| Amber | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 November 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 74:27 | |||
| Label | Warp WARP25 | |||
| Producer |
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| Autechre chronology | ||||
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Amber is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 7 November 1994 by Warp. It was the first Autechre album to be composed entirely of new material, as their debut album Incunabula was a compilation of older tracks.
Unlike Incunabula , which was part of Warp's Artificial Intelligence series of albums and predominantly a compilation of older material, [3] [4] Amber was described by Autechre member Rob Brown as "genuinely the first album we put out on Warp". [3] Designed by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic, the cover art is a detail of a panoramic photograph of sandstone cliffs in Cappadocia, Turkey, taken by landscape photographer Nick Meers. [5] [6]
Select described the album as a "'90s update of electro's cut-'n'-paste rhythmics into the realms of the odd," and stated that Amber "made music by μ-Ziq or Aphex Twin seem almost conventional." [7] CMJ described the sound of Amber as "entirely electronic and entirely instrumental" outside a few vocal samples. [8] In a 2013 retrospective feature, Fact described Amber as containing "some of Autechre's most ambient moments," and compared several songs ("Nine" and "Yulquen") to the works of Brian Eno, saying that their "beatless, but powerful low-end means that they’re contemplative rather than ethereal". [4] Fact also described songs such as "Montreal" and "Piezo" as uniquely-styled pieces with "deep veins of techno and acid house". [4]
Amber was first released by Warp on 7 November 1994 on compact disc, double vinyl and cassette. [9] The album was released in the United States on 24 January 1995 by Wax Trax! and TVT Records. [10]
The album has subsequently been reissued in all major formats, including digital download. [9] Warp notably reissued Autechre's first three albums—Incunabula, Amber and Tri Repetae —on vinyl on 11 November 2016. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [12] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10 [1] |
| Record Collector | [13] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
| Select | 4/5 [7] |
Select 's Gareth Grundy rated the album four out of five, describing Autechre as "out on the fringes, having a good rummage for the weird and beautiful," and stating that the album was not "goalless experimentation. There's plenty of melody on board, it's just that it creeps up on you from behind." [7] CMJ writer Heidi MacDonald noted that Autechre's more rhythmic music, such as "Glitch" and "Piezo," is "almost hypnotically listenable" but that slower tracks were "dangerously close to new age". [8] Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave the album a four-and-a-half star rating out of five, and compared the album to Incunabula , opining that "a couple of tracks could be removed with no problem, while tracks like "Montreal" and "Slip" continue the basic Incunabula formula without noticeable change." [11] Raggett concluded that "things are clearly starting to gel a little more here than on previous releases; the great leap forward becomes all the more logical in retrospect." [11]
In 2008, Rob Brown described listening to Incunabula and Amber again, and commented on "how cheesy they were, and how contrasted our newer ideas are." [15] Brown clarified his statement in 2013, explaining that the comment "was easily misinterpreted" and that he simply intended to say that the earlier albums "were perhaps more simple [than their more recent work], but not in a shit way." [16]
In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , critic Ben Sisario gave both Incunabula and Amber two and half stars out of five, describing them as "smart if unexciting ambient watercolors" that "give no indication of the innovations to follow". [14] Writing about Amber upon the occasion of the 2016 vinyl reissue, Pitchfork's Andy Beta stated that the melodies of "Slip" had not aged well, and that parts of "Glitch" and "Piezo" were "dulled and gentle in hindsight, knowing just what nasty and brutish sounds [Autechre] would soon wring out of their gear." [1] He concluded that "What makes Amber fascinating to revisit decades on is to hear vestigial organs and sonic cul-de-sacs that Autechre would bin almost immediately after. ... prov[ing] that at one point the duo was human after all." [1] In 2017, Pitchfork ranked Amber at number 16 on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". [17]
All tracks are written by Sean Booth and Robert Brown
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Foil" | 6:04 |
| 2. | "Montreal" | 7:15 |
| 3. | "Silverside" | 5:31 |
| 4. | "Slip" | 6:21 |
| 5. | "Glitch" | 6:15 |
| 6. | "Piezo" | 8:00 |
| 7. | "Nine" | 3:40 |
| 8. | "Further" | 10:07 |
| 9. | "Yulquen" | 6:37 |
| 10. | "Nil" | 7:48 |
| 11. | "Teartear" | 6:45 |
| Total length: | 74:27 | |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Amber. [18]
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC) [19] | 81 |
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of Autechre's full-length albums have been released beginning with their 1993 debut Incunabula. They gained initial recognition when they were featured on Warp's 1992 compilation Artificial Intelligence.
Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.
...I Care Because You Do is the third studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 24 April 1995 through Warp Records and contains material recorded between 1990 and 1994. It marked James's return to a beat-driven sound following the mostly ambient album Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and combines abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait of James.
Chiastic Slide is the fourth studio album by the British electronic music group Autechre, released 17 February 1997 by Warp Records. The album saw the duo continue to move further away from the ambient techno sound of their early releases, employing harsher, glitchier beats. Though not initially met with the same critical acclaim as Tri Repetae or LP5, Chiastic Slide was eventually recognized by critics as an innovative and "enormously influential" album.
Incunabula is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released by UK label Warp on 29 November 1993, and again by Wax Trax! on 25 January 1994 in the United States.
Tri Repetae is the third studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 6 November 1995 by Warp in the United Kingdom. In contrast to the duo's previous albums, Incunabula (1993) and Amber (1994), Tri Repetae features a distinct style that incorporates more minimal rhythms and spacious melodies.
The untitled fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, commonly known as LP5, was released on 13 July 1998 on Warp. No title was printed anywhere within the artwork, so it became known as LP5 in line with the later EP EP7; it has also been called Autechre, as well as Album, as listed on promotional copies.
Confield is the sixth album by British electronic music duo Autechre, released on 30 April 2001 by Warp Records.
Draft 7.30 is the seventh album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 7 April 2003 by Warp Records.
Skam Records is an independent electronic music record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks around 1990. Skam also runs a smaller sub-label called 33.
Anti EP is the second EP by British electronic music duo Autechre, released by Warp on 3 September 1994. It peaked at number 90 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as number 39 on the UK Dance Singles Chart. It is the only explicitly political record Autechre have released.
Surfing on Sine Waves is a studio album by the musician and producer Richard D. James under the alias Polygon Window. It is the only album released under this name; James is better known as Aphex Twin. The record was released on 11 January 1993 through Warp Records. It entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 2 on 23 January 1993. James' previous album, Selected Ambient Works 85–92, was then at No. 9 on the chart, and James briefly had two records in the Dance Albums Top 10 under different pseudonyms. The 2001 reissue edition includes the previously unreleased tracks "Portreath Harbour" and "Redruth School".
Anvil Vapre is the fourth EP by British electronic music duo Autechre, released by Warp Records on 2 October 1995. It is a companion to their album Tri Repetae, being based on material from the same sessions, which were left out for space reasons. Unlike previous EPs, Anvil Vapre's tracks were split across two vinyl discs that were released separately. All four tracks are included on the CD pressing. Anvil Vapre was also released alongside Garbage as part of the US version of Tri Repetae.
Spanners is the third studio album by English electronic music group The Black Dog. It was released via Warp on 16 January 1995. It peaked at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Basscadet" is a track released by British electronic music duo Autechre, featured on their debut EP, titled Basscad,EP, released by Warp Records on 25 April 1994. The EP consists entirely of remixes of the namesake track, which originally appeared on Incunabula, Autechre's 1993 debut album with Warp Records. It is the only Autechre single to be taken from an album.
Electro-Soma is the debut studio album by British electronic music duo B12. It was released on Warp on 29 March 1993 and is the fourth release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series. Some of the album's tracks had been previously released on the duo's own B12 Record label under their pseudonyms Musicology, Redcell, and Cmetric. Thus, Electro-Soma functions more as a compilation of some their earliest material than as a proper full-length LP, much like Incunabula by Autechre.
Quique is the debut album by British music group Seefeel. It was released through Too Pure in October 1993. A predominantly instrumental record which utilises elements of both rock and electronic music, it blends styles including techno, dream pop, ambient, and dub. Guitarist Mark Clifford worked continually on tracks while other members either completed them or provided component ideas.
Succour is the second studio album by British band Seefeel. It was released on 20 March 1995 on Warp and did not receive a release in the United States.
Oversteps is the tenth studio album by British electronic music duo Autechre, released on Warp Records in 2010. The album was made available for official download on bleep.com and the Japanese iTunes Store on 22 February 2010; the CD and deluxe vinyl editions were released on 22 March 2010. Critics were generally quite positive about Oversteps, with many considering it more focused and accessible than previous albums. Four months after its release, Oversteps was followed by a companion EP entitled Move of Ten.
Exai is the eleventh studio album by British electronic music duo Autechre, released on Warp Records. The double album was released digitally on 7 February 2013, with double CD and quadruple vinyl versions released on 5 March 2013. Before the release of NTS Sessions 1–4, Exai was Autechre's longest album to date.
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