Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2010

Courtesy of Warp Records/Beat Records

Warp Records’ 20th birthday celebrations last year reasserted the label’s continued relevance, but they also reminded how far it had drifted from its core constituency. Autechre are perhaps the only act from Warp’s mid-’90s electronica heyday who continue to make music that’s remotely worth listening to. (Aphex Twin might also qualify if he actually bothered to release anything.) Oversteps continues in the vein of 2008’s Quaristice, though it’s a less fragmented and ultimately more satisfying listen. Rob Brown and Sean Booth have drawn back from the intimidating abstraction of their early noughties work, and there are some moments of real loveliness here, even if the melodies tend to feel like malfunctions rather than deliberately crafted hooks. Tracks like “see on see” and “krYlon” drift in the ether, without any kind of rhythmic mooring, while the disintegrated two-step of “r ess” might almost pass for Burial.

Autechre
British electronica duo touring their new album, Oversteps. June 4, time/price TBA. Differ Ariake. Tel: Beatink 03-5768-1277.
Taico Club
All-night electronic music festival with Autechre, Mice Parade, Matthew Dear and others. June 5, time TBA, ¥11,000 (adv). Kodama no Mori, Nagano Prefecture. http://taicoclub.com