10 Years of Quaristice

  On 1/29/2018 at 5:01 PM, jaderpansen said:

 

 

 

 

edit: anyone remember this?

sounded quite quaristicey, too, imo

 

altibzz meets melodyne

+

few beats on top of that

  On 1/29/2018 at 8:26 AM, Jaazeps said:

10 years ago today, Autechre released Quaristice. I know that the old Quaristice thread has been recently resurrected, but considering the major landmark I felt justified creating an entirely new thread (if not, feel free to delete this). I have a few thoughts I wanted to share...

 

First of all, this was the first "new" Autechre album to be released since I had become a fan. I started listening in late '06 or early '07, wearing out my CD of EP7 before delving into LP5, Incunabula, Confield, Amber, ect. Along with the fact that it came out on my 17th birthday, I've always felt a bit of a special connection with Quaristice.

 

Second, I don't think there's been a single album that I've gone back and forth on more between passionately loving, being mystified over, dismissing as one of their "lesser works," listening to bits and pieces of again, loving as an album, ect. I think though since listening to tons of Elseq over the past year I've begun to "understand" Quaristice more and it will probably now permanently stay one of the ae albums that I love.

 

Third, I completely reject the idea that "Versions" or "Quadrange" is unilaterally better. It is fascinating to hear the alternate versions, but they absolutely do not flow better as actual albums and they omit so many of the best tracks. No Simmm? No thanks. Speaking of Simmm, absolutely one of the greatest tracks Autechre has ever created. I can never believe that they fit so many amazing ideas into just five compact minutes. Some of the best beats, melodies, and ambience they've ever layered together. 

 

Fourth, it took me until just about this year to realize that Paralel Suns is an absolute ambient masterpiece. I don't know how, but I had never listened closely enough before and realized that it contains one of the most beautiful and simple melodies they've ever composed. I'd never heard the subtle synths in the background that sound almost like digital wind chimes. Proof that they are unparalleled masters of ambient music, and not just in amber's style.

 

Fifth, Theswere is one of the only times outside of Gescom that they've completely embraced their love of hip-hop, which makes me kind of wish that they produced more often. Also, elyc6 onset now makes fwzE and bnc Castl sound completely normal by comparison.

 

Overall, Quaristice is and has always been a beautiful mess, a sampling of some of the best ideas they've ever had. I know that a lot of people consider this the beginning of the Exai/Elseq style of album, releasing massive amounts of whatever they're working on at the moment, but almost everything here is far more composed than the much jammier Exai and Elseq. To me, Quaristice sits completely alone in their discography both stylistically and in terms of the album's composition, and it's aged incredibly well in the ten years since its release.

 

Anyway, that's it for my not very original or particularly interesting thoughts about ae's glorious ninth album. Happy tenth.

 

Get out of my head basically, very similar experience.

Picked up Amber in early 2007, which I loved, but never gave their discog a second thought. The release of Quaristice was what made me a fan, made me aware of Sean & Rob, made me intrigued in their discog. I also immediately dug it on release, had just turned 19 and it was one of my presiding 2008 albums. The vignette composition was a bit like a gateway into warp records (I happened to be a Cosmogramma obsessive on release as well).

Simmm was an immediate touchstone, I remember on my old guitar-hero esque ipod game it was the default song I used most often. I also 'woke' to the wonders of Paralel Suns about 9 months ago for much the same reasons. A lot of the other songs have had their own fling with me at one point or another, but always been an album first and foremost.

Not a top 5 Ae album for me (but not far off), nor an album that suits any mood, but a release for which I am eternally fond. Quaristice opened up my Ae and electronic music world, and therefore I am deeply grateful. My Antarctica ae album.

ohh i love this album so much. i read 'at the mountains of madness' while having 'quaristice versions' on repeat and was an awesome experience.

quaristice y0!

Also, to me, Quaristice was where they showed their taste the most, warts and all. All their work before that had tons of technical prowess but it a lot of it was a bit aloof and insecure. I think working on it day in, day out really gave it that journal feeling, personal and intimate but not in an overbearing kind of way, just kind of flowing, even-keeled and self-assured. Whereas Oversteps felt more cathartic... I think after Quaristice they got a bit more impatient and wanted to work faster. There's been great stuff since but Quaristice is still their brightest light for me.

