WHY WOULD SOMEONE LISTEN TO THIS? // Autechre - Cfern // Composer Reaction & Analysis

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Cfern
ORIGINAL VIDEO // • Cfern
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0:00 Intro
00:57 Reaction
07:42 Analysis - Academically Interesting
12:17 Analysis - Unique Sounds
16:50 Analysis - Chaotic Piano
18:47 Outro
#reaction #autechre #idm

[@dampersand]

"Why would someone listen to this?" is a great way to get me to listen to this.

[@michealpants]

that's the only reason why i watched this one lol

[@CriticalReactions]

It's rather rare I'll use clickbait but since I actually brought this topic up I figured it was ok. 😅

[@carterthaxton]

I once went on a 48-hour road trip from St. Louis to Atlanta, and I listened to every Autechre album/EP in chronological order (up to Untitled, I believe - this was in 2005 or so). I was fully engaged, and loved every moment from start to finish. Yes, I truly love this band.

[@donkeyfacekilla1]

That sounds like a wicked road trip!

[@Darrenski]

That's because you and me are just listening to it to get off on and not trying to theorise or deconstruct it. You simply cannot think you have a handle on autechre unless you've experienced the variety they are capable of. For example bike is as far away from this as possible. I grew up around the same time as these guys in a city next up from Manchester. And Rochdale where they're from is basically the far outskirts of Manchester and to me their sound feels like my environment.

[@mrdetonia]

Great to see Autechre on the channel again! Yes, we do enjoy listening to it. Really. Honest. This one's pretty off the deep end even for them, though the album as a whole is a lot more of a cohesive piece. It's something I'll revisit from time to time. For me it's all about the sound design with this stuff; the feeling of being in an alien landscape, strange shapes and materials making sounds (which I think you were alluding to), the use of stereo + dynamic space, etc. etc. It either clicks or it doesn't, and it's not for everyone. I stopped trying to convince people otherwise years ago.

[@CriticalReactions]

"Alien landscape with strange shapes" is a great description for what I experienced.

[@do_happywork]

I find it rather cohesive and intentional.

[@RyleyAtk]

Longtime Autechre fan here - there’s an element of academic enjoyment to something like this for me but it’s not the primary thing. It’s a fun exercise in rhythmic and textural soundplay that stimulates in its satisfying regularity but without ever just rote repeating. The contrast in this song is also so satisfying and exciting - the muted fuzz of those pianos against the clank of the percussion is a textbook Autechre idea. Glad that you gave this a shot and were able to get some interesting reactions and thoughts out of it!

[@Tony-fx8fb]

When I listen to there older stuff, I grab influence from it to try some new sound design.

[@inamortz2372]

It's Hiphop from the year 3000. Loved this, thanks!

[@terrencebucker]

There is no polyrhythm reset-they had several rhythms sequenced, and then they programmed a way in Max/MSP to slide among those different sequences/rhythms, with new notes generated by the program. In a sense, they were using this slider, that was forced to come up with in-between sequences and rhythms, as an instrument. At least that's what I remember from an AMA they did.

[@CriticalReactions]

That explains a lot about this track😅

[@Korr123]

Except this is 2001. Max msp would appear on decades later

[@Arctic_Falcon]

@@Korr123 Maybe I've misunderstood your comment, but Max was around long before 2001. Autechre definitely used it for Confield.

[@def0rm0]

This kinda music is like medicine for my adhd brain. My brother was always confused how I could drive to this and aphex twin. It weirdly calmed my brain.

[@nym5qu17]

Yeah for real it feels like something that is on the same wavelength as my brain. One of the members has aspergers/autism which makes alot of sense.

[@benjaminthompson5025]

I'm autistic and music like this just speaks to me. Slows my brain down.

[@AJ-xx5ik]

Bryan, I requested this because I figured you needed some musical confetti after all the black metal. Or possibly a cold glass of audible lemonade, given the weather this summer. Great reaction, as always. Love your insights, and your honesty. I can't say much more than what others have already said in the comments. Autechre's music, quite literally, takes me somewhere else. Somewhere no other music has the capability of taking me. A place that's alien, yet alive, and void of humanity without being soulless. The rhythm, textures, atmosphere and song structures create a pseudo-psychedelic, synesthetic experience that I would not describe as "academic" at all. Ping-pong balls of different sizes, materials, velocities and shapes is a perfect way to describe the rhythm, and that's part of what I see when I listen to this song. I absolutely hated this song the first time I heard it, it actually made me angry. The way they destroy the rhythm during the middle section pissed me off so bad. To those asking why I chose this song instead of a track from their more accessible catalog... Why would I do that? That would be boring. Cfern is a perfect embodiment of what Autechre's music can do. And like a Dark Souls game, it rewards you with multiple attempts.

[@CriticalReactions]

It's certainly refreshing after all the metal. I like your ping pong ball idea -- it matches fairly well.

[@hologro]

There is a completely different setting with this title by Autechre (I'm a long time fan) on KZbin. Have you heard it? I feel I'm the only one.

