Description
2021 reissue, 2×12″ LP, Warp Records.
The fourth full-length from Autechre came at a point in time when the Greater Manchester IDM duo had really carved out their own place in music. Not only did they release this album, 1997 also saw the two EPs, Envane and Cichlisuite, land. The latter made entirely from remixes of Chiastic Slide track ‘Cichli’. And they still found time to drop the now-super rare Radio Mix, in which, alongside their takes on tunes by other artists, also contained a short interview with the producers that in moments was pretty much beyond comprehension. People don’t do things like that unless they have found a rhythm, identified a direction, and garnered an audience they know will get onboard with the combination of madness and genius. In terms of Chiastic, in many ways you can see this as a signpost for where things were going next, straddling inviting harmonies of the past with harsher, less human, razor sharp elements nodding to a new sonic future. – Juno
