Customer Reviews

Incunabula (Reis)

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

 

 

It's strange to read such apathetic reviews of "Incunabula", so I felt compelled to try and explain why this album was, and still is, such a landmark in the world of electronic music.
To truly understand why this album is so brilliant is to realize when it was released. It came out in November, 1993, nearly 16 years ago. I was 21 years old then, and there simply was no music on the earth that sounded like this. There has been tons of electronic music that's been released since then that follow the mold of Autechre, and that sound eventually got slapped the lazy label of the cringe worthy "IDM" tag. Aphex Twin preceded this album by one year with his "Selected Ambient Works" album, but it was a different beast. What makes this album such a special moment in electronic music history was its flawless effort in taking the emotion of Detroit techno and molding it with newer, and distinctly British, elements such as rave culture and ambient house. I have thousands of electronic records in my collection, and I can proudly say that "Incunabula" holds a massively special place in my heart. Acts that I love now such as Boards Of Canada, Two Lone Swordsmen, and just about any artist on the Warp label owe a huge debt to Autechre and this album in particular. When you hear the ravey, junglist sounds of Autechre's debit single "Cavity Job", and compare "Incunabula" to it, you realize what a huge evolutionary step they took. Autechre definitely used electro and ambient sounds to influence them with this album, but they paved a distinctly original path as they mixed in what was to become THE sound of "IDM", or whatever you want to call it. Richard James refers to this kind of music as "braindance", and it's a far more appropriate title.
As someone who was there when it was released, this album, coupled with "Bytes" from Black Dog, caused a huge stir in the music world, and it certainly caused music fans from across the board to stand up and listen more carefully. I cannot recommend this album strongly enough. As I sit here and listen to it nearly 16 years later I can safely say that it hasn't lost any of its creativity, intensity, focus, and sheer brilliance. To be able to add "poignancy" to my list of adjectives gives "Incunabula" that much more resonance and power.

Autechre's debut album is worlds away from the precise Glitch & fractured Techno that they went on to become accomplished producers at. This is an album of stark metallic sounds that sound conventionally at odds with the melodic song structures, that are entirely instrumental. Something else worth noting is that each songs gradually unfolds and uncompresses itself, moving between brooding arrangements and rhythmic drum pattern backed by synth & organ tones. It's strangely compelling in the way that over the course of the frequent six minutes plus tracks, that you'll find yourself growing in appreciation with each strikingly precise track. Think a more detached and synthesized alternative to `Board of Canada' and you'll not be far of. This is galvanising, Cerebral ambient techno music, and along with the sophomore release "Amber" would mark Autechre's more subtle compositions before their successive albums slowly moved into more (although equally accomplished) `Glitch' electronica....unquestionably recommended.

This is before they went glitch tech crazy (Gantz Graf which btw has a crazy music video). This is much, much more low key and very chilled out. This is not exactly intense raver over the top insanity. This is more like the kind of music you might listen to in your car on a cloudy, rainy or overcast day. It is thoughtful, considerate, ambient techno that moves at a steady, constant pace. It has a fair amount of energy at times, yet is always well restrained into a deliberate composition. It is like well focused sound experiments that follow a designated standard. Autechre, though they explore strange territory, keep things fully in control here. Unique, innovative electronic music created with a set purpose in mind (or with a clearly set artistic goal) - this is a solid example of the Warp records standard.

When putting the needle on the record and the first chords of "Kalpol Introl" open up into washes of ambient beauty- you soon realize that Autechre are an interesting proposition, and not just a "techno by numbers" in the same vain as the Orb.

Incunabula is the debut of the Rochdale based duo, and right from the start you can tell this is a quality release, at a time when electronica was entering arguably its most exciting period. Coming off the back of Aphex Twin's (Richard D James) revolutionary "Selected Ambient Works 85-92", and released at around the same time as the classic Plastikman's (Richie Hawtin) Sheet One and the Black Dog Productions "Bytes" (all featured on the seminal Artificial Intelligence Series by Warp-Hawtin releasing material under F.U.S.E on the compilation), this release set the standard for future electronic music production.

This album sets out the vision that would be refined and developed in later releases. Mixing hip-hop,techno and electro with ambient was not so much a new idea, but adding other influences such as industrial and musique concrete and bringing them all to both the living room and dance-floor in such an experimental way, was certainly refreshing. It wasn't just the acid house ravers that brought the album, but also fans of synth-pop, industrial and alternative rock music who loved "the sound" of the new wave of ambient techno coming out of Sheffield and Berlin at the time.

