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philosophy of autechre
 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 12:07 [#01496550]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



www.c0ax.org/autechre.html

just wrote up a little regarding my thoughts about ae and
stuff.

opinions?


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-02-12 12:09 [#01496552]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator



oh dear.


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 12:10 [#01496553]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



clickable link


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 12:10 [#01496554]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



qrter, what? :P


 

offline AlbertoBalsalm from Reykjavík (Iceland) on 2005-02-12 12:14 [#01496556]
Points: 9459 Status: Lurker



is autechre a bloody autopsy? ?? why are people always
trying to explain their music.


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 12:15 [#01496557]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



because they are exploring new territory, well, at least
they're making their own twist on things. putting it down in
words can help. for me at least. and also im so bored i
could die and i was listening to confield. so sue me. :D


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-02-12 12:19 [#01496560]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to AlbertoBalsalm: #01496556



it's just fanboyism, something you yourself should not be
unaccustomed to, only for some annoying reason in case of
autechre it almost always seems to find it's way out in a
silly kind of pseudo-intellectual form.


 

offline AlbertoBalsalm from Reykjavík (Iceland) on 2005-02-12 12:23 [#01496563]
Points: 9459 Status: Lurker | Followup to qrter: #01496560



exactly.


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 12:23 [#01496564]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



qrter im not trying to be a fanboy nor a pseudo
intellectual.
please respect what im trying to do at least.

for me the music is very interesting, it's sort of like
asking yourself large philosophical questions like "where
does the universe end?" "is the universe examining itself?"
"just what the FUCK is going on and where am i?"

same with ae's music. for me at least. in the end though,
autechre gives me lots of emotions when listening to it, and
that's all that matters, but tell me, what's so wrong about
asking "why am i responding to this seemingly uninviting
music?"


 

offline AlbertoBalsalm from Reykjavík (Iceland) on 2005-02-12 12:31 [#01496570]
Points: 9459 Status: Lurker



so you're saying that without the philosophical association,
autechre's music is essentially crap?


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 12:33 [#01496573]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



what the fuck?
no!

you dont get it.

i SAID "autechres music gives me alot of emotions when i
listen to it, but when you dig deeper you realize that
there's more to it than just music, because autechres music
is different than most."

SO

im asking the questions, trying to answer them.

PLEASE keep in mind that im bored.


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2005-02-12 12:36 [#01496575]
Points: 27795 Status: Regular



i hate to offer the same advice twice but


 

offline dariusgriffin from cool on 2005-02-12 12:37 [#01496576]
Points: 12426 Status: Regular



Updated: autechre.co.uk

now with added philosophy


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2005-02-12 12:39 [#01496579]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



I'm autechre, and I'll tell you right nowa!

I'æm drunk, and that's how I make our music! stop fucmkgin
ytring to dedcipher our shit! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2005-02-12 12:40 [#01496581]
Points: 27795 Status: Regular | Followup to dariusgriffin: #01496576



wow man, that's like, so deep man


 

offline jenf from Toronto (Canada) on 2005-02-12 12:43 [#01496584]
Points: 1062 Status: Lurker



cx, i think what you wrote is commendable at the least - i
see what you are trying to say and it's cool. i agree with
the whole quantum noise and human-ness of "experimental",
"non-conventional", "abstract", "post-industrial",
"post-post-industrial", "ambient", "electronic" sounds.

the reason i put all those adjectives in quotes is because i
think these things are defined by perspective and paradigm.
one culture or individual may think it's experimental while
another finds it the norm. i may personally find it the norm
for my listening pleasure and find top 40 pop music the
abnormal. but at the same time, i don't think that this
makes my definition "better" than anyone else's.

BUT.. to contradict that statement, i also find some top 40
pop music (even if it's old) really humanizing and
comforting - they could be using guitars or computers - i
don't care. it's what the journey of the track does for me.
so all in all, ive just contradicted myself and am switching
on two divergent genres (which is arguable because there is
so much mixture between genres, finding the "essence" of a
genre is downright difficult!).

anyway, no argument there really (from your article), but i
may have to disagree with your usage of the "it doesn't have
that vital humane component [in reference to mego]" - that
stood out for me b/c you are now differentiating between
what sounds 'human' and what doesn't .. but you're just
opening another can of worms which still doesn't answer the
age-old philosophical question 'what is it that makes us
human?'

basically, i don't think that autechre is more expert at
creating a 'humane' or 'human' sound compared to any other
artist. PERSPECTIVE AND PARADIGM.


