The aptly-named Quaristice.Quadrange.ep.ae is now up in its entirety on Bleep. It's another 13 versions of tracks from Quaristice, comprising 149 minutes of material.
If you're keeping count, that's 4:50:26 of material they've released this year.
I received my hardcopy of this today. I splurged and ordered the limited-edition, which has a second disc entitled, Quaristice (Versions).
I expected the second disc to be a set of one-off remixes, but it turned out to be quite different. To put it bluntly, this is the record Quaristice should have been.
My primary complaint with the album was that the individual pieces were too short, and that it lacked a sense of overaching structure. That's not the case here.
Eleven tracks from the album proper are represented, reworked and expanded. In almost every case, they benefit tremendously. While Quaristice felt like it had quite a bit of filler, this disc seems both more disciplined and better developed.
The new Autechre record has been released a month ahead of time for download. This is a strange tactic for Warp. After all, Autechre doesn't need the buzz. They've got a built-in fanbase who will likely buy the record no matter what.
Precedent shows that Booth and Brown are somewhat averse to having their material leaked beforehand, and this may be a way of cutting that off before it starts. Before Draft 7.30 was released, someone was distributing "bootleg" advance copies which were, in fact, completely fake.
If it's not early promotion, and it's not a means to circumvent leaks, why release the record early? It could be that Warp (or the artists) lack confidence in it.
It's a harsh judgment, but Autechre have not only released some truly great music, they've rewritten a great many of the rules along the way. It's rare for an artist to become an influence within their own career, and rarer still for them to avoid treading the same ground twice. They've done both, so it's only natural to look forward to each new release with certain expectations.
I've gotten quite a bit of mail asking me why I haven't reviewed Untilted yet. To put it as plainly as possible, I don't think I will.
You see, before reviewing something, I'll listen to it in its entirety at …
There's not much going on with boys as of late. Untilted's been out for a few months now, garnering the usual dichotomy of ecstatic/confused reviews.
NME called it, "so listener-unfriendly that it's almost amusing," and …
Just came across a post-Untilted interview on Pitchfork. Sean opens up a bit more than usual.
Confield stands in retrospect as one Autechre's best records. It's certainly not their most widely beloved or even accepted album, but it represents an important step in that it clears the slate for their entire catalog.
I suppose it was …
The closing track almost justifies the initial comments I heard comparing this record to Amber. Despite the chattering percussion, things open with a soft palette, and there's an easily discernable and almost trite (for Autechre) descending minor-key chord progression. …
In contrast, this track is more conservative. It opens with a vocal sustained vocal patch that gets swallowed by cavernous reverb while a metallic chord (think "Squeller") shudders at the periphery. There's a sense of subdued drama and …
Alex Reynolds has a couple of interviews archived on his site. Quite good, especially the one from 092801, in which Sean Booth lays the generative-music rumors to rest.
Just found out that this site is linked from the Wikipedia. I'm just that cool.
It's a really good and well thought-out entry, too. Not the usual, "they used to be good, but then they got skronky and …
P.:Ntil is at war with itself from the start. A standard hip-hop loop underpins the track as the now-familiar interference and time-smeared basslines nip at its heels. It all meshes together in its own way until 3:05, when …