Autechre - SIGN 16.10.20

folks folks, take a chill pill

  On 10/29/2020 at 3:51 PM, misuta Go said:

 

elseq was silly as well imo.

i personally adore the subtleness of lp5, ep7, peel session II covers, so sign seems too "obvious" and vulgar to me.
just saying...

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in what sense is ep7 “subtle” compared those? 
 

it’s also worth pointing out that in the physical realm the lp5 LP release had different art from the cd and that ep7 was released as 2x12” with the original cd version having a frosted jewel case. 
 

idk, I’ve never felt subtly in art was the aim with ae. even LP5 sticks out as being more bold than subtle imo

  On 10/29/2020 at 5:51 PM, Alcofribas said:

in what sense is ep7 “subtle” compared those? 
 

 

it’s also worth pointing out that in the physical realm the lp5 LP release had different art from the cd and that ep7 was released as 2x12” with the original cd version having a frosted jewel case. 
 

idk, I’ve never felt subtly in art was the aim with ae. even LP5 sticks out as being more bold than subtle imo

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All the albums i mentioned i have in cd and they look ace. Lp5 vinyl does not look well if i remember correctly.

Subtle may not be the right word fir ep7, i agree, but it looks very delicate nevertheless and describes the music perfectly...

  On 10/29/2020 at 4:10 PM, mycospherologyst said:

thats the biggest lithium i could find

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Because I am magic, I made it bigger.

So much head scratching.....  

Here is the cliffnotes version:

SIGN is to Oversteps as PLUS is to Move of Ten.

Zen version:

Less analysis, more enjoyment.

i did think of move of ten when i heard the first few tracks.

marhide kinda reminds me of pce freeze. i love when they use a sparse, simple beat and just go all out on the atmosphere around it.

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:10 PM, misuta Go said:

All the albums i mentioned i have in cd and they look ace. Lp5 vinyl does not look well if i remember correctly.

Subtle may not be the right word fir ep7, i agree, but it looks very delicate nevertheless and describes the music perfectly...

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I think lp5 cd is my fave ae artwork. I like the boldness of the black plastic and the cheeky sticker. It’s very clever. 

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:10 PM, misuta Go said:

All the albums i mentioned i have in cd and they look ace. Lp5 vinyl does not look well if i remember correctly.

Subtle may not be the right word fir ep7, i agree, but it looks very delicate nevertheless and describes the music perfectly...

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I think lp5 cd is my fave ae artwork. I like the boldness of the black plastic and the cheeky sticker. It’s very clever. 
 

That being said I’ve never really felt any ae artwork describes the music really, just more of a visual accompaniment. Like when listening to ep7 I’m not like oh hell yeah this is a bunch of lines or for untilted like yes this is for sure a billabong pattern in music

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:25 PM, Alcofribas said:

I think lp5 cd is my fave ae artwork. I like the boldness of the black plastic and the cheeky sticker. It’s very clever. 

I think lp5 cd is my fave ae artwork. I like the boldness of the black plastic and the cheeky sticker. It’s very clever. 
 

That being said I’ve never really felt any ae artwork describes the music really, just more of a visual accompaniment. Like when listening to ep7 I’m not like oh hell yeah this is a bunch of lines or for untilted like yes this is for sure a billabong pattern in music

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Not a  bunch of lines exactly, more like "dry, detailed, stripped down, black and white" or sth like that makes total sense to me in a synaesthetic level, not as a literal interpretation of the shit that's going on

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:36 PM, misuta Go said:

Not a  bunch of lines exactly, more like "dry, detailed, stripped down, black and white" or sth like that makes total sense to me in a synaesthetic level, not as a literal interpretation of the shit that's going on

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Incunabula: 90s shit

amber: the one about hills

tri: the gold one

chiastic: the one about frank lloyd wright

Lp 5: the black one (ep7: buncha lines)

confield: the one about computer graphics

draft: the one about cgi

untilted: the one about billabong 

quaristice: the one about fonts

oversteps: the one about circles

[a bunch of black and white shit]

sign/plus: the ones about shapes

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:15 PM, tailings said:

So much head scratching.....  

 

Here is the cliffnotes version:

SIGN is to Oversteps as PLUS is to Move of Ten.

Zen version:

Less analysis, more enjoyment.

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I don't see it so. 

Move of Ten is imo a companion piece to Oversteps. A little brother. It's own thing, but sharing some genes.

PLUS is a continuation of SIGN imo. The second half. Part two.

But I agree with your zen version 100%.

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:47 PM, toaoaoad said:

On SIGN they mostly alternate the tracks with (prominent) beats with the tracks without them, so it feels pretty balanced in spite of using such a homogenous sound palette. On PLUS it's more clustered together, especially towards the end as has been mentioned. I think that's why some are pegging it as less of a "proper album" than SIGN. 

That kinda hurt MOT as well I think, that uneven distribution of "tracks that sound like Oversteps and tracks that don't", with more oversteps-y stuff towards the end, making them seem like afterthoughts or a haphazardly mixed collection of outtakes.

I wonder if that impression (of PLUS) would change at all if they had chosen a different sequence that distributes the SIGN-sounding tracks more evenly. 

