9POLL1POLL1--5l-l -- Autechre :: Quaristice :: LP9

Previously: POLL Radii -- Autechre :: Untilted :: LP8

Altibzz

Simmm, paralel Suns and the last three are nice

too many lil tracks that disrupt any sort of cohesion -- i thought i'd rly like this from stated influences in early computer music etc, but i seldom listen to it

quaristice quadrange opens a few of the tracks up and is less irritating

After my dear love, the flawless Untilted, this came as somewhat of a disappointment to me. I enjoy it OK, but also can't really recall much about it when not listening to it, and in the end so many tracks just meant I'm more prone to skipping like a mad.

<3 this album, but it's hard for me to think of the tracks individually — it all seems very much "of a piece".

That said, I'll probably vote for "Simmm".

i thought this one was fun, Simmm also being my favourite.

A welcome respite from the Draft/Untilted direction (though I will admit that revisiting Draft, I can actually enjoy it now), getting back to the warmer tones, but I also don't love this, having seldom listened to it. Maybe '00s Autechre fatigue. Based on recent listens, I'm almost definitely going with one of the ambient tracks, probably "Notwo."

I must admit I haven't listened to the last 2 albums yet cos of people saying they were a welcome respite from Draft and Untilted.

Understandable.

They're not a respite, just different.

FWIW Oversteps is my favorite album released this year.

I must admit I haven't listened to the last 2 albums yet cos of people saying they were a welcome respite from Draft and Untilted.

― Pardew: "They Know It's Christmas" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 12 December 2010 22:56 (10 minutes ago)

ha!

i seem to remember even draft being described at its release as more accessible than confield? i'd say each new ae album since then has been a little less difficult than the previouse one

i like oversteps a lot, it could maybe have been edited a little, a few tracks seem almost /prog/ in their insensate prolixity, like why not have a few more loops of synth wibble?

but it's the best display since lp5 of their ear for melody, truly a word that needs reclaiming from the hongrists

nah I'll hear them eventually, probably this week cos of these polls, but my take is that the denser stuff from Chiastic Slide onwards (positing 5 as a slight side-step) is easily their best and most satisfying work so when I read people cheering for a "return" to their earlier accessibility I wasn't particularly interested.

yeah, but u never get the sense with autechre that they're driven by a need to please campaign for real idm dullards

nothing wrong with waiting to catch up, i'm still sleeping on 'move of ten'

yeah tbf I do trust their instincts.

plyphon because it terrifies me.

Simmm, paralel Suns and the last three are nice

I'll co-sign this, the longer tracks are my favourites on this album.

too many lil tracks that disrupt any sort of cohesion

otm

quaristice quadrange opens a few of the tracks up

or lets them drag on needlessly...

i also got the Versions limited disc, which meant i was just overwhelmed with a vast selection of tracks, often with little to distinguish between them. However Versions does have Altichyre, the most gorgeous set of mysterious synth chord progressions. All ambient ae fans should check it out immediately.

Such a great album but (as usual with these threads) I have to go back and play the whole thing noting the track names as I go #autechtrelisteningclub

especially hard with this one's 20 tracks. am working on my own search/destroy as we speak.

yeah tbf I do trust their instincts.

― la dame aux chlamydias (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 12 December 2010 23:18 (Yesterday) Bookmark
^^^me too, I think I might sometimes place a little too much faith in Autechre, but if you're a fan I guess you kind of have to. The key to appreciating them is all too often to "relax and go with it".

This is the Ae album I've probably listened to the least, despite being the album that saved them from the brink for me at the time. I was very very pleased with it - loved that they'd regained a bit of melody and that the tracks were more like short sketches or ideas rather than 16 minute beat armageddons. It feels somewhat more human than anything they've done since Amber. That said, I couldn't begin to tell you which track is my favourite. If Simm is the one that sounds like an enormous robot blowing up a chicken farm, then it's that one.

I think Ae suffered from releasing too much material at the same time with this one - a fairly long album and two album-length EPs during the Quaristice phase totalling around 4 hours worth of music. I'm not going to be voting in the Quadrange poll, as it's pretty much just different versions of this album. I do like the way the accompanying EPs work almost as "behind the scenes" or studio outtakes for this band, showing that yes, they're very much a band who have the ability to jam and rearrange their music.

ok my S&D. S: SImm, Notwo, rale, paralel Suns, Tankakern, Theswere, Chenc9, 90101-5l-1 - more than I was expecting! D: Perlence, Steels, fol3, fWZE, bnc Castl. The last two, bnc Castl in particular, remind me of this historical curio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmD0dd3NV38

wow, that was bizarre!

ledge, it's weird that, considering our divergent tastes in Autechre's '00s output, my S&D is pretty much the same as yours, at least for Quaristice. I can't recall what "Tankakern," "Theswere," or "Chenc9" sound like off the top of my head, but the others all sound aces to me.

