From Jonathan Tedds Sent Mon, Jun 14th 1999, 13:54
From Jonathan Tedds Sent Mon, Jun 14th 1999, 13:54
> Mark Stevens wrote: > As much as I like 'ep7', there are indications that a further > continuation or subtle development of this style could quickly become > tedious. It's difficult to see where they can go with their own > particular brand of digital editing. Of late, their tracks are more > about technique than anything else. I agree that this is the dominant trend in their output of late but I still think there is just about enough (human) music in there to make it worthwhile....you just wouldn't want the musical content to decrease any further in that sense! Hey, maybe it's a demonstration of why computers will probably never be able to match humans in composing original, moving music?! They can replicate emotive patterns but probably not connect many sequences together into an emotional whole that is more than the sum of its parts. In that sense EP7 is quite subversive which could be deliberate?! But then I do think there is still some human content in LP5/EP7......? > Funkstorung are steering themselves towards vocals. Their forthcoming > album will have a rapper and female vocalist contributing to most of > the tracks. Would it benefit Autechre to explore something similar -- > perhaps with the aid of Chantal? Interesting thought. I think Orbital have managed to include vocal samples in a way that really adds to their music when so often vocals can detract in a rather gratuitous way. Would be interesting to see what ae would do if they used more vocals but I wouldn't hold your breath...! > Or will we suddenly see a complete reversal and have Autechre > returning to Incunabula-style melodies? > Like I said, I've no specific problem with 'ep7', but it does > highlight a possible danger that Autechre could swiftly disappear up > their own arse if they're not careful. I wonder if EP7 is really a collection of unused/partially used out-takes from certain periods of their work - and in particular Incunubula and LP5? Though I think they may have messed around a bit with some of the older material for this release....I certainly found it refreshing to hear echoes of Incunubula compared to the more dry recent output. But I'm still fascinated by LP5 material all the same. It just doesn't satisfy my musical yearnings as much as their earlier material. I think their musical ability is one of the things that sets them apart and so I hope they continue to invest in that along with the experimental developments in music-making. Cheers, Jonny