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

[Guest Nimhbus]

Cool.

 

and :

 

what do you drive?

 

heh.

[triachus]

Can you guys talk about Zurich 2001? It seems many people don't like that one. Why did you decide to add this very short, slightly muddy sounding live track as a Japanese bonus track?

[Rob Ae]

i forgot...

 

on my copy of exai, on back, the L in FLeure is uppercase. meanwhile on bleep it's lowercase, "Fleure". Have you changed the L on bleep because the name sounded too much like it made in FLstudio? (lol) i'm asking because your track names were always easy to catalog and tag until this.

oops

[Guest Roksen Creek]

 

Hi Sean & Rob,

 

Paul Morley has an interesting theory that some band names are so great that they shape the music of the act ; that the band live up to their name, their name somehow gives them their sound, their aura. He was, of course, referring to Joy Division - suggesting that after they changed from Warsaw to JD, the name lifted them, they couldn't not live up to it.

 

Is Autechre one of these names? Certainly it's the most incredible label for your music, but when you found it , did you think it made sense of what you were doing, in some way?

 

Excuse me if that's bollocks, that's what you get for reading Morley.

 

nah i like it, he knows the power of words

partly his fault i got into all this shit to begin with

 

but yeah we had that title for ages (it was a lego feet track) and it just really stood out as a potent word, it was at least a year before we started using it as a name so we kind of knew by then that it was good

Is it true that you chose "au" because there was an au sound in the track, and then you randomly crunched a few keys on the keyboard to get "techre"?

 

Or is that one of those things on the internets I shouldn't believe?

[joseph]

I notice that some of the tracks on Draft have a "latin" or "spanish" feeling, like the light metallic-sounding rhythm that comes in on Surripere before the Whacks and Thuds, and parts of Kidney Bean. By design or is that just the Torero in me??

[plastic]

 

 

Not sure if you guys caught this one...

Hi guys!

 

Thank you for answering so many of these questions. In particular, I've really liked the advice for people making music which basically seems to be, "Do what feels right." It's something that I've thought numerous times before, but after a time tend to forget until I get reminded or think of it again. It's been especially difficult to remember this recently, since I've been trying to insert myself into the electronic scene here in Portland, OR where it seems that venues only want a certain type of music and I feel like I need to sound a certain way to get "in" with the people that make booking decisions. So thanks for reminding me, yet again. :)

 

My question is: Do you have any advice on how to get into playing shows in an environment that seems mostly closed off (even almost allergic to it, it seems) from anything that's the least bit experimental? Like, I've given my material to bookers/promoters, and they dig it, but don't want it played at their venues. It's quite a bit frustrating. I think you mentioned something about this weird-sameness going on in Europe right now, too.

 

I actually have another question, but maybe a little selfish. Will you listen to a few of my tracks and tell me what you think? I can PM some links.

 

Thanks again for inspiration, and awesome music!

 

dunno if were much use in getting u in any scenes in the US. they'd run a mile if u told them u even asked us.

 

just post yr links up here, no need to pm

 

Ha! I wouldn't presume to ask you to be getting me in any scenes anywhere, really. I guess I was just wondering how you two went about entering an environment of music that wasn't prepared (for lack of a better word) for something as out there as your stuff probably was in the beginning. Not that a lot of my stuff is as experimental as a lot of stuff you do.

 

Anyway, here's a few links for your perusal. Feel free to be brutal:

http://delyria.bandcamp.com/track/point-of-impact

http://delyria.bandcamp.com/track/semicircle-2

http://delyria.bandcamp.com/track/temp-wash-incidental-3

http://delyria.bandcamp.com/track/psych-terrain

 

A few albums at http://delyria.bandcamp.com/

[Rob Ae]

Yo. you (sean) mentioned having used renoise in the past. Did you use it for a long time or was it just for a short period of time? Have u used any other trackers like openMPT? Could u please name some tracks that you've released that were made in trackers (if any)?

 

and rob, have u used renoise at all also?

 

thanks!!

yeah, its super slick, and retains that DIY vibe. kind of reminds me of a software ITT (military looking') radio i had when i was a kid.

[Sean Ae]

a few random bits:

 

- favourite character/moment in Lost (if you watched the series?)

 

- favourite Yoda scene in any SW movie?

 

- C. Nolan's or T. Burton's Batman?

 

- Brave New World or 1984?

 

- Favourite type of beer (ale, lager, stout, etc)?

 

- Could you recommend a dessert featuring banana and chocolate?

