In 1994, rave culture came under attack from Parliament in the Criminal Justice Bill. One can only picture with some bemusement the irrational consternation with which the conservatives must have viewed the large colorful gatherings and the strange music “characterized by repetitive beats” Actually, the attack on raves was seen as but one small implication among a wider effort at systematic repression and control - causing widespread opposition. And while the protest song has long been a feature of popular music, the medium of electronica is not usually seen as its ideal vehicle. But the spurious condemnation of music with repetitive beats put electronic artists on the defensive. In a showing of solidarity, Autechre released the EP Anti which contained the track "Flutter" - what one fan has aptly identified as the "first postmodern protest song" in the sense that modern protest songs have relied on the traditional framework of lyrics to convey their message.
Rather, "Flutter" exposed the sheer absurdity of the law not by stirring passions through lyrics, but by making the very song itself a tool of protest. It was anti-political in the sense that it defied the very public arena through which a protest song's author is supposed to disclose himself or herself, but staged its own terms. The warning sticker that came with the album reads:
Flutter has been programmed in such a way that no bars contain identical beats and can therefore be played under the proposed new law. However, we advise DJs to have a lawyer and a musicologist present at all times to confirm the non-repetitive nature of the music in the event of police harrassment.
Not only did it provide a tongue-in-cheek criticism of the law, but provides a compelling defense of repetition not as crutch for lack of ideas (an assumption put forth by rock fans repeatedly - pun intended), but as a musematic tool used to generate a entire structural framework. "Flutter" simply reconfigures the framework to never repeat itself. The beats contort and shapeshift themselves in myriad ways, but never assuming the same pattern. It's superbly put together - the drum programming never shows its seams, but rather builds itself upwards constantly never looking back down. The other two tracks on Anti sit comfortably as companion tracks.
On the cover of Anti, Autechre outlines their approach: AeP or "Agitate. Eductate. Protest." If "Flutter" was a form of education, then agitation comes in the form of "Lost" which finds dismembered ghostly murmurs caught out in a furious deluge of tribal beats. It's trademark Autechre that covers similar ground as previously explored on Incunabula. Protest comes in the form of "Djarum" as it angrily stomps along in steel toed boots, kicking car doors in percussive unity and rallying troops with high-pitched whistles.
Anti shows Autechre at their smartest and sharpest. The tracks here convey a sense of anger but carried through with intelligence and aplomb.
