IDM Mailing Archive

someone asked about the autechre interview in sound on sound magazine... i too looked in vain for this for several months. it's in the november 1997 issue (volume 13 issue 1). the interview is not mentioned anywhere on the cover (soundscape sshdr1+ is the lead article, also recording vangelis, steinberg cubase vst for pc, etc). might be able to order back issues through their web site http://www.sospubs.co.uk/ i found my copy at tower i thought the autechre interview was very interesting and well worth tracking down if you are interested in the gear and to a lesser extent the processes they use to create their music. some highlights: (When is a departure from the regular one departure too many?) Rob: "You can go too far, but that's for you to decide. We've found ourselves thinking at times that we might have gone too far. But we've always been in our own space -- it's hard for us to imagine where that datum or line of reference lies." Sean: "Maybe it's a curiousity thing as well. In the studio it's a case of 'wouldn't it be interesting if'. You then try it and you find that you like it, and once you've started doing it, then you don't think about any other way of working. You can't help but be single minded, you get addicted to finding things that you like." Rob: "Discovery is really important." Sean: "It's finding something and thinking, 'that's really good actually', then trying to understand it. it's definitely not about musical process, we don't know anything about music; we still don't understand what music is really." (On the Nord Lead) Sean: "There are a couple tracks on Cichlisuite that are enitrely Nord..." Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear we've worked with, it's pushed us to get all our other gear to try and emulate it." (On remixes) Rob: "We get a few and we tend to not turn anything down. We're well into remixing." Sean: "That is unless we're spewing with ideas, then we won't go near a remix because you think, 'why would I want to waste these great ideas on this cheesy, made-for-Japan remix'. Usually we're not too busy and we have a laugh doing them. You can get a DAT full of anything..." (On Warp records) Sean: "When Frequencies came out, and Test Tone, we were like, 'shit!' You think that you're the only ones interested in this weird music that you can't put your finger on, and there's this label that's banging loads of it out -- hearing exactly the type of stuff that you think is where music should go, and it's all on your doorstep. We're not fans of anything, really, but in Warp's case we can almost make an exception -- instant respect." Rob: "It's interesting looking back on our old stuff. It's mostly pretty amusing, but sometimes you'll find ideas that you're still pursuing heavily now, and you didn't even realize you were pursuing then. That's the real magic in it -- knowing you had the ideas all along. We think we know loads about what we're doing, but then you realize you instinctively knew it back then, without having a clue about how you were doing it." Sean: "We had all the ideas back in 1988, we just didn't have the gear. The only thing that helps us on our way, or accelerates our progress, is being able to assemble things more quickly. In terms of having the ideas, that's something you can't learn." happy '98! ... art

quoted 6 lines (On the Nord Lead)

>(On the Nord Lead) >Sean: "There are a couple tracks on Cichlisuite that are enitrely >Nord..." >Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear >we've worked with, it's pushed us to get all our other gear to try and >emulate it."

That quote kind of hurt when I first read it. It kind of destroyed this mental picture I had of the autechre-ists running around in their darkened studio patching together this can-opener and that atari and stepping on discarded printed circuit boards as they ran from one unidentifiable machine to another. I had always hoped that even a picture of their studio would still leave us scratching our heads as to how they coaxed those noises out of that pile of wiring. Oh well, the music still manages to do the job for me anyway.... np: the sound of all those autechre wannabes running to the store for a nord... happy new year all! --brian rachielles idm review archive: www.geocities.com/paris/metro/9160/idm.htm audio on kcsb fm santa barbara intelligent techno/dnb: www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/club/4980

From what I've read about Autechre, they create their unique sounds/textures/rhythms by pushing their equipment into unexplored territories and experimenting with all available parameters (w/o opening it up and doing some custom wiring [ala Aphex Twin supposedly]). They don't need to string together bizarre looking black boxes -- they get all the bang they can from their buck by using traditional keyboards/samplers/etc... I wish more people would approach electronic instruments this way instead of buying some synth for a few nice sounds and hardly delve into its inards... E r i c F r a n s ----------------------

quoted 3 lines [mail] franse@engr.arizona.edu

> [mail] franse@engr.arizona.edu > [web] engr.arizona.edu/~franse > [subvox music] www.azstarnet.com/~subvox

------------------------------------------ On Thu, 1 Jan 1998 brachielles@juno.com wrote: } } >(On the Nord Lead) } >Sean: "There are a couple tracks on Cichlisuite that are enitrely } >Nord..." } >Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear } >we've worked with, it's pushed us to get all our other gear to try and } >emulate it." } } That quote kind of hurt when I first read it. It kind of destroyed this } mental picture I had of the autechre-ists running around in their } darkened studio patching together this can-opener and that atari and } stepping on discarded printed circuit boards as they ran from one } unidentifiable machine to another. I had always hoped that even a } picture of their studio would still leave us scratching our heads as to } how they coaxed those noises out of that pile of wiring. Oh well, the } music still manages to do the job for me anyway....

