Re: ess sup ( æ ), part 1

Autechre, or simply æ, have been crafting their unique soundscapes for nearly three decades now, although the 1993 album Incunabula and the single/EP Basscadet Mixes mark a breakthrough to wider knowledge. They are mostly known for their complex studio work, and they only seldom perform live. Therefore the announcement of a European tour, starting in October and reaching as far as my home town Helsinki, was greeted with joy among aficionados of experimental electronic music.

Now that there are a good four months to go before the live shows, it is time delve deeper into the duo's bag of sonic treats. Before their announcement, I had already started a project of listening through their vast catalogue of 12 full length albums and the same number of EP's available in Spotify a few months ago, and started collecting a playlist of what I consider their essential work - turning points in their career or just something in which I think they have surpassed themselves. This, however, turned out to be a considerable task. You have to remember that, although they are sometimes categorised as Intelligent Dance Music, their (especially later) music is really abstract art and most of it is not danceable at all (yet I had the pleasure of performing a choreography to known(1) in a course in modern dance recently, but that's another story). This means that Autechre's music needs to be enjoyed in small doses, and you definitely need some time to digest what you've heard. I would say one to three tracks at a time, once or twice a day at most, is a good starting point.

For the reasons above, I will split the playlist and blog post into parts. In each post, I will provide a Spotify playlist, and some thoughts on the tracks on it, but mostly I will let the music speak for itself. So, without further ado, here's the first one: It includes tracks from the start of their career and serves as a good starting point to their music. It could also be named 'Beautiful æ' because it contains some of the most haunting tracks they ever produced.

The first track I included is, righteously, the absolutely beautiful first track of Incunabula, which right from the start sets the bar high with its pan-delayed bass synth, ethereal pads and abstract rhythm.

This is followed by a track from Basscadet Mixes, Basscadet (Beaumonthannantwomx) which was my first contact to the bands music in 1995 (Thanks, Donagh, for the tape!) and has a special place in my heart. The bell sounds have been heard on numerous records thereafter.

Next in the list is a more rhythmic Flutter, from Anti EP, with its distinct sampling and broken beats. This is followed by Garbagemx. The track starts with a digital rhythm with dub echoes, picks up a steady snare loop and gradually opens up both sonically and harmonically. To be honest, it is one of my all time favourites of any music really.

The list ends with VLetrmx, a pure ambient piece with constantly evolving pads, to soothe your soul.

#autechre #electronicmusic #experimentalmusic #IDM