The newest album in Warp's AI series came out on Monday.
Autechre Incunabula WARPLP17
It comes as a double pack in a gatefold sleeve, total playing time over
77min. There's a limited 'silver' vinyl edition, but beware: on the
two copies I tried, side 1 is pressed off-centre causing a sweeping
effect on sustained chords. It is unlistenable. The other three sides
are fine. I have no idea whether the fault appears on all silver
copies, or on the black vinyl at all, but Warp is notorious for the
poor quality of its pressings.
I've only had a brief spin through the album, so I won't attempt a full
review now. It certainly follows the AI formula, and there are pieces
I love at first hearing, but on the whole I don't find it as good as,
say, "Ginger". It isn't disappointing - but I haven't had the
opportunity to get inside the music properly yet, so I'm not ecstatic
about it yet either. On the whole, very pleasant listening however.
Now that Warp have released albums from every artist featured on the
first "Artificial Intelligence" compilation, I suppose that means their
next release must be a second compilation. Rumours are that it
features Black Dog and Aphex Twin again; Beaumont Hannant will also be
putting in an appearance. Incidentally, Beau's album on GPR has been
delayed by another week - it is now due on Monday 6th December.
-malc.