Autechre - SIGN 16.10.20

[aencre]

 

track 1 is still my favourite by a decent margin.

The rest feel like tracks, while the first one is more at the scope of an atmospheric phenomenon.

Edited October 26, 2022 by aencre

[toaoaoad]

 

What's this autechre effect you are talking about?

It's a term I've heard people use around here to describe the phenomenon of new Ae albums being difficult to digest or even enjoy at first, only to click into place as soon as the next one comes out.

[ambermonk]

On 10/25/2022 at 3:56 PM, toaoaoad said:

Our babies just entered the terrible 2s. No fanfare from watmm this time around. Anybody still listening to these?

Who caned them when they were new and have moved on?

Who has been avoiding them almost entirely as per the autechre effect? (me)

I've been listening to NTS a lot. Lol

Gonna give these a few good solid listens this week.

Kind of in the same boat. Been listening to NTS a lot more than either SIGN or PLUS since their release. SIGN kind of feels like Oversteps 2.0 to me - lighter and more melody focused, albeit with a bit more mechanical polish and foreboding tone. It also felt like a product of its time, like literally at the moment of release. I feel like it reflected the dark yet cautiously hopeful mood of the times, when the possibility of Orange Man getting re-elected was a real threat and COVID was in full swing, especially in the tracks si00 and psin AM.

Edited October 28, 2022 by ambermonke

[Boxus]

I still listen to them now and then and always enjoy the experience. SIGN feels so familiar by now and has such a unique, surreal kind of beauty. I feel like I'm still picking out new bits and pieces to appreciate, especially in the most dense tracks like esc desc and schmefd. I will say I've re-listened the first three tracks more often than the full album - as much as I love the whole thing, the trio of m4 -> f7 -> si00 is just incredible and I always love to return to those tracks.

With PLUS I don't listen from the start as often but ecol4 has become one of my absolute all-time favorites, so I often start there and let it play through the rest. I do like the first three tracks a lot too, but usually when I get the desire to hear PLUS it's really ecol that I'm craving. The melodic tracks after x4 have grown on me too, I know a lot of people were underwhelmed by them but I've really come to love them, they're beautiful.

[toaoaoad]

Personally I just had way too strong subjective emotional and seasonal associations from the get-go, so I have only ever listened to it sparingly. It's like I was trying to avoid making associations with the music to the shitty time in my life that was, still am/still is. So I'd only ever listen to a track here or there when conditions were ideal (sitting by the ocean or something like that). Since most of these tracks are tonal/"melodic" as people like to say, at least on SIGN, it's easier to attach specific emotions to them, never mind that some of them are just straight-up dramatic lol. (Tracks like ecol4 and 7FM ic are easier to just throw on because they don't tug on the heartstrings like something like gr4 or metaz.)  Either way, now that it's fall again - the rain has come at last and the leaves are changing etc - I'm keen to dig into these again... I'm in a somewhat better place I guess, but I still feel reluctant.

Considering they created these tracks well before COVID came along, it really is uncanny how well it fit the time it was released... I think they commented on that in one of the interviews.

Edited October 28, 2022 by toaoaoad

[vkxwz]

40 minutes ago, toaoaoad said:

It's like I was trying to avoid making associations with the music to the shitty time in my life that was, still am/still is. So I'd only ever listen to a track here or there when conditions were ideal (sitting by the ocean or something like that). Since most of these tracks are tonal/"melodic" as people like to say, at least on SIGN, it's easier to attach specific emotions to them, never mind that some of them are just straight-up dramatic lol.

Yeah I've had this issue before too but now I think the solution is to just listen to tracks in all different situations, then your mind will differentiate the musical content from whatever else is going in your life.

And agreed about straight up dramatic, I actually found it jarring at first with a few tracks especially F7 but I love it now.

Edited October 28, 2022 by vkxwz

[DyeMyBlueBlack]

On 10/25/2022 at 5:56 PM, toaoaoad said:

Our babies just entered the terrible 2s. No fanfare from watmm this time around. Anybody still listening to these?

Who caned them when they were new and have moved on?

Who has been avoiding them almost entirely as per the autechre effect? (me)

I've been listening to NTS a lot. Lol

Gonna give these a few good solid listens this week.