Still, even as I'm revisiting these tracks, the album overall doesn't affect me much, certainly not to the point of owning a copy myself.

"Tankakern" seems like a nod to the Incunabula sound

I'm not going to be voting in the Quadrange poll, as it's pretty much just different versions of this album.

I love that Adrian Sherwood 'People Are People' mix. His mix of 'Master and Servant' is up there too but not quite as torn apart as that.

I didn't listen to this that much on release, but it sure sounded great this week. Some of my favorite moments on Confield are the transitions between tracks, and this one's -all- transitions. Reminds me of The Faust Tapes.

Both this one and Untitled seemed more immediate, more like a series of live improvisations captured live to disk without too much layering after the fact. And where Untitled seemed (very) unedited, this one was all edits. And in a move that's either brilliantly transparent or really self-indulgent, they then released the longer 7-8 minute versions as the limited edition bonus disk, and then on top of that released what seem to be the largely intact jams as a series of ep's so you can really hear the process. Some of the pieces do seem more accessible when you hear them at full length, it would have been a bit similar to previous albums, this one's about the array. Definitely like it more than Untilted, which is good but y'know some of the tracks just go on for a bit -- this one keeps it coming

That being said, for both of these albums, they really saved their best new music for their live tours. It was music specifically designed to sound incredible in clubs, and it did.

Unfortunately the "club" I saw this in was a freezing cold car park at 1am, well in line with their reputation for difficult shows, but not very conducive to party fun times.

ledge, it's weird that, considering our divergent tastes in Autechre's '00s output, my S&D is pretty much the same as yours, at least for Quaristice.

I daresay my picks are on the populist side of things - not a criticism of your taste! But like you I'm not inclined to spend any more time getting to know the ins and outs of the album. Even though I shelled out for it on mp3 and the limited edition CD and all the EPs. Ah the curse of the fanboy.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Cannot pick a best track. God knows I've tried. Don't get me wrong, I love the album, but nothing stands out.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

could probably have spaced these polls out a bit to increase traffic/discussion

POLLwn(1) -- POLL=0 -- POLLversteps -- Autechre :: Oversteps :: LP10

This whole shebang has taken 10 weeks, I think that's fairly spaced out already? (Unless people generally want more time in between?)

I must have put this and the Quadrange outtakes on my phone at some point. Quadrange EPs are a mixed bag, but I've caught myself kind of grooving to a couple tracks so far this morning

I'm not sure what to think of the final track but the Quadrange ep grooves like hell, it's surprisingly great - crazy that they essentially came up with 3 albums worth of material from this period that are all quite different yet enjoyable in their own way...who else does that?

Acid Mothers Temple?

quadrange ep is good for making head space

love this record and also the ridiculous number of remixes and inversions and extensions

think i would've voted for "notwo," always gives me chills

My least favorite album/period of theirs. Quaristice have been an amazing 8-10 track EP or mini album. So many noodly jams on it are less than satisfying and feel a bit phoned in; I am constantly skipping tunes when I throw this on. Also, they really should have put Blyz Castl on this instead of bnc Castl. Former track should have received a proper release as a lead single or separate single with a dope video like Gantz Graf, holy shit, it's that good. Instead it got a "digital only" release that to this day hasn't seen the light in a lossless format. Most overlooked track of that period and perhaps their career, honestly.

For the record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLHdyPEJmIA

"would have been an amazing 8-10 track EP" argh

My least favorite album/period of theirs

same, by some distance

wonder if Blyz Castl is a reference to Blaise Castle in Bristol,seeing as Rob lives there now

I keep meaning to check back in with Quaristice. I'd been confounded by the Confield thru Untilted run and was pleased to hear them return to more characterful work. But somehow I never really gave Q the right amount of time. I do like how it seems to be made up of a series of short vignettes, and to my mind it resembles an operetta with lots of variety and fast moving sequences. Simmm is especially good in that respect

whoa, this one's new to me. sick.

really like "chenc9" and the alt versions. effectively used on some of their live sets from around those years, like this glasgow 2005 one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSpS3TFS3P0

for me this is absolutely where exai/elseq/nts begins, with oversteps as a kind of detour between them. cf. "fol4"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jksB4WF3epw

blyz castle must have passed me by at the time but wow yes it's maybe the best thing here - that or altichyre, which is pure catnip to me. after a quick listen these are my other highlights from the various side projects - all on the ambient side, maybe because i have a headache.

