Exai

Autechre boast a discography spanning two decades, incorporating 11 full-length albums and many more EPs. During this time the duo of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, from Rochdale, Manchester, have constantly explored new ways of creating sound, testing the limits of what constitutes electronic music. While it is often said that their albums have formed a linear progression, gradually increasing in abstraction, complexity and inaccessibility, it is probably better to view each release as a standalone exploration of a particular concept. Often carried out in micro-detail, each one brings with it a new take on texture, style and technique. Their music is visual, sometimes cinematic, and has often brought to mind images of machines and aliens.What then of Exai, Autechre's eleventh and longest album to date. Running at over two hours in length and extending over 17 tracks, I feared that Autechre's tendency to explore ideas so meticulously may have finally tipped the balance. I was wrong. This is not just a superb record, it may well be Autechre's magnum opus.Exai starts inconsistently and continues that way. Opening track "FLeure" is dense, frantic and beat laden. Sounding like the chatter of aliens, it's probably what most people associate with Autechre at their most inaccessible. Yet "irlite (get O)" draws heavily on sharp synthesised strikes and seems quite retrospective in its outlook. Not quite Incunabula, but not a million miles away. Similarly on "T ess xi" a contrast is drawn between 90s sounding synth chords with a chaotic, otherworldly beat. The theme here seems to be about pulling things together; about contrast rather than focus. The rewards for a long-time listener are clear and the first disc closes with the twelve minute stunner "bladelores". This is as striking an individual track as Autechre have produced for some time. Its slow, deliberate beats provide the anchor for the gorgeous landscape that unfold as the track progresses.The second disc opens with the head-nodding "1 1 is" which has a melody hidden within it that is reminiscent of EP7's "rpeg", while "nodezsh" uses similar drum programming techniques to much of Draft 7.30, particularly those found in "IV VV IV VV VIII". "cloudline", one of the most fascinating and structurally complex tracks on the album, seems to have elements of 2001's Confield about it; the alien sounding atmosphere, the muffled beat and maybe even a hint of "Bine". We again hear Autechre's fondness for techno in "deco Loc" and "recks on" before the wonderful, symphonic closer "YJY UX".You could write an essay about Exai - it is that diverse, complex and ambitious. And while I have not felt this excited about an Autechre album for many years, the scope of Exai means it feels like a different type of Autechre album altogether. Whereas previous albums have tended to explore a particular technique or concept, be it the ambience of Amber or the tempo of Untilted, Exai seems to be a symposium of ideas, drawn from many years of producing music. In this sense, it could almost be Autechre's `best of' album. However, in true Autechre fashion, it doesn't comprise individual tracks from their numerous albums but instead splices together the many styles and techniques they have pioneered and then perfected over the past two decades. Overall, the sheer scale of what is on offer here is remarkable. It is a coming together of everything Autechre are good at, even if, like the tetris blocks on the album's cover, they don't always fit together perfectly. It even made me wonder if this is in fact a goodbye from Autechre. I truly hope not, but If it is then this is one heck of a send off.

Exai is vast, and travels through most of the band's history, merging styles and periods from the past two decades. It is harsher than Oversteps, but more coherent than some of their works from the early 2000s, and gives a nod back to their excellent alien machinery sound of the late 1990s. Anyone reading this probably knows, but this album must be listened to with excellent speakers or headphones to appreciate its full depth, as with the rest of their music.The album's two discs are somewhat distinct in their sound, with the first disc generally harsher and more frenetic, while the second has more grooves. The first track, "FLeure", follows the pattern of many of their opening tracks: initially quite jarring and off putting. It's like the barbed wire fence keeping the intruders out, with only those in the know able to pass through into the rest of the album.Highlights of the first disc include: "jatevee C" with its steel drum melody and harsh snapping beats; "T ess xi", which is very wet sounding, with lots of liquid getting squeezed out of the machines, and an opium haze, like it was recorded in 19th century India; and of course the one everybody is talking about, "bladelores", which is a massive, spacious tune. It sounds like a huge robot stomping overhead, then like you're drifting through the void beneath an angelic spaceship, before taking a breather and merging the two elements and ending with a two minute cool down.The second, and in my opinion superior disc, opens with the psychedelic cross-fading of "1 1 is". It's a perfect opener with its groovy, sweaty beats and melody all jumbled up together. "cloudline" is bloody brilliant. It begins as this creepy, otherworldly experience, with distant whines and precise little clicks and trickles, like you're exploring the surface of another planet, before these absolutely amazing synths come blurting through around the three minute mark. They take the track to a higher level of excellent. After briefly teasing your ears, they disappear before coming back stronger than ever. This is one of the group's best songs of all time. "recks on" opens with a solid, bangin beat before some classic hi-hats come sparking through. The track then opens up quite a bit, feeling very roomy, and goes through a bunch of modulations and breakdowns, ending up in a completely different place than it started, with lots of long vibrating pads. Then, then, the ultimate song, in more ways than one, "YJY UX". This song is a triumph, truly amazing. Although it's very ambient and drifty, it feels incredibly weighty, with this crazy pulsing bass synth pushing through the glittering melodies above, and more watery, slushy yet crunchy beats. All in all, it's just very important sounding, and a great closer for a great album.I'd say this is the best album since LP5, and for long time fans, that should tell you something. It brings together all of their styles, skills, and interests into an epic experience. I like both discs, but the second is positively transcendent in places. A must buy for all fans, and probably a good place to start for people new to the group.