Autechre ‎– EP7

as always, a few new ideas are presented on this compilation and those ideas contribute to an increasingly complex sound. the three major ideas introduced on the first ep (track 1 through 5) come from hip-hop, reggae and dwayne goettel.

the hip-hop influence is an overall, aesthetic influence that also appeared in their physical marketing around the time in the form of snapshots involving hoodies. it's certainly not as though autechre was the only act at the time that somewhat surprisingly embraced hip-hop; major industry insiders were chanting that hip-hop was on it's way to becoming the pop music of the next generation and in 2009 it seems as though these predictions have mostly been accurate. it would have been difficult to not get caught up in the hype; in 2009, this record still sounds amazingly cutting edge and would probably be received as amazingly cutting edge if it were released tomorrow with the label "fuck buttons" on it.

there are actually two tracks with "raps" on them, but they're not what you would normally conceive of as "raps". to begin with, on the first of the two anyways, the rapping appears to not only be impossible to decipher but actually composed by using a random number generator (this is a very old technique that thom yorke gets all the credit for and likely did lift from autechre records); it's actually remarkably well put together because it somehow manages to maintain the flow of a natural "rap", even though it is clearly a random number generator hitting nonsensical vocal samples. the second of these "raps" is at the end of the 9th track and mixed into a dark industrial sort of beat that sounds more like something from the mind of trent reznor than something from the mind of ice t. both of the "raps" are mixed to the background and treated effectively as keyboard parts.

in short, the musical influence of hip-hop beats and the general feel of hip-hop is all over this record, but the vocal influence of hip-hop rapping barely registers at all. the same thing could be said of the reggae influence: it's all wailers and no marley.

the only thing i really like about reggae - and i'd say this of the blues as well - is the prominence of playful interjections of improvisation in the face of otherwise very structured music. musicians would say something about reggae and blues acts being very "tight". the music itself is often based on traditional chord arrangements and the rhythms are never very exciting; it's the improv that interjects something that the listener can recognize as being more than a familiar pattern.

autechre somehow managed to port that "looseness" and "freeness" to electronic improvisation on this record and in very bizarre ways. the noise generator and the sequencer go out back and smoke a fat one; when they come back in, the sampler is pissed that he wasn't invited and attempts to take advantage of their inebriation by trying to force them out of time. in response, they just ignore him (his response is why they didn't invite him out back) and continue to jam together.....both the noise generator and sequencer seem capable of missing the 1 by a 32nd and they like playing between the count and sometimes wandering a little bit off key. this is the profound reggae influence on this record; it is the first time i've heard electronic musicians use electronic instruments to legitimately "jam" with each other.

neither booth nor brown have been shy about admitting the sheer volume of goettel/key compositions that they've digested over their lifetime; puppy has always been a big influence. in conjunction with the more open, organic reggae influence comes an infusion of the mid 90s "sonic tapestry" wall-of-everything sound that download successfully pioneered, minus the harsh vocals. this seems to come as a bit of a tying of loose ends in the sense that it as an attempt at ordering chaos.

it is important to keep in mind that the record was initially released as two eps, ep 7.1 and ep 7.2 and hence the odd name considering that this is an lp and not an ep, with the second ep starting at track 6. track 5 is constructed in an epic, album closing kind of way but it really bleeds more into the second ep...

....the second ep is constructed like a suite, with the tracks running directly into each other. the same general ideas are explored, but the hip hop and reggae influences are toned down a bit to bring out the kind of sound that is more expected from autechre; that cold, mechanical, glass-house sound. yet, the attempt at toning the computerized aesthetic down a bit in favour of a more humanized feel is also apparent. if chiastic slide was music tailored for a sims type reality, ep 7.2 is more like a virtual version of the sims where the player is not merely watching the characters that they've created wandering around but is actually experiencing what they experience as they're doing so.

overall, this is not the most compelling record in the autechre back catalog but when these rackets hit their stride they hit some of the highest points that electronic music has ever hit. when netlon sentinel hits it's climax, all of a sudden the first 20 minutes of the second ep make perfect sense and are entirely justified; when the resolution of pir finally lands, the result is just plainly satisfying. yet, despite the fact that the record only shines at certain points, those moments do not make sense out of context. so, this record belongs in a small group of compositions that are all about rewarding the listener for their patience. in that respect, perhaps the first three tracks are simply superfluous.

this should absolutely not be the first record of this style that you listen to but if you're familiar with the general style then you should be able to appreciate the second ep as the challenging and rewarding piece of music that it is......just be sure to listen to it through a good pair of headphones while walking through a forest during a blizzard.

