AAA - Ask Autechre Anything - Sean and Rob on WATMM!

[Guest InSpectr]

which way do you recommend to young musicians:

create your own label

upload your tracks on Bandcamp

or send a demo on Warp, etc. ?

[Rob Ae]

 

 

 

The strangest thing I have ever encountered during one of your pitch-dark shows was that I bumped into a guy wearing a hotdog costume.

 

 

 

Are there any strange/weird/interesting/fun events/encounters that happened during one of your shows that you are willing to share, or was my encounter as crazy as it ever got?

 

Yesterdays unanswered question that I'm trying to push again. Shamelessly.

 

 

edit: ok, with a little shame.

 

sean pls

 

 

I'm shamelessly at it again

 

 

Doesn't have to be the most crazy thing ever, just some things from the top of your head. Do all stories involve with the audience setting their hands on fire as tribute?

 

weeellll,

 

there was this one time

 

during a inexplicable smart bar trend at a show by warp/mushroom records in AU (early 90s). i was being handed caffeine heavy smart drinks all day, and as we got up to the gear and just started at the end of the night, it all kicked off and knowing whats next i scanned for some water bottles. emptied one all over the floor then tried to puke into it really discreetly, but it just flew into the bottle and right back out vertically and hit the roof cos the bottle was only like 25cl. lucky the velocity was so high that none stuck to my face and i carried on.

[Guest Adam]

it's my birthday so could you name my old shitty laptop. the screen aint working and it has no keyboard if it helps to think of anything.

[gl0tch]

In addition to my previous questions, who are some of your favorite visual artists, living or deceased, digital or traditional?

[Friendly Foil]

You should release a book containing these short stories. They're quite good. It'd be a best-seller.

[Guest Dematchou]

Something I always found intriguing was the way you talk about the use of space.

For ages I associated that with the use of like timbre and dynamics to create like imagery of external spaces, but I always got a weird vibe from Quaristice, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I think what it represents to me is more of an internal or perceptive space, almost with like dissociative or solipistic feeling, like the way when you're having an internal dialogue with yourself and it almost exists in its own sort of space. 90101-5l-l is probably the track I get that feeling from the most, IO is another.

"bladelores" from Exai gives me almost the opposite feeling, where it feels very much like an external space (I always imagine like Antarctica for some reason).

Not saying that it's like an intentional part of your design or anything, but do you ever pay any thought to that kind of thing when you're listening to music yourselves? Sorry if that came across as vague or abstract, it's kind of hard to translate into words.

[olo]

 

Rob & Sean,

 

I know nothing of your personal lives, but, like, you guys sitting in your respective homes, answering a bunch of questions from fanboys & girls for most of the day, the past several days.

 

Aren't your wives/girlfriends like "awwright, can you like fix the damn running toilet, get the kids to school, go pick up some milk & cream, take out the trash, for christ sake, do something besides tappity, tap, tapping on your laptops!!!"???

 

or

 

"Oh, you're on watmm dear, let me top off your tea & fluff that pillow...carry on love."?

 

Don't get me wrong, you guys are f'ing champs for doing what your doing, but aren't you like bored yet?

lol

 

"...carry on love"

 

i fluff my own pillows thnx

 

Seriously though, in deeper context, you guys have spent several days on watmm. You realise now, watmm has slowly crept into some synapses & implanted itself in you. There is no going back I fear. After this experiment is over, you'll go back to your kickass lives, but days will pass. Maybe weeks or months. But, you'll be compelled to come back, you won't know why, but you will post here again. Slowly but surely swallowed into the bowels of watmm.

 

You will post threads about goatse. You will ponder the true meanings of heat or night. Threads about RDJ's next release will consume you. You will one day be like "who the fuck really was CUP?"

 

I pray for you.

 

on a side note, when you guys blow through Detroit again, you should find a way to do a guerilla set at the old packard plant. The Autechre sounds will draw in bald white dudes, (some German, some Polish), and the scrappers already in the plant will have some working music. Would be damn mental.

 

Holla when you guys come through. Again, cheers for helping me waste my days at work in this thread.

[Rob Ae]

In addition to my previous questions, who are some of your favorite visual artists, living or deceased, digital or traditional?

moebius, druillet, steina & woody vasulka, gary larson

[th555]

 

Hi there!

 

I am part of a musical collective that have met monthly for five+ years. Each time dinner is shared and each participants musical (well, more or less) contribution is presented and scrutinised according to a 'dogm'.

 

The dogm could be like... Make music for this one minute mov clip or use 1 sec sampled voices only or FM synthesis. Often constraints.

 

My question: since we have passed dogma no 55 we now sometimes have problems finding a new and inspiring dogm.

What would you find to be an interesting dogm to force you out of your comfort zone?

have you tried 'only ceramics' , thats a material I've always liked for many reasons

 

The percussion in Krib is ceramics?

[azatoth]

Would you say that one of you tend to contribute more on, lets say the beats, while the other on something else. Or do you both do a bit of everything and there is no clear distinction on who does what.

[Guest WNS000]

 

There aren't too many examples of people remixing your music, is there a reason for this?

 

Would you consider releasing stems of tracks (new or old) so that fans could take a crack, or is that mostly tied up in the whole Warp thing?

 

we never have stems for things, not how we work at all

but anyway nah not really interested in remixes that much tbh

 

 

Amon Tobin remixed live some track from Tri Repetae if I am not mistaken.

[Rob Ae]

Something I always found intriguing was the way you talk about the use of space.

 

For ages I associated that with the use of like timbre and dynamics to create like imagery of external spaces, but I always got a weird vibe from Quaristice, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

 

I think what it represents to me is more of an internal or perceptive space, almost with like dissociative or solipistic feeling, like the way when you're having an internal dialogue with yourself and it almost exists in its own sort of space. 90101-5l-l is probably the track I get that feeling from the most, IO is another.

