Autechre – Quaristice

Looks like this and Untilted are getting repressed on vinyl, releasing September 5 https://redd.it/1k71qf6 https://redd.it/1k6zl0h

The 333X disc is an hour in the same style. It's a nonessential part of the album but the discs play well back to back. Opaque for Autechre, short tracks. Tight and polished like Chiastic Slide, Untilted, Oversteps. Still unparagoned, 15 years later.

This edition is by far the biggest low point in the history of Warp's music catalogue. After the obligatory music changes which happen every decade (in the 00's it was the year 2003) Warp lost their edge as a cult label by g stupid indie-rock bands and letting their main masterminds (Autechre, Squarepusher, Nightmares On Wax) release disputable albums in of progressive music. Well at least we have Chris Clark who managed to be something like a new Aphex Twin mixed with Thom Yorke. Between 2005 and 2009 Warp managed to release only two memorable groundbreaking releases limiting them tw only 1000 pieces. The first one is imho the best mix by Surgeon ever released called "This Is For You Shits" showing how modern techno should sound and not fearing to mix in some classic industrial and power electronic acts. The second one is this release. Well the standard issue contained some fine and and interesting pieces like the fantastic ambient track "Altibzz" (a welcome return to Autechres ambient roots), the dynamic "IO" or the detroitesque "chenc9". The later two tracks allready appeard in slightly differnt version in Autechres live sets dating back to 2005 (see the Montreal or Glasgow bootlegs from 2005) which also makes the term "new material" questionable. But the standard issue has futher problems. A big part of the tracks are more like sketches of ideas, the more interesting tracks, as mentioned above, are too short. Go to Bleeps webpage, the tracksnippets with an online mp3 grabber, put the tracks on a cd and you have the same effect as on the standard issue of Quaristice. But lets be honest: how often do we listen to Autechres tracks from albums like Draft, Untilted, and Confield from start to end?
The second "Versions" bonus disc works much better as an album, expanding some of the stronger tracks to "full versions" and showing how a standard Issue of this album should sound like. But only the lucky 1000 people owning this special edition will hear the full album. Well, the question still remains: why did Warp made this special edition and limted it to 1000 pieces? Is it because of the manufacturing costs of the beautiful steel package? I don't recall that similar packed albums (PiLs second album for example) needed to be this limited. Is it because that this edition should be a piece of art? Obviously yes. But do we need in times of stupid music, digitally available everywhere, such special editions? Should music like this one found on the Quaristice Versions cd be available to more people, teaching them how modern IDM should sound like. I guess everybody has a different answer to this question. As an Autechre fan (and there are definitelly more than 1000), I personally feel apaled. Special, limted or even sacred editions by genius musicians are a not a good sales-policy (a fact which always ennerved me regarding COILs work of art). This is not the time for special editions, this is the time to make great music accessible to everyone, to show todays kids how music can and should sound.
And good music will never loose its special value, even if it is available to everybody.