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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Other-Worldly Meter Reading, January 31, 2004
When my friends get bored with what they're listening to and want to hear something original (and by original I mean that they've played out most other types of EBM, electonica, 4/4s, and need something altogether different), I always buy them Autechre CD to try on for size. The reason that works so well is because Autechre can be likened "noise pioneers," building better electronic sandcastles for the kid that has everything and still wants more, and they do through means that aren't easily manipulated. They take experimental portions of layering, hinging backgrounds of beat onto curtains of effect, and they birth articles of clothing no album I've owned before has ever worn. From the early mornings where they crafted ambient sounds to the experimental "now" that puts them totally ahead in the arms race, its really something "unique" (a word I try not to use much because of sounds like these) to form an addiction around. Confield is an album that isn't going to be for everyone and you shouldn't feel bad if you can't get into it. I actually suffered that feeling when I first picked it up, noting some constriction in my mind and some angst in my wallet as I listened on, thinking that this couldn't be something I paid good money for. While we don't always realize it, its oftentimes hard to set aside preconceived notions of where noise ends and music begins, and I found myself not really liking this album at first because of this mainstreamed "sound backwash effect." The way the beat forms and the way the meter reads is odd and odd denotes fear, and that foreign element of sound sitting outside of my comfort zone threw me off at first.
In the beginning, I thought that there was only noise and the album experienced a time when the shelf was the only world it knew.
Later, however, I gave it another chance, it calling my name and begging me to listen because I love so many of Autechre's masterpieces, so I answered it and found myself actually "getting it" for the first time. In places where I heard nothing before, I could see the separation of the beats and the background, making out the melodies and the layers. And, god, was it ever good. I'm not even going to begin trying to break the album apart as a whole, because a lot of interesting thoughts have been by other reviewers and they've done so with talent. Instead, I simply wanted to try and pick off a few songs and attempt to say that these pieces managed to catch my mind's eye and give a little on the "why" as well.
When I spun through it that second time, "Eidetic Casen" captured me in its almost eerily haunting sound right away. It has such a strange ambiance to it, both floating and constricting at the same time, and I found myself drawn to that. The images it evoked were interesting and then some, to be sure.
"Sim Gishel" also caught me slacking when I started looking back once more, with those sounds starting out like some type of early videogame and then leading into a bassline that is truly captivating. I loved the development of it, the way it rushed forward and stole the show, and it hooked me pretty quickly.
And then there's the totally bizarre "Lentic Catachresis." The best way to perhaps describe its sound is to capture something a friend of mine and I agreed on when first hearing it, citing it as "two machines angrily chatting over coffee." It has a alien sound to it, like machines actually speaking in a background of sound, only I'm not tuned into what they're saying. It's an interesting conversation at first, too, until it escalates and the caffeine from all that coffee kicks in. And then it's simply a lovely strain feeding from some chaotic spectrum. If you're new to Autechre, perhaps this isn't the first place you should step in at and begin exploring. While I'd call this album remarkable, these are waters to slip into slowly, submerging yourself into the sights and sounds they evoke a little at a time before delving into the calms and the chaos. It is remarkable, though, perhaps taking some time to finally sink in but making a piece of architecture that will excite the epicenters of your waking mind when it finally tunes in.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Machines has overcome Booth/Brown........, May 17, 2001
