AE_Live 2022

[misuta Go]

For me it is a surprise how different the soundboard sounds than what I expected. I was at the Athens show and, the sound being quieter than it should be due to the fucking venue, I was hearing things that are there of course, but in completely different levels. For example, the part from 43:48 to 46 felt like a rave anthem to me. Here, the "rave" part is barely audible. Same for the last 20 minutes, I was hoping for a different headphone experience, but it stills kicks ass anyway.
By the way, I cut a loop from the bootleg recording to do this video loop just for fun. I finally have it now in full HD. It is the part in Athens live from 48:25 to 48:32:100 (attached).

Edited August 16, 2023 by misuta Go

[Scaramouche]

12 hours ago, jaderpansen said:

london b 20.00++ gives me dial vibes. proper fuck.

I can hear that. I keep hearing family resemblance throughout the sets - I always think of Left Blank around the 16:10 mark of Helsinki -  whether it's just reminiscent of earlier work, or actual links - NTS sessions - I don't think I've been this engaged with the live sets as I am now; not that I've not enjoyed the previous outings. Having been to the 2 Barbican sets helps, I have the context, something I was missing with AE_Live 2016/2018.

I had to take a break from 2022 after the initial frenzy, I've really enjoyed re-listening to NTS and 2016/2018 the last few of days. Both have really clicked now. 

Back on 2022 sets today, revisiting Helsinki at the moment. Will pick up Bergen again later this afternoon. 

Can't wait to get the chance to hear them live again. Tempted to see if I can get over to Dublin in October. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Scaramouche

[auxien]

[Stock]

To me the 2022 sets are peak Autechre, they sound both more complete and accessible than the other released live works. I have been going through them the past few days without it starting to feel like a chore. Currently giving Helsinki a listen, after Milan will be the only one missing. Athens was a wild beast, the ending especially is beautiful in this one.

[splesh]

3 minutes ago, Stock said:

To me the 2022 sets are peak Autechre, they sound both more complete and accessible than the other released live works. I have been going through them the past few days without it starting to feel like a chore. Currently giving Helsinki a listen, after Milan will be the only one missing. Athens was a wild beast, the ending especially is beautiful in this one.

I'll give Athens a whirl next, thanks

(and, so far having heard London B, Turin, and Milan, I'd echo your sentiments about the general sounds being more complete and accessible than onesix. Absolutely, things feel both more fleshed out and structured in ways that could more easily appeal to open minded people who hadn't heard the likes of Ae before or prefer a bit more cohesive, I guess would be the word. This mirrors how SIGN and PLUS are easier for some than elseq and NTS Sessions were.)

Edited August 16, 2023 by splesh

[Stock]

Yeah, I agree they have more of a SIGN/PLUS feel. By the way, I love the Sign-type synth they use mid set (in every set I've heard so far if I'm not mistaken), it really ties the studio and live material together.

That being said, I just finished listening to Helsinki and had a blast, maybe my favorite so far (beside London B which is just something else)

[thejewk]

The wet and squelchy sounds that lead into the last scratching section of London B are cum.

Cum.

[Alcofribas]

autechre - the sets 2022 by the brothers. 

you can tell they're using their "rig" or "the system" for these live sessions. very computer. max. msp. kenton controllers. mackie mixer. live. 

[Alcofribas]

sean walks across the stage to the table. applause. rob follows behind. again, applause (maybe this is continued applause, the crowd applauds this whole time for both brothers equally). the laptops are ready. sean presses the space bar and both screens light up. the system is activated. the rig is running. not much can be seen on stage, just the glow of two faces. british. but not "chavs." rob is drinking stella and soon is throwing up into a water bottle. sean is agitated as he had just been wrestling off stage. the beats are skipping all around. formant synthesis. the kick sounds like it has a .0000000001 millisecond delay on it which gives it that classic "ae sound." it kinda sounds like metal tubes are falling down a stairwell. occasionally the crowd hears liquid tones, more organic. rob seems to be doing not much at all but then we get a signature ae pad for approximately 80 seconds. there's so much emotion in this pad the crowd seems to be tearing up. i imagine myself in the crowd. the pad evokes memories of my grandma, a beach where the water meets the horizon at an ambiguous point, various blurred memories. i am disgruntled bc this feels too "boc." what's next, a sesame street sample? the sound of a child's laughter. sean seems to detect my exact feeling bc he presses a series of keys (i'm thinking F > Return > 5 > ^ > Return) and the beat becomes completely "fucked" and probably around 400bpm. everything is so fast it sounds like a ferrari (aka "lambo") going top speed underwater. there's a surreal atmosphere. i believe this is reverb. these guys must be using custom fx. the reverb makes it sound like there is a separate ae concert happening in the distance somewhere. you can't quite hear it but it's there, like a barely perceptible memory trying to break through. sean gets mad bc he hears someone in the audience saying "this is generative" so the set is cut short. rob seems confused and keeps typing on the keyboard. but sean has powered down the system. nothing can be heard. the lights turn back on. everyone looks around kinda like "woah wild mental wtf." the crowd shuffles out. rob is still clacking away at the keyboard. one wonders if he's trying to boot up the rig or if he's typing to his family back in the "uk."