altichyre (versions)
nofour(versions)
perlence suns (quadrange)
perlence losid 2 (quadrange)
9013-2 (quadrange)
chenc9-1dub (quadrange)
notwotwo (quadrange)
perlence subrange 6-36 (quadrange) (if you have a spare hour)
Nu-Nr6d (jp bonus)

I mentioned this upthread but the link disappeared - bnc castl really reminds me of this depeche mode remix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmD0dd3NV38

and there's a sound in blyz castl that's very similar to one in 'breathing in fumes' off 'black celebration'. coincidence? you decide!

Their love for Depeche Mode is well documented so even if it is a coincidence there's still likely a subconscious connection

what is it about this album that people don't like so much exactly? is it because it's not very rhythm-driven?

my only qualm is that it's a bit long.

it's great

qualmistice

what is it about this album that people don't like so much exactly? is it because it's not very rhythm-driven?

I do enjoy it, don't get me wrong - it's just one of my least favorite Ae records. I find I dislike a good 1/3 of the tracks, and that as an end to end unabridged listening experience, the tracks I dislike disrupt the flow and my enjoyment of it. On top of this, the lack of depth of detail on many of the songs, and their shorter length which diminishes the band's ability to luxuriate in the tracks' sound and slowly develop it over time, detract from the experience relative to their other records. Simmm is my favorite song on this largely because it has this time to develop in surprising ways.

aye, but in a way a lot of NTS tracks could be accused of just pretty much doing roughly the same thing for 14-22 minutes. i think there could be an argument for Quaristice being their most playful record

i also like how it's one of their few recent(ish) albums that features sounds which are very obviously samples: snataches of hip hop vocals, children's toys, reggae drum fills etc...

It is absolutely their most playful record! And I do love that about it.

Just learned on the Gonkcast podcast that someone recreated a 2008 live set based on files that were available on the ae website, haven't listened yet though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOl6sIMYPs0

It is absolutely fantastic. Mixed and mastered extremely well too. Definitely captures the live vibe and goes hard like those sets did for sure. I think it was mentioned on the c/d thread. Thanks for reminding me, I'm going to listen to it today!

Why is this the album fans tend to dismiss or forget about the most? I often feel sorry for it. All the same it's the one I think I go back to the least. I'm just trying to get my finger on the reason why as there's nothing objectively wrong with it.

I like that the tracks are short.

It feels like a variety show or a series of vignettes, like I'm watching a stage play with a range of different acts and stories playing out in front of me

It's inconsistent, lacks cohesion, and has more than a few absolute skippers in between a few utter classics. There's just so much inessential material here, I rarely throw it on listen to it from start to finish. I adore Simmm, 90101-5l-l, and plyPhon among a few others, but the rest is pretty forgettable.

This could have been a pretty dope 20-30 minute mini album or EP though.

Nearly every other full length in their entire catalog towers over this one imho

I can’t remember the last time I played this, maybe it’s time to revisit.

I must have played all the associated eps & malarkey that came with it but I can't remember anything about them :(

Hah, realised I asked this same question a few years ago. Still...

Why is this the album fans tend to dismiss or forget about the most?

This is KILLING it, honestly. I don’t know why it didn’t work for me at the time… but then this is a group that makes growers often.

Sometimes I think the best way to experience AE would be to dump everything into a huge ass playlist and stream it on random.

I do love this era’s sprawl, but the parent album is probably the weakest of all the elements. Versions is about 70% killer compared to 50% on Quaristice, and I love the mutating tracks across the many EPs, especially perlence 6-36 or whatever the hour long track is called.
Still, I was so excited to hear simmm when it debuted on Mary Anne Hobbes’ show a week ahead of release. Still a great track. I better go back to the album.
Oh and the laser cut steel case rules!

Yoooo the back half of "Versions" is legitimately great and worth getting round to.

fol4 - a strange, understated and funky assemblage of shifting and sliding "beats" of white noise.

90101-61-01 - a proper 4/4 technoid beat, robotic voices burbling

chenc9-x is like their tribute to DJ Hell or something

Decent (and positive) retrospective review of Quaristice here.

https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/reissue-of-the-week/autechre-quaristice-album-review-reissue/

Quadrange just released to buy digitally and stream

While i'm at it, anyone know what's go8ng on with Bleep? I ordered some records that were meant to turn up ages ago and they're not replying to any of my messages