 

offline mrgypsum on 2005-02-12 12:53 [#01496586]
Points: 5103 Status: Lurker | Followup to cx: #01496550



i appreciate your honesty, and like how youre reasoning your
thoughts on on paper(?) but you might want to develop more
of a cohesive thought, instead of just spouting off random
reasons why you like autechre.


 

offline stilaktive from a place on 2005-02-12 13:00 [#01496599]
Points: 3162 Status: Lurker



lifes to short , go for a run.


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 13:48 [#01496624]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



jenf, thanks for your nice comment.

i agree with you, now that i think about it.
since written in a daze, i may not have properly thought
through this "philosophy", however you got my main point so
i guess my work is done.

and also yes, it's all about perspective, but another point
i sort of forgot to embellish: is autechre somehow finding
new territory of sound that we have not yet fully
understood?
or are they just mixing classical music theory with noise in
such a way that it's nothing new, but it's unique in its
mixture?



 

offline mrgypsum on 2005-02-12 14:21 [#01496637]
Points: 5103 Status: Lurker | Followup to cx: #01496624



if you think about it, there are a lot of artists who are
trying to do something.....unique - the artists who try to
rehash, are either rehashing to further a genre, say this
analord series from afx or wagon christ, or they are trying
to make some money by playing it safe, appealing to an
already established audience. but most artists are always
trying new things and developing new sounds - but i dont
think autechre is doing anything way ahead of the curve or
being so experimental that they seem like they are making
music from another dimension - for me its just music - they
make good music.


 

offline DeadEight from vancouver (Canada) on 2005-02-12 14:28 [#01496639]
Points: 5437 Status: Regular



yeah, i think it's definitely worth theorizing about what's
at work in ae, but within the context of a larger
paradigm... there are lots of artists out there stretching
the limits of what we consider music, and it certainly has
far reaching implications

maybe sometimes it seems a little silly, but i don't see the
point in knocking someone for responding creatively to the
music they're listening to... people needn't feel threatened
by it...

np- domenico sciajno and gert-jan prins- the d&b album


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-02-12 16:37 [#01496676]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to DeadEight: #01496639



I don't feel threatened by it and although what I said may
sound harsh, it certainly isn't meant to say he shouldn't
write anything like this if he wants to.

TO ME though it's a particular strand of fanboy activity
that you see with autechre-fans and I'm not interested in
it.

more and more I'm stepping away from the intellectual side
of music making, the little that I had to do with it
anyway.

I like music for that it is music, that it is as abstract as
possible (within art, I mean) and it has no other function
than to be music.

the rest is all theory and/or extra - it doesn't improve the
music for me, in fact it even muddles the enjoyment for
myself - therefore I have no need for it.

so while it sounded like a putdown, I'm merely saying that
this kind of thing seems superfluous and/or silly to me, a
waste of time if you will.


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2005-02-12 17:03 [#01496689]
Points: 14294 Status: Lurker



No comment.


 

offline uviol from United States on 2005-02-12 17:04 [#01496691]
Points: 2496 Status: Lurker | Followup to qrter: #01496676



TO ME though it's a particular strand of fanboy activity

that you see with autechre-fans and I'm not interested in
it.


I wrote an 'essay' much like this one two or three years
ago, but after a while you come to realize that it's damn
near impossible to get down to the exact motives or
philosophies that a band is operating under. Once you start
analyzing (and/or speculating), it's always either an
overestimation of their genius or an underestimation of
their real motives for music making.
I'm as big an AE fanboy as they come, but I've begun to find
that trying to philosophize about them is rather futile.
First of all, just when you think you have them figured out,
they will give an interview that messes with your perfectly
honed theory of how they work. For example, cx's posts and
article refer to them using 'classical music theory,' but
then they will give an interview and drop seemingly flippant
statements like this:

Sean Booth:
"It's finding something and thinking, 'that's really good
actually,' then trying to understand it. It's definitely not
about the musical process, we don't know anything about
music; we still don't understand what music is really."
link

The best conclusions I've come to about Autechre are that
they are not concerned with anything so much as sound
architecture, if you will.. and about putting together
unconventional noises, beats, melodies, whatever .. to come
up with something new and exciting. So far, they are
succeeding. Beyond that, it's all in the realm of
speculation as far as I'm concerned.


