Autechre
Gantz Graf

This time I decided to review one of my favorite EPs. It is "Gantz Graf" by the extraordinary Autechre.

"Gantz Graf" consists of 3 tracks and was released in 2002, after "Confield" but before "Draft 7.30", and it is definitely their most chaotic work ever!!!

In fact, what is contained in this 15-minute CD, in some ways, cannot even be considered music. For 90% this work is composed of pulsating breakbeats, ear-shattering, shredded, spun, encapsulated, and machine-gunned!!! But then why listen to it?? Simple, because Autechre are genius sound manipulators, who manage to make even the most absolute noise musical!

They don’t use dogmas: time variations, sudden silences, multi-layered breaks are now their trademark, so each of their works is a real trip, a sonic journey through a universe that only expresses itself in binary code.

1 – "Gantz Graf" – The title track is bewildering at first listen: a wall of insane breaks and electronic distortions literally overwhelms the unwary listener. The temptation is to skip it, but listening carefully, you realize that all that jumble of noises has a sense and a rhythm!!! After several listens, you may even find yourself headbanging (as happened to me... hehe :D)! I recommend listening along with the music video (one of the most mind-bending ever made), which helps us better grasp every nuance. A Masterpiece.

2 – "Dial" - A monothematic piece. A breakbeat starts simple and continuously evolves, interspersed with schizoid vocal samples, very minimal synths, and various "little noises." It’s like a frenzied ISDN modem trying to connect continually, failing each time (nice comparison... hehe:D).

3- "Cap.IV" – Same story as before. The break starts fast then slows down, speeds up, decomposes, and recomposes suddenly. In the first part, there is also a decent dose of melody, with vocal samples that are also more melodic. Halfway through the piece, a looped break starts slow (so to speak) then accelerates more and more until it becomes (almost) unlistenable. Pure noise. Another masterpiece in my opinion!

In conclusion, this work is a milestone of the "glitch" genre, of the most complex electronics that only two geniuses like Booth and Brown could give us.

A true unique experience!

Warning: it’s not for everyone though. Only for true "electronic music addicts!"

(P.S. another inimitable experience is parents barging into the room yelling: "and you call this music???" ... ihih;-))