Suffocate Peon

What do people dislike about Quaristice? At this stage in their music making career, and this goes for anyone who have been going for as long as they have, if they can release an album which has some of their best tracks on it then I think that's a success. Tracks that you can't compare to other similar tracks they've made in the past and view them as inferior. I think getting hung up on the album's overall direction and sequencing is being petty. Altibzz The PlclCpC IO paralel Suns Tankakern rale Fol3 Theswere Notwo Outh9X are some of the best tracks Autechre have created, no?

I think that too. I think I like tuinorizn more than anything else since Quaristice. Kind of reminds me of Etchogon-S but I much prefer this, it has a rhythmic tightness i think has been lacking in Oversteps and MOT, it doesn't sound tired and bored like someone has put a gun to their head and forced them to make Autechre music. I think it's just good, as a short track in between something more epic, but thinking of Quaristice's early leaked tracks Rale, Simm and Theswere...they sound monumental, I think Rale is a classic. This is more in the vein of the sketchiness of 90101-5l-l. But i like it more than Steels. I hope people aren't far off with their LP5/Untilted/Acroyear2 comparisons based on hearing the whole album though, I love the energy and propulsion of that track, one of the few autechre tracks I can turn up loud and really get a kick out of the bass. Not sure why LP5 isn't more loved by autechre fans, I don't think they have really bettered Rae, Under BOAC, Vose In. It's weirdly true that given that Oversteps is no longer their newest thing I despise it a little bit less. I don't know what I disbelieve more sometimes, that it's actually Autechre, or that people like it and can listen to any of it without being bored, unsatisfied, and wanting to just skip the track.

The House I Live In is on BBC iPlayer until March 2013.

i wrote this last night but it was late and my internet died so I didn't post it, but is Argo available at 720p yet? I like that Pitchfork Untilted review, It sums up the contradictory nature of the album, it's both serious and absurd. It's (almost hysterically) funny how unpenetrable to listen to it is the first few times, and the review reflects that hysteria. Sean himself in a pitchfork interview actually talks about how some of it can sound funny. I much prefer the review style to the more pompous ones on Pitchfork, it does read to me like the writer is an Autechre fan and isn't pretending to be or doing that embarrassing thing of giving importance to an album, which Pitchfork does an awful lot, like in the Kid A review, which is not a subtle example. It's actually the least self-important review of an album on Pitchfork I've read I think, because it avoids describing electronic music scenes or giving an overall objective view of the album. It's more of a personal one that's pretty spot on, like; Most reviews adopt a sneering authoritative tone, the Pitchfork Squarepusher review of Go Plastic suggests Tom hasn't bothered to learn his software properly, or the drukqs review basically ignores the quality of Richard's piano tracks because they're not innovative enough for him and too similar to Erik Satie and Phillip Glass. And this is refreshingly free from that kind of thing. Very true, refined is how I'd describe the album. The description of how alien the tracks sound at the beginning (using Pro Radii as an example) before they mutate into something more palatable is true as well. The review addresses the music fan who perhaps only liked Tri Repetae, Untilted is the exact point in Autechre's 'career' where they could be left behind and ignored altogether by a portion of music fans. I know that when Quarstice came out the impression I got was that people would say; 'who cares, what's the point of them anymore?'

I can't say Himizu is really any of those things. It is quite sad and powerful though, and I recommend it to everyone. I found Holy Motors became less fascinating the longer it went on as each scene became less interesting than the last. Certainly my mouth was wide open in awe for much of the first half because I had no idea what it was about, either before I intended to watch it and during, and it was all so well shot. Don't know if you've seen Dogtooth, but that's similarly what am I witnessing as Holy Motors.

and if it wasn't

I think we could pad out the pages with lengthy discussions about how flat and repetitive Venetian Snares can sound. fix'd. VS? Has he released anything remotely interesting lately? (LOL) Yeah, the March 2012 released Fool The Detector ep is incredible. Index Pavilion is probably the third best track on there but has basically ruined all electronic music for me. I can't take anyone who listens to electronic music and doesn't like venetian snares seriously. And obviously My Half is the the most heartbreaking, honest and brutal composition ever created. It's embarrassing this how to be pointed out on watmm from time to time.

