Autechre
are an English electronic music group consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The group is one of the most prominent acts signed with Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music artists. Some journalists consider Autechre to be a paragon of IDM and one of the driving forces behind its development, [1] though Booth and Brown are ambivalent in relating their sound to established genres. [2]
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AUTECHRE TICKETS
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History
Brown and Booth formed the group in 1987 when they both lived in
Rochdale. They began their career making and trading
mixtapes between each other, and gradually moved on to their own
compositions
[3] while collecting a handful of cheap equipment, most notably a
Casio SK-1 sampler and a
Roland TR-606 drum machine.
[4] Since then they have employed a wide variety of
electronic instruments to create an evolving style.
Booth and Brown pronounce the name
Autechre
with a
Rochdale accent (, approximately "awe-teh-ker").
[5] However, they have explained that the name can be pronounced in any way one sees fit.
Booth explains: "The first two letters were intentional, because there was an 'au' sound in the track, and the rest of the letters were bashed randomly on the keyboard. We had this track title for ages, and we had written it on a cassette, with some graphics. It looked good, and we began using it as our name. "
[6] They are also commonly referred to by the abbreviation "Ae" or "æ".
Autechre have also recorded under various pseudonyms. One of the duo's earliest recordings was a 12" under the alias "
Lego Feet
", released in 1991 on
Skam Records. The majority of
Gescom releases, most of them on Skam, have been attributed to Booth and Brown, among other artists. Autechre helped initiate the
All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in 2000, and were responsible for curating the 2003 festival.
On two occasions Autechre have streamed webcasts from their website. The first was on 10 April 2005, and lasted a little over 7 and a half hours. The most recent took place on 23 February 2008, and was exactly 12 hours long. Both began at 8pm
GMT, and featured an eclectic range of music.
Music
below =
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Much of Autechre's music has a strong focus on complex rhythm, driving percussion, and meticulous sequencing. Often unusual rhythmic loops repeat and change incrementally, with the music constantly in transition. Sometimes patterns are set against one another, implying several time signatures at once. Later work has been notably
experimental and
abstract, in contrast to the more club-friendly and conventional early 1990s releases.
Reactions to their music have varied. Many of their
tracks contain complex or chaotic
rhythms and close
harmonies which some hear as random and noisy. Fans of their recent work tend to find the value of their music to lie in its unique fusion of rhythmic and melodic elements, i. e. melodic percussive samples, and often numerous cacophonous melodic lines and chord structures playing simultaneously. A recurring element in Autechre's work are the uses of extremely short harsh and
time stretched samples to create a fragmented,
grainy effect.
Methods
True to their early techno roots, Autechre use a wide array of
analog synths in their production,
as well as analog and digital
drum machines,
mixers,
effects units and
samplers. They have also made extensive use of a variety of computer based
sequencers,
softsynths, and other applications as a means of controlling those synths and processing the synthesized sounds. Autechre have experimented in depth with development environments such as
Max/MSP (invented by software pioneer
Miller Puckette),
and
Kyma – amongst others – from 1997 onwards, though it is unclear which are still in use. From 2005, they have used the
Elektron and
Monomachine, alongside
Akai MPC and
Nord Modular in their live performances.
[7] In 2008, Sean Booth reported that if he were locked in a cell for a year with only one piece of software and one piece of hardware, he'd "probably take a copy of
Digital Performer and an AKG C-1000 mic. "
[8]
Other machines that Autechre have repeatedly mentioned in interviews are appreciated for their
interface and aesthetics as much as their sound, including the
Roland TR-606 and
MC-202, and the
Nord Lead.
Autechre sometimes use
generative techniques,
most notably on
Confield
and
EP7
.
Recent activities
Autechre recently released two new songs on the album
45 - A Tribute To Daniel Hansson
. The tracks are called "Coenc3" and "Elephant Gear". The latter is a collaboration track with artist
Venetian Snares.
Discography
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Autechre Discography
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Albums
- 1993: Incunabula
- 1994: Amber
UK #81
- 1995: Tri Repetae
UK #86
- 1997: Chiastic Slide
UK #130
- 1998: LP5
UK #135
- 2001: Confield
UK #153
- 2003: Draft 7.30
UK #149
- 2005: Untilted
UK #199
- 2008: Quaristice
UK #148
EPs
- 1991: Lego Feet
- 1994: Anti EP
- 1995: Garbage
(combined with Anvil Vapre
for Tri Repetae++
) UK #138
- 1995: Anvil Vapre
(combined with Garbage
for Tri Repetae++
) UK #102
- 1997: Envane
UK #94
- 1997: Cichlisuite
(also known as Cichli Suite
) UK #127
- 1999: Peel Session
UK Budget Albums Chart #2
- 1999: EP7
(CD combining vinyl EPs EP 7.1
and EP 7.2
)
- 2001: Peel Session 2
- 2002: Gantz Graf
(also released as a DVD) UK #108
- 2003: æ³o & h³æ
(2xCD Minimax, collaboration with Hafler Trio)
- 2005: æo³ & ³hæ
(2xCD, collaboration with Hafler Trio)
- 2008: Quaristice.Quadrange.ep.ae
(digital exclusive 13-track EP bundle)
Singles, promos, and remixes
- 1991: "Cavity Job" (12" vinyl single limited to 1,000 copies)
- 1994: Basscadet
(five remixes – six on vinyl – of "Basscadet" from Incunabula
; also known as Basscad
) UK #56
- 1996: "We R Are Why" (12" vinyl promo.)
- 1997: Radio Mix
(hour-long DJ remix of own and other artists' tracks)
- 1999: "Splitrmx12" (12" vinyl promo limited to 3,000 copies)
- 2008: "Quaristice (Versions)" (Limited to 1,000 copies, contains remixes of 11 Quaristice tracks)
- 2008: Digital Exclusive
(3-track EP available only in the Japanese iTunes Store)
See also
- Warp Records
- Gescom
- Skam Records
References
- ''Confield'' reviews, c. 2001—''Metacritic''
- Drew Daniel interview, November 2005—''Pitchfork Media''
- Peel Session artist profile
- "TECHNO-LOGICAL", November 1997—''Sound on Sound''
- Marc Weidenbaum interview, c. 1997—''Disquiet. com''
- "Autechre", April 2004—''Sound on Sound''
- "New Machinedrum Percussion Synth", April 2005—''CreateDigitalMusic. com''
- Interview with Sean Booth, Jan 2008—''Reverb Magazine''