[@liamshanley_21]

To answer the question, Autechre is one of my favorite groups and despite always hearing that this album is controversial, I think it's fantastic. It's a really huge step forward stylistically from their earlier work (which I also love). Rarely would I ever put on just one song from most artists, but especially Autechre. I remember early on in my journey with them, listening to their album LP5 a few times and not really "getting it", and one time while listening to it while killing time, falling asleep somewhere in the middle and waking up near the end totally in love with the album. I read someone else talking about doing the same thing with a different album of theirs. I mentioned something like this on the Portal reaction but I think I didn't even like Autechre the first time I heard them but they struck as so unusual that I couldn't stop thinking about it. There have been many times I thought I didn't like something, but I couldn't remember how it went, so I checked it out again to be sure that I really didn't like it, and then ended up loving it.

[@DSoverPSP]

I had a similar experience with Confield, actually. This album was actually my starting point with them since it was the only Autechre record available at my uni's library. I remember being completely thrown off of it at first, finding the album basically unlistenable for the first few listens. Until one night when I was feeling totally exhausted, and for some reason decided "fuck it, let's give Confield another shot" and somehow it finally clicked. I think the combination of repeated listens and lack of energy allowed me to stop overanalyzing it so much and just let the underlying grooves and melodies shine through. Which made it easier to appreciate all the clever little variations and weird details along the way as part of the fun rather than missing the forest for the trees. For me Confield is a very stinulating but also weirdly relaxing album because of that, I can just throw it on and lose myself in this very unique upside down alien sound world where not everything *has* to make sense. Like there are some more relatable elements in it to hold onto, but even those are often twisted and distorted beyond recognition, nothing ever stays 100% intact on this record so sometimes it's better to just let go and enjoy the ride.

[@liamshanley_21]

Yeah I’ve definitely found Confield to be deceptively chill

[@MarkErrington]

Confield is my favourite too. Ridiculously complex but extremely rewarding.

[@VenjerSixx.]

Autechre is my favorite musical group of all time

[@SpeedOfThought1111]

i LOVE how they play with time. I've heard this song many times and I like to kinda free solo drums to it while I listen to it. Some songs are to chill out to, but others are to engage with your creativity and mind processing like this one. I can understand how Autechre gets into the mindspace to make this as well since they're basically enjoying the improvisational aspects of creation, while you being a composer, I assume take the opposite approach when making music so it's hard for you to understand. Or do you ever just have fun improvising on an instrument and enjoying all the endless variations you can do with a beat or tempo?

[@brya1290]

The reason I personally love Autechre is because they stand up to endless revisitation. I can listen to music in pretty much any genre and pick up all the details and hooks and tricks and flourishes within a couple of plays. I hear something different whenever I listen to one of Autechre’s tracks and that just makes them infinitely interesting. I don’t always like all of their tracks but I certainly admire the skill and the attention to detail. Interesting an ensemble called Alarm Will Sound did an acoustic cover version of Cfern for an album they did called Arhythmia, and it’s pretty impressive that they got so very close to the source material

[@pinkmidi6553]

I love autechre because they rewire my brain and help me study!! I think you let your knowledge as a composer distract you from just getting lost in the song. electronic music doesn't always go parallel with music theory. it allows for a lot more creativity and wonkiness

[@Tony-fx8fb]

Same!

[@riChchestMat]

So good for writing

[@user-sl6tq9rv3o]

Yes yes. Autechre can be like getting lost is musical wilderness and when we are lost, that's when adventures happen

[@yesok2522]

Feels like whoever picked this track did so specifically to try to make Bryan have a mental breakdown lol. Love you tried to groove with it at first but then gave up about 1/3rd in. Confield is probably my favorite album of all time, it's completely alien and cold even by Autechre standards, it creates a pretty bizarre and at times terrifying soundscape that you just get completely lost in. It tickles my brain in all the right ways.

[@CriticalReactions]

I searched so hard for understated polyrhythms to find a beat or something. Giving up was my first step in understanding Autechre :)

[@nomad_boreal]

I remember an interview from the early 2000s where SB said something like "this is pop music compared to some of the stuff we considered putting out". Goes to show that they probably have a gold mine of unreleased material hidden from the public.

[@deadrevolt5900]

I just feel like I enjoy it more (in a casual perspective) the more I listen to it. There is a point in your Autechre listening where you just fully conceptualize every sound in your head. Then, you can dance to it, enjoy it, since it doesn't feel random anymore. This feeling of "getting it", "conceptualizing it" is one of the most satisfying feelings I happened to encounter in music. But yeah I think it demands several listenings (which can be an euphemism for some of their tracks) to really be able to enjoy it casually.

[@dalek604]

From what I understand you're supposed to listen to Autechre's album's chronologically, they're kind of like Mondrian with his painting getting more abstract through time, upping the ante step by step.

[@ahmetcankirmizi]

It’s just music man, you really gotta listen to really get a grasp but with autechre, it’s just normal music presentented in an unconventional way. the more you listen the more you realize it’s just normal music, structured the same way as any other music. i hope you can like them one day :) they’re great

[@AladdinAudible]

Maybe the attraction for some is that the music enduces a sort of hypnotic, altered state as one's mind is confronted by all those complex, interesting sounds that break all the rules of conventional music. The impulse is to try recognise familiar patterns but this results in dissonance. Either one eventually surrenders to the music, so to speak, or else stops listening. Just a thought

[@spacespirit338]

Hello! Thanks for the review Autechre! I have a classical music education, I am a musician, I love complex and interesting music, which is built like a building of modern architecture with many details. It was a great discovery for me to meet the Autechre duo. They are one of my favorite bands. I love Bach, Mozart, Beethoven Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Schnittke, as well as Prodigy, Ambient and IDM, but Autechre is like the quintessence of everything I love. Therefore, if you are interested in my opinion on which of their tracks you can listen to, here are a couple for you: Treale, Surripere, X4, c16 deep tread, Sublimit, Acroyear2, Sim Gishel, clustro casual, nineFly, Left Blank. Of course, this is not all of their interesting work, but it’s enough for a start. Enjoy P.S. It would be interesting to see the reaction of some track from the list on your channel.

