Customer Reviews

Chiastic Slide

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This may very well be the great lost electronic record of the 1990's. Autechre followed the warmly-received Tri Repetae with Anvil Vapre, an ep that hinted at an edgier, darker and more organic side. Chiastic Slide showed that side in full view.

Someone once compared the music on Tri Repetae as the sound of machines chattering away to each other in the dark. If so, then this record is the sound of those machines trying to drag themselves out of a dark tarpit under the glare of acetylene lights on some forgotten evil robot construction site.

No, this isn't an easy record to get into, but with time, it reveals what is, at its heart, some of Autechre's most beautiful music. It's brutal and stark in its delivery sometimes, but it's nowhere as difficult as Confield.

"Cipater" starts off with a slow hip-hop influenced beat that's just somewhat...off. Over the course of the piece, the melody slowly develops, the first rhythm drifts out and is replaced by a second one, which lopes along in an odd 3/4 vs. 4/4 friction. It then segues into "Rettic AC," which is a two-minute wash of tuned static with a slight melody poking through the mist. It's very similar to "Caliper Remote" on LP5.

"Tewe" is a shambling, limping beast that trudges through, leaving only fragments of melody and a sloooowly developing rhythm track in its wake.

"Cichli" is the centerpiece of the record, one of Ae's most disorienting *and* beautiful pieces. It takes a bit to realize that the whole track is in 5/4, but because the drums are programmed so well, it doesn't seem forced a bit. As it rumbles on, a slow string melody ala "Vletrmx21" gradually builds and drifts into the foreground until the drums gradually fade out and the result is a gorgeous two-minute chorale.

"Hub" as a track of seemingly disconnected beats that coalesce and dissipate around a slow melody. Not bad, but nothing we haven't heard before.

"Calbruc" enters with an absolutely punishing drum track that sounds like pistons in need of oil. At the 1:30 mark, the whole effect changes when the strings and a single bell enter, harkening back to the chorale-like melody of "Cichli."

"Recury" follows with a floating, clanging beat overlaid with menacing open-fifths from the strings and what sounds like reversed church bells, which intermingle with what sounds like either a whale sound or a dead siren. Very neat.

"Pule" has a pizzicato string line that just seems to drag on for about eight minutes. Nothing special, but pleasant just the same. Of course, it acts to soften the listener up for "Nuane," which is just menacing.

A disjointed beat box pattern characterizes the first part of the track. It's definitely in four, but, like much of the rest of the album, you really have to listen closely to keep your place. The whole thing mutates very subtly over the course of twelve minutes, and though nothing changes much, it's still engaging, and a darn classy closing track.

Smog and darkness seem to permeate the whole record. Much of the sounds use sound as if they were once analog, and living up to Tri Repetae's promise, there's plenty of surface noise here, not to mention quite a bit of grease seeping through the cracks. The polished chromes of their earlier work have been replaced here with rust and oil, but the melodies that struggle up out of the grime are among the most beautiful they've ever come up with. Most of the pieces are very long and take their time to develop, and this is not an immediately accesible album, which is probably why many listeners panned it at first.

It's also worth mentioning that this record shows them pursuing a much more hip=hop influenced approach, which along with the analog sound, they pretty much abandoned for LP5. This approach is also used a great deal on Envane, the EP that followed this record (which is possibly my favorite record of theirs). The Cichlisuite EP, if you can find it, contains radical reworkings of the title track, most of which sound like either throwbacks to Tri Repetae or steps to LP5.

I don't agree with most of the critics of Chiastic Slide, indeed I would go as far as to say that it is the most satisfying of all the full-length albums the band has done so far. While LP5 and Tri Repetae are certainly forces to be reckoned with, I find that there is something so emotional about the metallic clanky beats and faraway claxon hums and static pads of Chiastic Slide that it seems to leave those other two pinnacle albums looking somewhat impotent...
Chiastic Slide sounds like the consummation of the early period of Autechre, where they had taken the dark hardware machine beats as far as they could be taken, not in terms of aural wreckage but in terms of just raw feeling. After Chiastic slide, Autechre began to evoke less grandeur and more inward chaos... it began to sound less like immense machines and more like artificial intelligences of quasi-physical design. Confield was a bit of a return to the machines, as was the second half of EP7 (another personal favorite), but no album since Chiastic Slide had really captured these particular vibes so well.
A lot of critics point to the middle tracks of the album, which feature beats that really don't evolve much throughout the track, but I find that these tracks are the ones that carry the most emotional weight and really envelop the listener. By the time the tracks end, they have gathered so much sonic dirt, light and glory that an entire new world has been created in your ears. These are the things that bring me back to Chiastic Slide over and over again, and these are the things that should be praised on this fantastic album.

