Im finally getting used to Autechres QUARISTICE, the point where I left them back in 2006-7. At first it didnt sound interesting to me; its probably a more radical departure from their crazy, controversial, random-like music of the turn of the millennium, than that period was from the more respectable, conventional, accessible 90s period! The difference is pretty big. This album seems, but only SEEMS softer at first, but thats only because (a) it kind of is, (b) they seem to have recorded themselves live -- so theres more natural sounding ambience, and lo-fi sound levels -- rather than creating music directly from computer like they had been doing. I think a great, mysterious key to this change lies in a comment one of the members of Autechre made in a post-millennial interview somewhere; he mentioned that hed been listening a lot to the WARSAW DEMOS lately; I thought this interesting and strange, having then been a huge Joy Division/Warsaw fan, and also because its the only rock/pop material I can recall Autechre saying they EVER liked, not including their earlier teenage admiration of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band... But then, it clicked: THE WARSAW DEMOS HAS AT LEAST ONE PROTO-ELECTRONICA TRACK ON IT, aside from all of the raw punk-rock demos. Maybe THAT track is what most intrigued the electronic ears of Autechre, I thought. And now, this morning, I HEAR it; Quaristice is Autechres return to the early electronic roots of Warsaw/Joy Division, and Throbbing Gristle, etc., of the late 1970s. The sounds on this 20-track album seem analog and live to my ears -- to what extent Autechre produced their music in these ways, I dont really know -- and if UNTILTED was warmer (in Robs or Seans own words) than CONFIELD and DRAFT 7.30, then QUARISTICE is warmer still; you can practically see the guys grooving with their music in a garage somewhere; you can almost feel the heat emanating from their bodies and their electronic equipment. The tracks lack the almost omnipotent feel of the generated software and computerized music of CONFIELD and DRAFT 7.30 (and even EP7, LP5, and CHIASTIC SLIDE), when you sensed that there was nothing these sound-producing devices werent capable of... you can sense theres more effort involved, even manually, from the two Autechre guys, as they strain to create mind-warping music in this new, subtler, at times almost minimalist (compared, again, to their millennial music) setting... but, if you give it enough listens, your diligence will pay off, and will reward you.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 15:26:30 +0000
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