[@opethium647]

The next track in this album "Pen Expers" is probably the best Autechre song imo

[@user-fb9yb5tx8p]

I really enjoy Autechre, but not the same way I enjoy most music. For me, Autechre is an experience in contrasts. I am always thoroughly amazed by the way they manage to hook me to a song despite finding it deeply unsettling. Their music often puts you in a weird uncanny valley where you recognize some traditional song structure here and there, but it is masterfully deconstructed in genius, artful surprising ways. I'm not so much ''enjoying this'' in the sense that it makes me feel good, but rather in a state of awe at their creative genius that is rewarding maybe even more than music that is pleasing to the ear. Their music hypnotize me even though it's not a comfortable experience. I don't think it is MEANT to be listened to ''casually'' in the sense that you have to give it your full attention and somewhat be analytical in your listening to ''get'' it and let it hook you.

[@CohenMejan]

I very very regularly listen to Autechre just for the enjoyment of it, including tracks like this one. I do think this is on the more abstract end of their work, Confield in general is, but I'll still listen to it for my own pleasure. When you said "there was nothing here for me to connect with at all", that kind of ironically encapsulates why I connect with it. A lot of their music feels like it's coming from this place of not feeling understood, feeling like the chaos of the world somehow sees you as an outlier of nonsense. On an emotional level I do connect with that. This era of their music especially very much feels to me like it's in pain from this inability to be understood, and no matter what it does to try and seem normal sometimes, it still obviously has no control over itself. I only just realized this now as I'm typing this comment, but I think in a way I see many of Autechre's tracks as people. I might sound absolutely insane with this but yeah. Their tracks have lives, and they're either giving us little glimpses into their struggles, or inviting us to join them in escaping those struggles by staring into empty space for an hour straight. I'm so happy you give these guys the time to truly try and appreciate what you can about their music, in this and your video on "1 1 is". I feel like it would be so easy to just dismiss them, which is usually what ends up happening. Seeing you try and talk at great length at what you get out of them is just so refreshing. I hope to see more of them here. :)

[@koroboro6651]

I used to ask same question about Autechre, being unable to connect with their music at all. Howewer I could not deny the enthusiasm that fans of theirs expressed, trusting it to be genuine, thus continued to give Autechre a try from time to time. And at some point it just clicked. I enjoy them very much now, and the moment of that final discovery was probably the most exciting in my experience as music listener, it led to explosive expansion of my horisons in what music can be.

[@jenspacholsky329]

I can completely relate to that. It actually took me 2 years to grasp the Confield album. And then one night it just clicked and that click stayed ever since. That's why I buy Autechre without listening to it or even if I don't dig it at first. I know that their music takes time because it is so far out there, so at the fringes of my own music perception.

[@happe.floaterinc821]

I've been a fan since close to when they started there's been quite an evolution they have so many different sounds and styles they are always trying to push the envelope and explore new regions I consider them to be Geniuses yeah I can recognize not all of it is easily digestible in comparison to other groups and in comparison to anyone else this is where their strength lies I would say there's only a few acts that are similar they are in their own realm and by the way if you think this one is odd there's many more that go away further into weirdness... try GANTZ GRAF... the video is unbelievably cool... fantastic

[@nomad_boreal]

I listened to Cfern almost daily back in 2001, right after Confield came out that spring. I remember just shutting myself in my bedroom back in high school, staring out the window while listening to this. Felt like it permanently rewired my brain overtime. Ae truly are one-of-a-kind in the history of music, not to mention they remain active today, after more than three steady decades.

[@fourtreemouths]

i love hearing stories from OG Autechre fans, experiencing the music as it came out, before streaming services. I got into them around when the Elseq collection came out, and i definitely have listened to all their stuff, and find value in most of it, but mostly prefer anything post LP5.

[@ottolehto]

This is one of my favourite tracks ever! Groovy and jazzy and alien sounding at the same fime. It has definite hip hop, drum 'n bass and ambient influences mixed in with intricate engineering tricks to create unique sonic architecture. It is the musical equivalent of Kandinsky or H.R. Giger. It can be pretty inaccessible if one does not have the vocabulary to speak its language.

[@Loopzofficial]

Autechre is an absolute go-to for me. So yes, I would listen to this loads of times, have done and will continue to do so. It’s not for everyone and that is ok. They are amazing at crafting sounds and production that takes us to places that we seem to lack from other artists. Love them

[@bonchbonch]

Your analysis is spot-on, I think. It's like technical jazz or other academic forms of music. Interesting to hear but challenging to find something to hook onto without the context of the process behind the music.