This music isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea. Confield sounds totally different from the melodic Incunabula and the industrial-electro sounding Tri Repetae. I would call this music dark ambient music layered with complex beat structures on top of melodies that can barely be heard. First time i heard the album i almost got scared. It sounded like my worst nightmare with the dark basslines and moody synthesizers all over the place. At first I was really disappointed with it, since i have always loved Autechre for their contrasts between dark and unfriendly soundscapes and lovely melodies inbetween. Confield seemed to lack a sense of melody and the ever mutating beat structures almost sounded like pure noise. However, after a few listens i began to notice the underlying melodies on almost every track. I had to get used to the unfriendly beat structures on top to really appreciate this album. I usually listen to classical music like Bruckner and Shostakovich so this was quite a contrast. To really appreciate this album my advice would be to listen to it for a number of times before you make your opinion about it. From the melodic Incunabula and Amber Autechre's music has become more and more machine-driven with every new effort. The major differences between LP5 and EP7 versus Confield is that the former two were more beat-driven. Confield on the other hand is more downbeat and minimalistic and more on the experimental side. Some hardcore Autechre fans might find the music hard to digest, but as always with Autechre you get rewarded after a few listens. 1. VI Scose Poise Album starts out with a slow metallic and mutated sound that almost sounds as if someone is drilling in your ear. After a while a melody joins in. Very minimalistic. 2. Cfern Nice melodic synths coupled with bass heavy beats. Notice the arrangments going on in the background. 3. Pen Expers Cool drum programming reminiscent of Speedy J. A slow melody builds up in intensity. Great track. 4. Sim Gishel Sounds like music to an old Nintendo at first, but heavy basslines steal the show. 5. Parhelic Triangle Dark and minimalistic in the same vein as japanese DJ Krush. Echoing bells in the background that varies in intensity. 6. Bine Sounds as if Booth/Brown has finally lost the control over their machines. Scary stuff that stimulates your brain. 7. Eidetic Casein Finally they are in control again.... Exotic and dreamy melodies swirl around. 8. Uviol High frequency sounds together with bass filled beats. You almost feel weightless for a couple of minutes (I'm not using drugs!) 9. Lentic Catachresis Sounds as if aliens are talking to each other in a foreign language. Towards the end Booth/Brown again loses control of their machines and the album ends in a chaotic vein. Will Booth/Brown ever get control of their machines again. To be continued....
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is this music?, April 10, 2003
There's a line from the Meshuggah song "Spasm" (which vividly describes a photosensitive epileptic seizure) that says, "A wordless thing, a thingless word." Somehow that line feels very appropriate in describing _Confield_, which sounds like the work of robots flipping out on LSD. Or...something. This is...VERY abstract stuff. A standard 4/4 measure is practically nonexistent; splintered beats pulse and burst seemingly at random. Razor fragments of static slice through unexpectedly. Sauntering melodies are minimalist and lazy, sounding lost amid the paroxysm of beats. The slightest hint of a steady rhythm can discorporate into a broken neo-cubist episode without warning -- and indeed, that seems to be an inevitable feature of this album's songs. On the one hand, it sounds rather incoherent and aimless. From a superficial observation, _Confield_ is not necessarily unlike the avant-garde noise assaults of Merzbow -- although they sound different, both possess the same mechanical harshness and austerity. The key difference is that while I find Merzbow frightening and painful (but I sorta like it still), Autechre achieves something like a rapport with me through with these songs. There is a soft glow that hides in every track (except the last one, which would probably make me run for my life were it not such a paralyzing attack), an invitation to those who seek it. _Confield_ is too definitely unpredictable to be soothing and too jarring to be calm, and yet...there is a peculiar, alien beauty to it. It's affirmatively in the avant-garde realm of electronic music, and most will reject it. But to make it "easier" in any way would violate its purpose and value. "Pen Expers" is really quite beautiful, a gorgeous melody trying to breaching the turbulence of the electronic blizzard -- "an egg hatching in a hurricane." "Parhelic Triangle" suspends time itself with a throbbing, stuttering bass quake. "Eidetic Casein" has a melody that is most easily discernible, but it is also deceptively inimical to the listener. Trying to latch onto the melody is beguiling, as it subtly shifts like an underwater blur. The details are fuzzy, washed out. "Lentic Catachresis" is heart-stopping, an orgy of mechanical blasts, seeming to be the dialogue -- no, an argument -- between two alien supercomputers. Pretty darn incredible. "Uviol" sounds like new age composed by H.R. Giger, an antipodal tug-of-war between high-ranged screeches and low-end pulsation. This _is_ music. Beautiful, unusual, tense music. Not for everyone, but definitely for me.
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