elseq 1-5

[Nenlow66]

For a good time: compare the intro to M.J.'s "Beat It" with the intro to "Mesh Cinereal"...tones are very similar lol

[chartnok]

Yeah the osc is definitely similar sonically, but I'm guessing it's just a result of quite *how* raw the sound is, like pure saw (?) waves melting around

 

I think they could engineer their tracks a little better imo. Maybe it's just my ears 

[auxien]

TODAY I WILL REVIEW elseq 1

 

Paused feed1 at about 9 minutes and forgot, unpaused not thinking about what it was. Was a hell of a few seconds of confusion as my brain tried to reorient itself within the music. For the most part the track is good, just twice as long as it needs to be.

 

The bassy bouncy synthy line about 1:30 in c16 deep tread sure is cheeky as fuck ain't it though? About 7-8 minutes in reminds me of Osla for N. Whole track is a bit cheeky really, last minute or so is nice though.

 

13x0 step is pretty nice. Reverb is a little cheap/excessive though.

 

pendulu hv moda has some pretty interesting stuff going on rhythmically. Also sort of represents what I don't enjoy about most of elseq: it's got cool components, but just seems like it's missing something special. The turn at 3:00ish is nice. 7:15 turn is reasonably epic/dark weirdness. Like much of elseq, the last few minutes could've been shaved off and no one would've cried (swells at the end are okay but I dunno, it just all meanders out).

 

curvcaten is nearly unlistenable if it's not up loud. Good funk, and the riffage going on towards the end really does sound like a metal band or something. Mix is weird on this one, on lots of elseq they're doing amazing things sonically with the mix and control of sounds, then they do stuff that just seems silly, I guess they're having some fun with it? I dunno. I'm probably too serious. Love the choking to silence they do a few times though...again, doing some amazing stuff sonically. Just don't really get into the songs :/

 

 

BONUS:

 

 

Also there's this totally useless find. So they posted this HELLO, WORLD image on Tumblr/Instagram/etc. at the bleep store launch before AE_LIVE and elseq came out. If you do photoshop magic you'll see that there are shapes within the image. Amazing find, I know, blew the lid off the elseq mystery.

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by auxien

[mcbpete]

Damnit, was going to work the same photoshop tweaks over the other ones on their tumblr account but the rest are jpgs ...

[auxien]

TODAY I WILL REVIEW elseq 2

 

(and there's nothing you can do to stop me)

 

Like much of elseq, elyc6 0nset starts out reasonably enough.The bass is nice, the pads have a bit of EP7 (Netlon Sentinel) vibe to them. High glitchy shit is pretty boring/annoying after a while. It actually occured to me that maybe elyc6 is sorta the 'title track' of the album/s...el, soft c, six/seq...maybe. Anyway. 10 minutes in and the drums mostly drop out and you're like 'okay, cool, this is almost over now, i think, um, well, wait, so, yeah, uh, what's um, so is it over, that had to be it right, sure, yeah, well, um, oh, okay, so i guess, uh, yeah shit's getting weird ain't it?' And, uh, YEAH CHARLES IT'S GETTING WEIRD. Actually catchy synth line around 15 minutes in, then it gets into 'football game pep rally' drum beat time. Look at the time and it's 19 minutes in, I've been pretty bored for a while now tbh, just lots of goofy noises. It's fun or whatever but, yeah. Some interesting small moments start happening somewhere within the noise but they're just momentary. Life is fleeting. The drum line takes a break, 5 minutes left and it's all about to happen. Full on video game sounds are a bit better than expected, ultimately the tonal stuff here is nice. Too long.

 

Some nice pads but boring everything else gets chimer going. Sounds like leftover pads from Exai (runrepik or nodeshz?) but they're not bad. Whole track feels like a bit of an Exai b-side too, goofy drum sounds and beat, over the top melody lines. And it just kind of ends an that was that.

 

c7b2 starts out pretty nice. Dark, groovy, weird, has attitude. Reminds me a lot of spl9, in the sounds and in its riffing for a few bars, then changing up (AE have always done this of course in many tracks, but the vibe here is spl9 almost). 5ish minutes in the riffs stop and there's some low low growly sounds for a brief respite, then it's super sound design time, lots of noisy moments and just...I dunno. Not doing it for me. Then the beat starts to pause and we get some interesting hip-hop record scratching but in Max type moments so that's cool. Then this noisy riff bit appears and takes over the track. Riff itself is nice, sounds like was/could've been from the AE_LIVE sets... but they're filling the rest of the space with random noises and shit mostly, just not interesting to my ears. It starts to become coherent towards the end, but man there were lots of stretches of meh in there.

