Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints. The music often described with the term originally emerged in the early 1990s from the culture and sound palette of styles of electronic dance music such as acid house, ambient techno, Detroit techno and breakbeat; it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing. Prominent artists in the style include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, μ-Ziq, the Black Dog and the later duo Plaid, as well as earlier acts such as the Future Sound of London and Orbital.
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.
Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device, the source from which all copies will be produced. In recent years, digital masters have become usual, although analog masters—such as audio tapes—are still being used by the manufacturing industry, particularly by a few engineers who specialize in analog mastering.
A double album is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording is longer than the capacity of the medium. Recording artists often think of double albums as being a single piece artistically; however, there are exceptions, such as John Lennon's Some Time in New York City and OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below . Since the advent of the compact disc, albums are sometimes released with a bonus disc featuring additional material as a supplement to the main album, with live tracks, studio out-takes, cut songs, or older unreleased material. One innovation was the inclusion of a DVD of related material with a compact disc, such as video related to the album or DVD-Audio versions of the same recordings. Some such discs were also released on a two-sided format called DualDisc.
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.
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 (1993) was a compilation of older tracks.
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.
Artificial Intelligence is a series of albums by Warp Records released from 1992–1994 to exhibit the capabilities and sounds of electronic music. Warp described the new music as "electronic listening music" to clarify that it was meant more for the mind than the body. The sleevenote on the 1992 compilation said "Are you sitting comfortably? Artificial Intelligence is for long journeys, quiet nights and club drowsy dawns. Listen with an open mind." The series is remarkable for its inclusion of groups and individuals who would later become leaders in modern electronic music, techno, and ambient, such as Alex Paterson, Plaid, Richard D. James, Richie Hawtin, and Autechre. Every album in the series, aside from Dimension Intrusion, has its name enclosed in parentheses on its cover.
Jochem George Paap, known by his stage name Speedy J, is a Dutch electronic music producer based in Rotterdam. His breakthrough came with the release in 1992 of the minimal techno track "Pullover". He released music as part of Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence series in the 1990s, including his debut LP Ginger (1993).
B12 are a British electronic music duo consisting of Mike Golding and Steve Rutter. First appearing in the early 1990s under a variety of monikers, including Musicology, Redcell and Cmetric, the duo were often mistaken as hailing from Detroit, their sound being comparable to the so-called second wave of Detroit techno. This was compounded by the signature style of their initial releases on their own imprint B12 Records, limited editions on coloured 12" vinyl with cryptic messages etched into the run-out grooves, and the fact that Golding and Rutter tended to shy away from the press, and rarely gave interviews, which added to the mystery of their identities.
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.
"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.
Beaumont Hannant is a British musician, producer and DJ from York, England. His work includes ambient techno, IDM, hip hop and indie rock. Hannant has received positive critical reviews, and he was named one of "The Faces of '94" by music magazine Select.
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 in digital form on 7 February 2013, with double CD and quadruple vinyl versions released on 5 March 2013. At the time of its release, Exai was Autechre's longest album to date.
NTS Sessions 1–4 is the thirteenth studio album by British electronic music duo Autechre, released by Warp on 26 April 2018. The album was announced on 9 April, and consists of original music comprising Autechre's April 2018 residency for NTS Radio, which was announced the week before, on 3 April 2018. The album was subsequently released in both digital and physical formats. Containing exactly eight hours of music, NTS Sessions 1–4 is the longest Autechre release to date. The album was met with critical acclaim.
AE_LIVE 2016/2018 is a series of live recordings by British electronic music duo Autechre, released on 7 April 2020 by Warp Records. It consists of 7 soundboard recordings made during their live tours in 2016 and 2018. The 2016 dates were recorded during Autechre's European "onesix" tour, and the 2018 dates were recorded during a short tour of Australia, Japan and Ireland. Autechre has said some dates from these tours were not recorded due to technical difficulties. Both tours feature variations of the same set. AE_LIVE 2016/2018 follows the previous series AE_LIVE, which features a different set performed during 2014 and 2015.
