Jump to content
IGNORED

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


Joyrex

Recommended Posts

you've mentioned the autechre effect before (where people dislike the newest record but then like it once the next one is out), but what do you make of the fact that, even over time, there is intense disagreement among your fans about the quality of your works? of course, it's no surprise that people disagree in matters of taste, but it seems particularly pronounced in your case, like if you look at the ranking threads around here you'll have two people who count themselves as hardcore ae fans, but one thinks confield is the best album ever made and the other thinks it is unlistenable garbage. is this just normal difference in taste, or is there something about your music that lends itself to these different reactions? do you two ever disagree strongly about whether some track or album of yours is good?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you ever checked out some of the electroacoustic/acousmatic concerts at the University of Manchester with their 24+ channel "MANTIS" sound system?



They do some pretty amazing things with aural images and spatial counterpoint. The music coming out of there is quite gestural, but still really taps into cross-modal perception in a meaningful way, if one's listening skills and attention span are up for it.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, guess I should check watmm more often - can't believe I'm so late to the thread!

 

RE:Valis, what Wilson & Dick experienced actually happened to me as well. I've told the story on here before, years ago, but when I was in the hospital receiving chemotherapy I used to practise self-hypnosis as a way of dealing with the crippling nausea. This would usually result in me falling asleep, but one time I left my body & found myself in what appeared to be a spaceship. There were 2 people there who conversed with me & explained what they were doing to me. Unfortunately I can't recall our entire conversation but I do remember them making me feel very welcome. After introductions they asked me if I wanted to meet their "pilot" - a sentient computer housed in a basketball-sized sphere. They told me to look into a laser aperture, which is how the computer would communicate with me. Once I did so, I got the image of a woman with the head of an eagle, which I believe was the computer's image of herself. She "downloaded" all of my thoughts instantaneously; I'm not sure if any information was sent my way, as all I remember of the experience is a blistering rush of imagery. I didn't see the people on the ship after that - I returned to my body & woke up shortly thereafter, feeling very convinced that it was not a dream.

 

I didn't tell anyone about the experience for years (except for one online friend) until I read The Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson, where he mentions a spaceship piloted by a hawk-headed man (I still think it's a woman) who beams people with a red laser & calls itself SPECTRA. There's also mention of a robotic voice that called kids in the 50's and convinced them to become scientists. Naturally, I was excited to learn that other people have "met" the computer & started telling people what had happened to me.

 

So, my questions are: have you ever heard of this happening to anyone, besides reading about it in Valis & The Cosmic Trigger? Also, do you think the ship's passengers are humans from the future, or from another star system (I've heard people say they're from the Pleiades).

 

Thanks for reading, and Rob - I appreciate you tagging my Confield poster!

i don't know anyone in person who's experienced this, sounds brilliant. i've had friends experience UFOs thats about it really.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Sean & Rob,

 

firstly thank you for the music (said in the ABBA way)!

 

Two questions and already thanks for giving answers, clues, ideas and thoughts.

 

1. I really like the Hafler Trio collabs you made. They show you at a tonal different scale and drone-related. I wonder what the exact idea was- who reprocessed the material in each step or were your side and the one by Andrew made indepent from each other?

Any light on that would be awesome if it does not destroy the magick of the releases itself.

 

2. I love your webcasts too, especially the 12h radio marathon you made. I only have a rip in shoddy 128kbps, is there a way to get a 320kbps copy of that? I am an audiophile so at least a decent copy would be highly welcome.

 

Thanks for the chance to ask you, closing with a little request for Rob: I have a SK-1 casio, using it oldstyle for rhythms and weird sounds, would you please name it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I stated in another thread spl9 was the hardest track you've done since gantz graf, would you agree or is there unreleased Ae that would prove me wrong?

 

What question from interviewers really gets under your skin?

 

What is your opinion on SAW 85-92?

 

Last video game you played?