If you're thinking about getting this album and have never heard it before, then don't let the negative reviews turn you off. While Chiastic Slide may not be as immediately listener-friendly as some of their other albums, it is ultimately a rewarding experience. And, you'll be able to hear the beginnings of their shift to their present EP7-esque style on this album.

There are albums out there that make great background music, or thinking music, or driving music. Chiastic Slide is not in any of these categories. It is your "turn off the lights and do nothing but listen" kind of music. Some have said it is repetitive and boring but if you listen to it under these circumstances you'll find layers of detail there you never knew existed.

The structure and form of these pieces are very unique and unlike earlier Autechre works, for example, the first track shifts and pulsates into a completely different rhythm halfway through without the listener even knowing it until after the fact, then eventually fades out into ambience in a style much less loopy-sounding than some of their earlier works. The interweaving Autechre melodies we know and love are still there, just buried deep under layers and layers of samples, sometimes not even recognizable until you've heard the disc a few times. Track 3 is one of those tracks that can't be described, bizzare soft-metallic synth leads and sharp string-plucking sounds form a most unlikely combination that works. Track 8 is a mesmerizing ambient track which starts with a very autechre-ish melody remeniscent of their Amber style, which eventually disappears into a sea of warbling melodic waves, remeniscent of late-night b movies. Track 9 is arguably one of autechre's best tracks of all time, starting with a formulaic mechanical beat, then suddenly turning into a slower, almost hip hop style track, while autechre takes ambient vocal sounds, even feedback, anything they can get ahold of, into a swarm of digital harmony.

There is definitely more movement on this disc than previous Autechre works, and the entire CD starts and ends without any space between the tracks, some are crossfaded. There's so much going on, so much to listen to, yet it is so controlled and precise, that this CD is anything but boring, and once you like it, you'll wonder why it took so long.

I don't understand how this album could be considered a disappointment in comparison to Tri Repetae. Tri Repetae must have impressed most critics with its stark and elegant production; as has been said before, Chiastic Slide is like Tri Repetae dragged through sludge (it's funny how similes and metaphors must always be applied when describing Autechre's music).

The difficult label did not seem to apply to me either; granted, this isn't probably something you want to drive to or work to, but if you put it on while you're at the computer, or just listen to it for what it is, the tracks here are simply much, much, much more interesting and captivating than just "difficult."

Cipater and Cichli are most often mentioned as best tracks. I like them too, but Nuane and Recury get stuck the most in my mind. Nuane is a jagged, punchy piece with a very disconcerting synth in the background-- it's menacing and creepy but undeniably cool. Recury is a repetative track, but what a beat to repeat-- clinks & clanks with a wobbly synth, gives me the feeling of people working in coal mines. And, heck even for a piece of mostly static, Rettic AC is cool and works with the album as a whole.

I would agree with the reviewers who said that this album sounds more like the mind of an overstimulated individual rather than machinery, that it is definitely not the Autechre album you want to start with (try Incunabula or Tri Repetae), and conversely it is infinitely more accessible than Confield.

My views may not be much different than what has already been said, but I am surprised at how little comment this album has got. If you are partial to Autechre, give it a few spins. Once you become familiar with it (and then addicted...), it will be a clear five stars.

I got this album, along with Aphex Twin's SAWII for Christmas, and this is the one I've listened to the most... I love it... sure it's inaccessible at first (not half as inaccessable as SAWII I might add), but give it time... it is very rewarding after a while i've getting used to it... At first I thought it was ok, but really repetative... now I think each and every song is amazing... this is only my second Autechre purchase, although I have heard Amber, and parts of LP5, and Tri Repetae, and already I think it's the best out of those... It's just so beautiful, and noisy, and desolate, and lonely all at the same time... it starts with Cipater, which is a very cool song which starts one way, and morphs into something totally different before it ends... track 2, although considered just noise by many, is beautiful... I liked it right from the start... Tewe is another good one... the percussion is really cool, softer then some of the other songs, and it has a beautiful subtle melody that really comes into view after a few listens... Cichli however is the highlight for me... it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard... and the ending where the percussion falls away and the melody is left alone is simply perfect... the rest of the songs are each amazing, and the last song is another highpoint, which I only realized earlier today... it's a great great ending to a beautiful album... track 8 is the only song I haven't totally gotten into yet, but even that one is very appealing to me... look, if you like electronic music, are sick of the state of popular music today, and are interested in exploring different types of music, then definately check this out... it is absolutely brilliant!

