Not a phan of this type of music, though Aphex Twin has GEMS like Xtal.

Never checked Autechre xcept for a couple of tunes that were kinda meh.

Wont vote cause I haven't delved into any of them really.

chexmixbreath wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 4:50 pm

I guess this could work as a soundrack in a movie, but can't imagine anybody sitting with the headphones on listening to a FULL album of this.

This is a tough one. I think Autechre are more inventive, Aphex Twin more fun to listen to, except I Care Because You Do, which has a weird peaky quality to my ear. If this was a 4-way Warp Records Dome with BoC and Squarepusher thrown into the mix, I would pick BoC, but I'd say I reach for all of them except Squarepusher equally.

For once I'll come down on the side of fun and go with Aphex Twin.

Aphex has higher high points (SAW2, I Care, Windowlicker), is way more obviously cheeky, and has never really completely strayed from shit you might conceivably be able to dance to.

Autechre have more high points (all of 1993-2001 + Untilted, Quaristice, and SIGN). Any cheekiness is well buried inside their own musical twin-language. They clearly do not give a shit if you can dance to it.

It’s a hard choice for sure, but my gut says Autechre, because I feel like it takes a couple of years of listening to some of their records before I finally get what they were going for, which is a really rare and rewarding quality.

Vibracobra wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:28 pm I guess this could work as a soundrack in a movie, but can't imagine anybody sitting with the headphones on listening to a FULL album of this.

I've been doing that a lot over the last few weeks.

It's a beautiful record. Give it a shot.

biscuitdough wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:01 pm If this was a 4-way Warp Records Dome with BoC and Squarepusher thrown into the mix, I would pick BoC, but I'd say I reach for all of them except Squarepusher equally

I almost made it a three way w/ The Black Dog (Bytes and Spanners are as strong as the best Aphex and Autechre material), but after they split both BD and Plaid weren't that great, IMO.

Music has the Right to Children is perfect but I'd say BOC were operating in a world Aphex Twin created and just didn't make enough good material to be contenders w/ the big boys, amazing amazing high points though.

Can't stand Squarepusher - totally obnoxious to these ears.

Vibracobra wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:28 pm Not a phan of this type of music, though Aphex Twin has GEMS like Xtal.

Never checked Autechre xcept for a couple of tunes that were kinda meh.

Wont vote cause I haven't delved into any of them really.
....
I guess this could work as a soundrack in a movie, but can't imagine anybody sitting with the headphones on listening to a FULL album of this.

Yeah I'm in the same boat, thinking maybe I've hit the point where this stuff would be appealing but I still just hear a lot of cheese in it: cheap pad sounds and reverbs and all. Maybe it was different in the early '90s but it's really not that hard finding truly alien electronic/avant garde stuff.

I have heard Aphex Twin stuff I liked but it was his doesn't sound like typical AT-type stuff. Slight advantage there I guess.

Aphex Twin has made a lot of the very best music from his era, and there was no typical AT sound. Both SAW albums are completely different from each other, his earlier, more abrasive but straight tracks are far removed from On, which sounds not really like the stuff on I Care Because You Do. I could go on. A lot of it is beautiful, most of it is at very least engaging. Also, the sense of humor.

Autechre are interesting.

M.H wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 4:47 am

biscuitdough wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:01 pm If this was a 4-way Warp Records Dome with BoC and Squarepusher thrown into the mix, I would pick BoC, but I'd say I reach for all of them except Squarepusher equally

I almost made it a three way w/ The Black Dog (Bytes and Spanners are as strong as the best Aphex and Autechre material), but after they split both BD and Plaid weren't that great, IMO.

Music has the Right to Children is perfect but I'd say BOC were operating in a world Aphex Twin created and just didn't make enough good material to be contenders w/ the big boys, amazing amazing high points though.

Can't stand Squarepusher - totally obnoxious to these ears.

I remember really liking one Plaid full length, but I'd have to revisit to express an opinion now. Didn't the later TBD stuff have a conspiracy theory theme? Even with instrumental music, that's going to be a tough sell for me.

As for BoC, I like all the full lengths. I haven't explored the shorter releases beyond In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country, which I also like. I'd say nothing tops Music Has the Right to Children, but Geogaddi comes close, and they're all really good. As for the Aphex Twin comparison, I don't really feel it. I think their sample manipulation sets them apart.

Squarepusher, well, I don't like prog bass soloing, and you never know when it's going to sneak in.

Both of these mean and have meant an awful lot to me, but I see a really big distance between their respective practice, aesthetics, and politics.

biscuitdough wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:53 pm Didn't the later TBD stuff have a conspiracy theory theme? Even with instrumental music, that's going to be a tough sell for me.

I hadn't followed the reunion material at all as it was still just Ken Downie, but it does look like they put out a UKIPish, anti-tech concept record in 2009 - bit a of switch from their occult, post-human, information war vibe, but I'd need to hear it to judge it.