 

yeah there are way harder tracks we didn't release

just been talking about one today funnily enough

 

i like most of 85-92 a lot

 

last game i played was tempest on atari anthology on iphone

still not sure about the controls but i wasn't near a computer so it'll do

 

 

 

edit: i wasn't avoiding that q2 my brain stopped me from reading it, hmm

 

well - i'm past the point where it actually bothers me but the whole 'how do you usually make a track?' thing got old pretty fast

Edited by Sean Ae
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Well, guess I should check watmm more often - can't believe I'm so late to the thread!

 

RE:Valis, what Wilson & Dick experienced actually happened to me as well. I've told the story on here before, years ago, but when I was in the hospital receiving chemotherapy I used to practise self-hypnosis as a way of dealing with the crippling nausea. This would usually result in me falling asleep, but one time I left my body & found myself in what appeared to be a spaceship. There were 2 people there who conversed with me & explained what they were doing to me. Unfortunately I can't recall our entire conversation but I do remember them making me feel very welcome. After introductions they asked me if I wanted to meet their "pilot" - a sentient computer housed in a basketball-sized sphere. They told me to look into a laser aperture, which is how the computer would communicate with me. Once I did so, I got the image of a woman with the head of an eagle, which I believe was the computer's image of herself. She "downloaded" all of my thoughts instantaneously; I'm not sure if any information was sent my way, as all I remember of the experience is a blistering rush of imagery. I didn't see the people on the ship after that - I returned to my body & woke up shortly thereafter, feeling very convinced that it was not a dream.

 

I didn't tell anyone about the experience for years (except for one online friend) until I read The Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson, where he mentions a spaceship piloted by a hawk-headed man (I still think it's a woman) who beams people with a red laser & calls itself SPECTRA. There's also mention of a robotic voice that called kids in the 50's and convinced them to become scientists. Naturally, I was excited to learn that other people have "met" the computer & started telling people what had happened to me.

 

So, my questions are: have you ever heard of this happening to anyone, besides reading about it in Valis & The Cosmic Trigger? Also, do you think the ship's passengers are humans from the future, or from another star system (I've heard people say they're from the Pleiades).

 

Thanks for reading, and Rob - I appreciate you tagging my Confield poster!

i don't know anyone in person who's experienced this, sounds brilliant. i've had friends experience UFOs thats about it really.

 

Yeah, I've yet to meet anyone else who's had this happen.. I keep hoping to though! It definitely changed my life for the better, & I believe it gave me motivation to beat cancer. Cheers for the reply!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re the 07 sets............... LOVE the "au-te-chre" rising vocal near the start. It's so perfect................. How did it come about? an Improv moment by one of you or a conscious banging way to start a gig?

 

Its no secret Aphex and Squrepusher are rated similarily with yourselves ......and they have done the same thing, sort of. Coincidence? A nod to that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's pretty clear that compact cassettes played an essential part in your early work.

 

- I was wondering how you felt about the slow but steady revival of cassette tapes recently, both as a release format and as a recording aesthetic...do you find it interesting or intriguing or perhaps just a bit gimmicky?

 

- Has digital technology completely superseded your interest in tape as a recording format...is it a "good riddance" sort of perspective for either of you?

 

I ask because many producers have used magnetic tape to very deliberately shape the sound of their work recently, or completely gone with lo-fi and cheap analog equipment to make their music:

 

Couple examples:

 

 

 

http://youtu.be/d6mq_FJYfEk

 

- Do either of you return to analog or obsolete digital formats (DAT, old sequencers) very often anymore? Or is something you've moved on from?

 

- Finally, any particularly beloved mixtapes or prerecorded cassettes in your collection, particularly from the 1980s when you both started making music?

 

Last set of questions from me, thanks again for doing this!

Edited by joshuatx
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The hembsy pontins set sounds like the Glasgow arts-chool set (2007) but put through an "autechreizor"........I mean its more twisted and glitchier.

 

Was this a sound system thing. hardware thing or both?

 

..............and do you listen to your past live shows like "we do"?