An awesome awesome album.track 4 "Cichli" will bring tears to your eyes.if it doesnt your not human and you must be a robot.

Autechre is indeed an amazing group. The name of the band couldn't have been a better way to describe their music. Chiastic Slide couldn't be a better example of how brilliant this group is.

While early albums like Incunabula and Amber were minimal and melodic, they seemed to lack and eventually seem uninteresting on the surface. Tri Repetae was a breakthrough for the group and showed a renewed spark in their direction. Chiastic Slide is the masterpiece which this band should hang above their mantle.

From start to finish this album seems to tell a story almost, as each track fluidly transitions into one another. The first track, Cipater, is a gorgeous intro, with flowing distorted beats and lucious melodies. The syncopated tunes toward the end (sounds much like a digitized harpsichord) seem to invoke chills. The third track, Tewe, shows autechre's advanced skill at creating some of the most lovely percussion loops that seem to never "loop." As the album progresses, the tracks eventually seem to disintegrate into static, giving the album continuity and an overall atmospheric theme.

It finally climaxes at the last track, Nuane, which will not disappoint.

It's a tragedy that this album is not being domestically distributed. It is their best work. Maybe Nothing or Matador will notice it and make it easier for American fans to pick it up.

If you like CS, then get Envane. An amazing EP.

I'm suprised there are so few reviews for this album, since it contains some of Autechre's most stunning moments. This is where Autechre really began to change, a great example are the shifting rhythm's, detail and minutaie that make up and seperate every beat in the song tewe. They're starting to explore new territory with this release, yet it's especially interesting since they maintain the lush fat textures of earlier works. This is one of the few examples of Autechre combining their early signatures with their latter signatures. Cipater is one of the sickest songs I've ever heard, it's kind of like machine hip-hop with an asiatic vibe. Cichli I feel is an electronic masterpiece, it's very vertical in nature, with the chilling harmonies of it's string section, that fuse beautifully with the dissonant nature of it's rhythm. It's like a fluctuating wave of tones and melody, coming at you in varying shades, beautiful. Even with all of this I can see the critics point of view on some aspects, there are tracks that carry on repetitavely for too long, and the album seems to peak somewhere around the middle. Nonetheless this is the Autechre album that I find myself returning to the most, being moved by the most, and it's essential in understanding their musical evolution.

Five stars, but Tri Repetae++ (also by Autechre) is still slightly better. Chiastic Slide starts out like a hard unpredictable wind of noise and unrecognizeable sounds; an uncertain beat finds its way; the picture comes into focus and slowly it settles into a form that is bearable, though never comforting or secure. The mood, that starts to build from there is much the same as on Tri Repetae++; melancholy to the point of suicide. The listener is sent rotating somewhere helplessly alone, disturbed and bombarded with chaotic irregular fragments of sounds that could once have had meaning in someones life, in some industrial production or just as events sparking reactions - but Autechre leaves their sounds none of this meaning, every reference to something real is broken and twisted beyond recognition. Some days its a fantastic nescecary voyage into something completely unknown, a beautiful and melancholic place where nothing is certain. Other days it is a place of angst and death, and on those days there is nothing worse in the world than Autechre. When other techno/industrial artists like Kraftwerk or Einstürzende Neubauden creates a sound, it refers to something known like a pocket calculator, an air-strike alarm or a chainsaw held to a volksvagen. With Autechre you are never given pictures to understand the sounds - only the music as a whole stand out with idea and direction. The only comparison is early Jeff Mills (Waveform Transmissions), but Autechre has no pounding beat or progressive rythms.

I remember buying Chiastic Slide a year ago before it was available in the States. As much as I loved Autechre, this CD was about as accessible as K2 to a man with no legs. I liked listening to it, but it was an occasional listen. In retrospect, I see it as how you view the album in terms of mood or emotion. Autechre provide no clues whatsoever about the emotion of the song, they leave it completely up to you. That being said, it takes a few listens in order to comprehend what they may or may not be saying. Some people claim Chiastic Slide (and Autechre's work in general) lacks emotion. I think just the opposite. Autechre let us into the dark recesses of the mind with this one. Melodies lurk ominiously above percussion that devours everything in sight. Then everything changes, and light breaks over the bleak landscape. Chiastic Slide is almost schizophrenic in it's approach, which I feel is what makes it so great. I don't picture robots and computers when I hear this, I picture the mind of an over-stimulated individual. And now that this CD is available here, hopefully more people will be exposed to the infectious disease which is Autechre.