Music Codex

Amber
by Autechre

Tracks

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• CD 1, Track 1 Foil
• CD 1, Track 2 Montreal
• CD 1, Track 3 Silverside
• CD 1, Track 4 Slip
• CD 1, Track 5 Glitch
• CD 1, Track 6 Piezo
• CD 1, Track 7 Nine
• CD 1, Track 8 Further
• CD 1, Track 9 Yulquen
• CD 1, Track 10 Nil
• CD 1, Track 11 Teartear

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2008-04-15 Amber Is the Color of Their Energy...

Do you ever ponder about how machines, while just being that, just seem to be life-like? Ever thought of what it would be like if machines were actually human? Well, it's abstract, but that theme is common for me when I listen to it. That shows just what this music can do. The key is to free your mind, people. If you can't grasp anything because the written word is absent to guide you, well, I feel sorry for you.

Autechre are legendary in the field of electronic music. There's a magic in them that is not easy to figure out, much less defeat. It's the same type of thing that surrounds Nintendo games often because numerous others try to be like it, but don't have the magic (Does Mario Kart with kart racing games conjure up anything?). Your mission ends here.

Now: Here's there "magic"! WIth SNAFS!

The beats here are prevalent, sure, but it's those textures. Autechre's textures are a beauty. All of it. Heck, I think Glitch is oddly beautiful. Dreamy, glitchy, self desctruction of a computer has never been more organic. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And so is abstractness in music. This album has abstract written all over it, in case your a short-term memory loss victim (if you are, well, I helped you out) who didn't remember I already said that.

Foil is an eeire piece that buzzes and swooshes with ease. Nil is warm, odd, beautiful. TearTear's groove is undeniable, and it WILL stir up image. Slip could only be described as machines with a soul, doing something of your imagination. Silverside, on the other hand, has strings to die for. Montreal is your soundtrack to the skyline of Montreal Canada, give or take. Piezo is a prototype to the Blue Man Group's. Seriously! I'm not making this stuff up! I experienced all this kind of stuff when listening. All the images, physical relaxation, hands on! My name is Screen Names are _______ Stupid and I approve this story as being true.

I think you people should get into this music. It makes things a lot more enjoyable. If you approach this album with the fact it's just a bunch of sounds to listen to, then you won't like this album. It's called absorbing. Only when you realize just what the spectrum of music can do, you will love more and more of this album. And don't expect it to just happen (if you don't know what I am talking about, then you probably don't love music to death).

9/10

2006-11-04 Abstract art...

Autechre should have a genre of their own. Throughout their discography, they defy every cliche of electronica, going from their own blend of ambient techno to their own form of glitch. Despite their extremely mechanical sound, Autechre has always been able to evoke human emotion from their music. Amber is their most emotional album.
I had heard a few songs from this album ("Montreal," "Glitch," "Slip") a few years before I was able to listen to the full album. I was very impressed, and wanted to hear more. When I finally purchased a copy of this magnificent album, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. There was no doubting that Amber was the middle-point between Incunabula and Tri Repetae++, both masterpieces. It was Amber's inconsistency that threw me off, but I would soon learn to appreciate this album more for it. Amber starts off with "Foil," which is an ambient song with a dark, broodingly pulsating beat that appears and re-appears throughout the song. Then comes "Montreal," which is one of their most accessible (and repetative) IDM songs. This is when things start to get strange. "Silverside" begins with a mysterious and rather creepy atmosphere, created by light violin-like synths and industrial beats. Then all the sudden the playful "Slip" comes in, totally contrasting to "Silverside." Once again contrast is created with "Glitch," which uses sharp beats and a slowly progressive atmosphere to make a darker sounding "Montreal." "Piezo" is one of the strangest songs Autechre has ever made, and it took me quite some time to find the magnificent beauty that is behind the inaccessible and rather annoying first 3 minutes. "Nine" is one of the most emotional songs ever made by Autechre, which is quite incredible as this song is composed of a strain of individual echoing beats that, throughout the song, creates a cohesive whole. "Further" is another darker song composed of simple by effective beats that, throughout the coarse of 10 minutes, create a full sound of mechanized machinery. "Yulquen" is a beautifully constructed ambient composition that evokes great emotion through its blissful simplicity. "Nil" is one of the my favorite songs from Autechre, as it creates an incredibly vivid and emotive atmosphere from an effective use of assorted beats, which by themselves would seem empty and emotionless. Amber ends with the industrial "Teartear," which ends the album on a harsh note.
Usually I do not break down an album into individual songs like this on album reviews, but I feel it must be done with Amber. There are few albums, especially in the electronica genre, that has such contrast and inconsistency. What is even rarer is that this contrast and inconsistency creates a cohesive atmosphere by the end of the album. Amber is like a piece of abstract art. It's hard to injest at first, but once observing the work of art in its complete form, made of individual pieces to make up one whole, one can begin to appreciate the meaning behind the art and the atmosphere and emotions it evokes in us. Amber may not be Autechre's most consistent, or even their most complete work, but it is one of their greatest achievements.
Overall- 9/10

2006-07-20 Their darkest, and most emotional album....