Edited August 16, 2023 by Alcofribas

[NED]

o man

 

[Stock]

35 minutes ago, Alcofribas said:

sean walks across the stage to the table. applause. rob follows behind. again, applause (maybe this is continued applause, the crowd applauds this whole time for both brothers equally). the laptops are ready. sean presses the space bar and both screens light up. the system is activated. the rig is running. not much can be seen on stage, just the glow of two faces. british. but not "chavs." rob is drinking stella and soon is throwing up into a water bottle. sean is agitated as he had just been wrestling off stage. the beats are skipping all around. formant synthesis. the kick sounds like it has a .0000000001 millisecond delay on it which gives it that classic "ae sound." it kinda sounds like metal tubes are falling down a stairwell. occasionally the crowd hears liquid tones, more organic. rob seems to be doing not much at all but then we get a signature ae pad for approximately 80 seconds. there's so much emotion in this pad the crowd seems to be tearing up. i imagine myself in the crowd. the pad evokes memories of my grandma, a beach where the water meets the horizon at an ambiguous point, various blurred memories. i am disgruntled bc this feels too "boc." what's next, a sesame street sample? the sound of a child's laughter. sean seems to detect my exact feeling bc he presses a series of keys (i'm thinking F > Return > 5 > ^ > Return) and the beat becomes completely "fucked" and probably around 400bpm. everything is so fast it sounds like a ferrari (aka "lambo") going top speed underwater. there's a surreal atmosphere. i believe this is reverb. these guys must be using custom fx. the reverb makes it sound like there is a separate ae concert happening in the distance somewhere. you can't quite hear it but it's there, like a barely perceptible memory trying to break through. sean gets mad bc he hears someone in the audience saying "this is generative" so the set is cut short. rob seems confused and keeps typing on the keyboard. but sean has powered down the system. nothing can be heard. the lights turn back on. everyone looks around kinda like "woah wild mental wtf." the crowd shuffles out. rob is still clacking away at the keyboard. one wonders if he's trying to boot up the rig or if he's typing to his family back in the "uk."

Al-'chre-fribas

[t yst r]

My mind is always ready for new alcospeak, but is never quite prepared...

[danshoebridge]

19 hours ago, jaderpansen said:

london b 20.00++ gives me dial vibes. proper fuck.

I'm also getting Osla for N from the last 15mins.

The 'clanky' section from the other sets even reminds me a bit of Basscadet? 

[jaderpansen]

7 minutes ago, danshoebridge said:

I'm also getting Osla for N from the last 15mins.

Absolutely! Those differently tuned, 'cough-like' snares, right?

[d-a-m-o]

Currently enjoying London A last phase

[monoppus]

The idea of the ‘22 set being more accessible than the previous two AE_LIVE sets is quite humorous to me. Huge chunks of ‘22, heck most of it, sound like three or more songs being played at the same time. It’s taken me *a lot* of listens to Helsinki to start to form solid shapes in my mind with this slab of tunes. None of the circulating tapes helped, it seemed like un-bootlegable music.  The previous two live sets were virtually instantaneous comprehension on some level comparatively. For me.

Of course everyone hears and experiences things differently.

That said I am immensely enjoying these. All the work I put into Helsinki has paid off and everything is blooming with the added context of the other dates.

