Well for the band in question, Autechre, I'm not trying to suggest that they compose by having the machines generate parts and then they go back to tweak those parts. It's more as though the program they write for a composition is something to be steered and actively adjusted on the fly. THAT's the performance. They're not micro-managing note and rhythm choice. They're performing by adjusting probabilities, or adding new seed conditions on the fly, or controlling meta functions.
I believe their compositional style is more akin to a long form improvisational jam that may then be edited down for conciseness and redundancy. I don't get the impression that they're going back and tweaking the fine details at this stage in their long career. They're way too prolific to keep that up.
Here's an example of some tracks that are typical of them:
As you'll hear it's pretty removed from conventional rhythm, harmony, and form. There are certainly underlying foundations, but they've transitioned into a mode that's almost entirely rhythm and timbre. In fact, by leaning into the generative components and ignoring the need to replicate traditional song forms, melody, or cadence in a credible way they've pioneered a very radical and exciting form of composition with electronic instruments.
I dunno, the first one sounds like random dissonant noise to me, the second one is a bit less grating to listen to still not what i would enjoy though or what i would really consider music. Not quite what i had in mind.
Yeah. It’s definitely an acquired taste. I would describe their musical arc as a pair of British B-boys who took super-hard to the beatmaking aspect of early electro hiphop and then pushed that as far as they possibly could.
They’re certainly not songs, in the western sense of having chords and melody. It’s a very different and unrelated paradigm. It’s primarily an exploration of rhythm and timbre. I would not be surprised to discover that a lot of what sounds like musical texture is, in fact, very dense rhythmic sequences.
I find it thrilling. Once you live with it for a bit you can grow accustomed to it and start to recognize the inner-logic of how it works. I know that they perceive it as dance music, but I perceive it more as braindance.
Exposure is a lot of it. They have tons of devoted fans and are some of the most beloved musicians on music sites I go on. It just takes one's brain some time to carve new grooves and perceptions of meter, like for a lot of avant-garde music. (Not to say everyone who exposes themselves to a lot of it will like it - it's necessary but not sufficient.)
To give you perspective of the range Autechre has, this track is much closer to mainstream song writing than their generative and left field stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkTJTf7Yvk8
It's an acquired taste when you go through their discography and start to notice the intricacies of the creations, their rhythms and sound design are really damn hard to replicate.
I believe their compositional style is more akin to a long form improvisational jam that may then be edited down for conciseness and redundancy. I don't get the impression that they're going back and tweaking the fine details at this stage in their long career. They're way too prolific to keep that up.
Here's an example of some tracks that are typical of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMD_oenMGVk&list=OLAK5uy_lvg...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRBKryLk29E
As you'll hear it's pretty removed from conventional rhythm, harmony, and form. There are certainly underlying foundations, but they've transitioned into a mode that's almost entirely rhythm and timbre. In fact, by leaning into the generative components and ignoring the need to replicate traditional song forms, melody, or cadence in a credible way they've pioneered a very radical and exciting form of composition with electronic instruments.