Oversteps

Hailing from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, Rob Brown & Sean Booth formed Autechre in 1987, and have since become one of the most prominent acts signed with Warp Records. 'Oversteps', their tenth album together, is a noticeably more melodic work than previous recordings...

One of the most distinctive & revered electronic duos of all time, they've previously been commissioned to remix the likes of Stereolab; Tortoise; plus Surgeon, and have notably been feted by Thom Yorke. The Radiohead frontman stated on his official website that their 2001 album, 'Confield', "made my head spin". He's also cited Rob & Sean's work as an influence on his own 'Kid A' & 'Amnesiac' (of course Autechre themselves admit indifference to this).

Their latest work, still very much an Autechre record, shows an oft-overlooked playfulness and a rarely mentioned musicality that comes to the fore-front, in what could be described as their most accessible work to date. Between the layers of cold digital pings & fuzzed out tones, there are true chord changes and warm soundscapes being built from the ground up. As freelance writer David Abravanel (New York Magazine; Big Shot; Pop Matters; etc.) put it, Autechre's previous release, 'Quarterstice' was: "the cool 'In a Silent Way' to the more aggressively beautiful 'Bitches Brew' of 'Oversteps'. There are tracks here with the kind of ambient techno melodies that have scarce been present on an Autechre album since 'Tri Repetae' from 1995. Where part of the thrill of 'Quaristice' was the unmistakable sound of the duo wrestling with where to fit all the pieces, 'Oversteps' beams with confidence; everything is fleshed out here."

"Whether it's from tones floating in space or notes brushing up against each other in quiet but effective dischord, the ambience & atmospheres of 'Oversteps' are haunting."
-PITCHFORK