Tri Repetae (stylised as tri repetae.) is the third studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 6 November 1995 by Warp. The style of the album differs from Incunabula (1993) and Amber (1994), their previous albums on the label. The album received positive reviews upon release,
Background
In contrast to Incunabula (1993) and Amber (1994), Tri Repetae features a distinct style that incorporates more minimal, repetitive rhythmic patterns and intricate, spacious arrays of melodies. In the time leading up to the production of the album, Booth and Brown had both been Sheffield residents, with Sean moving both house and studio next door to Jez Potter, a friend and fellow experimental producer and DJ who introduced the duo to his collaborator Mat Steel, and additionally the English experimental artist Mark Fell. Potter had been performing DJ sets across the United Kingdom at clubs with dedicated "ambient rooms", such as the London venue Megatripolis; Booth and Brown had also been appearing regularly and anonymously alongside Fell on weekly radio broadcasts by Potter on the Sheffield pirate radio station Foulmouth FM. Subsequently, Tri Repetae marked a significant change in both the duo's musical style and their approach to music production, inspired by the glitch music of Potter and Fell. Stemming from Autechre's increasing preoccupation with unique electronic musical textures and glitches, the liner notes of the album mention a preference to listen to the album on vinyl for surface noise; the CD version states that the album is "incomplete without surface noise", whereas the vinyl version satisfactorily states that it is "complete with surface noise".
Release
Tri Repetae was accompanied by a tour; Surgeon, Simon Pyke (Freeform) and Jez Potter accompanied the band as opening DJs on much of its UK leg.
On 11 November 2016, Tri Repetae was re-released on vinyl by Warp, along with their two previous albums, Incunabula and Amber.
Critical reception and legacy
Tri Repetae received critical acclaim upon release. In a five-star review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described it as "a varied, accomplished album, clear evidence of Autechre's unique genius around sound." Sue Cummings of Spin magazine wrote that Autechre had "take[n] their place as electronic pioneers alongside Saunderson and even Kraftwerk," calling Tri Repetae "electronic music as emotionally resonant as you're likely to find." Vaughn Allen for Muzik variously described the album as "unsettling, skin-crawling" and "sticky-fingered, investigating the depths of [Autechre's] machines". a "turning point" in electronic music, and a watershed moment for IDM.
Track listing
Charts
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! Chart (1995)
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References
External links
- Tri Repetae at Warp
- Tri Repetae at Bleep.com (features audio clips)