My reaction to that review: I agree about the more accessible tracks,
but Keith dismisses a lot of their music, and I can't help but think
that he expects Autechre to be accessible in a way that they only
achieve by accident. For instance, his dismissal of Gonk Stead One
sounded like he didn't bother listening to it all the way through.
Autechre requires listeners to meet them more than half way. That's no
way to be a pop star, but it does indicate they take their art
seriously. Simply dismissing things out of hand if they don't
immediately grab you means you're not taking them seriously.
I'm fine with whatever people want to listen to. And liking some
Autechre pieces more than others is not a crime. But every Autechre
piece I've not enjoyed on first listen reveals itself with further
study.
It's a fundamental dichotomy with fringe music. Fringe music tries to
do things that popular music does not. Where pop reassures, fringe
music questions. Where pop lulls, fringe music startles. Where pop
rejects ugly, fringe music finds new kinds of beauty in things
dismissed as ugly. Where pop music is regular and predictable, fringe
music is staggering and surprising.
Even if they have released more music than normal humans can handle,
Autechre has never released filler. If it's there, there's a reason,
and it might not be a reason that's easily understood, or expressed in
words. But the worst sin of a music critic is to dismiss things just
because you didn't find the handle on it.
The job of a critic is to always find the handle.
On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 1:08 AM Pietro <pietrobot@gmail.com> wrote:
quoted 16 lines A Deep Dive into Autechre :: From Early Brilliance to Late-Period Noise—A Journey Through
>
> A Deep Dive into Autechre :: From Early Brilliance to Late-Period Noise—A Journey Through Their Evolution
>
> https://igloomag.com/features/autechre-deep-dive
>
> Autechre’s journey from their early, beautiful electronica to their later, mind-bending, experimental sound is a marathon of brilliance and confusion, where diamonds still emerge from the chaos but only after sifting through some of the most bewildering, abstract music ever created.
> (Keith/Keef Baker)
>
> :: ::
> Pietro DS
>
> Igloo Magazine :: igloomag.com
> Experimental Electronic Music
>
> Digital::Nimbus Radio :: digitalnimbus.com
> Electronic Audio Freakquencies