A few months ago there was a poll of some kind on this list about favorite Ae cd/s tracks, and it seemed that Amber was one of the winners. Amber was the first Ae cd I ever owned (bought it when it first was released). It sat on my shelf for about a year (maybe more), I didn't like it. Then I joined this list and saw all the praise they were receiving. Someone mentioned Teartear specifically, and I was prompted to give Amber another listen. Needless to say that I suddenly understood this music -- kinda like when you finally see the hidden image in those 'magic eye' pictures. Teartear and Amber became favorites of mine and they still are today.
Now I'm one of those people who has been of the opinion that the more recent sound of Ae / LP5 style is a bit too experimental. I didn't like it when I bought it... In fact I even considered returning it!
Then someone on this list, about a week ago, said he/she was listening to Drane 2 on repeat. I decided to give it another try. So I took LP5 off my shelf, blew off the dust, and listened to the last track. I had the same experience that I had with Teartear all over again. This song is incredible! What was I not hearing before?
I think it is amazing that I could have this experience twice with the same band. Autechre pushes the boundaries of electronic music to an absolute extreme, and somehow, once you understand, it becomes more musical than ever before. That takes a lot of talent.
For those of you who think that LP5 is too far out to enjoy on a musical level, go to your collection and give Drane 2 another listen.
No, I'm not a crackpot.
Tootaloo,
Chris.