[@abyssaldroid]

i like a lot of experimental music because it breaks rules and shows what is musically possible, but listening the autechre is like stepping into a new universe where the rules themselves are different. they aren't being broken or ignored on purpose, the fundamentals of autechre's universe are different; and this reality is hard to parse but it's fresh and bizarre and imaginative. what i also love about autechre is how organic they sound is despite being so strange and esoteric. each track is like encountering an organism from a different reality that challenges your understanding of how life should and can work. autechre are difficult, but - if you can surrender to their perspective - deeply rewarding.

[@dmellis]

Autechre has always been one of my favorites. I love their percussion and arrangements and all the observations you made about the "instrumentation". I will say that this album Confield is not considered one of their best but this was a fascinating thing to watch someone hear who doesn't know Autechre.

[@byronjohnson-blanchard6765]

The shapes, textures, and colors are unique and exciting to listen to for me. It engages my imagination. I’m a drummer who has played many popular styles of music, so this music gives me fresh ideas to try to emulate.

[@ffu-jf1ph]

This song has always just felt like a cool drum solo track to me. I don't hear anything random about it; I hear repetition and variation same as most other song.

[@colearnold8193]

I highly recommend listening through their discography especially if you like electronic music. They make music that makes me feel stimulated in ways I didn’t know music could do.

[@luker.6967]

This is great. I love other genres of music infused with jazz. The end drags a bit for me but overall it was enjoyable. I've heard some autechre but I'm gonna check out this whole album now.

[@dalek604]

I bought the album when it came out. Till this day I've still not made my mind up, this track is not even the worst offender on the album, there's track on there that sounds like someone munching on elastic bands.

[@3cstasy7410]

I can't even tell if you're talking about Parhelic Triangle or Bine

[@dalek604]

@@3cstasy7410 Parhelic Triangle, I did have to go back a check tho

[@goldenboy140]

but there's also Uviol which is just beautiful and calming

[@TheCeembee]

@@3cstasy7410bine is WILD

[@jenspacholsky329]

Do you listen to this casually? No, of course not. Autechre need your full attention. If you give it, you are up for an amazing sound journey.

[@DerekPower]

Ah yes, you returned to Autechre I see =D So I am one of those guys who would listen to this. I was going on 19 when the album Confield came out and it was just when I discovered Autechre for myself with Tri Repetae. I got the US edition, which had two of their EPs in a second disc: the industrial-sounding Anvil Vapre and the "Amber outtakes" Garbage. But Confield was from a different world altogether and that was what made it so appealing to me. I love how the patterns are not easily discernible or recognisable. And yet, it's not completely foreign or, dare I say, alien. I think because at the time I was - and still am - drawn to textures and timbres, Autechre had some of the most fascinating and inspiring textures around. In the context of Autechre, Confield represented a kind of line-in-the-sand where they were utilizing more computers and programs of their own design to do a kind of intricate generative-like music as opposed to more hardware solutions. They will set up different parameters and challenges on what music to make, of course. But you can note a difference between the albums before Confield and the ones after. I don't know how else to explain it as talking about Autechre is much like ... writing about music, which itself is like dancing about architecture. It is unashamedly my cup of tea, but I don't resent anyone else for thinking it isn't for them =].

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Fascinating stuff indeed...like another "song" you covered from them that I did enjoy way more ("1 1 is", from the excellent "Exai" album). Hard to explain to you why, but yeah casually I would enjoy it if in the good mood for it, even an entire album (well, to be confirmed though). There is something there that comes across for me like "organic-electronic 2075 hip hop & jazz fusion" or something, on the edge of being too cerebral for me but thanks to some humour that I find in this music (like the weird splashy sounds you mentioned, even if these are not my fav sounds from them). There is also a kinda "hidden & often creepy/dark linear pattern" in their music that I find shockingly catchy...even if my brain at times hears "random & fun" overall intention (and not to mention "retro video gaming noises tribute "), I sense it is not, or not only... They have some "attractive/repulsive" effect on me a bit like COIL, for instance....I have to dig more in their music to see where they are going...

[@Thatfruitydude]

I am a casual music fan. I can read sheet music and play the sax but I’m no Mozart. To me Autechres music does strike a feeling in me to want to analyze their music, but it also has a lot of fun grooves and sounds which keeps it from feeling like just studying. This is a track from one of my favorite albums of theirs that I do throw on casually. My favorite track is eidetic casein and it’s certainly a track from them I can throw on randomly for casual listening and often does come up in my playlist. I love the way it sounds and since I caught you appreciating their sound design work towards the end of this track I’d highly recommend it to you as well.

[@rodrigoalbertoserranodeval819]

Autechre for me is surrealistic architecture music. Its like hearing a colorfull landscape with intricate structures

[@radfaraf]

As someone who enjoys this it just sounds really interesting is all I can really put to it. I think it's something that grows on you too over time, you start with music that is only a little bit 'out there' and progress over time and you learn how to listen to it and enjoy it somehow. It's just interesting sounds arranged in an interesting way, it's not the type of thing I would listen to hours a day everyday, but something to enjoy anyway with more focused listening usually.

