Autechre-The Hafler Trio: aeo3/3hae
Die Stadt

Packaging festishists will deem this second Autechre-Hafler Trio collaboration on Die Stadt a worthwhile purchase for the deluxe presentation alone. A subtly textured, handmade case opens to reveal a three-panelled insert, two of them containing discs and a central pocket housing translucent sheets of achromatic abstractions; in place of personnel info or track titles, there's a lengthy paragraph of enigmatic text. The facts, then: Autechre's disc features a thirty-two minute piece entitled “æo³” while The Hafler Trio's “³hæ” is fifty (though Carl Michael Von Hausswolff and Chris Watson were once members, The Hafler Trio now functions as Andrew McKenzie's solo project, with idiosyncratic figures like Zoviet*France's Ben Ponton, performance artist John Duncan, and noise musician Zbigniew Karkowski contributing on occasion).

Notwithstanding its distinctive presentation, does the release hold up musically? Well, the first disc opens unhurriedly with spectral reverberations rumbling stormily at near-subliminal levels for sixteen minutes; Autechre devotees anxious for synapse-incinerating chaos may grow restless when confronted with such quietude but stuttering spasms of grinding pops and prickly tears eventually erupt, even if the controlled treatment of noise never approaches the lacerating extremes of Merzbow. The convulsive episode lasts a mere eight minutes before the piece re-enters a windswept zone that's even quieter than the first. And what of “³hæ”? It's a subdued micro-soundscape that references a broad catalogue of electronic sounds (environmental too, like door openings and closings). Filled with glacially mutating drones of ringing noises, haunted moans, insectile chatter, and phantom whistles, it's hardly 'musical' in any conventional sense but more an extended stream of abstract sound, generally pitched at a level of near-inaudibility.

Is aeo3/3hae an essential addition to the groups' respective discographies? It's hard to imagine so. It is interesting to hear Autechre take on a long-form piece and the group's indelible signature does permeate every moment of the disc's second section, but the more generic opening and closing parts could have been authored by any number of electronic artists. Though “³hæ” is longer than “æo³,” it lacks the latter's dynamic contrasts, instead choosing to drift through unwavering levels of volume and activity; in this case, longer doesn't necessarily mean more interesting. Simply put: beautifully packaged?—undoubtedly; sonically essential?—frankly, no, at least not to these ears.

September 2005