11t1 said: frank zappa once said that the future of music wasn't in melody, harmony & rhythm, it was in timbre. in that sense, draft 7:30 may just be the fulfillment of his prophesy.

music, in general, is magical because it allows the listener to take a short leave from the mundane, a brief mental vacation. while most musicians transport you to a neighbourhood just slightly different from the one you currently live in, autechre drop you in the middle of nowhere on uranus (pun intended) and leave it up to you to figure out how to get back home.

whether or not the album is good or bad, the world needs stuff like this going on at the fringes. elements of the music will likely eventually filter down into a consumer-friendly form as more & more people start getting it (many prominent hip-hop producers love them, from what i hear). some say evolve or parish. i've even heard that change is good.

btw, there's something seriously funky about tunes like 61e.CR & Theme of Sudden Roundabout, but it's the kind of funk that has no parallels in the funk world, so there you go.

are my 300 words up yet?

caddis said: Dear J,

Not every piece of music begs for intellectual immersion, and likewise, not every piece of music allows an immediate payoff to the listener. A light yet persistent attitude is required to acclimate to the subtle treasures found within draft7.30.

Considering the work in the context of "A day in the life of Autechre", it's certain they were not looking for the quick release of a set of pop songs, but striving more for an experience that is able to defy the media's obsession with aggressive analysis. I find it thus takes a step toward removing the frame of context from the music and allowing the listener a blank slate with which to bend and mold as they see fit.

Regardless of any art-as-real-life-or-vice-versa suppositions, the relaxed mind can take advantage of Draft 7.30 simply as an abstract sound work incorporating texture, drama, tempo and derision.

...but not too often "music".

Love, C link

ps: The first song is too long. Skip to the next one when they run out of ideas.