Search - Autechre :: Gantz Graf

More amazing ground breaking music from Autechre

beren_erchamion | Kiriat Ono, - Israel | 08/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all , I would like to make a comment: Autechre are , for me that is , the best electronic act ever and the most consistent one as well. But I'm not in the opinion that I was biased about this album or subjective in anyway. If Autechre would start making House music, or other form of non-musical-"electronic"-garbage I'd be the first to admit that the guys have lost it. But I don't think that'll ever happen. These are guys with premium taste and I only see them getting better in the next few years.
Before plugging my headphones and listening to Gantz Graf I expected it to be more confield-esque material, but Sean Booth and Rob Brown have even managed to go futher than that. These guys take IDM into new realms of the Avant-Garde with each succesive release, and Gantz Graf is no exception. Yes - I found Gantz Graf to be even wilder than Confield's ear throbbing experiments. If you're an Autechre fan , I think you must get this. If you're not, this material would be too difficult for you , and is no starting point for a listener - Autechre have developed their music through their albums taking giant steps and you better step a few years backwards before you try Gantz Graf."

In with the old, in with the new?

uneducatedphilistine | Chicago, Illinois, United States | 09/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You could cheer them on and parade your "official intelligent person" IDM stripes in public all you want, but admit it: the first listen to _Confield_, particularly the middle three tracks, conjured images of Booth and Brown at the controls of an airplane, attempting to pull some wild stunt-dive, about to crash into the ground, with the tower barking incessantly: "Pull up! Pull up!"Well, guess what: electronica's dynamic duo seems to have avoided a stylistic plane crash. _Gantz Graf_ provides exhilaration, and a bit of relief, as Autechre storm the barns. On the other hand, perhaps a plane crash would have been a bit more astounding. Autechre does 'pull up' a little; Gantz Graf suggests is that the Third Autechre Style (First: Incunabula-Chiastic Slide, Second: Chiastic Slide-EP7) may not be as different from the other two as the (I suspect deliberately) often unpleasant and inaccessible Confield might have suggested.The first and titular track is an attack that starts out with roaring, slamming cycles and horrifyingly dissonant appregiated piano chords. Although the melody is briefly maintained, the track soon undergoes some _Confield_-like rhythmic disintegration, sliding into some wailing synth chords reminiscent of the end of "Eidetic Casein" before at last stuttering to a halt. It's the track on the EP most obviously reminiscent of _Confield_, but it has a sort of intensity or immediacy about it which a lot of Confield lacks. The track starts with an almost rockish feeling, which somehow manages to remain as the loops fall apart. For a similar feel, listen to "Second Bad Vilbel". "Dial" is longer, and probably the most orderly track Autechre has released since _EP7_. A fairly steady thump with slowly morphing secondary rhythms backs up a melody that is a war between eternal descent and ascent. After the fiery "Gantz graf", this song turns down the heat in order to let the menace of the first track slowly simmer and build, until it transfers without a pause into:"CapIV", while not the best, the most telling track on the EP. The secondary rhythms of "Dial," continue, altered, while a soothing chord progression (the antithesis of the piano in "Gantz graf") with stately three-bar slowness reminiscent of _Incunabula_ or _Amber_ arises from a the mayhem, before finally altering and receding slowly into an ever-accelerating loop of rapid clicks.What have we learned from Gantz Graf?1) Autechre's new music will not necessarily be aggressively difficult. This music is difficult, but doesn't eschew the pleasant, intuitive touches and traditional emotional signals that marked their older music (simple melodies; slow, stately chords; even danceable rhythms [while it may not be your average night at a club, "Dial" can be danced to]). _Confield_ wanted to beat its listener into appreciating it; _Gantz Graf_ seduces. Some may think that this is backsliding or cowardly or not Intelligent enough. Maybe, I guess. I must confess to liking "VI scose poise", "cfern" and "eidetic casein" more than any other tracks on _Confield_, and the _Gantz Graf_ is moving in the direction of those tracks rather than, say, "sim gishel" or "bine". 2) What most clearly defines Autechre's new style is an expansion of the looser rhythmic regulations and improvisation that first emerged on _LP5_, and also absolute attention to the structure of the entire song. Ever since _tri repetae ++_, when Autechre's songs started to end on different samples than the ones they started with, Autechre's songs have increasingly eschewed the traditional basic techno structure (now let's add *another* rhythm line!) for songs that go somewhere. This quality is now universal. 3) I can breathe a little easier as we wait for Autechre's next album."

They're never coming back to earth.

beren_erchamion | 08/13/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Gantz Graf is a violent explosion of sound bits. The other two tracks are less violent, but still constructed of bits. I don't think Ae use a single sound element that lasts longer than a few milliseconds. It's like sonic pointillism.
Is it any good? Yeah, of course it's good- tightly constructed, well-mastered, relentlessly pushing the barrier of music. Like all Ae, it's a quality product. However, I can't imagine being in a mood where I would think "Gee, I think Gantz Graf would fit perfectly..."
However, I do find the Gantz Graf single more satisfying than Confield was. Maybe this is just because the dense constructions of late-period Autechre lend themselves better to small chunks (Confield seemed to lend itself well to large headaches).
In any event, Autechre has passed beyond the "event" horizon. They are spiralling toward some center of sonic abstraction, their releases becoming exponentially more exotic and alien. They're never coming back to earth."