 

er hurley probably, at least he's the one i'd be most likely to hang out with

 

the meeting scene when luke doesn't know who he is and yoda's trolling the shit out of him

 

burton's (sorry but that first burton film was ace when it came out, i know it seems a bit shit now)

nolan's are like, not serious enough to be seen as serious. they could have been a million times more serious imo. bane was shit as well, sounded like a bad impression of patrick mcgoohan

 

brave new world

 

ipa or ale, but I'm not much into beer, its alright

 

i don't know any but i dunno maybe i just don't think the tastes compliment that well

Edited November 6, 2013 by Sean Ae

[Ninjatron]

I've been using Reaktor for a few years now and find it hard to leave cause it's got a very nifty randomize 1-100% button. I'm getting tired of being stuck at my computer all day though. There any good beginner piece of hardware that would enable me to get the depth and randomization ability? You guys ever mess around with any Reaktor ensembles?

[Rob Ae]

 

 

Hi Sean & Rob,

 

Paul Morley has an interesting theory that some band names are so great that they shape the music of the act ; that the band live up to their name, their name somehow gives them their sound, their aura. He was, of course, referring to Joy Division - suggesting that after they changed from Warsaw to JD, the name lifted them, they couldn't not live up to it.

 

Is Autechre one of these names? Certainly it's the most incredible label for your music, but when you found it , did you think it made sense of what you were doing, in some way?

 

Excuse me if that's bollocks, that's what you get for reading Morley.

nah i like it, he knows the power of words

partly his fault i got into all this shit to begin with

 

but yeah we had that title for ages (it was a lego feet track) and it just really stood out as a potent word, it was at least a year before we started using it as a name so we kind of knew by then that it was good

Is it true that you chose "au" because there was an au sound in the track, and then you randomly crunched a few keys on the keyboard to get "techre"?

 

Or is that one of those things on the internets I shouldn't believe?

 

well yeah, and the atari only held 8 char. so it might've turned out autechredwads or something if not for that.

[doublename]

If you were an MI5 agent who had to use IDMz to torture a possible terrorist, whose music would you use?

 

Oh, and thanks for the many years of wicked tunes.

[Sean Ae]

I notice that some of the tracks on Draft have a "latin" or "spanish" feeling, like the light metallic-sounding rhythm that comes in on Surripere before the Whacks and Thuds, and parts of Kidney Bean. By design or is that just the Torero in me??

 

yeah i think i have a slight predilection for it

no idea why tho

[Rob Ae]

I've been using Reaktor for a few years now and find it hard to leave cause it's got a very nifty randomize 1-100% button. I'm getting tired of being stuck at my computer all day though. There any good beginner piece of hardware that would enable me to get the depth and randomization ability? You guys ever mess around with any Reaktor ensembles?

that button! lol

 

what do want random for anyway?

 

is elektrons beginner? anyone? help me out watmm - ae are on other planets now

 

no i haven't

[plastic]

 

 

Not sure if you guys caught this one...

Hi guys!

 

Thank you for answering so many of these questions. In particular, I've really liked the advice for people making music which basically seems to be, "Do what feels right." It's something that I've thought numerous times before, but after a time tend to forget until I get reminded or think of it again. It's been especially difficult to remember this recently, since I've been trying to insert myself into the electronic scene here in Portland, OR where it seems that venues only want a certain type of music and I feel like I need to sound a certain way to get "in" with the people that make booking decisions. So thanks for reminding me, yet again. :)

 

My question is: Do you have any advice on how to get into playing shows in an environment that seems mostly closed off (even almost allergic to it, it seems) from anything that's the least bit experimental? Like, I've given my material to bookers/promoters, and they dig it, but don't want it played at their venues. It's quite a bit frustrating. I think you mentioned something about this weird-sameness going on in Europe right now, too.

 

I actually have another question, but maybe a little selfish. Will you listen to a few of my tracks and tell me what you think? I can PM some links.

 

Thanks again for inspiration, and awesome music!

 

ah yeah

i mean it's tricky man i don't wanna fuck up your whole career by saying make weird tracks, but if that's what comes naturally then i'm inclined to say do that

 

all depends on what you're trying to achieve

 

i dunno how much time i can give to listening to demos tho soz, i don't wanna open the floodgates

 

I completely understand about the floodgates... so, no worries.

[Sean Ae]

If you were an MI5 agent who had to use IDMz to torture a possible terrorist, whose music would you use?

 

Oh, and thanks for the many years of wicked tunes.

 

oh, i think i'd make some for the purpose

[Soloman Tump]

So do you guys fancy doing WATMM Secret Santa this year?
PM me your addresses* and i'll stick you in the mix!

 

 

_{*obv will not divulge addresses to anyone. Or send me a forwarding address or PO box or whatever. Would be cool for everyone involved though and you might even get something wicked back!}

[Guest ZombieLincoln666]

beginner hardware:

[xox]

 

 

 

I've noticed some of your tracks have this intense, paranoid kind of mood (e.g. Ipacial Section, Pencha, Dial). Are there any particular kinds of moods/atmospheres that make you feel accomplished by having woven them into a track? Or is there something else about the act of putting emotion into sound that you tend to aim for?

 

Basically, what is your ideal victory when finishing a track?

