Autechre
Confield
Warp Records [US]
[CD]
After "Tri Repetae", mad scientists Sean Booth and Rob Brown made a
conscious decision to reinvent their musical style with every release
iteration. "EP7" shows little resemblance to "LP5", and likewise to
"Chiastic Slide". Continuing this metaphor, the new full-length
"Confield" is perhaps best described as an intermediate "patch" rather
than a full update from Autechre v7.0 to v8.0, reflecting ongoing
development of the ideas expressed in sonic form in "EP7", where the
framework of a track is built up from genetic entities, sound
information that reproduces and mutates at the behest of the musicians
and their equipment. Beat genes, melodic genes, noise genes, all looping
and constantly changing themselves -- they all fight or cooperate within
the temporal space and other limiting parameters of the track that are
set by the artists. The end product you hear is a recording of the
birth, growth and death of this entity.
Far from being a purely abstract, intellectual exercise, "Confield"
is at its best when Autechre limit their direct involvement to a few
detailed aspects of a track, instead letting the unpredictable machines
do the majority of the work of chewing up sounds on every loop. Slight
alterations are made with each iteration that completely change the
nature of the piece by its life's end, keeping the listener absorbed in
the process.
The mutating pace of gamelan beats in "VI Scose Poise", for
example, prevents the synth melody from finding a comfortable niche to
reside in the ever-changing rhythmic environment, almost keeping the
listener hypnotized with this ongoing struggle. "Pen Expers" hip-hop
rhythms decay and recover, fight with noise and knob-twiddled
distortion, only to end up in conflict with a dark melody that fades in
and out of reception. The shimmering beauty of ringing metal in
"Parhelic Triangle" must find a way to stay afloat a sea of chunky,
scrunchy, violent bass beats that mutate and grow ever more severe.
Perhaps the most enjoyable track on the release, "Uviol"s simple and
beautiful piano notes intersect with shiny, fibrous beats, forming a
three-minute introduction to ever-changing bubbling noises that crackle
with noisy electricity and, like snowflakes, are never the same the
second time around.
With only "Cfern" and "Bine" as tracks that might be considered too
plodding or frenetic for enjoyment, "Confield" is even more the
accomplishment in how Booth and Brown manage to maintain focus, to keep
enough control over their output that it is still listenable. This
release is yet another demonstration of Autechre's mastery over sound.
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