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 dont no the terminology for what they use to discribe such beautifull tracks, All i know is i have never heard any think like this.I dont think talking about the tracks does any justice. You can listen contenty 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 dont 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.
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.
"Incunabula" is the first of three atmospheric, melodic albums Autechre released before they went absolutely insane (the other two being "Amber" and "Tri Repetae"). As I have studied "Incunabula," I have found that it draws frequent comparisons to the great Richard D. James's "Selected Ambient Works 85-92," and have ultimately decided that this is an apt comparison (though Incunabula is just a shade darker). It is one of the albums directly responsible for the creation of the ever-ubiquitous, ever-pretentious "Intelligent Dance Music" or "IDM" subgenre of electronic music presently dominated by such artists as Boards of Canada and Amon Tobin.
Autechre's subsequent albums are good, but they are VERY challenging and require a lot of patience and analysis to make them worthwhile. If you are new to Autechre (pronounced awe-teck-er, btw), start here and, if you dare, work your way up in chronological order. More recent albums like "Draft 7.30" and "Untilted" are strictly experiments in rhythm and minimalism and in my opinion belong more at the back of an electroacoustic music textbook than on the shelf of a record store. If you start there, chances are you'll be so weirded out that you'll write off all their albums, past and present, and effectively make one of the biggest mistakes of your life (i.e., that's what happened to me). "Incunabula" is easy to enjoy, and along with "Amber" constitutes Autechre's prettiest, most human work to date. If you want to know more about how modern electronic music got started, or if you're just looking for some good, ambient electro with no strings attached, "Incunabula" is not only great listening, it's history.
Out of the ordinary. Yet again one of those "11 years on, still unbeaten" records. As a whole it is an extremely pleasure-inducing record to listen to, provided you do so very carefully and concentrate hard on the music. Like somebody said above, after all this time I'm still not fed up with it. I honestly think there are enough intricacies in the music to keep you interested for ever.
I cannot even pinpoint specific tracks, they're all wonderful. An album for life.
I really don't know if I should give this album 4 or 5, but it's a rally great album nonetheless. Incunabula is another album in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series and it's a very good idea checking out the other albums too.
The opening track works well as an intro (this track was also used in the strange movie "Pi"), before the next track, and the album's first highligt, Bike. This is one of the more chilled tracks ae has made and has a really sweet, lovely melody. The other highligt on this album is Doctrine, and I think this is one of the best tracks from the old ae style. It opens with some strange sirene-sounds before some of the most beatiful synth layers I have ever heard comes in. Then you have Eggshell, also a good old ae classic. The last three tracks end this album perfect with 444 as a finale.
This album should really be in everyones IDM/Ambient/Chillout collection and is a very good place to start with if you are new to Autechre.
This was the first album I got by Autechre and it got me hooked. I must say I was somewhat taken aback by some of their later albums when compared to this one, but they are definately my favourite electronic band of all time. There are a few low points on this record (Bronchus 2 and Windwind, for example) but as a whole, it's a very good album. Amazing ambient melodies and interesting beats combine to make an excelent listening experience. Be prepared to sit through some long tracks, but if you've got time to kill it's well worth it. Turn the lights off and relax. Highlights are Kalpol Introl/Bike, Doctrine, Maetl, Eggshell and 444. Basscadet is a good song (it was their first single), but it's not as good compared to the aforementioned songs. 9/10.
The name Incunabula sounds like an example of Autechre's talent for creating weird and wonderful titles but it's actually a real word - used to refer to books made prior to 1501 AD using the "moveable type" printing press. More generally the word can also be used to describe anything in its earliest stages so it's a very appropriate title for this, the duo's debut LP.
I remember the feeling that I had when I first listened to Incunabula. I had shivers all over my body while I was listening to the last track 444. 444 is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful tracks ever released. That's not to say that the rest of the tracks aren't great. On the contrary, the whole album is a masterpiece, and each track fits perfectly in it. I've listened to it a hundred times and it never tires me. I find new melodies and new worlds every time I listen to it. 10/10
Autechre's debut release is a thesis statement to their musicallity. Autechre's present delving intricaces are still representations of their earlier works, especially Incubunula. Unheard are these classic melodies such as "444" and "Maetl" but are nonetheless underneath the girated surfaces. There is much to be admired here. Bike's very human structured formula is probably the most clockworked piece you'll hear of Booth and Brown. As stated before, 444 and Maetl are two memorable tracks that come to mind that will have you entertained in harmonious nature. If you're looking for a demanding record, this is not your domain, otherwise start here if you are new to the machine maniacs that are Autechre.
Simply an amazing debut; granted, it does come off as being a bit too clinical, but when one listens to tracks such as "Basscadet" and "Doctrine", all is forgiven.
And then we have "Windwind", clocking in at over 11 minutes. But what an 11 minutes! Close your eyes when listening to this track; being outdoors helps, as well. It will take you places.
Unlike the rest of their constantly excellent set of albums and EPs, Autechre's first album doesn't make it a brilliant start - it's not that off either but 'Incunabula' still sounds a bit pretentious and wasting much of its CD time. The album starts with a chillingly pulsing 'Kalpol Introl' which continues into 'Bike' and so on and so forth, the names change in their abstract language understood only if translated from today's electronical currency - apart from another lonesome and excellent rhythmic craze of 'Bass Cadet' the rest as a whole seems to be more like a tuning-in towards priceless beauties of 'Amber', 'Tri Repetae', 'Chiastic Slide' or any of their later achivements.... Nothing to be grim about, still 'Incunabula' is more like Autechre's self-indulging affair rather than the excitement capturing the listener all the way through. 3/5
Memories of Ireland and Snowdonia affect me everytime I hear this album (for that is where I was living when this was released). A truly exceptional piece of work.