[@user-ub8vx8zd1d]

i feel like autechre is a band where literally every album of theirs (even their earlier stuff) grows on you tremendously. i remember the first time hearing confield i was just confused for the full hour but something about the completely alien soundscapes kept drawing me back in. imo they’re not a band that you can solely judge off of first listen. still though, absolutely not for everyone and i feel like you have to really be committed to doing multiple relistens of albums you might not necessarily “get”. defo feels very academic at first but if/when you get into it it starts to feel more normal lmao. i turn their stuff on all the time when i’m walking or taking the bus

[@dave808au]

There is some form of slightly controlled "randomness" to the beats on this song and the album as a whole actually. If I recall correctly, this album was about them using some generative software to create some variations to patterns which they weren't in full control of... essentially having the software as a 3rd band member who'd mess with things a bit. They'd then use those variations to construct other things around. You mentioned there's probably some sort of loop that's stretched out so long so we don't know it's a loop but I'm pretty sure that for this album there is never any exact loop. It's supposed to remove any form of pattern so you detach yourself from the predictability any loops would bring so you immerse in it in a different way. The comments about needing to switch off a part of your brain for this era of them to click is how I feel too. The randomness is sort of by design though... they'd have full control over what aspects would become randomised and they chose very carefully what randomness to allow. That's just for the album this song is from (cornfield) by the way. on their next album they went completely in the opposite direction and hyper programmed each individual beat so they had full 100% control over every sound. Then the album after that was just with drum machines so all the sounds were hyper familiar and not alien then the album after that is essentially improvised jam sessions. Autechre definitely have some signature concepts they'll revisit a lot but their method of composition will change wildly from album to album. For each album they pull apart their studio and approach and start from scratch. I think for most fans the production process is just as interesting as the output.

[@sig7049]

So, this is a blast from the past! I used to *really* be into electronic music in the 90s through the early 2000s before returning to metal of all things 😊 Actually bought that album by Autechre back in the day. I found it deeply fascinating, not really pleasant though. What I like about it is how Autechre challenged my perception of what music is. It's like where other artists are starting off with conventional structures and adding more noise, Autechre started with noise and then posed the question: How much structure do we need to add to make it qualify as music?

[@SavageIntent]

I quite liked it in a way. It caught my interest.

[@garki1369]

A sonic experience like this compels me to want to try to break out of the behavioral and psychological ruts I am in. But that is a tall order.

[@erkkapehto9125]

I love to listen to something like this as this kind of strangeness can express very specific atmospheres or emotions. Something unexplored or even an emotion that does not exist

[@mot00rzysta]

On first listen to this album back in 2002 I wanted to return the CD to the record shop. It's one of those albums that "grow on you". As a bedroom music producer I have been inspired by them lots of times. And I still enjoy their stuff. "Why would someone listen to this?" This particular track has one of the most interesting drum/rhythm patterns on this album and in Ae catalogue. When the beat wanders off - I tend to focus on "melody". When beat draws my attention - I come back to it. I sometimes imagine Sean or Rob just "manually" programmed the whole beat pattern - and meant not to be repetitive. Or just one of them played with real electronic drumkit and put it through some effects. Why not ? Ae music is all about sound imagination. Thank you for the video ! Hope you come back to Autechre music soon :)

[@AJ-xx5ik]

"This particular track has one of the most interesting drum/rhythm patterns on this album and in Ae catalogue." I requested this specifically for the bizarre rhythm. Glad I'm not alone!

[@twoeggcups]

Confield never grew on me. This and Draft 7.3 put an end to my Autechre listening. Their sound design and dynamics never really evolved after Tri Repetae, but they increasingly abandoned melody and rhythmic coherence. I always just assumed they were pissing about with Max MSP and had transcended music and moved into ambient in its truest sense - sound as architecture. I’m still happy to play Incunabula, Basscadet, Amber or Tri Repetae and enjoy them.

[@grantmitchel]

You sort of have to train your ear to listen to this sort of stuff but when you do its really rewarding. You sort of have to learn how to resist and go with it and find the gems in the chaos.

[@forschungfreiesleben-intrinsiq]

Definately one of my favourite tracks. Live in darkness there is nothing to compare today. Goose bumps all over unlimited. The Album "Confield" is really twisted and special. I needed long time to get into it. Still discover new things, like, stuff i disliked i enjoy today the most: like "bine". Autechre is something special, that needs the right time and moment. But when it catches you once for real, like a virus, you can't get enough of it. Autechre creates masterpieces in my opinion, which need time to comprehend and deeply get into it. For Brown and Booth its just, playing. And some try to figure what it means

[@Skorren]

As someone who has listened to autechre for a while now I can say that I really do enjoy it, however I totally understand where you are coming from. I would say that I had a similar reaction when I first starting listening (finding them interesting, but not really enjoying it per say). The thing which I find extremly fascinating about autechre is that the more you listen to them, the more you sort of understand the "logic" of the track and the more "casual" the listening experience becomes. Its a bit like these paintings were at first you just see a bunch of shapes, but suddenly it all transforms into a beautiful artwork once you understand how you are "supposed" to view the image.

[@eeeezypeezy]

Autechre's one of the greats imo. I've got to be in the right headspace to want to put them on, but when I am and I do, nothing else hits as good. There's something compelling about the way every aspect of the sound you hear was designed and placed just so. It sounds so cold and inhuman and off-kilter at first, but somehow once you just give into it and let it flow it sounds incredibly warm and emotional. To me anyway :D I think their track "pendulu hv moda" is my favorite thing they've done to date.