This is Autechre's second LP following "Incunabula." Some of these tracks are dark and moody, in fact, most of them are. "Foil", "Further", and "Teartear" are my absolute favorites on this album. All the tracks are pretty good although I think the weakest tracks are "Montreal" and "Slip". Actually, weak is not the right word. I think they are just out of place with the rest of this album. "Slip" could pass for enthusiastic office elevator music, where tracks like "Nine", "Teartear", and "Further" sound like what I'd be listening to if I were sleeping next to a cold cement wall down in the sewers. I know that doesn't sound comforting, but it is a vision that comes to me when I kick back in the dark alone with this album on. "Silverside" sounds kinda sad, like I just saw something that died and a wash of remorse just overwhelms me. Just about every track that Autechre creates offers its listeners to find their own mood to define the sound. Some tracks from them can become very personal to you. Autechre can make you feel sad and even a little scared, but then again, they can make you feel rejuvenated, energetic, and can actually enhance your insanity if you're already kinda on the edge anyway.

I have about 15 CD's of Autechre shuffling in my 200 CD carrousel. All these tracks by Autechre are being mixed up with tracks by Aphex Twin, Higher Intelligence Agency, Squarepusher, Pete Namlook, Biosphere, The Orb, Phutureprimitive, Sounds From the Ground, Plaid, Gescom, Electric Skychurch, Boards of Canada, Mira Calx, and various other similar artists of which Autechre truly belongs with.

So, are you addicted to Autechre yet? Many of us are. I think there should be a club. Here's a list of the releases so to make sure that you have all that is available:

Incunabula (1993), Amber (1994), Tri Repatae (1995), Chaistic Slide (1997), LP5 (1998), EP7 (1999), Confield (2001), Draft 7.30 (2003), and Untilted (2005).

Now that you have all those, you will probably want to start collecting their various EP's, which are:

Cavity Job (1991), Basscadet (1994), Anti- (1994), We R Are Why/ Are Y Are We? (1995), Garbage (1995), Anvil Vapre (1995), Envane (1997), Cichlisuite (1997), Peel Session 1 (1999), Splitrmx12 (1999), Peel Session 2 (2001), and Gantz Graf (2002).

The EP's of Garbage and Anvil Vapre are actually added to the American release of Tri Repatae which is why that album is a double CD.

There may be a few others, but they have become very rare. Very hard to find. I've discovered more tracks by Autechre and various other "remixed by Autechre" releases all over the IDM sound genre. Plus, some artists like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada and the such have released similar recording as that of Autechre, but Autechre will always be the leader of this sound.

And here's another little secret for you. Autechre has released recordings under another pseudonym, Gescom. There is nothing on CD available from Gescom, (except "MiniDisc" which is nothing very interesting at all), but that doesn't mean you can't find their better recordings through various person to person music swap sites.

Look for these Gescom albums (I think they are only available on vinyl, and maybe only in the UK and Europe):

EP1 (1994), EP2 (1995), Motor (1994), The Sounds of Machines our Parents Used (1995), Keynell (1996), MiniDisc (1998), This (1998), That (1998), and Iss:sa (1999)

There are various takes and re-developed versions of Keynell. Just knowing that Gescom is so scarce, especially in America, it only makes it all the more totally cool to be Proudly Unhipp, and to actually have these recordings.

I find a sense of comfort in the lunacy that is Autechre's music. I have to listen to Autechre every day. It's gotten harder to listen to regular music any more and it is certainly difficult to revert back to regular music immediately after switching off Autechre. Autechre is like a drug, a stimulant, a natural high. It's a sound that inspires motivation in what ever you are doing. And yes, I can get mildly depressed if I don't have some Autechre at my immediate avail. If I've got a lot of work to do, then I know I'll get it done (and fast), if I've got Autechre playing in my background.

So, you other Autechre addicts out there, please share your story. Let us all know what Autechre has done for you, too. Has Autechre changed your life, in a positive or negative way? We need to let other people know how Autechre has an indirectly strange way of promoting better psychological health and a more positive vision about life.

2006-01-23 THIS IS THE SOUND OF THE FUTURE......

Just the way you imagined it was going to be when you were a small child. This album has a strange robotic emotional feeling to it mixed with a human type of melancholy. Yes indeed, this is the sound of the future, cold and grey future. This whole album sounds like the soundtrack to Resident Evil, year 2652. This is the sound of the future, that cold and distant future, where human emotion is shown only through sounds. Buy it now.

2005-12-20 Right equipment needed for full appreciation....

I read somewhere that listening through high quality speakers was the only way to fully appreciate Amber. I thought well....duh, of course it's going to sound better that doesn't really make the music better though, having myself only listened on a modest little stereo set, and thought it was pretty great. Then sereptitiously I stumbled upon a set of pretty wicked speakers, popped in Amber and discovered a whole new amazing sonic rainforest. And it's not all albums you experience this with, but with this new listening device Amber revealed a delightful array of auditory goodies, and striking new textures, to the point where I am convinced Autechre have the audiophile in mind wnen making their music. This applies to all their music by the way., not just Amber.
The thing is this music is great enough to stand out even when listened to on crappy formats, so don't be put off by what's above.
Describe the music you might say, well, slow moving dark icey, yet emotionally touching ambience tinged with influences of Eno, electro, and classical. All layed with insanely adept smooth textured beats, and various sampled, synthesized, tweaked sounds sounds that harmonize, accentuate, and add rhythm. Somehow they add all of these elements without anything seeming akward, out of place, or superfluous. They know harmony, and are masters of what can only be described as sonic architecture.
Check it out.

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