Culture

Anybody familiar with Mancunian duo Autechre will know they make some of the most complex, unconventional, inaccessible electronic music in the world. Their trademark sound is of stranded synth melodies, eerie digital drones, and pieces of electronic shrapnel ricocheting off one another to form beats. Often these sonic components don’t appear to be in very close cooperation. The result isn’t the most exhilarating or emotionally engaging music you’ll ever hear, but what Autechre sometimes lack in “oomph” they more than make up for with their uniqueness and dystopian atmospheres.

After the moody ambient techno of 90s classics like Amber and Tri Repetae, Autechre adopted a far more chaotic and restless IDM sound on 2001’s Confield. They have continued producing music in this vein ever since, songs with elaborate beats that tear around the mix like irate wasps. Though this style of music is inevitably hit-and-miss, their eleventh album Exai (pronounced “X I”, as in eleven) sees the duo hitting more consistently than they have in at least a decade.

Across its two discs and 120 minutes, Exai pummels, hypnotises and envelops. Things get off to a disorientating start with “Fleure”, a nightmarish drum and bass-inspired tune with a hyper-detailed beat that constantly rearranges itself. The ruthlessly arrhythmic nature of this song will discourage many newcomers right off the bat, but those who press on into the album’s monochromatic depths will be amply rewarded. Though you can interpret Exai as one big two-hour storm of ones and zeroes, individual tracks eventually emerge as highlights: the cavernous, nocturnal 12-minute epic “bladelores”, the sinister pulse of “prac-f”, the Scorn-like stomp of “recks on.”

Naysayers will lament the lack of steady beats or rhythms, but they’re missing the artists’ intent. Autechre seek not to get your hips swaying or your head nodding, but your mind racing. For those of you who like your music cerebral and cutting-edge, getting your paws on Exai should be a priority.