I think we could pad out the pages with lengthy discussions about how flat and repetitive some Autechre can sound now that Venetian Snares exists.

I hope bladelores is to Exai as Tankakern is to Quaristice or Surripere is to Draft 7.30, I also hope those track lengths are accurate so this makes sense. I wonder what 10 whole minutes of "irlite (get 0)" will be like.

Yeah, that might even be the case here... What does this mean, that it might be fake? Or something else? It's similar to everything else they've released in the last few years, move of ten and one-off tracks that I'm willing to believe it's legit. It's only slightly better than an amateur attempt. There is enough energy in it for me for one moment try to convince myself it is good, but the denial only lasted until the track ended. It became boring by the second listen which is not good when you consider that most of their previous music will keep me fascinated into old age I suspect.

Sounds like a lethargic The Plc to me, mixed with chenc, very Quadrange/Move of Ten-ish. A good indication of whether you really like it is if you immediately after listening to it you find another Autechre track from years ago that you've never really cared for much, like, say Drane, and see how it compares. spl9 is bilge, Drane was alluring, suggestive from the beginning and actually builds, it has that authentic Autechre gravitas to it that sets them apart from other electronic acts. This track doesn't feel composed, it's full-on, but not distinctive, it doesn't breathe, it's bitty and sludgey, rather than searing. I think the same of a lot of the move of ten tracks. The longer version of the plc changes, you notice it change, it's dramatic, it's composed so that it builds, you wait for it and the more you wait, the better it feels when it happens. All of Untilted is composed the same, sections of repetitiveness, you have to listen to the track whole. You could take any segment of spl9 and it'd work on its own. What's happened to Autechre's directness, they just sound like someone trying to do Autechre and failing. I think i can get through it, feel nothing, and then never want to listen to it again. I don't think anything I've heard Oversteps onwards comes close to anything they did before. Texturally, compositionally, having that metallic gravitas that all Autechre has. What happened? It's not a taste thing, 'I want more beats'. (i don't, and it has beats, they're simplistic). It just sounds sub-par autechre, Listening to maphive now, it's majestic, poetic, captivating, dynamic, minimal. Actual Autechre fans who've been listening to them for years and years can't notice a difference in quality, really?

what i wrote elsewhere about Trials Evolution's (and origin of pain map pack) user created tracks when someone asked whether it was worth buying Trial Evolution or Trials HD. If you play Evolution first, you might not be able to go back to TrialsHD, I know I probably couldn't now, just because the best thing about Evolution are the user created tracks which on TrialsHD you could only access from people on your friends list who'd created a track, which made it useless. I bought the Origin of Pain map pack because there were certain user created tracks I couldn't try out. Some are extraordinary, some of the best 5 minutes of a game i've played since...Limbo. There's several Lord of the Rings tracks (one of the shire too) that are ace to go through, the creator has the option of using a tranquil soundtrack instead of the heavy metal Redlynx seem to always use, so it makes for a really nice atmosphere, even when you're repeating the same part over and over. They're addictive to play because there's an unpredictability and individuality to them that the Redlynx tracks lack. Some have simple ideas that I don't understand why Redlynx haven't used, like Red and Blue, where you ride on a red track, then click the thumbstick to change to the blue track, timing it right. There's one where you're in a tornado, one where you go through stargates, one like portal, one under the sea, one based on castlevania, one where you escape from a bank heist where at one moment you jump over onto a bridge and the camera cuts to inside the police car as you skid past. There's one where the track spins, flips and rotates as you approach it, one where a robot that loosk like it's out of Wallace and Gromit marches along at your pace in the background, as you help it and it helps you progress through the level (i wasn't paying attention on that one, it might be neither). There's one where you're seemed to be stuck in some kind of creepy plush toy land, it's a swamp, where you begin the level they're all looking directly at you, they're brown and made of stone, and have liquorice sweets for eyes and mouths, one hovers up from the water, another zips around like a beaver, there's a soft dreamy lullaby playing as well. And there's just something refreshing about playing a game that doesn't feel like it's been designed by a robot. There's some that are just weird, there's flying ships stalking you, you find yourself surrounded by mushrooms, then you're caught in a bubble and start to rise, or another where you're moving slowly but the cars in the background have been sped up and are moving in and out, and then you have to manoeuvre diagonally backwards through these gates...it's strange. Some are genuinely beautifully paced, such as the LOTR ones, I must have attempted this part where you have to basically roll backwards over an edge several times and reach the bottom about 30 times, and every time beforehand I had to drive up a hill and jump over a gap, and there's these blue flames lighting the track and thick tree chunks in a kind of zig zag alignment in the background, barely visible through the thick fog. The gap is so well judged, you don't have to try too hard to make it, you kind of just float over it. I might feel this way about Little Big Planet's user created levels had I ever played it, but the difference with Trials is that it's more fun to ride through levels than run through them. There's something about the silence of it, if you decrease the sound fx volume, and the recurring image of this little bike flying through the air, it's the best way to showcase these levels I think. Some of the creators know how to tap into that kind of vibe. It kind of proves what I've always thought, if normal people could express themselves through videogames, they'd become interesting again.