 

offline thecurbcreeper from United States on 2005-02-12 17:08 [#01496696]
Points: 6045 Status: Lurker



the font and background combo hurts my eyes


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2005-02-12 17:13 [#01496701]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular



this thread seems largely full of shit!


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2005-02-12 17:14 [#01496702]
Points: 14294 Status: Lurker



Autechre has very little to do with technology other than
the fact that they are using modern instruments to their
full potential to make stuff that sounds cool.


 

offline DeadEight from vancouver (Canada) on 2005-02-12 17:16 [#01496705]
Points: 5437 Status: Regular | Followup to qrter: #01496676



oh i know what you mean man,

and for the most part the stuff like this that i have seen
written about ae on xlt has been totally wankshot
masturbatory conjecture (for the record i did not read what
cx said... but i will later) with no sense behind it
whatsoever... but i like to look at theory in general as not
necessarily a supplement to the musical medium, but rather
as its own brand of creative writing in and of itself... the
sort of stuff that makes you think and ask questions, more
than it tries to answer them... there's not a lot of stuff
that i've found that does this... but the stuff that does
makes it all worthwhile

David Toop is a pretty wicked writer for that...


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2005-02-12 17:19 [#01496708]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular



i think mr jenkinson sums it up in this quote

"when I'm making music, I don't think about anything, you
know? All I think about is what I want to hear"


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2005-02-12 17:22 [#01496711]
Points: 14294 Status: Lurker | Followup to i_x_ten: #01496708



i.e., annoying shit?


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2005-02-12 17:23 [#01496714]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



and just when i was starting to like autechre (again)..jav


 

offline DeadEight from vancouver (Canada) on 2005-02-12 17:24 [#01496717]
Points: 5437 Status: Regular | Followup to i_x_ten: #01496708



theory need not address the author's conscious intentions...
when they do, it's usually pretty annoying because it's pure
conjecture... and the intent is a lot less interesting to
discuss than the result...


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2005-02-12 17:33 [#01496720]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular | Followup to DeadEight: #01496717



I had to look up the word conjecture
. autechre are good and all and do some neat stuff in their
music, but the more you try and analyse it.......

i think people sometimes look to hard for things that aren't
there. *cough* religion *cough*

quote
" How Autechre manages to blend these two contrasts so
goddamn perfectly is still a mystery, and it's almost as if
noone else can do the same, ever."

i think that is just plain daft. they are good at what they
do and have obviously developed a knack for it.

quote
"It is almost as if Autechre is guiding us into where we are
really from, the quantum world, and one album at a time,
they are slowly opening our minds."

uhm ok


 

offline clint from Silencio... (United Kingdom) on 2005-02-12 17:34 [#01496721]
Points: 3447 Status: Lurker



Think of autechre as sculpture rather than music. That's
what I tell my mum when I play it in the car to her and
intellectualise it enough for her to listen.


 

offline DeadEight from vancouver (Canada) on 2005-02-12 17:36 [#01496723]
Points: 5437 Status: Regular | Followup to i_x_ten: #01496720



yeah, i just read it... and i definitely agree with you...
autechre is being exalted here... and it's a bit silly...

i think their are plenty of noise artists, including some of
those on mego, who are working in similarly unfamiliar
modes... some, much more effectively, imo...


 

offline Torture Garden from Feelin' 2Pacish on 2005-02-12 17:53 [#01496750]
Points: 974 Status: Lurker



Autechre don't strike me as musicians who apply much
'classical' theory, I could be wrong but when I listen, it
doesn't really strike me, it'd make more sense to go on
sound alone. Your article wasn't an analysis, it was a
viewpoint, You need to backup what you say and please shed
some light on how their music is created.

Obviously, they're lots of great musicians pushing music
today. I had a discussion with a composer/tutor a few weeks
back, His argument was that artists weren't getting acclaim
for their music anymore in the same way as say Coltrane's A
Love Supreme is emphasised as a defining moment in jazz. My
view was that because everyone can make a professional
sounding record now, that more and more great albums are
being released all the time and now it has become common
place. Comments, please.


