Autechre - Untilted
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CD Details
Artist: AutechreEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2005-04-19
Music Label: Warp Records
Soundtracks:
- LCC
- Ipacial Section
- Pro Radii
- Augmatic Disport
- Iera
- Fermium
- The Trees
- Sublimit
Music reviews of Untilted
Music Review: Autechre strikes once again!
Rating: 5 Stars
Having now left behind 8 full albums and a great batch of EPs, Autechre shows us that they simply refuse to settle down and continue in their pathway to push back the meaning of the word "music". While Untilted (do not confuse this with "Untitled" like I did!) isn't a revolutionary album, this is undoubtly an album on which it's two members, UK's Sean Booth and Rob Brown, feel more focused than ever.
The highly experimental direction the group has took ever since EP7 and the pretty controversial Confield (which has confounded critics and fans alike since it's publishing and still continues to raise questions now) is still present, but this is most likely the most accessible album they've made out of this canon since then. Draft 7.30, while being an excellent album, still felt like a step backwards for the group, with them being unsure about the direction they would follow on next. After listening to Untilted a few times, I'd be willing to stay that this is the expected logical progression of Confield.
"LCC" gets things started up without wasting any time, opening with a fiery, yet actually catchy drum track that actually reminds us of some earlier Autechre tracks. I'd even dare to say that the drum track reminds me of some old-school electro music and some of the tracks on the album conveys that feeling as well (such as the actually straight-faced and pretty musical "The Trees", which is one of the few Autechre songs to have a real name, to boot). Half-way through it's running time, "LCC" suddently switches gear, then slows down the drum programming to lay down haunting, moody melodies that give chills.
"Ipacial Section" is next, showing off clearly the intent of this album. While Confield was more ambient-based and used it's percussion to liven up the environnements they were trying to create, the beats clearly are the center stage of the album and the way they are layered around the album make sure that you will be kept well alert and interested through the pieces. It even shows up at times a pretty playful edge, which is something that hasn't been much present in Autechre's catalog. "Ipacial Section"'s opening beats recalls us a broken toy machine which seems desperate to try placing it's pieces back together. Like many of the songs in that album, it completely switches moods about through the middle and end up sounding nothing like the intro would have suggested. This is actually one of the first Autechre albums I recall which tries to focus on several moods and sections through a single tune, making the material incredibly varied and interesting. Even though most of the songs here have long running times, none of the songs here can get boring anywhere, with the huge amount of ideas being shown at every part.
With all of the following comments, it almost seems like that this entire album was created for the sake of exploring only basic pop music elements, but don't worry. Autechre still shows their regard for musical experimentation through all of the tracks shown there. "Pro Radii" features cavernous drums pulsing deeply through the speakers with the images of a MC and crowd shouting out loud through the barrage of percussion heard. The track even showcases industrial drumming through it, which would recall a fan of their Chiastic Slide record. "Augmatic Disport" is a totally stunning piece in which Autechre displays their incredible talent at programming drums. The percussion here is awe-inspiring and heart-stopping. Fans of the single Gantz Graf will listen to this piece over and over again, as it's greatly inspired from that piece.
"Sublimit" closes the album with being the longest tune that Autechre has produced so far. Clocking in at a whopping 16 minutes, this song is anything but. This song does not only serves at a pretty faithful reminder of all of the ideas explored through all of Untilted's songs, but it's a terrific closer as well. Like all of the material here, it's chock-full of ideas, it's actually pretty listenable and there are so many reasons to come back to it with all of the details to pick up. I wouldn't be surprised if the idea behind this song was to show off Autechre's vision as to what a pop song should be.
If you've been following the group since quite a while already, there is simply no way that you can ignore this album. Repeated listens will most likely make it your new favorite album of your Autechre discography. If there were still doubters over of Autechre's beat-driven approach, this should be the album to settle it all. If you're unfamiliar with Autechre, this might not the album to start off listening to the duo (it requires a trained ear to listen to such music with a straight face), you should head off toward Tri Repetae++ or LP5 firstly in order to get an easier taste of the group. Also, make sure you have high quality listening equipement. This is what possibly makes or brakes this album. Headphones are truly the best way to appreciate this album, and we're talking about expensive headphones there. Forget hearing Untilted (or any Autechre album for the record) on a pair of cheap Discman headphones, they won't give proper tribute to their music.
The low point is: if you feel like going on an adventurous musical voyage, you just can't go wrong with this album. That or any Autechre album for the record. I wonder what those guys will conjure up on their next album, now... who knows?
Description of Untilted
The latest opus from these polyrhythmic android, drum-machine riding heroes of the avant-funk. Bringing beauty to the posessed beat, jiggling pulses into a-rhythmic oneness, Untilted is another breathtaking stab of electronic music that breathes and oozes the sound of Warp.The eighth album by these OG glitch kingpins is a curious thing. While none of the album's sounds are particularly different (Autechre is working with pretty much the same palette started with), it's not like they've gone laptop folk or added favela beats. The band's relentless experimentation continues unabated. Each of these songs here has more parts than an entire Rush album; every succeeding Autechre album has gotten more complex, as if there were Oulipo-style rules system guides the entire practice. But, while some patterns change rapidly--the complex and jagged try dancing to this rhythms rarely repeat for very long?-sine tones and drones underneath it all change very slowly. So, while the music may be composed in a postmodern way, then, it's staunchly modernist in its sharp, subtle honing of minimalist compositional techniques. The contrast between the jagged sounds and the surface and the moaning bass tones will either thrill or bore. There is no middle ground. --Mike McGonigal
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