The awful thing about any potential samples leaked is that after Oversteps I'm scared that they are actually genuine because after what they've been putting out since Oversteps, it's hard to tell. After krYlon, O=0, who knows how far they'll push their lifeless, jaded, insipid limp noodling. I don't particularly trust them to care enough, they probably never had a certain self imposed high standard anyway, they just released whatever, and whatever now happens to be shit. Oversteps/Move of Ten killed my enthusiasm for Autechre and the announcement of this album has brought me back. With 2 hours worth, I'm hoping for at least 10 minutes of Notwo/Outh9X/paralel Suns-style dark ambient, or at least some rich variety in their music. So I can actually distinguish one track from the next, and there are surprises, contrasts and things usually associated with outstanding distinctive music. I don't think I want to hear this album, I'm happier just looking at the artwork and track titles and imagining.

Bullet Ballet - 10 Himizu - 10 I Saw The Devil - 10 Memories of Murder - 10 Fallen Angels - 10 Zodiac - 10 Black Swan - 10 The Good The Bad The Weird - 10 Ichi the Killer - 10 Dogtooth - 10 Audition - 9 Papillon - 9 Bug - 9 Serpico - 9 Tokyo Fist - 9 Boogie Nights - 9 The Raid Redemption - 9 Funny People - 9 Youth in Revolt - 8 Altered States - 8 Ghost Dog - Way of the Samurai - 8 Lost Highway - 8 Frozen - 8 The Guard - 7 The Hangover - 7 The Avengers - 7 Blood Simple - 7 Blue Velvet - 7 Tokyo Story - 6 Rubber - 6 Time - 6 The Disappearance of Alice Creed - 6 Big Fish - 6 The Ruins - 6 The Dead - 5 Dredd 3D - 5 Looper - 5 Teeth - 5 Prometheus - 5 The Boondock Saints - 5 Batman: Dark Knight Rises - 5 A Boy and His Dog - 5 Vertigo - 4 My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done - 4 The Cabin in the Woods - 3

I've found the more typical tracks on this album to be lacking compared to those on Rossz in that the drum programming seems lazier. Yeah, but...My Half. My Downfall would still be in my top 5 venetian snares albums if it contained only that track.

Yeah, why not? It's not emotionally deep music is it? I think this is simply not true. most of the Steinvord tunes out there are (at least the few stuff he has released) certainly are more into the accelerated intense side, but there is great emotion in these 2 tracks, the melodies are fantastic and anyone with a good ear for melodies will agree i love this one, and this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3P5L99OOiw It's kinda amazing how it goes from a sort of cheesy childish vibe to a kind of sad-weird vibe in only 2 minutes with great transition. This is good stuff and at this point I just would like to get all those tracks on proper digital format. Well I'm just referring to the music on the ep he's released. I've said before I actually think those two tracks are aphex twin because I think he'll have dozens of these sweet addictive tracks in the same vein as Bbydhyonchord and Orban Eq Trx4. I'm not attributing them to Steinvord because they're completely different than the other tracks and haven't been released by him.