 

"bladelores" from Exai gives me almost the opposite feeling, where it feels very much like an external space (I always imagine like Antarctica for some reason).

 

Not saying that it's like an intentional part of your design or anything, but do you ever pay any thought to that kind of thing when you're listening to music yourselves? Sorry if that came across as vague or abstract, it's kind of hard to translate into words.

yeah i think i get u ,

 

i guess if yr going to be using reverb, and if we use our hearing to help us perceive space IRL then u obviously get these situations worth playing with.

[th555]

Any technical developments you guys are looking forward to?

[triachus]

 

 

 

 

The strangest thing I have ever encountered during one of your pitch-dark shows was that I bumped into a guy wearing a hotdog costume.

 

 

 

Are there any strange/weird/interesting/fun events/encounters that happened during one of your shows that you are willing to share, or was my encounter as crazy as it ever got?

 

Yesterdays unanswered question that I'm trying to push again. Shamelessly.

 

 

edit: ok, with a little shame.

 

sean pls

 

 

I'm shamelessly at it again

 

 

Doesn't have to be the most crazy thing ever, just some things from the top of your head. Do all stories involve with the audience setting their hands on fire as tribute?

 

weeellll,

 

there was this one time

 

during a inexplicable smart bar trend at a show by warp/mushroom records in AU (early 90s). i was being handed caffeine heavy smart drinks all day, and as we got up to the gear and just started at the end of the night, it all kicked off and knowing whats next i scanned for some water bottles. emptied one all over the floor then tried to puke into it really discreetly, but it just flew into the bottle and right back out vertically and hit the roof cos the bottle was only like 25cl. lucky the velocity was so high that none stuck to my face and i carried on.

 

 

did any hit audience members/sean?

[Guest burnibus]

Sean didn't realise you're into mtb.

 

If you ever fancy a ride up some hills in the peak district give me a shout. 30 mins from manc and I live there so know loads if good routes and pubs. Doubtful but im always looking for someone to bike with as I always go out on me tod.

[gmanyo]

What's the most exciting new thing you've learned recently about a way to make music? A new program, piece of hardware, technique, theory, etc.

 

Any cool techniques that you've used in the past that you're willing to share?

[Guest WNS000]

OK, cant edit my post anymore.

 

Amon Tobin remixed Doctrine live:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP6CiL66v3Y

 

What do you think about it guys?

[soma333]

gary larson

Yes!

[mcbpete]

Can you identify either (both ?) of these two lovely tracks that you've played in your previous autechre.ws shows -

 

http://www.ilovecubus.co.uk/pete/ae_unknown1.mp3

 

http://www.ilovecubus.co.uk/pete/ae_unknown2.mp3

[PlatrixECV]

Do you have any favorite places to travel, particularly those in the category of nature or historical.

 

Subpart - do any particular Autechre tracks evoke a specific place for you>

[Sean Ae]

 

which way do you recommend to young musicians:

create your own label

upload your tracks on Bandcamp

or send a demo on Warp, etc. ?

 

 

nah warp only signed like 2 or 3 bands off demos, ever

 

don't go to bandcamp unless you're already working it, only start your own label if you really want to run a label cos it eats your time

 

do live shows, make them memorable (and good obviously)

[Sean Ae]

Your process seems to be very organic and of-the-moment. Will you guys continue putting out Autechre material until you can't anymore or do you foresee an end to this at some point? (not implying that you should, I was merely curious. the thought of another 10-20 Autechre albums is a welcome one)

 

can't foresee an end

the music might change, i'm sure it will, but i don't reckon i'd ever stop. or at the very least - i'd never stop making things

[awepittance]

 

 

do you guys still feel highly respected by warp? it isn't like they've forgotten about you guys, afx, boc and other big players who have made them into what they are today?

do you get concerned about change of management at warp in the future and how this could impact your relations with them? i heard that plaid are unhappy with warp (read that in an interview) because as a label, they take such a big cut of the sales of records, that it is kind of grating on them now. i guess it might be different for your guys as you probably have a larger fan base than ed and andy?

on this tip I'll just quietly put this here

 

 

 

ah i see where you're going but tbh they always had weird things like coco steel and lovebomb or whatever

there's always been some things on warp we weren't hugely into, that's what labels are like

 

we approached them cos they seemed to be up for taking chances with artists, and we really liked lfo's and nightmares on wax's first albums

 

true, i was too vague, specifically what do you think about the shorts? Is this evidence that Warp is trying to go into some strange unsettling psycho sexual territory ? I only say this because of the recent Jackson and 0pn videos (have you seen?) so it made me think of the shorts.

[ascdi]

After the mention of the PMA-5 (trying to find the reference again in this massive thread—it drove an EP7 track, I think?), one popped up here on my local craigslist for cheap money. Do you recommend that I buy it? Seems like a pretty fun piece of gear, and somewhat elegant looking in a throwback way.

 

I commute a lot so it may be valuable for the "wowwing passers-by on the bus by caning it in my seat" factor alone.

 

I have previously owned a QY-10 (similar digi-junk `pocket` sequencer from Yamaha) and enjoyed it, if that helps to know.

 

 

EDIT: does one 'cane' a drum machine? Are Americans allowed to say 'caning'? Sorry I can't decide what kind of quotes to use. Thank you for your time

Edited November 5, 2013 by Ascdi

[Rob Ae]

Can you identify either (both ?) of these two lovely tracks that you've played in your previous autechre.ws shows -

 

http://www.ilovecubus.co.uk/pete/ae_unknown1.mp3

 

http://www.ilovecubus.co.uk/pete/ae_unknown2.mp3

rodelius

 

can't remember the other one, could it be paul lansky?