  On 1/30/2018 at 1:46 AM, Roo said:

A lot of the other songs have had their own fling with me at one point or another, but always been an album first and foremost

  On 1/30/2018 at 2:37 AM, qnio said:

ohh i love this album so much. i read 'at the mountains of madness' while having 'quaristice versions' on repeat and was an awesome experience.

 

quaristice y0!

That's very bizarre, I also was reading this when the Quaristice set came out and even made a Halloween mix themed around that story with some tracks from it.

hands up \m/ 

the versions is the shit. 

yo ae:

10th anniversary of quaristice would be a great time to release the quarastice tour livesets. just sayin.

  On 1/30/2018 at 6:09 PM, digit said:

yo ae:

 

10th anniversary of quaristice would be a great time to release the quarastice tour livesets. just sayin.

This, times million!

goddamnit 2008 was such a good year

2008 was a special year for me for several reasons. Quaristice was one of them.

And chenc9...still one of my all-time faves

  On 1/30/2018 at 3:48 AM, sweepstakes said:

 

Also, to me, Quaristice was where they showed their taste the most, warts and all. All their work before that had tons of technical prowess but it a lot of it was a bit aloof and insecure. I think working on it day in, day out really gave it that journal feeling, personal and intimate but not in an overbearing kind of way, just kind of flowing, even-keeled and self-assured. Whereas Oversteps felt more cathartic... I think after Quaristice they got a bit more impatient and wanted to work faster. There's been great stuff since but Quaristice is still their brightest light for me.

I think they hinted as much about finding ways to expedite their work in an interview from June 2016. Same one in which they talked about their almost exclusive reliance on Max since 2011 I believe.

  On 1/30/2018 at 4:45 AM, six said:

 

  On 1/30/2018 at 2:37 AM, qnio said:

ohh i love this album so much. i read 'at the mountains of madness' while having 'quaristice versions' on repeat and was an awesome experience.

 

quaristice y0!

 

That's very bizarre, I also was reading this when the Quaristice set came out and even made a Halloween mix themed around that story with some tracks from it.

 

lol that's amazing, will hear it to honor this serendipitous event

and i'll add this: 2008 livesets pls bob & sam! that one in LA is otherworldly

Easily one of my favourite albums ever. Altibzz is pure bliss.

  On 1/30/2018 at 10:24 PM, gnarlybog said:

Easily one of my favourite albums ever. Altibzz is pure bliss.

had to dig through my vimeo likes to find this again. the track creates other landscapes in my head but i still find this snippet appropriate.

The reverb on the final notes, which are incidentally not in this video, are the best part for me.

for some reason i 'see' and feel the sea in late somer while listening to altibzz

Altibzz is pure autumn for me. The whole album is, really, although I can enjoy it any time of year. Overcast skies, warm beverages, hoodies, days getting shorter, comfortable decay, yeah.

Quaristice is such a fun ride, colourful parade of playful little vignettes. I listened to it a whole lot in the summer of 2009 workin for an agricultural plant breeding company, the contrast of bright yellow rapeseed fields, blue skies and Quaristice was surreal.

Not necessarily my favorite ælbum (although tis a contender, for sure), but probably the most listened to. Other releases I try to ration out so they don't get stale, but somehow I don't worry about that with Quaristice & the digitals.

Also notable for counter-intuitively having such a perfect flow as a whole, despite the diversity of styles/moods among individual tracks.

^^ Quaristice does have one of the best flows of an Autechre album, especially from altibzz to rale

  On 2/2/2018 at 4:20 PM, AJW said:

^^ Quaristice does have one of the best flows of an Autechre album, especially from altibzz to rale

Completely agreed, altibzz through rale is a sequenced success, it makes the album work.

FUCKING rale

as much as I love this album I gotta say I can't remember the last time I didn't skip fol3 or fol4

  On 2/4/2018 at 12:41 AM, span said:

as much as I love this album I gotta say I can't remember the last time I didn't skip fol3 or fol4

I still think chenc9 is one of Ae's best trax in their whole career. It's like when a global cataclysm wipes out civilization and a space lifeboat boarded by a small group of survivors reaches escape velocity and drifts off into space at the same time.

  On 1/29/2018 at 3:31 PM, sweepstakes said:

I joined WATMM for Quaristice. It's still overall my fave. There's something really special about the mood and pacing of it that makes it feel like a dream or a movie more than any other Autechre. It's got the master's touch.

io was made with whole-tone scales which are often associated with the feeling of being in a dream