 

Not the best part (el)seq-uel. We'll see if the trilogy will revive the franchise or drag it further down....

[auxien]

TODAY I WILL REVIEW elseq 3

 

yeah

 

So, eastre. Even up plenty loud it's a touch bland for me. I like what they're doing with it, there's a ton of interesting plays between the sounds that are keeping the track moving despite being relatively bare (perhaps the most bare of anything they've done beside some of the ambient bits of Quaristice-era stuff). I just....I think 22 minutes of it wasn't really necessary? Some love it, and it works as a classically ambient piece (as in, put it on in the background while other things are happening) but it just doesn't grab me, basically. I only listened to the "OneSIx" tour stuff once or twice via fan recordings, but it seemed from the same world as this. Last little 30 second addendum is funny.

 

TBM2 is cool enough for what it is I guess. It feels like it's trying really hard to hide all the interesting bits of other ideas within it's deceptively simple presentation. Again, must be heard loudly to be enjoyed, but also even then isn't much to write home about.

 

mesh cinereaL starts off so damned good. Lots of slow 1 1 is type groove and washy swaying to it. Great groove, simple but complex and rich as fuck sounds. Gets fucking scary, gets fucking weird...in the best ways. Maybe the only super-long track on the elseqs worth its length. Great end to an otherwise meh elseq. Picking up the pace for part 4

[mcbpete]

So, eastre..... Last little 30 second addendum is funny.

That bit totally reminds me of the segues circa LP5

[auxien]

 

So, eastre..... Last little 30 second addendum is funny.

That bit totally reminds me of the segues circa LP5

Agreed, though I liked those a little more because of how distinct they were. Melve, Caliper Remote, the little weirdness before Acroyear2 starts and it's cousin at the very very end of the CD. Technically the bit before Acroyear is part of the track but it always seemed like a little preview piece more than really part of the track itself.

 

SO OKAY

 

TODAY I WILL REVIEW elseq 4

 

...it starts off well with a relative banger of a track. Getting a bit old repeating myself, but acdwn2 probably could've been shorter. It's a good track but also just sort of seems to remember itself occasionally and do something interesting, then sort of get lost and stuck for a while, does this a few times. Good track though, one of the better from elseq as a whole.

 

I think foldfree casual might be the most democratically enjoyed of all track on elseq. Someone even more bored than me (as if that's possible) start a poll on favorite elseq tracks so we can find out once and for all. Reminds me of many different Autechres of yore (Pir, Silverside, Parhelic Triangle, etc.), but it's very much of this era, with its obvious string swells, ridiculous reverb, and unnecessary length. It's very much a good track^TM though, yet I have to wonder what a non-casual version of the track sounded like.

 

Some real innovation in AE land with latentcall imho. Combines lots of conflicting rhythms between the synths and drums, straight up glitchy moments (AE rarely actually do this so obviously). Most importantly, 5-6 minutes in and the track has really moved and changed itself in multiple ways (while still staying much the same, classic AE) and feels poised to do even more...I've gotta say, those irlite (get 0) & 1 1 is reverbed synths and basses that are all over this track and elseq are great, but they're starting to get a bit boring. That's more a general complaint at this point in the series though...because the track itself does feel good and continue to necessitate its existence, even 10 minutes in. The last few minutes when the drums come around all renewed and energized, it really ties the track up nicely.

 

One of my monitors is slightly fucked up and is scratchy with certain frequencies, the last minute of latentcall triggers this on it hard. Ugly times in my sad little abode to hear that.

 

So if you liked the glitchy shit of the last track but also loved Bine, well here's artov chain! I kid. Track's not bad, and is relatively to the point at 4ish minutes. Reminds me a lot of Quaristice style cutting shit up and in and out of the mix with lots of actually very strange decisions that AE somehow makes work. I like it.

 

7th slip starts out sounding like it's going to fuck your world up. Robot-with-big-dick coming to fuck your girlfriend. Maybe its got a gun, you're not going to find out because you're beta af when you see that shiny sumbitch saunter in. Attitude like this always great to hear and is where Autechre really aren't matched in the fucking least. That big quick build/cut/hit at about 3:05? Masterful. Then it drops into this badass fucking groove around 4:00 and rides the track out with, fucking hell man. This is that good shit, as the kids say.

 

4 may be the best elseq.

[sweepstakes]

4 may be the best elseq.

