The Apolo room is completely dark this Tuesday. Despite the absolute blackness, a charge of mystery and intensity is perceived in the atmosphere and although the spectator could well imagine himself alone waiting to hear Autechre, the truth is that the room put up the “all sold” sign weeks ago. for a peculiar and essential event that goes far beyond electronic music. “Are you fucking kidding me!” shouts a surprised and apparently uninformed listener, realizing that tonight he won’t be able to see the musicians at any time.
While waiting for the first notes to begin to sound, it is worth becoming aware of the moment. This is the first concert in Barcelona of the influential band composed of Rod Brown and Sean Booth. Within the framework of Caprichos de Apolo, and with the collaboration of Primavera Sound, electronic music music lovers are about to enjoy a heavyweight of the genre, regarding the 15th anniversary of the international festival of electronic music and digital creativity (Mutek ). It is unlikely – their next and last appointment is on Wednesday in Madrid – that they will set foot in Spain again soon.
A virtual, almost alien, calm symphony suddenly fills the darkness. The sound quickly transforms into something more strident and hammered. Deciphering the set list for this show is simply impossible given that it is a live set, where musicians create live with their equipment and without using pre-recorded music. Not even Shazam is able to shed any light on the issue. It also makes no sense, in this case, to seek a pre-established order, since entering the Autechre universe is actually an experimental exercise, in which mental and physical flow is crucial. In other words, dance and let yourself be carried away by the music.
Among the incessant play of synthesizers, brief recognizable melodies appear from time to time to the delight of fans. The references to the great dance floor genres are a continuum. A low and heavy beat provides a flash of R
Here our eyes are of no use to us. It is better to close them and let yourself be enveloped by the psychedelic trance. When you’ve been inside it for a while you begin to perceive the creative richness. Furthermore, something curious happens with darkness. The rest of the senses, especially hearing, become sharper, or rather more refined. The abstract rhythms and virtual sounds capture the constant innovation in which the Autechre project lives, without a doubt, one of the most avant-garde electronic music groups of the last thirty years. And Booth and Brown – one an architect and the other a sound engineer – have no musical training other than experience.
In this concert, more than shouts and loud applauses – there are those at the end of each song – it is asked to frequently silence the crowd with a loud “shhhhhh”. For many, this astral journey to the future of electronic music does not allow interruptions. An industrial and deafening sound appears and reminds us that hardcore music also has a place in the galaxy designed by the British duo. The concert is already 60 minutes old and the rhythm advances impassively and constantly. From the ovations it arouses, it seems that the public can still endure a little more “tralla.”
When diving into the sound of Autechre, it is inevitable to think about the spectrum of popularity that this music, after all, niche, can have. Journalist Jaime Casas said in a recent report in the supplement Cultura/s that the first times the listener immerses themselves in the music of this duo “can be frustrating,” however, suddenly, “a hermetic world opens up that becomes warm and welcoming.” As the concert progresses, that misunderstood chaos at the beginning is unraveled. But Autechre doesn’t want to pave the way: neither in its repetitions, which vary slightly as the song progresses, nor in the rhythms, with constant tempo changes that challenge the listener in their dance prowess.
A digital drum roll draws applause from the audience. The milestone opens the doors to an almost spiritual synthesized melody, as if warning of the imminent end. The last distorted note arrives, after 15 minutes, like a sharp knock and then the first silence of the night from his entrance to the stage. From their table full of computers hidden behind four large speakers, Brown and Booth sneak through the back curtain. No big bows or greetings. The roar comes now and for the first time from the room with the endless cheering of the audience.
When they go out into the street, the flash of the streetlights blinds the spectators, as if they had just spent the night on Mars and in one step had descended back to planet Earth. Among themselves they discuss what they have just experienced. One of them, Pedro, illuminates the rest. “They have an avant-garde proposal, they have always been ahead of the musicians of their time, even in the nineties. Scenically, by not playing with lights or other stimuli, you have no escape: you either feel the music or you don’t,” says this fan who has already seen them perform on several occasions.