Art Kerns wrote:

quoted 2 lines i thought the autechre interview was very interesting and well worth

> i thought the autechre interview was very interesting and well worth > tracking down if you are interested in the gear and to a lesser extent the

quoted 1 line processes they use to create their music.

> processes they use to create their music.

I'm getting kinda nerdy here, but did they say anything about what MIDI-software they are using? Because many of their recent 'tunes' have a rather "algorithmic composition" feel to them -- check out track 2 on Cichlie Suite for a to the point example -- and I've been suspecting that they might have gotten their hands on something like Opcode Max...or perhaps the old favourite "M"?

quoted 3 lines (On Warp records)

> (On Warp records) > really, but in Warp's case we can almost make an exception -- instant > respect."

WARP has sort of lost my respect during the last couple of years, because they seem to be playing it very safe with regards to "breaking"/releasing new artists. They release stuff that is almost guaranteed to sell (Plaid, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher -- the big four at Warp), and seldom seem to take too many chances. In other words: They have become semi-corporate. Don't get me wrong -- I love most things done by Autechre (and bits'n'pieces from Aphex) -- but I would like to see WARP do something very different for a change (like with Red Snapper; not that they're particularly great, but at least no one saw it coming!). /Oeivind/

quoted 3 lines Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear

>>Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear >>we've worked with, it's pushed us to get all our other gear to try and >>emulate it."

brachielles@juno.com wrote:

quoted 5 lines That quote kind of hurt when I first read it. It kind of destroyed this

>That quote kind of hurt when I first read it. It kind of destroyed this >mental picture I had of the autechre-ists running around in their >darkened studio patching together this can-opener and that atari and >stepping on discarded printed circuit boards as they ran from one >unidentifiable machine to another.

if it helps, the article also described how they've heavily customized a lot of their gear. actually, the article opens with the lines "most techno artists will carry on about getting the most out of their equipment, but autechre take this ethos almost to the point of absurdity. i don't say this lightly, but after i was given a guided tour of the entrails of a casio sk1 home keyboard/sampler, it got me thinking about what lengths you can go to get to know your equipment without contravening a local by-law." and later says "just about every synth in the studio bears some scars of customisation." the nord they liked because of its intuitive interface, the article also described their opinions of the mc-202, and the differences between programming the r8 and tr606. substar@iafrica.com wrote:

quoted 5 lines Sean: "That is unless we're spewing with ideas, then we won't go

>> Sean: "That is unless we're spewing with ideas, then we won't go >> near a remix because you think, 'why would I want to waste these >> great ideas on this cheesy, made-for-Japan remix'. > >Isn't this terribly terribly patronising ?

the article goes a little more into how they remix songs, how they spend more time on some than others, etc. i took this quote to be saying "we do remixes in down time, because if we're feeling really creative and the ideas are pouring out we want to work on our own things". calling your own ideas 'great' isn't going to win you any awards for humility, though, i guess... terje.idsoe@online.no wrote:

quoted 2 lines I'm getting kinda nerdy here, but did they say anything about what

>I'm getting kinda nerdy here, but did they say anything about what >MIDI-software they are using?

the article mentioned they used a version of emagic logic audio that was "so heavily customized it was barely recognizeable". also they alluded to using other sequencers, including cubase, but said logic was their favorite. for those not interested, sorry for the gear talk ... art

On Jan 1 1998, brachielles@juno.com said:

quoted 11 lines Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear

>>Rob: "I think the Nord has been the most inspirational piece of gear >>we've worked with, it's pushed us to get all our other gear to try and >>emulate it." > >That quote kind of hurt when I first read it. It kind of destroyed this >mental picture I had of the autechre-ists running around in their >darkened studio patching together this can-opener and that atari and >stepping on discarded printed circuit boards as they ran from one >unidentifiable machine to another. I had always hoped that even a >picture of their studio would still leave us scratching our heads as to >how they coaxed those noises out of that pile of wiring.

That's one way of looking at it. Personally, I think it demystifies the entire music making process, and that's a good thing. Peace, Pedro Cevallos