elseq 1-5

[ignatius]

Also that pitchfork review just passive-aggressively expresses that no one on their staff gives a shit about Autechre (the flaccid descriptions and comparions) or is interested in having any kind of dialog about them (the lukewarm rating). They've only ever been interested in "relevance", and I'm not sure what that even means in 2016.

 

well said.. pitchfork is horseshit anyways. always has been

[zlemflolia]

This is the most visual music I've ever listened to

 

Often when I'm listening to abstract music like this I try to map the sounds between real world objects that could theoretically create them (as I'm sure we all do). This results in factory landscapes if there is metallic percussion and reverb, undulating objects if there's rising and falling cutoff or stereo panning or something. Sometimes the mapping is hard and doesn't make a lot of sense so you've got to be creative

 

But with elseq the mapping is effortless. Mental landscapes are created so easily. The clarity and beauty of imaginary visuals that I've only ever had from other music by dropping acid or smoking weed, is nearly present with elseq without any drugs at all. It's just amazing

Edited May 28, 2016 by Zeffolia

[VIII]

 

 

 

i think $33 for digital was a bit much... i'd rather have a 2xLP for that price, or another box set like exai

 

warp is really taking advantage of the autechre "brand" and they can get away with it too

Yawn. Can someone who cares create a separate whinging thread?

 

its my opinion and its pretty valid, deal with it

 

I never said your whinging wasn't valid, but if you read this thread you'd see that it's expressed a dozen or so times and is therefore redundant, hence my suggestion for a separate thread.

 

This is like saying a season of a TV show is too long and too expensive and you'd rather pay that money for a movie instead.

 

too bad, i would say youre also "whinging" at this point get over it

[khov]

So basically, the biggest music media around is publishing a good coverage of a truly experimental record (it's not xenakis but come on, it's not an easy record either, even by AE standards) & you're complaining ? Also, it's hard to say what is 'jams' & what is "composed" : the AE_LIVE recordings seems composed while they're obvisouly errr..live jams.

[AJW]

To all folks complaining about the price: if you want this music enough, you'll find the money. Otherwise let it be a lesson and start saving NOW for the next AE release!!

 

To all folks complaining about Autechre reviews in the media: These journalists aren't necessarily Autechre fans or properly familiar with Autechre. You can't be too hard on them. They probably got schedules and review deadlines etc. Elseq being just one on a list of albums to listen to and review. A 7/10 is not a bad review for experimental music like this and it gives Autechre a bit of exposure.

 

Where's the beef?

 

If you think you can write better reviews, contact the site/magazine whatever and do your thing.

Edited May 28, 2016 by AJW

[Alcofribas]

my reviews are consistently superior to all written materials so i think i have some leverage when shit-talking pitchfork thanks very much

[Kavinsky]

i give the pitchfork reviewer a 3 from 10.

[AJW]

yeah you should get your reviews out there for public consumption, dazzle the uninitiated and blow pitchfork out of the water

[auxien]

my reviews are consistently superior to all written materials so i think i have some leverage when shit-talking pitchfork thanks very much

We're waiting.

[caze]

drunken listening to elseq 4 on the tube home was great, a+. goods hit. latentcall is the best track on the whole thing I think, the ending of it is something else entirely.

[sweepstakes]

13x0 step is my jam today. I love how it starts as a death-defying chase and works its way into a smug, buttery groove. It's like alien trap.

 

I love listening to these on my bassy home setup but they somehow make more sense and are more emotional when in a car or on headphones, in motion.

 

 

my reviews are consistently superior to all written materials so i think i have some leverage when shit-talking pitchfork thanks very much

We're waiting.

 

[Alcofribas]

"elseq" is the alcofribas review of "ae live"

[orchard disk]

it all makes sense now

[zlemflolia]

 

my reviews are consistently superior to all written materials so i think i have some leverage when shit-talking pitchfork thanks very much

We're waiting.

 

 

[Guest]

meanwhile, here's OPN's review:

https://twitter.com/0pn/status/736720436134830080

[Soloman Tump]

meanwhile, here's OPN's review:

https://twitter.com/0pn/status/736720436134830080

[baph]

lel

Edited May 29, 2016 by baph

[zkom]

foldfree casual could be the theme music for this summer for me.

[Guest]

13x0 step = Clonk 2016

Do you hear it?

 

So much to explore. After almost a week, I only listened properly to two tracks. 13x0 and lentic.

 

Works best for me on big stereo.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Guest

[wredny]

 

There it is. The Pitchforks have spoken: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21950-elseq-1-5/

imo "elseq" does not definitely sound like jams. this review is only echoing what lots of people on here have been taking for granted, that this release is autechre jamming or improvising or running software that's being controlled in real-time. it's certainly possible that this is true, or that at least some of the tracks employ such methods. but imo there is nothing about this music that is just so obviously "jams" like pitchfork and some peeps on this forum are suggesting and if it wasn't for the fact that sean has talked a lot about computers and spitting out albums in real time i'mnot sure what it is about this release that's justscreaming "this is just some edited jams by the electronica duo the 'chre."

 

fact is we have no real idea about autechre's compositional processes. and this seems like a fairly deliberately contrived mystery on their part; for all their willingness to discuss software stuff or how they make albums by pressing record and jamming away, they also seem to walk back many of these claims and insist tracks are made meticulously note by note or sean will get pissed and tell people they don't know what they're talking about when they employ the term "generative." personally, i don't think they're being mysterious to construct some cool idm identity, i just think they're artists who don't wish to be pinned down by cheap shop talk in lame interviews.