[auxien]

TODAY I WILL REVIEW elseq 5

 

and i just lost everything i had typed so here's the summary:

 

pendulu casual is boring af

 

spTH is creepy and dark and brooding and interesting but doesn't go anywhere at all, even by AE standards

 

spaces how V is ridiculous, it almost sounds like they're even bored at this point

 

I wondered if elseq is the AE snake eating its own tail. I think it is.

 

freaulaeux is 11 minutes. it's about 9 minutes too long. Fun bass, at least. If I hear another god damned reverby string swell before this is over I swaer to gawd I'm gonna never review elseq again for as long as I live.

 

oneum starts with super reverbed swelling strings. it's good, though. Except for how annoying the fucking hi-hats are getting. And except for the fact that it could been WAY shorter and been far much more effective. That's all of elseq really though (I've said this 20 times now, I'm sure).

 

Okay, I'm done. elseq 4 is the best. Gonna make a playlist (actually, I think I'll make two so I can split up the ~ 2 hours of selections) with the goodies and then ignore the rest.

 

Reading comments on Twitter and on music site reviews of the elseqs (I got REALLY bored while listening to pendulu) is pretty entertaining to see motherfuckers whining about how useless music is without a physical copy. I just do not understand that argument in the least. The world is strange. AE fans (I guess these people are?) are strange.

 

Why are you still reading this.

Edited March 10, 2018 by auxien

[xox]

lol your reviews of ae are worse than pitchfork's

[xox]

bacon's original triptych from 1944 is so booooring! 3 figures of what?! is this a chicken? and how does it stand in the middle picture? those legs are not on the stand/table. it doesnt make any sense. no logic! the red is nice tho

Edited March 10, 2018 by xox

[xox]

no look at this shit: 

 

 

boooring! a deformed manlike figure on a chair x3. wow so original lol.

 

p.s. i cant stand the carpet. it iritates me beyond million

Edited March 10, 2018 by xox

[auxien]

lol your reviews of ae are worse than pitchfork's

Definitely.

 

Thanks for taking me down a peg. My very serious venture has been undercut by your wit. Damned.

[Hugh Mughnus]

lol your reviews of ae are worse than pitchfork's

 

They're more accurate tho.

[xox]

 

lol your reviews of ae are worse than pitchfork's

Definitely.

 

Thanks for taking me down a peg. My very serious venture has been undercut by your wit. Damned.

 

 

 

but wii so sirius 

 

?

[auxien]

 

 

lol your reviews of ae are worse than pitchfork's

Definitely.

 

Thanks for taking me down a peg. My very serious venture has been undercut by your wit. Damned.

 

 

 

but wii so sirius 

 

?

 

i'm here on watmm for two things: cumtheft conspiracy research and posting whatever i want at all times 4ever

 

and guess what

 

we're all out of cumtheft conspiracies

 

 

:)

[sweepstakes]

i'm here on watmm for two things: cumtheft conspiracy research and posting whatever i want at all times 4ever

 

and guess what

 

we're all out of cumtheft conspiracies

[Hugh Mughnus]

 

i'm here on watmm for two things: cumtheft conspiracy research and posting whatever i want at all times 4ever

 

and guess what

 

we're all out of cumtheft conspiracies

 

 

I lol'ed irl

Edited March 11, 2018 by Bulk VanderHooj

[sweepstakes]

 

 

i'm here on watmm for two things: cumtheft conspiracy research and posting whatever i want at all times 4ever

 

and guess what

 

we're all out of cumtheft conspiracies

 

 

I lol'ed irl

 

lol, I am bringin' the lately

[usagi]

except for when you talk about Ae retiring which you should definitely stop doing 

[Bechuga]

Still haven't listened beyond Elseq 1. Someone sum up the other releases for me in less than twenty words (per release).

[hello spiral]

elseq 2: awesome brainmelt masturbation

elseq 3: welcome to ambient oh wait aaagh more brainmelt

elseq 4: iss:sa II

elseq 5: Tribute to Baesic Channel

[Kavinsky]

bacon's original triptych from 1944 is so booooring! 3 figures of what?! is this a chicken? and how does it stand in the middle picture? those legs are not on the stand/table. it doesnt make any sense. no logic! the red is nice tho

loled hard

[sweepstakes]

except for when you talk about Ae retiring which you should definitely stop doing 

It's not a happy thought but we have to acknowledge the possibility. Even people who consistently make such forward-thinking tunes can get bored of it. Sean's always been pretty self-deprecating about the lack of transferability of his skillset.