Autechre ‎– Incunabula

Unquestionably my favourite Autechre release, with a much more direct, somewhat instant feel in comparison to more of their more abstract modern material which can be somewhat of a chore to listen to if I'm not quite in the right mood for it. Just slightly edges out Amber for me.
I will have to pick this up on vinyl at some point.

I still pull out this album every year. Eggshell is my ground zero entry into IDM.

although this is not autechre's first recording, it is their first record. while it is the only thing they've ever done that could be unambiguously labelled as "techno", that's not to say it's void of value.

their techno is ambient, spacey. they draw equally on tangerine dream, coil and skinny puppy. while it's not hard to dance to this, it is hard to determine where you would dance to it, other than on a moon of jupiter. that being said, the record is a lot more human and warm than their later output despite the fact that it is a little constrained by traditional techno formulas.

there are a few points where it is plainly too formulaic, the most glaring being the 7th track. given the title, it may be tongue-in-cheek. still, there is no excuse for incorporating the standard techno rise up - you know the one, where it starts with quarter notes and goes to eighths, sixteenths and continues until the drum machine can't get any faster before it explodes back into the track. it's just simply cheesy and cliched.

they make up for it with tracks like bass cadet - which has almost become synonymous with the artificial intelligence series - and eggshell, which is one of my top 5 favourite songs for walking around while accompanied by a light snowfall.

the record was enough to get them some attention, but not enough to really break them. you can hear the talent, you can hear the abstraction; but it's hard to predict that they would go down the path they went down. early commentators may have heard an act that aspired to be a tangerine dream retro act. if, like me, you're more into their later stuff then approach with caution. but, approach. this is extremely enjoyable if a little bit formulaic.

This is a truly great electronic album. If not the best one ever created. I have alot of intelligent techno albums. But as good as some of them our they dont stand up to this master piece !!.I don't no the terminology for what they use to describe such beautiful tracks, All i know is i have never heard any think like this.I don't think talking about the tracks does any justice. You can listen contently all the way through as opposed to some patchy albums under the same genre. I am very picky when it comes to what i like and don't like. This album is faultless.I cannot even compare it with any think i have in my collection like 'global communication' "76:14" And saw 85/92.This is my personal opinion which I'm sure many other people will share.Autechre went on to produce to more astounding albums. 'Amber' and 'Tri-repetae++'. Like the first reviewer i would give incunabula a slight advantage over the one's I've mentioned.Buy it and enjoy!!

An album i'll never grow tired of. Autechre's debut album, Incunabula is a masterpiece on every level. I don't care if you hate electronic music, if you give this CD a chance it will win you over easily. The beats do tend to repeat themselves a lot throughout the songs, but if you listen carefully, their structure almost always changes slightly the next time. The is the kind of album that will take you on a journey... Whether in space or an abandoned planet... Autechre were and still are masters of the so-called "IDM" genre.

When I heard "Incunabula" for the first time, I was in a darkened room, where the only light was coming from a fireplace. Sitting in a comfortable chair with closed eyes while being absorbed (almost literally) by this muisc was an experience that is hard to tell in language. This magnificent album can really change one's view on music. Still sounding amazing, having been released 14 (!) years ago.

But you know what? I think it isn't really about the fact that "Incunabula" was way ahead of its time and remains a classic masterpiece. It's all about those unique mental states that it shows you. One could even say that you're not exactly listening to music, you're like surrounded by it, being in the middle of a sonic paradise.

Incunabula has to be one of THE essential electronic music albums of all time. When it was released I had been collecting WARP 12"s from the bass-and-bleep days, and bought the first "Artificial Intelligence" on faith. That album didn't set a foot wrong in my ears, and the subsequent series of AI LPs from most of the individual artists did not disappoint.

But the debut from virtual unknowns Autechre was the last in the series to be released (save AI vol 2 some time later) and as far as I'm concerned WARP really had saved the best to last. This album totally opened up my ears and blew me away. I couldn't get it away from my record player for weeks.

Every track brings lush textures, haunting melodies, and crisp clean intricate rhythms all underpinnig a variation of light and dark shades, moods and emotions. Instrumental music rearely comes more engaging than this. Coupled with this is the highly innovative artwork from Designers Republic, which really to me does look like a visual representation of the music - lush yet fractured, superficially subtle yet intricate and many layerd in detail.

My first copy was on the limited metallic grey vinyl - I took it back to the shop and exchanged it for a black one as it was pressed off-centre on one side and also suffered from pressing faults often found in coloured vinyl. A further coloured copy I acquired later also has the off-centre pressing, so maybe this was a common problem. These days I'm lazy and generally reach for my CD.

Incidentally the word Incunabula is Latin and refers to something in its infancy or early stages of development. Highly appropriate in the light of what was to follow from Autechre (and also from WARP, and the whole "IDM" scene).

As far as I am concerned this is THE greatest electronic album ever. It takes you on a very personal journey through the landscape of ambient music with some clips and breaks here and there. Nevertheless always perfectly fitting in. Even if you are listening to it for teh hundreds time, you'll always find something new and never heard before in the tracks. Specifically the track "444" is beyond all senses. Besides "Amber" and "Garbage", Incunabula is the best work of Booth and Brown and I'd give the album a slight advantage over aforementioned albums/records.
Truely a masterpiece of music in general. Absolute goose-flesh.

Autechre's first album is not one to missed. A minimal/ambient/IDM album full of great beats. Track 1, Kalpol Introl gives the listener an eerie, almost alien-like intro to the album. Then you've got the next couple tracks that seem to balance inbetween lovely beats and atmospheric rhythms. Track 5, Basscadet, is a stand out and could probably even be played in a club. The rest of the album combines all of the elements already mentioned... However the ending track is reason enough to get this CD in my opinion. The slow, electronic ambient rhythm of it really must be heard for yourself. I don't feel explaining it would do it justice.

Little known fact about this album - its actually just a collection of songs that Booth and Brown put together to form an album. No real direction or theme was intended.. Still the track order works well and this is a classic of Autechre.

A must have electronic album of the early 90s. With Autechre's debut, we are treated to ambient landscapes layered with some noises. The opening track, Kalpol Introl will get you a preview of whats the come. Some of the tracks are instant favorites (Basscadet!) while others take some time to fully appreciate. A lot of people prefer Autechre's earlier releases compared the newer stuff. Thats understandable seeing how they got more and more expiremental as the years went on. Be that as it may, this release is an electronic classic.