Autechre - Move of Ten

AUTECHRE - MOVE OF TEN

Warp

Although not strictly an album, this double twelve inch release that follows quickly in the trail of “Oversteps” earlier this year is long enough to warrant a review. More importantly for the enthusiast (and there are many who follow this much vaunted duo) it is a reassertion of the thundering rhythmic impulse that makes their live performances so rewarding.

In my review of “Oversteps” I did talk about them maturing towards a point where they seem able to manipulate dissonance and very pure electronics in a sophisticated manner. Whilst that album had its faults they seemed to be moving away from rhythm, eschewing it for a more experimental approach. “Move of Ten” then blows that particular theory out of the water as Booth and Brown move back into what I would call more conventional material. Although both releases have similar covers, their musical links are more convoluted.

If you’ve been following Autechre for a while, this is something of a light affair. Given the various musical hoops that we’ve jumped through in our appreciation of them, there is little in the way of truly challenging material. This is melodic, dancefloor stuff in parts with very few electronic wormholes to be sucked into. There are flickers of elements that one might recognise from their records right from their inception all the way through to now and a 4/4 beat emerges at times without being put through the grinder. What’s more apparent is that they feel like feathery, light productions that have not been tinkered with much - the live feel, for want of a better description, shines through.

After opener “Etchogon” reminds us that the obtuse side of the duo won’t ever disappear, “y7” is a reminder of the fact that techno hasn’t really moved in any way since Autechre began nearly two decades ago. It’s a murky, obscure 4/4 driven piece that sparks and fizzles with delight, crystalline melodies peeping over the wall briefly before descending again into the mix. In terms of how formulaic techno became, this is a telling reminder of just how important this and other Warp acts were in the early 90’s. “pce freeze 2.8i” is gescom-style rave at its best, whilst “rew(1)” hovers nearer to the sort of squelchy, aquatic frission of “Confield”.

The surprises continue with “Nth Dafuseder”. What sounds like treated flute plays off against a succession of nautical noises in a composition that feels like Autechre at their very best. It doesn’t quite have the kinetic power of their greatest songs, but there’s a strong sense of direction with the melody that at times is disconcerting. We don’t expect Autechre to take the most obvious route with their approach to composition, but here they do so with fascinating results. We also have what must be a first, with no less than 3 recognisable song titles in english, “Iris was a Pupil, “No Border” and “m62” (a Motorway near Rochdale for our non-UK readers). The latter is in debt to AFX with its scattergun melody over another 4/4 beat, but the others fail to make the same impact as the rest of the songs. “Move of Ten” expires slowly with “ylm0” meandering slowly over a bed of floating melodic bubbles and “Cep puiqMX” bringing us full circle with the return to the more anarchic, almost apocalyptic soundworld that we have come to expect from them.

In a way then, “Move of Ten” feels like a brief holiday. A quick reminder of their ability to produce the sort of dreamy futuristic techno that many deep down want to hear, however brief. They’ve not relented in their remarkable quest for a musical universe that no-one has found yet, but here is proof of a lighter, less demanding side to them.

Toby Frith

Comments

[James G]

Have to say I've found much of the material since LP7 fairly difficult listening - always interesting but often lacking something - I really enjoyed Oversteps as a bit of a return to form to the great mid-90's albums (Chiastic Slide etc). I felt they left their established sonic ground as much to escape the vast wave of imitators who appeared around this time, as they did to explore the limits of their imaginations and technology. The "technological space-race" as Jamie Liddell called it - there's still plenty of value in that material but the return of the beat is very welcome indeed. One of the year's best for me!