 

 

PS  Elseq is by far the worst cover art ever

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+1 like for the plus / mot comparisons

-1 like for elseq artwork comment

got me this bad boi without ever regretting it.

After all that tDR-bashing, we forget one thing, we all should appreciate in the newer tDR designs for Ae (Exai, NTS, SIGN/PLUS):

you can read the tracklisting easily... 

One thing worth noting is that with the obvious exception of the elseq-live stuff, ae artwork seems definitely designed as a physical product, not just an image on a screen. Since Tri they’ve always utilized specific physical elements as part of the design as far as I can tell. I think Sign is an example of this - the colors are really vibrant on the vinyl packaging. 
 

some of my faves are the plain cardboard with curved opening on lp5 vinyl, the frosted ep7 cd and the lush printing of the exai inner sleeves. also iirc chiastic slide has something printed inside the sleeve which is cool. 

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:11 PM, Alcofribas said:

also iirc chiastic slide has something printed inside the sleeve which is cool.

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yeah it's awesome because it's actually so easily missable. also worth a mention: colored sleeve insides of oversteps and SIGN (and presumably PLUS, too).

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:15 PM, jaderpansen said:

yeah it's awesome because it's actually so easily missable. also worth a mention: colored sleeve insides of oversteps and SIGN (and presumably PLUS, too).

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Yeah those insides are really cool

Didn't Oversteps have orange interior and Move of Ten green? It's been so long since I've seen anything other than the discs themselves.

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:00 PM, toaoaoad said:

Fair enough, that larger print is kinda nice.  My eyes just hate the parts where the shapes overlap (esp bottom corners)

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i find these sort of shape-combining overlay games super aesthetically pleasing (especially as an architect where i spend too much time squinting and scrutinizing drawings.  but i must be their target audience).  its kind of the point that the overlaps are very odd or subtle in certain areas.

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:15 PM, jaderpansen said:

yeah it's awesome because it's actually so easily missable. also worth a mention: colored sleeve insides of oversteps and SIGN (and presumably PLUS, too).

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also worth a mention, the glossy overlay pattern that adds an extra layer to draft.  and the peel session 2 vinyl that literally has the title 'peel session 2' printed as just gloss-on-white at like size 2 font.  you literally have to squint and do like a magic eye thing in full light to just barely see that shit.

shoutout this blog/website thing that hasnt been updated in ages but has some nice documentation of autechre physical stuff http://www.hardformat.org/index.php?s=autechre

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:54 PM, Alcofribas said:

Incunabula: 90s shit

amber: the one about hills

tri: the gold one

chiastic: the one about frank lloyd wright

Lp 5: the black one (ep7: buncha lines)

confield: the one about computer graphics

draft: the one about cgi

untilted: the one about billabong 

quaristice: the one about fonts

oversteps: the one about circles

[a bunch of black and white shit]

sign/plus: the ones about shapes

 

 

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Incunabula: meh

amber: meeereerh, but piezo

tri: the gold one

chiastic: tetsuo funk

Lp 5: fuck yeah

Ep7: fuck yeah motherfucker

confield: cold gold

draft: niiiiice

untilted: the one about billabong 

quaristice: wtf, but ok

oversteps: wtf, goddamit

Exai: hell yeah

Elseq: kool as fuck system

Nts: the system should behave

sign/plus: nts 5, minus the dog playing piano synth shit

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:37 PM, Mic Finger said:

Didn't Oversteps have orange interior and Move of Ten green? It's been so long since I've seen anything other than the discs themselves.

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it's the other way around

  On 10/29/2020 at 7:39 PM, misuta Go said:

amber: meeereerh, but piezo
 

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i'm glad i'm not alone on this... apart from piezo i've never really understood what people find so mindblowing about this album... i mean maybe if my first listen to the album was back in '94 (and maybe if i wasn't 5 years old then) i would get the magic... but the first time i've heard it was in 2008 and i've found it very dated in the not-so-cool way ever since

  On 10/29/2020 at 6:15 PM, tailings said:

So much head scratching.....  

 

Here is the cliffnotes version:

SIGN is to Oversteps as PLUS is to Move of Ten.

Zen version:

Less analysis, more enjoyment.

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You don't enjoy new Autechre. You digest it.

Liking this a lot after a few listens.  marhide and ecol4 are my jams at present.  I'd love the boys to put out some more lo-fi jams like marhide.

The one track that's getting a lot of love on here which hasn't revealed itself to me yet is X4 but i'm sure i'll come around

PLUS rules

  On 10/29/2020 at 9:54 PM, Ivan Ooze said:

PLUS rules

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and SIGN too

  On 10/29/2020 at 9:32 PM, Afrofinger said:

Liking this a lot after a few listens.  marhide and ecol4 are my jams at present.  I'd love the boys to put out some more lo-fi jams like marhide.

The one track that's getting a lot of love on here which hasn't revealed itself to me yet is X4 but i'm sure i'll come around

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wrong thread but welcome to WATMM.  

loving marhide and ecol4 a lot too. X4 will change your mind one day, no doubt.

oh and obligatory