[@VestigialLung]

You mentioned how nice electronica can be as a palate cleanser, and I think that’s how this would best hit for me. I’d probably not be interested in an entire album of this, but as a standalone track on an album that normally skews towards something different, I’d never skip it. You’ve done a couple of Unexpect tracks now. In the middle of their In A Flesh Aquarium album, there’s a track titled Silence . The track is very different than this but still fits into that electronic music mold, and serves perfectly to break up the avant-garde extreme metal of the album. Replace it with this track, and I’d probably love it for the same reason. This was a fun listen, and making a track this long this still without it getting boring can’t possibly be easy.

[@fourtreemouths]

The past few weeks I have been listening to Autechre almost exclusively (this happens every few years). I listened thru most of the 2015 Live album sets (board recordings of live sets in different cities across Europe & the US) and it’s so interesting to hear the slight differences, the evolution of the set between cities. Some of my favorite sounds they’ve made are in those live sets, and some of the wildest.

[@Little_Internet_Monster]

They just love to play with sound design and new ideas. They are pretty relaxed and not so serious about how to make something sound good. Most people on KZbin try to learn every tutorial about how to do IDM, but almost nobody just goes experimental ´with the risk to get a reputation damage´ for sounding insane or terrible. Thats the difference. You need to build up your own artist personality and they are part of the few people that did it. They could smash against the wall, record it with a smartphone and trigger a falling bottle of beer into a groove, do a mixing of it and scratch it a little bit. Thats their attitude. Its not ´Oh, how do I need to use a EQ to make it sound good?´ ---- its more like ´How do I need to use the EQ to make it sound bad, destroy it, break it, put it all together in a new way, create a new instrument with it and turn it into a asymmetrical groove.

[@moog5260]

Autechre have been growing on me slowly for many years, I reckon one day it's all I will listen to

[@tamaskarolyi2106]

Autechre are the best! I love all their stuff. Cfern is a beauty of sound and really emotional too.

[@progperljungman8218]

Very interesting! Two thoughts: That bouncing sound comes off very much as a bit more modern sounding version of the vintage video game Pong. And, there's certainly (to me) much rewarding music that isn't the "chilling on a bean bag" kind. (Not saying this was it for me though.) LOVE the way you take pleasure in decomposing and analysing this though not enjoying it. Let's say I enjoyed this video experience 😊

[@CriticalReactions]

Oh man... Pong. Yeah, I can hear that concept now.

[@mattv2099]

Yes i listen to this be he intentionally chose a super weird song rather than one of their hits. Ive listen to Autechre for 20+ years and ive always thought most of their music is simply an academic experiment. But their hits hit hard.

[@AJ-xx5ik]

If you could have Bryan listen to one of their hits that go hard, what would you choose?

[@mattv2099]

@@AJ-xx5ik I would go to the basics of melody. Avoid "hits" which are person and avoid the dynamics. Go back to the artificial inteligence days. Leterel of Tri Repetae has a beautiful melody and is easy to listen to.

[@tubedLeVeNdiS]

For me, 'Cfern' embodies bereftness. LIstening to it, i phase in and out of a thousand-yard-stare mind state.

[@passivecee]

Well, yes. Autechre and æ-like music is specifically unique. There are few people in the world who honestly can appreciate this kind of music and who truly understand that “vibe”.. or at least just enjoy Autechre. I can say that they are my favourite band, or at least they are in my top 3. When I listen to them I just can feel deep inside me that this is the great music and almost every track lets me ascend into weird zones of my perception and I feel as the music opens me up.. I can’t really describe it better but I feel truly connected to Autechre’s music and they’re also inspiring, showing and proving that you don’t have to limit yourself when creating anything in any way. You just make what you want.

[@199ks9]

Yes, it can seem random but autechre frequently used max msp on most on their tracks since Confield and they use max to algorithmically program their drums with mathematics, Great review 👍!

[@RosszCsillag]

The initial hook, for me at least, is usually similar to your reaction of "I love that sound". A huge part of the aesthetic is just finding the sound design interesting and enjoyable. I've used the word puzzle to describe their music very often, because that's often the most compelling aspect at first. But after a number of listens and it develops some familiarity, it starts to be comfortable in a way that is hard to explain to someone who has not become accustomed. And then when you listen to them for several decades, you just 'get' the world they put you in. And I'm sure you can imagine the complexity of this music does reward a ton of repeated listens. I still regularly notice elements I hadn't noticed before in some of their tracks I've heard hundreds of times. Having said all of that, and as an Autechre mega fan, I kinda have to be in the mood to listen to it. It's typically not 'relaxing' as it demands a certain degree of active participation. Also it's probably fair to say that the majority of their works are spun out of fairly unique ideas and concepts, so the novelty kind of never ends. It's pretty uncommon to hear one of their tracks and think that it sounds like another one they have made.

[@bigzlilk1150]

Oh man, I love this track, but then Autechre is my favourite group. For this track, I love the sounds, soundscape and the amorphousness of the rhythms. One doesn't get used to Autechre's tracks, ones appreciation of them changes over time.

[@najem]

I love Autechre and they are one of my favorite bands. Some of their tracks took me years to actually feel them and enjoy them. It depends on the mood I’m in. Considering this track I love the jazzy first part which gives me goose bumps. Then the percussions take over the notes and melodies which fade away and this is to me a bit frustrating

[@JeroenBaxexm]

I remember listening for the Gantz Graf e.p. for 2 months straight. These guys (A.e.) ... Love them

[@kelpkelp5252]

It's hard taking one single track from them out of context. For me, it's all part of one thing, i.e. the album. I've been listening since they first started releases records. As someone else pointed out in the comments, usually it's best to listen to their albums in order to get used to the progression in the complexity. But yes, I would listen to this but I wouldn't just stick it on usually (occasionally though), usually I find myself listening to their albums in their entirety.