[auxien]

21 hours ago, jaderpansen said:

london b 20.00++ gives me dial vibes. proper fuck.

def a few sections in there calling back to the dial. vibe. as soon as it started my ears perked up like a dog.

ruff

[danshoebridge]

1 hour ago, monoppus said:

The idea of the ‘22 set being more accessible than the previous two AE_LIVE sets is quite humorous to me. Huge chunks of ‘22, heck most of it, sound like three or more songs being played at the same time. It’s taken me *a lot* of listens to Helsinki to start to form solid shapes in my mind with this slab of tunes. None of the circulating tapes helped, it seemed like un-bootlegable music.  The previous two live sets were virtually instantaneous comprehension on some level comparatively. For me.

Of course everyone hears and experiences things differently.

That said I am immensely enjoying these. All the work I put into Helsinki has paid off and everything is blooming with the added context of the other dates.

Same for me, there's large sections of this stuff I still find pretty unapproachable even after numerous listens.  That section from 27m to 46m in Helsinki for example is just 'difficult' on so many levels - atonal, aggressive, with very little to cling on to as it just keeps battering away.

But after that until the end of the set there's some of the absolute best stuff they've done since Exai.  It's crazy, psychedelic stuff, but strangely pleasant to listen to and it sounds entirely unlike anything else I can think of. 

Ditto the second half of the London B set - sounded pretty cool first time I heard it, but listening to it at 2am while baked was a revelation:  Crushing autechre hip-hop, constantly switching up, with a huge amount of melody buried in there.

I'm hoping the scarier parts eventually coalesce into something I find easier to listen to, but even if they never do there's some absolutely amazing ground-breaking stuff here.  I didn't enjoy the live show in person *at all* but listening at home with time to take it all in it works so much better. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by danshoebridge

[Stock]

To me it is a matter of sound design. The 22 live sets are incredibly busy, but they sound much more soothing to my ears than the AE_Live from 2014/2015. This is something that already struck me with Sign, which on the surface sounded a lot quieter than anything they had done since Oversteps, but at the same time felt very deep and complex. I don't know how but it's the first time I am so invested with their live output lol. Maybe the time has come to revisit Elseq/NTS/Onesix etc.

[neurone]

I somehow suspected AE to be part of the Gescom's AMKS session,

and, how the scratching parts sound like (london B last quarter), give me a clue towards this.

- great live sets, yes.  they're AcE .

Edited August 16, 2023 by neurone

[Alcofribas]

2 hours ago, danshoebridge said:

until the end of the set there's some of the absolute best stuff they've done since Exai.  It's crazy, psychedelic stuff, but strangely pleasant to listen to and it sounds entirely unlike anything else I can think of. 

aye brother. to me this section really shows ae in master mode, some truly gorgeous craftsmanship here. 

[Alcofribas]

1 hour ago, Stock said:

To me it is a matter of sound design.

yeah, I find these very soft and textural in a really new way for ae. it’s very…frothy and lush

[auxien]

London B was great, but not as multi-layered as the other sets so far* (i'm listening in order). it made for a more immediate experience, and the voices being sampled/scratched almost always goes a long way at making elusive and complex electronic music seem more human/connectable, in general...one of the later bits with voice samples struck me for a split second as familiar. def was a good to have a bit of a sidestep amongst the others...but that said, these have been surprisingly different so far. the 14/15 sets follow pretty regular paths for the 1st half or so and often in the 2nd half for bits and more. these (other than London B) have a lot in common of course, but feel a lot more...live. alive? expressive? amorphous? surprising? strong stuff. i liked a lot of the onesix sets but they were difficult to fall into, from a home listening perspective. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by auxien
*this is not a good or bad thing just an observation

[jaderpansen]

makes me super curious on which version they'll elaborate this year... if any rly: didn't sean say they're stitting on 6 hours worth of live set stuff or something?

also is it just me or is his visualizer tune sprinkled in these here n there? i mean this one:

 

[Boxus]

been really busy at work with the school year starting up and haven't had time to dig into these too deep yet but I had a really wonderful experience listening to London B. Helsinki never fully clicked with me but I'm excited to dip into the rest asap. I always take it slow with the live sets, I can't handle binging them.

The thing I've found challenging but also really exciting about these ones is just how flexible they are. Even more than the onesix sets which were really fluid, these just feel like they're bending and twisting and defying expectation all over the place. Hitting a sick groove then just stopping. Beat just disappears. Comes back. Disappears again? Incredible drills! But the tempo is drifting or something? And some weird pads glide in contrasting with the tuned percussion and the key seems like it's changed but maybe that's another layer I hadn't noticed before coming to the fore and revealing a microtonal depth that had been lurking beneath the surface all along? Wild shit, absolutely never sitting still.