The fractured, industrial sound evident throughout the whole of this 'EP' is a sound that epitomises Autechre - a sound that was deemed unclassifiable has now become classifiable in itself. EP7, like other Autechre releases seems to draw inspiration from science and technology and the tracks here wouldn't be out of place used in TV commercials of the same thing. By coincidence, the track title 'Zeiss Contarex' is uncannily similar to Zeiss Contax - a german brand of camera originating from Dresden in East Germany. The sleeve design by Designers Republic echoes Autechre's work and the line fractals beneath the frosted jewel case suggest precision engineering and repetition. This repetition is evident throughout EP7 as with the 8-minute 'Maphive 6.1'. Certainly enough to make the early avant garde musique concrete composer's heads spin. I wonder if the late Pierre Schaeffer, the so-called inventor of musique concrete would have made of Autechre's work?

Six years on and EP7 is still a strong contender as any of today's electronica, one wonders what direction Autechre will go next. Their releases up to now follow are consistent, it remains to be seen (or heard rather), if they come up with something less predictable.

While this release has many good bits, I found it extremely difficult to get into, and I don't consider it their best work. One of the most interesting things about Autechre is their exploration of sonic contrast, so it's no surprise that the best tracks here ("Pir", "Netlon Sentinel", "Maphive 6.1") make liberal use of it. Where this contrast is not present, the music is choked by dry static and uninspired textures.
"Rpeg" and "Ccec" are great, and reveal the extent to which Ae's music is inspired by rap and hiphop. "Maphive 6.1" is the centrepiece of the record, and features skittering insect drums layered over massive timpanis and interspersed with DSP-mangled piano, reminiscent of the Peel Session 2 EP. "Pir" is a pretty melody undercut by strange percussion that sounds like it's been run through a bad MPEG-1 compressor.
I'd recommend the "classic" Autechre releases before EP7, but it's still a worthwhile purchase.

Maphive 6.1 sounds like a lost track from the Super Metroid soundtrack. Spooky, alien, maddening, almost as if it was sent backwards in time from an archaeological dig site on Mars. Sometimes these guys miss the mark, but sometimes you're sure they're channeling something greater than us all.

Although this release is labeled an EP, there is about 60 minutes of new music on here. A companion album really, to LP5. However I find LP5 much more enjoyable then this one. The beats, sounds and style are similar on both releases but this one seems to lack the bite that LP5 provided. If you are a fan of LP5 though, you'll most likely wanna pick this one up too.

I have pretty mixed feelings about Autechre, and not smooth I-F mixing quality feelings, lately it feels like they are just DSP wankers, faking the funk, however this a great showcase of fat-ass robot beats that will give you mindgasmic pleasures from centuries so far ahead they are already behind.

Track number 5 sounds like every Apparat track ever.
Not bad at all.

EP7 is for me, one of the biggest progressive leaps in the Autechre discography. Much more complexity and more subtle use of frequencies to create twisted but beautiful sounds. Squeller is the standout track, a feverish percussive clashing groove which eventually fades away into a tunnel of sounds, leaving you wishing for more. If Tri Repetae is the "Obvious" classic Autechre release, then EP7 is the "difficult" classic. The one that takes time to get.

geometric in shape and Debussy in color. beautiful melodies accompany ae's usual complicated beat structures. some might be discouraged by it's sometimes repetitive sequences but this is where the listener is challenged to be patient and to discover the inner beauty of the album. Pir is beyond comprehension. *teardrop

Autechre has been on a path of increasing abstraction since 1995, but particularly, to my mind, from ep7 on and especially Confield and Gantz Graf. To me, it is Autechre's mastery of abstract rhythm/arrhythmia that makes Booth and Brown geniuses.

Worth the crazy asking prices being given out on ebay for the track Ccec alone. Superbly distorted and garbled hip-hop vocals that have been combined with ae's trademark killer production and majestic dischordant sounds. One of the first pieces of truly abstract hip-hop I ever heard. Awesome.