Building songs with squelch

“Gantz Graf” as an EP is sort of an anomaly. The EP was released after their album “Confield,” one of their more intricate works in terms of drum programming and came out before albums like “Draft 7.30” and “Untilted.”  

The main thing that sets it apart from other EPs by the duo, though, is the fact that it’s mostly extremely abrasive. If you get used to it, it’s an amazing listen, but in general, it’s very abrasive. 

The EP opens up with “Gantz Graf,” which slaps you in the face with unrelenting and intense drums. The drums border on being too noisy sometimes, having some semblance of a beat, but the drums often segue into condensation. The whole song feels like how a calculator feels when dividing by zero. Near the end of the song, the drums sound like they arealmost breaking down and giving up, inhaling before finally settling down. 

“Gantz Graf” is not bad at all, though. The song’s abrasiveness works to counteract with its minimalist melody during parts of the song that stay on a beat. The beat often trailing off in different sections adds a loose edge to the song in a way. “Gantz Graf” is also very unique in the way of abrasive Autechre songs. The song isn’t as malleable as songs that came out 10 or 20 years later. The individual drums usually stay the same consistency throughout, never managing to give way until the end of the song.  

“Dial.,” the next song, is the most conventional out of the EP. The song almost sounds like it’s absolutely trying to stress you out. “Dial.” employs many lo off putting melodies and odd vocal samples to make this one of the more disorienting dance tracks I've listened to. While all of this is happening, though, the song is barely above a whisper. It reminds me of someone playing music really quietly at around sunrise.  

The EP ends with “Cap.IV,” which flawlessly transitions from “Dial.” “Cap.IV” feels like the opposite of “Gantz Graf” in some ways. The song’s beats are extremely squelchy and malleable.  The melody is also more subdued and calmer than the beat, which makes for a nice combination of the two elements. “Cap.IV” simply isn’t as loud as “Gantz Graf,” but what it makes up for in loudness it makes up for in chaos. 

The song keeps building its massive wall of squelchy drums throughout until there’s a huge mass that’s impossible to ignore. The mountain of drums keeps moving until it hits an unrecognizable noise at the end and eventually finishes. 

“Gantz Graf” as an EP is strange to listen to, especially finding out what time it was released in, but honestly if you listen to it enough it can be rewarding. 

Autechre’s EPs can be just as good as their albums if not better in some cases. It’s nice to see how their smaller projects sound next to the albums they were released besides as well.

If you are reading this, please listen to Autechre.