[@sevendaughters]

I do enjoy it on the level (I think there is some academic element to that, but that feels inseparable to me from enjoyment) - I can hear how they're reframing earlier electronic music through the (very refracted) lens of 90s dance music. It manages to be literate and enjoyable in basically fulfilling way to me - and I am not a hardcore experimental guy, I kind of tap out at layers of abstraction beyond this.

[@Side_3_Citizen]

It's art..Better question is why and how would someone make it? I've never understood the misunderstanding of electronic art. As someone who has played piano, drums, and also produces odd time electronic music sound is sound. Sound is art.

[@LandOfAbundance]

Fucking love this track

[@flyingsteaks]

Well, first off, I don't think Autechre is the easiest of groups to get into in your first listen (it sure took me a while at least), and Cfern is also not one of their easiest songs so it is not weird at all that you didn't get it. Some things I enjoy about this track is the eeriness of the melodic content, how the drums slowly evolve from that chaotic state to finally settling on a groove by the final portion of the song. Autechre is a lot about slow evolution and change, you get almost put in a state of trance and when you realize you have arrived at somewhere different from the beginning without ever realizing there was that big of a change. Also there's some great rhythms during that chaotic first few minutes.

[@EvgeniiNeumerzhitckii]

I enjoyed this album a lot when it came out, was pretty much on repeat. But it was after years of listening to IDM.

[@iconoclast137]

autechre is honestly one of my favorite artists. if you think this track is strange, try Cap IV from gantz graf ep

[@johnseward2934]

Autechre to me is that band where every track is bizarre and interesting in the moment and I'm intrigued....but I never find myself wanting to go back too listen again. They typically exceed my threshold for returnable experimentation, and I love experimentation in music. Aphex Twin seems to be my limit for experimentation that is, I don't know, cohesive? enough to want to go back and listen to again.

[@jordanbolm8517]

By far my favorite band

[@Diraldir]

Confield in particularly is one of their most fucky, so Alex knew what he was doing. They have easier albums to listen to (Amber, Incunabula, Tri Repetae, LP5, Quaristice or Exai, maybe try those) After a certain point you just get used to their music and it becomes easy to listen to. At least that was my experience and for many others. It took me years of listening to other experimental artists before I started to enjoy them. Now they're most of what I listen to, and I find 95% of their albums fantastic.

[@NGC_2264]

you might want to listen to the acoustic/orchestral cover made by Alarm Will Sound. I find myself listening to it more than to the original personally, this is one of my favorite tracks, as I love purely rhythmic stuff, same reason I think I like to listen to tech thrash

[@shaneburry]

Does anyone enjoy this? Well they have a legion a devoted fans that have followed their career for 30+ years now so, yes. For the record, Autechre is without a doubt the most interesting music group I have in my collection. They are definitely my favorite group. Glad to see a “real composer” give them some airtime. 👍

[@saltykraut]

some of these kind of tracks feel like palette cleansers in the context of the album.

[@Jeesmos]

6:53 I was waiting when you'll surrender and laugh after like minute 3d :)

[@terrordisco2944]

Its unfortunate that you can’t comprehend differing musical tastes and backgrounds. If i heard you correctly. Autechre are foremost loved as innovators, so fans of these tracks would have heard nothing else like them, when they came out. I was never a big fan but my flatmates all were, so I got to experience it through their ears. Their technical prowess meant that they were even leaving Aphex Twin in the dust as far as innovation goes. These guys, my former flatmates, really got a kick out of very alien sounds. 23 years on, the ideas of Authechre have all been appropriated into much more consumer friendly creations. But I’m sure these friends of mine still get a tingle. There’s a lot of music I can’y comprehend, but I’ve learned through friendships with people in different culture bubbles to understand and respect music that leaves me cold. Saying that enjoyment is incomprehensible is unnecesary, nobody likes hearing that regarding something they love.

[@terrencebucker]

VI Scose Poise and Uviol from this album are easier to get, at least emotionally. Pen expers is also a banger. But Cfern really only works for me in the context of the album as a whole-it's something you have to work through to experience the full story of the album.

[@Tony-fx8fb]

Since you're on this, how about Chris Clark, aka Clark?

[@DocDisco241]

So the first Autechre record is a melodic masterpiece. Not glitchy at all. For some context I got that record on its release in 1993. Everything after that, to me at least was exactly as your reaction.

[@MaartenT]

I enjoy their first 3 albums, but I can see how the 3rd one can already bounce off of people even though it still has some melody, it's already pretty glitchy. The second one is still pretty melodic and pretty close to the first one imo, it's a bit akin to early Aphex Twin or very early Plaid or similar projects around that time. I haven't listened a lot to their albums after that, but what I heard isn't really for me either.

[@dalek604]

Even albums 4 and 5 have their moments. Once it gets into Confield, you've truly entered the deep end.