 

i dunno they're all different

 

>>> we don't really aim for anything we just see what reveals itself over time

a bit like having a conversation with reality

 

 

 

i think u just accidentally answered to my overly complicated question about objectivity in art

so after all i guess it is like i thought/hoped it is with u guys.

[delet...]

Because he's a newb and because he had to do it sometime. Jev, read the bloody rules.

 

Thankyou.

[awepittance]

 

I've been using Reaktor for a few years now and find it hard to leave cause it's got a very nifty randomize 1-100% button. I'm getting tired of being stuck at my computer all day though. There any good beginner piece of hardware that would enable me to get the depth and randomization ability? You guys ever mess around with any Reaktor ensembles?

that button! lol

 

what do want random for anyway?

 

is elektrons beginner? anyone? help me out watmm - ae are on other planets now

 

no i haven't

 

elektrons are great for what he's talking about doing in Reaktor, but without a computer you wouldn't be able to get the random he was referring to. Elektron's have out of the box hundreds of automatable CC values, something like a reaktor front-end for this would enable you to random as many or as little parameters as you want, but I guess this would defeat the purpose since he's still using a computer. All the real-time automation and parameter locks on the Elektron would probably be right up his alley though, not 'random' but highly tweakable

Edited November 6, 2013 by John Ehrlichman

[Sean Ae]

 

 

 

 

So, Lars von Trier approaches you and asks you to redo some existing tracks (I'm thinking Five Obstructions here). What in your opinion would be the five rules that'd make you go "Aw for fuck's sake man!"? :D

 

Actually let's say, one of the obstructions is to (re)do a track on a player piano only. Maybe two - one normal player piano and one prepared.

 

Liking all the Ae music and thanking you once again for this opportunity, max respect.

 

nah i'd just tell him to fuck off and stop making shit films

 

 

I would not. I have heard he is psychically/mentally ill. I have understanding for his imaginations and needs that he realize in his films. I mean I don't enjoy what he does (I am not into films too much) but I respect his problems.

 

oh right so no one can tell him how shit his films are

explains a lot

 

 

No, that wasn't what I meant. I mean, I would tell him politely that it's not my cup of tea. I mean, I can fuck off somebody that makes shitty films just for money and is motivated only by fame and greed (although you can argue those can be defined as psychical problems too). You know what I mean.

 

 

yep

[Ninjatron]

that button! lol

 

what do want random for anyway?

 

is elektrons beginner? anyone? help me out watmm - ae are on other planets now

 

no i haven't

Perhaps random is the wrong word. That makes me think of those TOTALLY RANDO AUTECHRE MAX MSP videos you find on YouTube of a max patch farting out some junk. I'm thinking of controlled mutations rather. Jam that button a few times, get some alien squelching, then go in and tweak that beast to my liking. It feels slot like traveling in a light speed rocket in all different directions... You don't know what you're gonna find but that 0.00001% chance you find something interesting it's gonna be awesome and totally unique Edited November 6, 2013 by Maxwell

[triachus]

I've found out in this thread you guys have once performed with Fennesz. I'm guessing there are no recordings of it?

 

Also found this: http://autechre.net.ua/en/articles/article11.htm

 

What year was that? How did it that you guys performed together, who contacted who?

 

You said playing with him "went well". Is there a chance you guys might ever do something like that again? Or a collaborated album? Maybe just 1 track even? Fennesz is quite the collaboration beast.

 

*pushes it to the limit*

[Sean Ae]

 

that button! lol

 

what do want random for anyway?

 

is elektrons beginner? anyone? help me out watmm - ae are on other planets now

 

no i haven't

Perhaps random is the wrong word. That makes me think of those TOTALLY RANDO AUTECHRE MAX MSP videos you find on YouTube of a max patch farting out some junk. I'm thinking of controlled mutations rather. Jam that button a few times, get some alien squelching, then go in and tweak that beast to my liking. It feels slot like traveling in a light speed rocket in all different directions... You don't know what you're gonna find but that 0.00001% chance you find something interesting it's gonna be awesome and totally unique

 

u ever played with synplant?

it's well basic but the way it works is good fun, for about 10 minutes

[Rob Ae]

 

that button! lol

 

what do want random for anyway?

 

is elektrons beginner? anyone? help me out watmm - ae are on other planets now

 

no i haven't

Perhaps random is the wrong word. That makes me think of those TOTALLY RANDO AUTECHRE MAX MSP videos you find on YouTube of a max patch farting out some junk. I'm thinking of controlled mutations rather. Jam that button a few times, get some alien squelching, then go in and tweak that beast to my liking. It feels slot like traveling in a light speed rocket in all different directions... You don't know what you're gonna find but that 0.00001% chance you find something interesting it's gonna be awesome and totally unique

 

u mean a button that moves all parameters a bit more. 1-100. yeah ok that is diff a bit, but what if your really close to something quite good, and u press that, u may never find what u were after - and be further from it than b4. we call that 'pot' luck