After quick pondering: I think I was sour on the ambient tracks, basically. Not because they're bad (and they're good in isolation), but because there wasn't anything to grab on to... Rob mentioned 'loss leaders' in the New York Times interview, and SIGN and PLUS both sounded almost entirely like loss leaders (PLUS was better with ecol4 which can be heard in the HELSINKI soundboard and a couple other tracks)... they both sat a little sour at release. Weird flow; it was just a group of tracks. I remember Sean's quote from interview saying it was compiled right when covid started, he was trying to do something a little different, but he kinda thought it wasn't the right mood in hindsight.

edit: essentially, an EXAI or ELSEQ or NTS sessions would have been better company during the isolation of a global pandemic

I'm going to give them a few good solid listens this week as you said (sch.mefd 2 kicks raw ass)

Edited October 28, 2022 by DyeMyBlueBlack

[valsprismatico]

"si00" gives me major Drexciya vibes. That's all I can think about anytime I hear the track which makes me want more waetery Ae tracks. Rob/Sean pls. 

[mcbpete]

The background watery synth throughout si00 totally reminds me of this:

 

[EXTRASUPER81]

On 10/26/2022 at 4:35 AM, toaoaoad said:

only to click into place as soon as the next one comes out.

/10 years later or so

[t yst r]

1 hour ago, mcbpete said:

The background watery synth throughout si00 totally reminds me of this:

 

The entirety of si00 was actually a rejected Windows shutdown jingle. The title stands for 'suck it En00'.

[neurone]

sign / plus have been on the turntable (or computer) quite often since release.

but last month it was helsinki soundboard that got the most play counts.

ps : I don't agree with some folks saying ecol4 is in the  setlist of the 2022 liveset (or even speeded up ecol4 or so) , it might share some sounds but it's definitely a different track in this liveset, according to me.

 

 

[toaoaoad]

35 minutes ago, neurone said:

ps : I don't agree with some folks saying ecol4 is in the  setlist of the 2022 liveset (or even speeded up ecol4 or so) , it might share some sounds but it's definitely a different track in this liveset, according to me.

It's kinda more like ecol4 was a "sampler" - in this case, a preview - of various live elements. 
Definitely not an unusual thing for them to do at this point, having those connections, given how much of elseq and nts were related to the live sets. Or even untilted/quaristice. I think the ecol4 elements are definitely more fragmented/scattered across a longer duration of the set as compared to something like IO or C16 deep tread tho.

I really love the Helsinki live set but it's still going to take more listens for me to fully grasp everything ?

[toaoaoad]

3 hours ago, EXTRASUPER81 said:

10 years later or so

Yep, still finding loads of "new" things in Exai here 

[dcom]

I've been listening to Sign and Plus lately, and Sign is a beautiful album. It's redemption after the massive scale Elseq and NTS, easily approachable and enjoyable. Plus requires a bit more concentration, but issagood.

Edited January 5, 2023 by dcom

[d-a-m-o]

Listened to it during a walk in the forest, great album from start to finish. (new music Sean,Rob, pls) 

[xox]

Is this out yet 

[NewSchoolScience]

On 4/19/2023 at 10:08 AM, xox said:

Is this out yet 

No

[toaoaoad]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:08 AM, xox said:

Is this out yet 

[xox]

23 hours ago, toaoaoad said:

lol i remember that episode! brilliant

[may be rude]

[Walter Ostanek]

did we ever find out what SIGN was an anagram of? can't be bothered to read all 168 pages lol

[Ivan Ooze]

48 minutes ago, Walter Ostanek said:

did we ever find out what SIGN was an anagram of? can't be bothered to read all 168 pages lol

Sean 

Pls

[toaoaoad]

1 hour ago, Walter Ostanek said:

did we ever find out what SIGN was an anagram of? can't be bothered to read all 168 pages lol

Sean Is Going Norway

Pappy (that's Rob's nickname) Lives UK Still

[Boxus]

Listened to this on au(gust)14 after a bit of a hiatus and I kind of forgot how good it was. I still think m4 -> f7 -> si00 is up there with their all time best opening runs. Been nice reconnecting with it a bit in between the live sets.