Premier Rock Forum

Now that the shock of the new has long since worn off: which IDM titan do you think is the undisputed champion?

I am as yet undecided as I think Autechre produced a greater volume of interesting records (I've been listening to Confield a lot recently and I think it's a blinder in a back catalogue that has many highlights), but I also know Selected Ambient Works Vol 2 is one of my favourite records of all time (Zoviet France w/ greater production values and more variety across the record - yes please).

Your thoughts?

Autechre up through EP7 is unfuckwithable, with some gems after that, like Oversteps and Exai.

Autechre.

This is so so hard. Why would you even ask this? Okay I mean I know that I asked Bauhaus or The Birthday Party, but somehow this choice seems worse : /

Honestly, this might be the very first c/nc where I simply just cannot make a decision.

Fuck

I love both of these artists so much….

Autechre. This one ain't hard.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:17 am Autechre. This one ain't hard.

Autechre have this remarkable ability fill a void when I'm bored with music I'll be like "I'm going to try to make sense of and enjoy Untilted" and eventually I'll love it. Half a discography of albums like this.

I've always thought that in a lot of ways Autechre at their best picked up where This Heat left off. I worry that may sound crazy, but they remind me of them all the time and that spirit is one of the reasons i think they're so great.

I know very little by Autechre, what’s a good starting place for them?

I like a lot of Aphex.

zircona1 wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:50 am I know very little by Autechre, what’s a good starting place for them?

My faves are:

Garbage EP
Peel Sessions 1

My first experience with them was Tri-Repetae++, the CD of which contains Garbage EP on disc 2, IIRC.

And yeah, I use Autechre as a musical palate cleanser as well.

I am a total dilettante, but as such, I prefer the more accessible and dare I say "fun" IDM offerings of RDJ and Squarepusher. Autechre always seemed really severe and technical to me, but I can appreciate their commitment to the form.

Aphex Twin, but not by a whole lot.

zircona1 wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:50 am I know very little by Autechre, what’s a good starting place for them?

Chiastic Slide is a great starting point, and a fair middle ground between the somewhat conventional earlier material and the super abstract style that would dominate all their later output.

Here's one of their notable early tracks, only appeared on the first Artificial Intelligence compilation in '93:

Autechre - 'Crystel'


And then beginning with Confield in the new millennium, they started heavily utilizing computers and generative/algorithmic sequencing (in addition to all their hardware gear). With a few rare exceptions, melody and "straight" rhythms become entirely absent in their music from here on out:


I personally love all the newer material just as much, if not more. Especially all the long-form stuff like the elseq 1-5 and NTS Sessions. Fantastic music to put on when you're in a workflow or studying, but not so much for the dancefloor.