 

offline magicant from Canada on 2005-02-12 18:10 [#01496773]
Points: 2465 Status: Lurker



this thread is one hilarious joke.


 

offline uzim on 2005-02-12 18:51 [#01496816]
Points: 17716 Status: Lurker



ok... i skipped all the following messages to the firsto nes
because i'm a little bit drunk right now (sorry ), but i
read your text before and i think whereas it's a bit
excessive to call it a "philosophy", it's quite intresting
that you find Autechre's music "humane"... sometimes i find
Autechre's music moving and beautiful (Vi Scose Poise for
example, one of my fav Ae tracks) but never near "human"
music really - more beautiful like a ray of sunshine through
glass than beautiful like some human feelings can be. well,
everyone has its own interpretation/way of hearing it i
guess : )


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 19:57 [#01496846]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



alright lemme see here..
torture garden:
if you listen to confield and draft, you will find much of
it is actually pretty straightforward music wise, it's just
the unfamliar sounds and beats make it sound more "alien"
than it actually is.
you have exceptions of course, like pen expers and bine and
lentic catachresis.

qrter: for the longest time autechre has only been about the
music part. i've listened to confield, draft, chiastic slide
etc and never given it another thought but "wow this is
cool".
however recently when i was smoking weed and listening to
confield it sort of hit me "dude, this is some strange
fucking music.."
then i started to focus on the whole "human vs technical"
aspect.
at first listen many people say confield is just a mix of
sounds put together in a muddle. but soon you realize that
actually no matter how "inhumane" the music becomes, it
never loses that "humane" component. it never becomes "just
sound".
but now i'm opening other cans of worms which is not my
point.

all i'm trying to say is, autechre has a unique mix here,
and i'm just trying to put it down on paper.

uzim:

agree'd.



 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2005-02-12 20:02 [#01496852]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



just one question really..are you over 16?


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 20:08 [#01496856]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



yes im 23, why :(


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2005-02-12 20:16 [#01496861]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



sorry for that, im not usually this way, but this whole
thing really does sound very silly to me..sorry again


 

offline cx from Norway on 2005-02-12 20:20 [#01496864]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



that's fine.
btw autechre can only be understood by gods and aliens.

:D


 

offline sneakattack on 2005-02-12 20:57 [#01496872]
Points: 6049 Status: Lurker | Followup to mappatazee: #01496711



haahaahha quote of the century

PS cx I hope you're intentionally quoting me on the
gods/aliens farcery


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2005-02-12 22:53 [#01496909]
Points: 14294 Status: Lurker



Let me just say the fact that cx has an anime avatar does
not surprise me.


 

offline cygnus from nowhere and everyplace on 2005-02-13 01:07 [#01496962]
Points: 11920 Status: Regular



for the love of god, save yourself the embarassment and
don't write about your spaced out epiphanies concerning
autechre!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 

offline cygnus from nowhere and everyplace on 2005-02-13 01:14 [#01496963]
Points: 11920 Status: Regular



Now they have a new album coming out April 18th, and of
course, I'm DYING to hear it. At first listen, Draft 7.30
may seem familiar to Confield, but upon closer inspection,
they are actually very different.


this is brilliant


 

offline pachi from yo momma (United States) on 2005-02-13 01:17 [#01496964]
Points: 8984 Status: Lurker



Although I admire Autechre a great deal, this seems to be
overanalyzing them a bit. Well, I've meditated a lot upon
their music in the past, but I simply think they're a couple
guys who seek adventure in sound, using a similar approach
to building with Lego(s). In fact, I heard somewhere that
they compare their studio to a Lego set.


 

offline E-man from Rixensart (Belgium) on 2005-02-13 02:59 [#01496976]
Points: 3000 Status: Regular | Followup to pachi: #01496964



my thoughts more or less.

i think everthing has been said in this thread...

when you really think about it tho, it's just people who are
sometimes more sensible to some kind of thoughts or in a
period of questioning, and they find a whole interesting
world in ae's music for them to explore.
but it really has nothing to do with the music imo, these
philosophical thoughts are just conected to your brain, not
autechres's music...



 

offline FlyAgaric from the discovery (Africa) on 2005-02-13 05:56 [#01496998]
Points: 5776 Status: Regular



blah. i think cx over analyzing autechre is being over
analyzed. it would be better if this thread dissapeared into
cyberspace.


 


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