Autechre
Amber
[TVT]
Autechre is the master at creating weird dimensional spaces by layering sounds
against each other. Starting from Brian Eno, one of the most important goals in
ambient music has been precisely this… to create an alternative environment that
transcends physical reality by using sonic impulse, comparable to the effects of
certain hallucinogenic natural substances.
"Amber" is Autechre’s darkest and heaviest record. It could be the chronologically first but I’m not sure about this. Newer Autechre is more complexed, light and entertaining in it’s bright, imaginative and colourful sounds mischievously interacting with each other, but here the spaces are rather cold and at times even unsettling. The very first sound that starts this record, is desolate, mystical and evil. Autechre’s rhythms and structurings are never obvious and they carry the listener’s thought with them also through the more melodically-inclined lighter parts of the music with absolutely no loss of effect.
The darkness in the spirit of Autechre is not aesthetic, but of the most profound nature. 74 minutes of length, this is a heavy and not easy listening in my opinion, even if the ambient/techno nature of it might point to that direction, especially if only partial attention is paid to the music. The spaces opened in each one of these 74 minutes of music are as grand, beautiful and revealing as in any ambient I have ever heard, so the difficulty should come as no surprise. If you are not familiar with this style of music, expect complex, layered, soft, variedly paced beats, imaginative futuristic and spacy soundscapes and a smooth flow of atmosphere from constricted and oppressive to free and open.
Recommended to be experienced in an altered state of mind, without unnecessary inner dialogues or energy-wasting contemplations of the "reality" we force ourselves to accept most of the time.
© 1999 black hate
"Amber" is Autechre’s darkest and heaviest record. It could be the chronologically first but I’m not sure about this. Newer Autechre is more complexed, light and entertaining in it’s bright, imaginative and colourful sounds mischievously interacting with each other, but here the spaces are rather cold and at times even unsettling. The very first sound that starts this record, is desolate, mystical and evil. Autechre’s rhythms and structurings are never obvious and they carry the listener’s thought with them also through the more melodically-inclined lighter parts of the music with absolutely no loss of effect.
The darkness in the spirit of Autechre is not aesthetic, but of the most profound nature. 74 minutes of length, this is a heavy and not easy listening in my opinion, even if the ambient/techno nature of it might point to that direction, especially if only partial attention is paid to the music. The spaces opened in each one of these 74 minutes of music are as grand, beautiful and revealing as in any ambient I have ever heard, so the difficulty should come as no surprise. If you are not familiar with this style of music, expect complex, layered, soft, variedly paced beats, imaginative futuristic and spacy soundscapes and a smooth flow of atmosphere from constricted and oppressive to free and open.
Recommended to be experienced in an altered state of mind, without unnecessary inner dialogues or energy-wasting contemplations of the "reality" we force ourselves to accept most of the time.
© 1999 black hate