Autechre Proves Likable Despite Its Efforts to Alienate

One of the most appealing things about electronic music is the genre’s willingness to bypass all musical rules for the sake of creating something original. That said, one has to wonder whether even the electronic world is ready for British duo Autechre (Sean Booth and Rob Brown).

While the pair got their start in the early ‘90s as a techno act, they have progressively moved away from those origins into experimental sounds seemingly crafted to test fans’ patience. Several times during the duo’s sold-out show Saturday at the El Rey, one had to wonder whether the goal wasn’t to see how far the pair could go while still earning the crowd’s approval.

Every time the duo would start to get a musical flow going, they would sabotage it by distorting and slowing down the beats. Booth and Brown often used machine-like sounds or warped psychedelic mixes to mask their techno foundation. Although almost all of the computer-generated compositions followed a basic four by four beat, those grooves were frequently rendered as unrecognizable as a person on plastic surgery No. 5 after a disfiguring accident.

Just as the music was often intentionally unattractive, so too were the visuals dressed down. At the duo’s request, there was no lighting at all.

Yet, despite their best efforts at alienating listeners, there is something oddly appealing about Autechre. Their apparent indifference is part of the charm, as is their obvious contempt for traditional song structures. But more than anything it’s the promise of something new. And in that sense, Autechre are worthy torchbearers of electronic music. Even if we may not yet be worthy of them.