Autechre – Peel Session

Drane is probably one of my favourite AE tracks .

Interesting that the date on the original cover is 13/10/95, but is 09/10/95 on the version from Bleep and other web stores. Does anybody know the story behind that?

I honestly would love to write about Autechre more than any other musician sort of from the same field, because their music is still a big round question mark for me, just as it was the day i first heard it, but i will leave here my words concerning the first of the Peel Sessions. I feel i can get quickly closer to small EPs or minialbums, maybe due to short attention span or simply because it gets easier to follow its logic and even listen to it a second time, for "confirmations". It was also the first Autechre i got to own on CD format, together with Peel Session 2 curiously, and it is for me a standout work, in the sense that it gathers several of Ae's trademark intentions and ideas regarding music production.
Milk DX is my favorite because the leading melody sucks me deep into it everytime. It sounds sort of dimmed and hazy, very mysterious, and there is almost an egyptian feel to it. When the distorted vocals (or are they generated sounds?) kick in, it gets so intense! At the begining it sort of sounds like someone is trying to call the listener, but after a while it blends in with the instrumental and it gets hypnotizing. The percussion is really striking as well. My first thoughts are that it is not solid. It sounds very waterish, and you can feel this right from the first seconds of the track. It sounds like you are constantly getting submerged and then out of a river. The combination of such percussion with the melody and vocals really give the track a sort of weightless feel to it.
Regarding Inhake 2, i love how the percussion rhythm changes right in the middle and how the melody sounds like a radio being tuned. There is also a constant vocal-like buzz, almost like an insect screaming.
Drane sounds intensively metallic and it is equally good, but i wish it had a vocal-like element as well.
The vocals, or whatever is sounding like them, really add a human touch to it, and that subtlety is probably the reason why i love the first Peel Session so much!

This is my favourite AE album. I have the vinyl version and I like to play the tracks faster then 33 rpm. Try it.

A little background, first. My first Ae release was 1995's Tri Repetae, an absolute electronic masterpiece in every way.
These tracks were originally recorded in 1995, right near the time they released Tri Repetae & the Garbage ep. Warp released this in 1999, right in the middle of when Ae were busy falling further and further into insanity, making this a welcome addition to the Ae catalogue. This release is truly worth it for "Milk DX" alone...suitably skeletal percussion underneath a wonderfully emotional melody. Not saying the other tracks are bad, however; "Inhake 2" is heavy drums, almost playful-sounding keyboards and some very strange vocal samples (they almost sound like chanting ants). And "Drane"...well, let's just say, you have to hear it to believe it.
Any fan of Ae should try to track this release down, and I can honestly say that this is a good starting point for anyone who wants to get into Autechre but prefers not to be scared off by the insanity of their later work (LP5, Confield). HIGHLY recommended. 4.5/5

The first Peel Session was better then the 2nd one in my opinion. This CD opens with Milk DX. Nothing special and kinda repetetive, but classic Autechre. Track 2, Inhake 2, is the best on here in my opinion. One of Autechre's catchiest beats ever. The closing track, Drone is a pretty long ambient driven song. The release isn't essential unless you're a die hard Autechre fan like me

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This, I believe, is the best place for a someone new to Autechre to start. It's a mix of beat driven, ambient, and experimental music that rocks the listener. Check it out if you haven't you won't regret it.

When I first got in to the "IDM" sound, I was told to check out Autechre. So I at random found a song with a neat title and ed it. That song was Drane. Needless to say, I was blown away, rocked into another universe, and never looked back! So while I have found *plenty* of other Autechre songs I love, Drane remains one of my favorites. Track 1 is also very interesting. With good equipment, the good stereo seperation and depths of sound does neat tricks with your head. Track 2 is a little less memorable, but that is okay, Drane is worth the cost of the disc all by itself in my opinion.