''Anti EP'' is the second EP by British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo

Autechre Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of Au ...

, released by

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

on 3 September 1994. It peaked at number 90 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, as well as number 39 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...

. It is the only explicitly political record Autechre have released.

Background

''Anti EP'' was a protest against the

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed r ...

, which would prohibit raves (described as gatherings where music is played), with "music" being defined as a "succession of repetitive beats." Sean Booth explained the band's strategy for the song "Flutter" by saying, "We made as many different bars as we could on the drum machine, then strung them all together." The packaging bore a sticker with a disclaimer about the repetitive nature of the rhythmic elements of "Lost" and "Djarum". "Flutter" was programmed to have non-repetitive beats and therefore "can be played at both forty five and thirty three

revolutions In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

under the proposed law"; but following their disclaimer, it was advised that DJs "have a lawyer and a musicologist present at all times to confirm the non repetitive nature of the music in the event of police harassment." The sticker acted as a seal, which was required to be broken in order to access the media enclosed in the packaging. The profits from this release went to the political pressure group

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. The sticker ended with this last statement: "Autechre is politically non-aligned. This is about personal freedom." Despite "Flutter"'s ability to be played at 33 1/3 RPM and 45 RPM on vinyl, the CD version contains the song as played at 45 RPM.

Critical reception

Ken Tataki of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the EP 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Beyond a doubt, this is an excellent showcase not only for the band, but also for the label that signed them." Writing for ''

Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

'' in 2013, Maya Kalev called the EP "a continued reminder of dance music's extra-linguistic and innate potential for subversion." In 2014, ''Fact'' placed "Flutter" at number 1 on their list of the "100 greatest IDM tracks".

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

''Anti EP''
at the official Warp discography (features audio clips) * {{Authority control 1994 EPs Autechre EPs Warp (record label) EPs Albums with cover art by The Designers Republic