There are many highlights, the aforementioned "Kalpol Introl" is almost the definitive statement on all of Ae music, all the ingredients are there-minor key evolving chords and industrial fractured drum patterns, underpinned by icy cold synth washes and FX's.

Other highlights are the Detroit Techno infused Bike with its washes of warm analogue ambient sounds and fractured melodies, the brooding industrial ambience of Autriche, the acid techno storm of the dance floor hit Basscadet, the cold synth's and crafted electro-funk beat box of Eggshell, the driving icy ambience of Wind Wind, with its acid bass-line and deep chords that provide a dark sound-scape to the minimal electro break-beat that underpins the track (my favourite track), and the uplifting 444 with another Detroit techno infused break beat so wonderfully interlocked with the melody, it is a superb end to the album.

However, to my mind, it is a flawed release, a couple of the tracks are fillers and don't really fit into the mood of the rest of the album, and even at this stage in their career, you feel that both Sean Booth and Rob Brown, the producers behind Autechre, are already reaching the limitations of the sound and are looking to broaden their sonic pallet with new technology. Their next album, Amber, was to showcase the future direction for the duo.

There are many listeners who would argue this was their finest work- the pinnacle of the "ambient techno" that remains human and warm. And who knows they could be right! But as a historical document and introduction to experimental electronic music- this release is simply a classic from the period.

Fine debut of glitch-y warm electronica touches upon the hypnotic programming mixed with embracing melodies that would see them transcend many peers over the next few releases, but the prototype nature of programming underlies this first attempt and impedes on a complete artistic breakthrough.

This album is absolutely incredible for concentration during the finer details of a software engineering project at work, or during any of a multitude of other situations in which you may need mental focus. After listening to 1980s-era Wax Trax! artists, and becoming a bit disappointed with their later releases, Autechre brought me back by introducing me to intelligent dance music with this album. Track 5, "Basscadet", and track 6, "Eggshell", are the gems on this album - and track 8, "Maetl", and track 11, "444", are my other favorites. The only drawback in my mind to this album's version of intelligent dance music, or whatever the genre is being called these days, is that listening to it for extended periods of time, especially at low volumes, can cause drowsiness or a type of self-hypnosis. So if you have a work deadline, are driving a vehicle, or are hosting a party, do yourself a favor and play this album loud and with limited repetition, or not at all.

Autechre's debut "Incunabula", by comparison to later work, is a slow moving, liquid and flat out beautiful soundscape, composed mostly of understated, looping percussion and flowing synth lines. The rhythms are not yet the focus, the mix is dominated by melancholic melodies.

This is one of the few Autechre releases that you could call "minimalist". All the ingredients to these songs are wonderful, but essentially, what prevents "Incunabula" from being a great album in my eyes is how the songs are stretched to ridiculous lengths without cause- the simplistic nature of the music makes a 9 minute plus song like "Windwind" or "Eggshell" good for setting a tone while doing something else, but too slow and redundant for focused listening. It's almost sad in a way, because "Windwind" in particular is one of the most effectively paranoid, alienated pieces of music I've ever heard. Every other track has its own unique, powerful emotion as well. Autechre eliminated this problem on albums like "LP5" by introducing endless variations and subtle complexities.

The first 3 tracks do not drag and are all Autechre classics. The mostly beatless "Kalpol Introl" is an icy, short piece. "Bike" is great chill out music... beautiful percolating synth blips. "Autriche" is one of the best songs they ever did. The vulnerable solitude of it is overwhelming. The 4th track, "Bronchus 2" is an interesting, short ambient piece but not a standout. "Basscadet" is a good, hip hop inspired, mostly percussion driven piece that has little melody. It has a different tone than the rest of the album, being more urban... kind of like something would be in Fight Club. Every other track unfortunately suffers from being "stretched" in length, introducing new riffs only every couple minutes.

The production is still great, as always with this band, even this early in their career. Every sound they choose has a depth that's not possible to achieve with simple presets. Everything is fine tuned with incredible attention to detail. Ae's albums are worth hearing for the sounds alone.

In conclusion, this album is great for the first few listens, but is easy to get bored of. I find myself listening only to certain tracks at this point. It's a wonderful backdrop to anything you might be doing, but fails to rise above that status like "Tri Repetae++" or the similar but more consistent "Amber". 3.5 stars.