasing looking like it's twice as large as the last one. Have you got a big modular network going on somewhere in the Ae cave, or do you find these huge beasts impracticable ?

 

i.e. these sized monsters -

lol all that gear and then a logic piano roll

says it all really

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:34 PM, 21B said:

 

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:23 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

i can't get past thinking eldon is a real nasty fucker underneath

i used to like simon munnery as well but not seen him in years

 

 

didn't pick up that vibe, usually reserve that sentiment for boyle or carr. perhaps you've conditioned yourself by falling asleep to jam;) but I'll stop before this place turns into cook'd+bomb'd.

 

i dunno i just always get some hint of spite from his stuff

he's alright comedian tho, pretty funny sometimes

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:33 PM, grue said:

earlier you mentioned how, when working in certain ways, it's "just nature telling us who's boss" and that sometimes you find after tweaking a track that it "was just totally meant to be that way and it couldn't tell us." do you think there is an interesting distinction beween discovering and creating when producing music, or art more generally? if so, how do you think of your own work, is it more uncovering something already there, or building something from scratch (or is ths a false dichotomy)? do you think of autechre's music as somehow autonomous or indepedent of you?

not really but i reckon what we call 'us' as in, 'conscious us', is just a little part of what makes autechre

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:02 PM, Sean Ae said:

  On 11/3/2013 at 11:17 AM, blos said:

 

yeah sometimes we have to talk each other into using each other's tracks. like, it's always me trying to talk rob into including one of his tracks, or vice versa.

almost never happens the other way round

 

What's the reason for this direction? This sounds like you are not very sure about your own creations so you need positive confirmation from the other.

Y'all have any cool/meaningful/weird traditions?

Rituals?

It's nice that you guys take a relatively minimal take on touring/gigs. It make it more special. Also something I've noticed in this day and age (at least with more DJ/Producers) is that they are literally out playing gigs all the time and usually traveling from Thurs-Sun. Monday is recovery day you you have two good days tops in the studio. Also you see this inverse curve where the more popular they get the more the output drops and usually quality, too.

Not a question per se, more saying the proof is in the pudding.

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:39 PM, Bertolt Brechtakt said:

 

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:02 PM, Sean Ae said:

  On 11/3/2013 at 11:17 AM, blos said:

 

yeah sometimes we have to talk each other into using each other's tracks. like, it's always me trying to talk rob into including one of his tracks, or vice versa.

almost never happens the other way round

 

 

What's the reason for this direction? This sounds like you are not very sure about your own creations so you need positive confirmation from the other.

 

well, insecurity obviously

Speaking of Richard Devine, Rob do your kids ever mess around with your equipment?

Hi Rob & Sean, thank you for doing this. Reading all these pages was truly interesting and cool.

You said that Rob "still" uses a G2. So I do have some G2 questions for Rob:

- Do you use the G2 mainly as a synthesizer and control it via MIDI or do you also do sequencing on it? Or even the occasional track / "noodle"?

- Are you creating your G2 patches from scratch or do you sometimes use parts from the great patches from users on electro-music.com (such as e.g. the awesome stuff Tim created)?

- Sean said you'd use reverbs on the G2: I assume they're home-cooked... Any nice tips/tricks on working with reverb on the G2?

Also, can you name my G2 keyboard?

  On 11/3/2013 at 2:02 PM, Sean Ae said:

yeah sometimes we have to talk each other into using each other's tracks. like, it's always me trying to talk rob into including one of his tracks, or vice versa.

almost never happens the other way round

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:42 PM, cult fiction said:

Speaking of Richard Devine, Rob do your kids ever mess around with your equipment?

