IDM Mailing Archive

Autechre (untitled/eponymous) WarpCD66lc2070 When I'm out shopping for records at the Goodwill, I have a test as to whether a particular album is going to be dope -- if it's some kind of a jazz record, if they bother to put liner notes on the back, written in a style other than "grey flannel 1950's publicist on crack", it's bound to have at least a few tasty cuts. Autechre's newest obviously fails that test. It does succeed on it's own hermetic terms -- if you're looking for music that seems constructed by a random patch generator for a sampler, yet retains a certain emotional power, it's all here. Densely layered pastiches of scroinks, boinks and virtual fingernails on a quantum blackboard swirl around, with quiet repeating pad figures. It's the sound of being alone in an industrial park, haunted by post-modern virtual welt-schmertz. Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record, they've spent some more time advancing their sound design, and I like it better than Chiastic Slide, which had a couple of tracks that I thought were really bad -- the slow, ambientish ones. Jega (Spectrum) Planet Mu >ziq-002CD I've not been a serious jega-follower, more because I've been busy with other things, like the best way to sample a Nat King Cole record, so this is a pleasure to have on CD for easy listening. The Muziq influence here is way up front -- check the vibrato flute lead on 'Musical Chairs.' And 'Phalanx' takes a page from the early Aphex Twin Breakbeat book. The fact that they're derivative (down to the crappy HR16 ride cymbal that's all over early mu-Ziq) doesn't for me detract from their own charm. Things take an unexpected turn on 'Red Mullet' which is an amazing job of sampling -- swingy jazz drumming, upright bass, and Woody Herman horn stabs. The ambience is pretty cheesy but the quality of the writing and playing can't be denied. If you know anything about constructing tracks on a sampler, you can really hear the work that went into this one. From there on out things just get better and better. Melodic, carefully and inventively programmed, and delivered with a certain puckish humor. So if you like muziq, you'll love this one.

quoted 4 lines Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record,

> Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record, > they've spent some more time advancing their sound design, and I like > it better than Chiastic Slide, which had a couple of tracks that I thought > were really bad -- the slow, ambientish ones.

im curious if you thought the tracks were bad because they were slow and ambientish.. and if not, what did you find displeasing about them? im just curious, because chiastic slide for me is one of the most original albums i have heard in a long time (not to devalidate your opinion, im just curious why you were not into the tracks...) thanks, chris. __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [*<n/ff> <=rr*/a|>r] - wednesdays 7-8 pm riders of the plastic groove - fridays 9-midnight kuci 88.9fm po box 4362 irvine ca 92616

On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, zimbo wrote:

quoted 9 lines Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record,

> > > Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record, > > they've spent some more time advancing their sound design, and I like > > it better than Chiastic Slide, which had a couple of tracks that I thought > > were really bad -- the slow, ambientish ones. > > im curious if you thought the tracks were bad because they were slow and > ambientish.. and if not, what did you find displeasing about them? >

I'm all for slow and ambient, but I kind of demand some kind of motion to a track, or at least a loop so killer that it can sustain interest for 5 minutes. My chiastic slide synopsis: Track 1 -- I like this one for the broken-machinery percussion, and the introspective lead loop. 21st century funk. Track 2 -- basically a new-age synth lead over what sounds like putting a phonograph needle on a felt slip mat. Never develops into into anything. Track 3 -- This is marvelous as well. insectlike skittering percussion inhabiting an inchoate auditory space. Track 4 -- Pretty nice stuff as well. Track 5 -- This one sucks big time -- no steady beat, a tedious loop layered with more tedious loops. Track 6 -- nice crunchy beats Track 7 -- ditto. Probably goes on about 5 minutes too long though. I think track 2 and track 5 blow. Your mileage may vary. I listened to all of track 5 before responding to your question, and I've not been so eager for something to end since they set my broken leg.

I did some more listenning. The track which sounds like it is continually slowing down has the tempo moving slower through 4 measures and as it crosses the speed at about half the tempo, some more accents are added such that it starts sneaking into double-time before flipping back to the higher tempo at a new measure. This is similar to the synth programming effect of making your "eternally pitching down" sound, where the sound starts high, slowly goes down, and as it crosses a harmonic octave or two or three lower than it started, the starting sound sneaks in and the low sound fades gracefully out. Not recommended listenning/tweaking for when you are stoned and your head already feels like it weighs 70 lbs (couple "stones" to you brits... not that I'm throwing rocks (I'm on the Pacific coast and can't throw that far ;-P)) Similarly, there is a track on the beginning of that same side of the vinyl that slows down about halfway through the track to some other tempo. This is what they did on "The Egg" on the Warp AI comp. It is something most programmers probably avoid since it throws the track's "beatmatch-ability" rating off the bottom of the chart. (This reminds me of this Like A Tim track that cuts out at a completely arbitrary place and just has his mom or someone talking to him and just mic noise, then 20 sec later the music cuts back in during the middle of a measure, ah hah hah, whatta evil bastard!) Anything avoided in standard dance music becomes "new" again after it being absent so long. It all makes sense if you keep in mind that full-blown prog rock is where everybody is heading, OF COURSE! <troll> Solenoid On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, zimbo wrote:

quoted 25 lines Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record,

> > > Which is a pretentious way of saying that it's another autechre record, > > they've spent some more time advancing their sound design, and I like > > it better than Chiastic Slide, which had a couple of tracks that I thought > > were really bad -- the slow, ambientish ones. > > im curious if you thought the tracks were bad because they were slow and > ambientish.. and if not, what did you find displeasing about them? > > im just curious, because chiastic slide for me is one of the most original > albums i have heard in a long time (not to devalidate your opinion, im > just curious why you were not into the tracks...) > > thanks, > > chris. > > > __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > [*<n/ff> <=rr*/a|>r] - wednesdays 7-8 pm > riders of the plastic groove - fridays 9-midnight > kuci 88.9fm po box 4362 irvine ca 92616 > > >

solenoid@europa.com <------+

Chaircrusher wrote:

quoted 2 lines Jega (Spectrum)

>Jega (Spectrum) >Planet Mu >ziq-002CD

quoted 2 lines I've not been a serious jega-follower, more because I've been busy with

>I've not been a serious jega-follower, more because I've been busy with >other things, like the best way to sample a Nat King Cole record, so

this

quoted 1 line is a pleasure to have on CD for easy listening.

>is a pleasure to have on CD for easy listening.

quoted 1 line The Muziq influence here is way up front -- check the vibrato flute

>The Muziq influence here is way up front -- check the vibrato flute

lead

quoted 1 line on 'Musical Chairs.' And 'Phalanx' takes a page from the early Aphex

>on 'Musical Chairs.' And 'Phalanx' takes a page from the early Aphex

Twin

quoted 3 lines Breakbeat book. The fact that they're derivative (down to the crappy

>Breakbeat book. The fact that they're derivative (down to the crappy >HR16 ride cymbal that's all over early mu-Ziq) doesn't for me detract >from their own charm.

Pretty much agree with most of what you're saying here. Although I don't understand what you've got against the HR16. A revolutionary machine and the ride symbol is very realistic especially when it is used dynamically within a song structure. The machine works brilliantly through my bass amplifier and with the additional use of an effects rack I have almost unlimited manipulation. The HR16 for its age is top. Respect D*Style