[@astrocat2008]

I've been a big fan of Warp's "historical" artists (Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, LFO, Broadcast, etc.) including Autechre. BUT i started to listen to their music from day one. In the beginning, their music was more "straightforward", "easier", and not as beatless and/or toneless/timbreless (they come from ambient and trip-hop/hip-pop). But, in 2002 (just after Confield's release - which i really enjoyed), they released the Gantz Graf EP and the title track was the first Autechre track that felt like a wall, to me… I just couldn't get through it and appreciate it, at all… 😅 Which made me mad. I was mad at myself ! Because, i just couldn't "understand" their music anymore… So… I decided to continue buying their music… without listening to it ! And i told myself "your perceptions are going to evolve, or shift…" And in 2010, they released their "Oversteps" album, which was the first one i really tried to listen to, since 2002. And everything just clicked ! The music that they had being releasing since 2001 (Confield album) is not meant for… anything. It is not electronica meant for dancing, it is not ambient music to chill to, it is not meant to be "understood", it is just meant to be felt… it's just sounds, for you to accept into your life, and make whatever you want with it. It's not meant to be "recognised" and "analysed". It is music made with the ambition of having no boundaries, no preconceptions, and no fixed viewpoints of any kind (well, it does carry a few references, if you listen to a lot of IDM/electronica/musique concrète/contemporary classical like me). Thus, there are no references that you should hang on to, while listening to it. You should just "accept it" (or not), and let it interface with your present, in the way you would like it to… VERY ZEN 😄😌🍵

[@claudiaachammer9958]

🌷

[@Bakiyochi84420]

If this sounds insane to you listen to Acroyear2 by the same guys from the album LP5

[@jacobstaib5377]

Great vid! you should really check out their song 'Fold4 Wrap5'

[@rsalek]

"Aw- tech- rah" is how I always pronounced it

[@DJAdalaide]

Next up try Gantz Graf

[@pojuantsalo3475]

Autechre fan here since Incunabula, 1993. Autechre's music in interesting. The organic nature of it makes it sound almost acoustic, but extremely non-acoustic at the same time. At fist glance the music seems tiresome, but it isn't.

[@vvessel_]

People (like me) who like Autechre tend to come from hip-hop and music that overall isn't nesecarily ''complicated''. If you listen to their album ''exai'', you will find the deepest and hardest hitting grooves while at the same time you will feel the freedom of noise-music, because its ''randomness''. Everyone should I enjoy music their own way, but analysing Autechre, to me, is precisely what you shouldn't do. You're approaching this way too classical. Autechre are hip-hoppers / punks(?) at heart, and the fact that you're trying to annalyze this is very funny to me. This is of course my personal take. Maybe I'm just full of shit. I like that you innitiated conversations with this video.

[@CriticalReactions]

You're probably right about the intended, or even "proper", listening style for this. While I do think there is strong academic concepts here, for anyone that isn't trying to find new complex rhythms for their own writing there's very little to extract here from a critical lens. But listening casually, just taking it all in and soaking in the sounds of the whole, this is probably a wild experience. I liken it to a delicious stew or soup. Most people won't care or even be benefited by knowing all the spices and vegetables and everything that was required to make the delicious flavor, they just enjoyed the end product. But an aspiring chef is going to taste so many individual things and want to dig into the creation process more.

[@calvnnhobs]

In a vacuum its not a favorite track of mine, it being IMO the middle of a progressive and cohesive first 3 tracks. This album is their most austere and easily most restrained (at least until the finale, Lentic Catachresis). Like another commenter here, it came out while I was in college and nothing else sounded like it. I didn't like it at first but also couldn't stay away, and this album was my gateway to their music.

[@Darrenski]

I don't think autechre can be fully appreciated as just regular music. To me it almost feels like sculptural sound, as if it's just the combination of sounds, tempos or glitches etc that form like, in a way as you put it 'you see rubber balls'. Well autechre are from Rochdale which is basically like the very outskirts of greater Manchester and I'm from a similar region and know the landscape and architecture very well, and to me personally that's how it feels. That's the best way I can describe it. Like an old broken down ex industrial town that has forgotten how to build things properly and some kids started playing around with all the old discarded factories and bits and pieces in them. I'm about their age as well so would have seen about the same every day scenery.

[@LyubomirIko]

Why we enjoy experiments? Do you? And to what great length you are willing to experiment? Because the whole point of experiment is to go outside (ex) the perimeter of our presumption. Probably the question should be - is it wrong? Part of the main idea of experimental - is to question. Why I enjoy experimental electronica? I don't know man. Guess it's rebellion against the pop culture. A safe house against predictability?

[@Idkfawin32]

It’s one of my all time favorite songs despite how off putting it sounds. There’s something about it, I just don’t know what it is.

[@karaloca]

You can keep Autechre after the first four albums.

[@PeaceDub]

Confield is a masterpiece 🤍

[@ZombiesvRobots]

Honestly I think LP7 would be a better intro for most people, especially a composer. Then maybe Quaratice and Exai.

[@kelpkelp5252]

LP5 ? Yeah I'd agree with that. EP7 was nice but had a really dull production on it for some reason.

[@kaganozdemir4332]

sea fern

[@samuelrice7555]

Yeah! Love autechre. Some of their stuff isswell chinnskratsch furr sure but some ov it moves me and is a soundtrack to my life. Honestly. Kalpol. 90s. Its proper music man. Some is, admittedly, shite. Guys are pros do. Live they are amazing.