 

anyway, this pitchfork review is, unsurisingly, shit. there's no way some reviewer sat down, listened to 4 hours of autechre and just came to the conclusion that these are jams. the reviewer probably played elseq on his computer while browsing the internet to find things to write in his assignment and came up with "it's long" and "it's jams."

 

love this bit: "the Brown and Booths violent squelches."

 

 

I'm not going to pretend that I know why the reviewer referred to jamming, but I think this can be valid point. The tracks are long. Progressions rather slow and not that abrupt as on their previous releases. So yeah, I can understand that for some this is jamming - things move rather slowly like being manipulated in realtime. If the tracks had been edited & shortened, the vibe probably would be different.

 

TBM2 is a grower. A short hip-hip respite after the monstrosity called eastre.

[thehauntingsoul]

 

 

There it is. The Pitchforks have spoken: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21950-elseq-1-5/

 

I'm sure it's not just me who thinks this, but rating music on a 1-10 scale is the dumbest thing ever. It makes sense for video games, movies, tv shows, but music is far less constrained than those media. Apart from the mastering and sound quality, there's almost no objective qualities of music.

 

In the end all art is subjective, even cinema and video games. Yes, you can try to be as objective as possible, but it's still art in the end.

 

I don't think a 1-10 scale is supposed to be some objective rating. People who claim it is are misrepresenting it. The scale is just a subjective measure of the reviewer's own enjoyment of that piece of art.

 

I love rating things on a 1-10 scale. I do it for every movie I watch and album I listen to, and I like keeping track of my ratings and ordering them. I would never be stupid enough to claim it is objective in any way. It is based on my own values and criteria, and in the end the number only represents my own enjoyment. Things I give a 10 I love most and know I could listen to forever. Things I give a 7 are pretty good, but missing something to be great, so I might listen to it occasionally. It is just for my own purposes because I like organizing it.

 

 

Well in video games, there are plenty of objective things that you can score that won't be so tightly constrained to opinion. For example you could talk about graphic fidelity, game performance, control responsiveness, the presence or lack of content, how comprehensive the settings are, and things like that. Sure there will still be lots of subjective things such as fun factor, art style, etc but there is at least some objective difference between a game rated 2/10 vs a game rated 10/10. With music it almost entirely comes down to subjective opinion of the art since there's a lot less technical aspects to assess.

 

I guess what I'm saying is the difference between a poorly, sloppily made video game and an expertly crafted one is something that more people will agree with but that's not necessarily the case when it comes to music.

Edited May 29, 2016 by thehauntingsoul

[jaderpansen]

 

 

There it is. The Pitchforks have spoken: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21950-elseq-1-5/

imo "elseq" does not definitely sound like jams. this review is only echoing what lots of people on here have been taking for granted, that this release is autechre jamming or improvising or running software that's being controlled in real-time. it's certainly possible that this is true, or that at least some of the tracks employ such methods. but imo there is nothing about this music that is just so obviously "jams" like pitchfork and some peeps on this forum are suggesting and if it wasn't for the fact that sean has talked a lot about computers and spitting out albums in real time i'mnot sure what it is about this release that's justscreaming "this is just some edited jams by the electronica duo the 'chre."

 

fact is we have no real idea about autechre's compositional processes. and this seems like a fairly deliberately contrived mystery on their part; for all their willingness to discuss software stuff or how they make albums by pressing record and jamming away, they also seem to walk back many of these claims and insist tracks are made meticulously note by note or sean will get pissed and tell people they don't know what they're talking about when they employ the term "generative." personally, i don't think they're being mysterious to construct some cool idm identity, i just think they're artists who don't wish to be pinned down by cheap shop talk in lame interviews.

 

anyway, this pitchfork review is, unsurisingly, shit. there's no way some reviewer sat down, listened to 4 hours of autechre and just came to the conclusion that these are jams. the reviewer probably played elseq on his computer while browsing the internet to find things to write in his assignment and came up with "it's long" and "it's jams."

 

love this bit: "the Brown and Booths violent squelches."

 

 

(...) Progressions rather slow and not that abrupt as on their previous releases. (...)

 

this applies to pretty much their whole output up to untilted, tho. even on exai the average number of distinct "parts" per track was 2~3 max... meandering tracks with shitloads of microvariation is pretty much what autechre is (with obvious exceptions). this release is not particularly jammy imo.

[misc]

rob yawning @ 24:45 of elyc6 0nset.

Damn it this is all I hear now

[ScaldedBorneo]

 

 

Well in video games, there are plenty of objective things that you can score that won't be so tightly constrained to opinion. For example you could talk about graphic fidelity, game performance, control responsiveness, the presence or lack of content, how comprehensive the settings are, and things like that. Sure there will still be lots of subjective things such as fun factor, art style, etc but there is at least some objective difference between a game rated 2/10 vs a game rated 10/10. With music it almost entirely comes down to subjective opinion of the art since there's a lot less technical aspects to assess.

 

I guess what I'm saying is the difference between a poorly, sloppily made video game and an expertly crafted one is something that more people will agree with but that's not necessarily the case when it comes to music.

 

 

Yeah all very good points actually. There are similar points to be made about movies as well. And I guess there is a little bit of objectiveness when it comes to music like sound quality and stuff, but yeah overall music is way more subjective.

[Astro Tarot]

this is cool,

 

would make a good present from you to me.

 

will check out someday, I got 55 on it.