ScaldedBorneo

Is it just me or does elseq 5 feel like a fire?

Because they rhyme?

No it doesn't. How does Untilted refer to 8? Also even if it is meant to refer to 12, it might just be referring to the fact that it's the 12th EP like Move of Ten or L-Event. But it's not the 12th because Warp has been careful in only referring to it as a "collection of new music."

Ok so elseq 3. It's growing on me a bit. Or maybe I am just getting used to it. Not sure yet. But I've been listening to it for the past few days. The length of "eastre" doesn't bother me as much anymore because I know what to expect now. "eastre" definitely sound really amazing with all of its different sound and subtlety coming together to create something where it can be really difficult to parse all the sounds in the track. I love it when Autechre can accomplish that. And the chords and drones really are great here. The rest of the ambient sound effects are really cool and creepy. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the twenty minutes, but I do know that it's a lot easier for me to sit down and listen to it now, and I find it mostly enjoyable. "TBM2" I thought was the weakest track here when I first heard it. I still probably find that to be true, but I definitely do like it a whole lot more. Although it is still very simple for an Autechre track, there is a great amount of subtlety. It is constantly changing a little bit all the time. And I do have to admit those heavy kicks do sound really cool and can be mesmerizing. "mesh cinereaL" ... I never had a problem with. Great track and really relentless.

Okay so I only focused on elseq 1 yesterday, and I focused on elseq 2 today. I can now say with much more confidence that I really love these two. I did express some disappoint on my first listen through earlier in this thread, but that was mostly in reference to songs from elseq 3 and onward, so I'm curious to see how I'll like those once I dig deeper. But yeah Autechre just sounds so clear and detailed here. The sound design is fantastic. So fun to listen to basically anything and pick out the details. I was concerned with the length of "elyc6 0nset" after the first time I listened to it, but I'm beginning to get used to it. I was always fine with the first ten minutes; I love that part. But the last fifteen which have very minimal percussion and otherwise just a ton of glitch sounds seemed a bit iffy. I'm beginning to enjoy that part more. Even though it continues for so long, it never really repeats or gets old. It is just insanity for fifteen minutes, and it's a really cool exercise to listen to. The glitch sounds are so indistinct when layered together like that, but there still are very subtle progressions. And wow not a lot of people have been talking about "c7b2" but that one is just unbelievable. It is so dense, so much going on. I think out of everything on 1 and 2, this track is the one that varies the most within its thirteen minutes. There are just so many different sounds, and you can never tell where they are coming from. It's so harsh in a really good way, and it just sounds so unique (like many other songs here). And from elseq 1, I honestly love every song, but "feed1" and "curvcaten" are definitely favorites. Even if 3, 4, and 5 don't grow on me, I'm definitely very happy with just these two. And I remember I still liked about half of the tracks from 3, 4, and 5 anyway, so I'm excited to get back into those in the following week.

it isn't (unless you use five different accounts) Oh it keeps track of what you've bought and lets you get discounts retroactively?

Yeah this is a much more balanced evaluation.

I don't think trying to find an explanation for titles to Autechre tracks will ever prove fruitful. Although I will say when I first heard "eastre" it felt kinda creepy to me, and the title put the image of Easter Island in my head.

Whoa, this is a really good description. I'm basically the same way. Wait, what is the infamous "Surripere" part? Also, Jev, I'm very curious. What are some specific examples from the Autechre discography where one small detail/part ruined the rest of the song for you? And also what are some parts that you consider really perfect?

It just feels like a Quadrange situation. This is stuff that they want to release in a more unedited form. But you're also kinda right, now that I think about it, so I will take some blame in saying some stupid things.

Yeah, this was my thought. They could have turned this into a normal album given more time, but they decided not to and just release it as EPs instead or something. That would make sense if they knew that all of this was more or less leftover material or stuff they didn't think they would put on a full LP so they are giving it to us here in full.

That's kinda contradictory... Yo I meant the further I get into my first listen. I wrote that post when I finished elseq 3 my first time.

Yeah I think this is what's happening. Autechre isn't the type to release a 4-hour long album with 80% of tracks >10 minutes. Their albums are always very focused and well sequenced. This does not seem like an LP. Oh well, only time will tell. As you say, these 4 hours gives us plenty to chew on whether it is an EP or LP or whatever.

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. There's got to be some reason. Like maybe this well develop into something bigger somehow over the next few days?

Yo I'm on Jev's side. Just because it's four hours doesn't mean it's really two times more content than Exai which is two hours. Not a lot of these tracks have so much progression that like a twenty minute track here is worth twice a ten minute track off Exai. You know what I mean? Exai has 17 tracks and this one has 21, so I would say it's closer to 20% more content rather than 100%. Do you guys really feel like "eastre" should have been a twenty minute song? Just because something is good doesn't mean it should be longer. "Pen Expers" is one of Autechre's best, but would you still like it if it had the same progression but was 25 minutes instead? Also to all you people who are saying I am too quick to judge: you're right. This is all being said knowingly that my opinion may drastically change over the next few days. These are just first impressions, and I think talking about first impressions can be fun and valuable :)

I love how "eastre" sounds and all, but I couldn't stand to hear it repeat for 20 minutes. I think if this were a five minute track I would love it, but wow that twenty minute listen was just tedious. I may not come back to this one for a while. And "TBM2" just felt really weak. I like the (few) ideas behind it too, but it went for too long with very little development, and the beat was very simple too. The more I get into this, the less I am enjoying this very long-form content. I'd much prefer it if they tried to make their tracks concise rather than extending them unnecessarily. I've still only gotten through the first 3 records though. I'm glad "mesh cinereaL" was at least an interesting track with actual development that warranted more length. If it wasn't for this track, I would've really loathed elseq 3 on this first listen. Of course take all this with a grain of salt because first listens mean nothing.

Yeah, when I first heard that part I just thought it was a really cool effect. I like those skips a lot.

On my first listen, I liked the track, but it did feel overly long. I think it could have easily been ten minutes instead of thirty. I was definitely more into the first half of the track, but the second half seemed to have much less development. It was just a bunch of glitch noises. I'm curious to see how my opinion will change as I listen to it more.

Huh, you're probably right.

This is actually really good news that this live stuff is being released as EPs rather than a new album. I knew we could trust Autechre. If an actual LP ever drops, it will be completely fresh.