 

I drive an hour to work each way every day and your sets are bloody perfect especially on a cold winters evening!

hardware was essentially the same - slightly newer incarnations, and the set rewritten to some extent. also i remember the hems by being one of the first few of that later kind - more unknown quantity vs tests, whereas the glasgow was deeper within the earlier tour - more experience vs more recklessness mbe

 

- zest bar (deodorized soap)

Was it good? I haven't taken the plunge yet, but some of these scented/deodorized non-edible items smell so good I am tempted to take a bite thinking it would taste as good. Which it probably doesn't. :(

 

no it doesn't but you'll never forget it !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do you rate Die Antwoord? They had a video interview, in which Ninja made a big deal about buying Oversteps which was at the time your latest album (he also made a big deal about buying every single Aphex Twin CD). What do you make of that? Do you think he's just a fan?

 

Do you like any Christmas music? If so, name a few tunes?

 

The development in os veix at around 1:41 is really nice, and sounds a bit more classical than your tracks are usually. Any memories about how that happened? It kinda reminds me of Amber, specifically Further.

 

st epreo kind of sounds like when you're chewing a really chewy piece of meat and it just don't break apart (someone on here mentioned that and I cannot unhear it). Did you intend st epreo to call forward any particular experiences or emotions?

 

 

i dunno i like watching their videos but i don't think i'd ever sit there and play a track by them

i thought it was the producer guy who bought oversteps, maybe i just remembered it wrong

 

that mcartney one with the synths on, i mean it's fucking terrible but it's kind of sonically pleasing somehow

 

was just an accident

 

not really, altho it was slightly inspired by some of daim's stuff (i dunno what they're called but they look like explosions or like the sea)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

well - i'm past the point where it actually bothers me but the whole 'how do you usually make a track?' thing got old pretty fast

 

 

here's a high ball then. what comedians do you rate?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, hope I'm not abusing my question count but here's a somewhat more banal one.

 

When you work with FM with a sine carrier, at lower modulator levels there's some juicy stuff going on but the carrier sine is very audible, which can be annoying. I've tried adding an inverted sine to this and it doesn't seem to work, probably something to do with the relative amplitude chaning. Of course you could use a skinny/steep (e.g. Butterworth) notch filter and just carve it out, but that can remove some nice harmonics close to the carrier frequency. It seems like there's a more elegant solution. Any ideas you're willing to share?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Favourite keyboard demo? (mine is this) -

 

 

i really want george michael to do a gig with this

 

i don't have any faves the only casios we had were an sk1 and an sk5 and i can only rem the demo on the sk1

it was shit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Sean & Rob,

 

firstly thank you for the music (said in the ABBA way)!

 

Two questions and already thanks for giving answers, clues, ideas and thoughts.

 

1. I really like the Hafler Trio collabs you made. They show you at a tonal different scale and drone-related. I wonder what the exact idea was- who reprocessed the material in each step or were your side and the one by Andrew made indepent from each other?

Any light on that would be awesome if it does not destroy the magick of the releases itself.

 

2. I love your webcasts too, especially the 12h radio marathon you made. I only have a rip in shoddy 128kbps, is there a way to get a 320kbps copy of that? I am an audiophile so at least a decent copy would be highly welcome.

 

Thanks for the chance to ask you, closing with a little request for Rob: I have a SK-1 casio, using it oldstyle for rhythms and weird sounds, would you please name it?

 

 

Bezel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the oldest thing you own?

ooh good question

but I'm not telling

 

edit: actually i can tell u cos i just realised it's not what i thought it was

 

a first edition of 'the power of sound' by edmund gurney

Edited by Sean Ae
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i don't have any faves the only casios we had were an sk1 and an sk5 and i can only rem the demo on the sk1

it was shit

Though the drums on the SK-1 were wild:

 

 

The Gasman ( Christopher Reeves ) seems to use them lots back in his early stuff...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

well - i'm past the point where it actually bothers me but the whole 'how do you usually make a track?' thing got old pretty fast

 

 

here's a high ball then. what comedians do you rate?

 

 

stew lee, louis ck

daniel kitson sometimes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.