Yeah, why not? It's not emotionally deep music is it? It sounds like the angsty music a moody teenager would make to me. They're not compositionally complex tracks that are multi-layered, they're one dimensional compared to the music created by artists who've been doing it for ten years or more. Compare any of it to Venetian Snares' Shoot Myself, something he released when he was about 31 when he had the ability to create tracks that expressed more than just relentless rage. It's just sheer majestic beauty. People thinking this is Aphex Twin seem to be forgetting that something like The Tuss is sophisticated and so rich in detail that after no matter how many listens it never gets old. When Richard D James puts these compositions together, he clearly spends more time on them than his other music, and as such they don't feel rushed with an urge to express as Steinvord's tracks do. I could believe they're Squarepusher's though.

I'm turning into a terrible venetian snares fanboy. I notice him being spoken of and follow the conversation until someone mentions something I dislike, then I think fuck you, write an angry reply, run out of steam, and don't post it. I agree his music sounds like it's on autopilot a lot of the time, but that's what makes it so effective. I feel like both richard devine and steinvord, and squarepusher as well, are too technically minded and can never create an 'intense sonic assault' that feels like it's happening in the moment. You sense the build up, you sense where it's going. Venetian Snares' music just hits you. Of all the electronic artists around creating music as detailed as his, none of his music to me sounds overly technical or detached, in the same way datach'i, otto von schirach, xanopticon does. You know when you hear music where the artist feels every note, feels the music to the extent that it's like oxygen to them, and if they don't feel it, you don't and it's not as engaging. Venetian Snares' music to me does not sound like it's created by a nerd who is obsessed and anal about detail. It's music made by someone who wants to recreate the ecstatic rush of taking drugs (aaron funk wrote a piece on making orange things where he said all he did for weeks on end was take cocaine, fall asleep, wake up, then try to recreate the rush he felt). He doesn't get bogged down in detail because he's not interested in indulging in it. He uses it to form as an element to create the rush. His music has a propulsion and forcefulness that all those artists lack. I think venetian snares is as musically inclined as u-ziq, luke vibert, aphex twin, he shares their sense of humour, their prolific nature, their lack of pretension. With added ADD.

I actually like that pitchfork Untilted review because the music is so absurd and funny and baffling in how full-on, uncompromising, inflexible and just completely impenetrable it initially is that it does really provoke an almost hysterical schizophrenic reaction like that. I think it's fitting for the album. The reviewer acknowledges this and at least provides an honest defence of their their music. i think that's true. And I don't think this is pretentious. I find gushing praise of Oversteps on here pretty cringe worthy, I'm not going to find examples though. Here's something else, oversteps review from amazon someone else on oversteps from amazon

I love this album, it's amazing. It's not quite like anything else I've heard before. I think it's his best album. It's the sound of pineapples mixed with Twisted Metal. The sound design is just hard to describe. It has boundless energy, it's itchy, tetchy. All his music is kind of straight forward and soft (but lush), whereas this is a genuine deviation into more weird antagonistic territory. I think it'll remain fresh for me years from now. I think it's a minor masterpiece of sorts, and definitely underrated. It's better than most Venetian Snares albums.

My hatred of oversteps is such that I find myself reading through peoples lists and thinking; if they've put that mellow bored turd of an album above any of their genuinely incredible albums then they must not actually like Autechre and should just spend more time in the Plaid forum. Basically, you're not allowed to like oversteps more than LP5, Draft 7.30, Confield, Chiastic Slide, Quaristice and Untilted.

Untilted Confield Chiastic Slide LP5 Draft 7.30 Quaristice Amber Tri Repetae Incunabula Oversteps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijE5TY9k3u8

I go back to Hospitality because the track Hospitality melts my brain. I watched him live in February this year and he just played jungle-y stuff from My So Called Life and Detrimentalist before using the set to wreck the ears of everyone with angry noise. Had he played Hospitality at the end it would have been amazing. Winter in the Belly of a Snake gets better with every listen i think. I like the transitional and short ambient tracks. I think like Aphex Twin with the RDJ album (and after), he just started and then didn't stop making full-on pop tracks and nearly every release seems to be just 10 of these. I'd like him to make more of an 'album' like WITBOAS and go darker and more oblique.