 

they like the look of the modulars or controllers switches/knobs, they'll want to play spaceships n shit, i'll let em all over pads n keys. anything not wired up for tracks at the time of Ae sessions. otherwise we end up with more gescom.

can you name my left foot?

pic related - it's proper fukkd

lol nothing lamer than a pianoroll

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:34 PM, Rob Ae said:

 

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:29 PM, SUPiERo said:

 

Hello, Rob and Sean! Thank you so much, that the answer to the questions of fans here

Excuse my bad english, I'm from Russia

Please answer my questions:

1. 2 weeks ago I got married. The best gift for me and my wife would be if you wrote a few words on my photos. Certainly no need to print and scan photo. Just draw something in Paint, if not difficult. Received an unusual electronic signature. Here's a link to the photo:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/o9s3.jpg/

2. Which track Autechre us to include? He will always be associated with our Honeymoon

3. We fall in love with photography. Please give the name of my camera

4. What are your favorite wine and cheese?

5. FC Barcelona or Real Madrid? Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi?

6. Porsche or Ferrari?

7. What is the most surrealistic place in the world where you've been?

8. What are 5 albums Autechre would you take to a desert island?

P/S/: My wife and I will be perfectly happy if you follow our small request and answer our questions.

P/P/S: You - the most brilliant artists in the world! Thank you for what you are! We wish you good health, great shape and good mood! In addition to new albums waiting for your boxes with rarities, remixes and live performances! Come to Moscow! In advance many great big thank you!

 

this can't be real, can it?

 

Sorry. May be at least a couple of questions answer?

mouse it baby!

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:46 PM, Salvatorin said:

can you name my left foot?

pic related - it's proper fukkd

sprane 3

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:47 PM, SUPiERo said:

 

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:34 PM, Rob Ae said:

 

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:29 PM, SUPiERo said:

 

Hello, Rob and Sean! Thank you so much, that the answer to the questions of fans here

Excuse my bad english, I'm from Russia

Please answer my questions:

1. 2 weeks ago I got married. The best gift for me and my wife would be if you wrote a few words on my photos. Certainly no need to print and scan photo. Just draw something in Paint, if not difficult. Received an unusual electronic signature. Here's a link to the photo:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/o9s3.jpg/

2. Which track Autechre us to include? He will always be associated with our Honeymoon

3. We fall in love with photography. Please give the name of my camera

4. What are your favorite wine and cheese?

5. FC Barcelona or Real Madrid? Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi?

6. Porsche or Ferrari?

7. What is the most surrealistic place in the world where you've been?

8. What are 5 albums Autechre would you take to a desert island?

P/S/: My wife and I will be perfectly happy if you follow our small request and answer our questions.

P/P/S: You - the most brilliant artists in the world! Thank you for what you are! We wish you good health, great shape and good mood! In addition to new albums waiting for your boxes with rarities, remixes and live performances! Come to Moscow! In advance many great big thank you!

 

this can't be real, can it?

 

Sorry. May be at least a couple of questions answer?

 

hahha just messing.

re the wedding, u could ask a professional instead tho'

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:46 PM, Rob Ae said:

otherwise we end up with more gescom.

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:49 PM, Rob Ae said:

sprane 3

Rob's on a roll

why is your left foot on your right leg ?

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:49 PM, Rob Ae said:

 

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:46 PM, Salvatorin said:

can you name my left foot?

pic related - it's proper fukkd

sprane 3

 

 

 

Do you guys do any DJ sets? Under your own names or a pseudonym or something? Either live or on radio

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:38 PM, Sean Ae said:

 

  On 11/5/2013 at 4:33 PM, grue said:

earlier you mentioned how, when working in certain ways, it's "just nature telling us who's boss" and that sometimes you find after tweaking a track that it "was just totally meant to be that way and it couldn't tell us." do you think there is an interesting distinction beween discovering and creating when producing music, or art more generally? if so, how do you think of your own work, is it more uncovering something already there, or building something from scratch (or is ths a false dichotomy)? do you think of autechre's music as somehow autonomous or indepedent of you?

 

not really but i reckon what we call 'us' as in, 'conscious us', is just a little part of what makes autechre

 

what is the rest of what makes autechre? 'unconscious us' or something separate?

(thanks for the answers and the wonderful music)