Ep 7 [EP]

 

 

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Where to begin? Maybe a historical perspective would be in order. With Incunabula and Amber, Autechre had defined a style driven by innovative textures but rooted in accessible frameworks: rigid rhythmical schemes, soundscape dominated by melody. However, if you stumble across some of their most recent works, namely Draft, Confield or Untitled, you could never guess that this disturbing, seemingly hermetic stuff is composed by the same guys. Melody still exists, but often deeply buried beneath thick layers of the most distorted rhythms and percussions.

Ep7 comes at the junction of the "accessible" and "hermetic" styles of Autechre (I apologize for these unfortunate labels but simply can't think of any better). While not a particularly easy listen, the perseverant listener is guaranteed to be well rewarded after a few tries, for this album contains some gems of electronic music.

Not everything here is mind-blowing, but a few tracks definitely are, and the album is worth it simply for those. I'm mainly thinking about the last three tracks: zeiss contarex, netlon sentinel and pir. There is such a unity between these compositions that it almost feels like a sonata in three movements. Zeiss contarex is slow, persuasive and at some point a melody kicks in that is the most evil thing I have ever heard, and that is a huge compliment. A similar melody drives the story in netlon sentinel, but here Autechre do something amazing with the rhythm: it is slowed to a tortured, twitching crawl, and at the very same time accelerated to a point where cramming more percussions per unit of time would turn into white noise. The percussion track becomes a slow, billowing mass of sound, composed of such a density of events that you'd believe it caused their computer to perform irregularly while recording the thing. The effect is amazing and you simply have to hear it for yourself. Netlon sentinel brutally but seamlessly morphs into the ending track, pir, which brings you into a warm, beautiful realm of pure, high-pitched bells and synthesizers, but submerged into a jelly of stretched and very weird percussions. A moving, classic track.

Dropp is also a typical, well-executed Autechre track with a dark and melodic bassline trying to impose itself over an agitated sea of the most strange 'percussions' (again, I use 'percussion' for lack of a better term - think 'non-melodic sounds'). Maphive6.1 is quite remarkable but very bizarre throughout, not one of my favourites. Other tracks on the cd are all quite decent and interesting, especially rpeg. Overall, ep7 is a very solid release and a must-have for any Autechre fan. I personally view it more highly than chiastic slide, lp5, tri repetae++ and untitled, but there is too much to enjoy on all of these to start debating.

I would rather recommend tri repetae++ for a novice, another Autechre classic that is definitely more beat-driven and hence accessible, but ep7 would come second. Then if you can be delighted with ep7, try untitled, and if untitled is too much for your tastes, try chiastic slide or lp5. I'd also like to mention that if you have heard this on mp3, you are missing a lot: I made the comparison myself and there's a world of detail lossy encoders cannot capture. Do yourself and Autechre a favor, and buy the original.

This is one of my favorite Autechre albums so far. I feel there is better cohesion and progression on this record than some other Autechre albums.

The album starts off sort of slow, subdued, and rigid, then picks up and eventually climaxes at 'Maphive 6.1.' The rest of the record is resolution. I feel 'Maphive' is the most accessible track on the album, and a true standout amongst Autechre's canon. Most of the other songs on the ep really fit within the context of the record, and may not make any sense standing on their own.

That said, I'd suggest Amber and possibly Chiastic Slide first if you are new to Autechre.

EP7 was originally released in two parts but has been put together for our enjoyment and well it takes a bit of getting used to that's for sure! Guzzling, clicky, fizzy computers that at first will only make itself heard better on computers since ( it seems ) that there are encoded sounds that will let itself be known to computers. It's not exactly easy listening for people - in fact people who like Merzbow might enjoy this more than those who liked Incunabula or Amber. But with repeated listening the songs come together and it proves that for all the probing and prodding and poking that Autechre do to the wires of their computer systems, the music comes out in the end. Well worth the slog in the end but don't expect something instantly accessible

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5.0 out of 5 stars spiky, impenetrable, delicious
the cover art for this album is probably the most strikingly appropriate I've encountered for any album since ok computer. Read more

Published on April 17 2003 by Michael Kayser

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delicious Slice of Cognitive Dissonance
EP7 was my initial encounter with Autechre. Yet it was not so frivolous as a mere encounter but more a cerebral experience. Read more

Published on Dec 4 2002 by avantbeing

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest electronic album of all time
Perhaps that is a grandiose statement, but no other album makes me feel like I'm seeing a glimpse into the future as much as ep7. Read more

Published on Aug 8 2002 by George Bowles

4.0 out of 5 stars Still growing on me after ? years.
To me, this is by far the most difficult Autechre recording. Confield, to me, is more accesible and actually kind of an artistic return to the earlier, more melodic Ae of Lp5 and... Read more

Published on Jun 24 2002

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth checking out.
I never got big into these guys, but I do have this disc-a collection of-for lack of a better term-electronic sounds and belches, bleeps, and bloops. Read more

Published on May 6 2002 by Andy Williamson

4.0 out of 5 stars Machines with personality
The only reason why this doesn't get five stars is because I reserve five stars for very special things. Read more

Published on April 2 2002 by fade-0081

5.0 out of 5 stars It aint so cold
For all of the reveiws on amazon and otherwise that call Ep7 "cold" and "inaccessable," it may be one of the most comforting disks I've got. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2002 by shred_e

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW........
I can't even imagine the amount of time put into this disc. I've never known a duo/artist/band/etc like Autechre, and this is my favorite album by them. Read more

Published on Sep 13 2001 by epsy

5.0 out of 5 stars Synaptic Massage
This album NEEDS to be heard through nothing less than a high end stereo or through great headphones (think Grado or Sennheiser). Read more

Published on Jun 19 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect computer music--and that's the problem
To anyone who invests the time necessary to "get" Autechre, it's pretty clear that their stuff is pretty much the best IDM around. Read more

Published on Mar 13 2001

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