''Incunabula'' is the debut studio album by English

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

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 A ...

, released by UK label

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 29 November 1993, and again by

Wax Trax! Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that ...

on 25 January 1994 in the United States. ''Incunabula'' became a surprise success, reaching the top of the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

. In 2012, UK magazine '' Fact'' named it the 11th best album of the 1990s. It was re-released on vinyl by Warp on 11 November 2016.

Production

Autechre member Rob Brown stated that ''Incunabula'' was "more of a compilation of old material" and that he believed follow-up album ''

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...

'' was the "first album we put out on Warp." Music critics

David Stubbs David Stubbs (born 13 September 1962 in London) is a British music journalist. He grew up in Leeds and in the early Eighties was a student at the University of Oxford where he was a close friend of Simon Reynolds. The two were part of the Oxford ...

and Ned Raggett noted that ''Incunabula'' would differ from

's later releases. Raggett found that the album "doesn't totally display the full experimentation which would dominate their future albums and singles" while Stubbs stated that following both ''Incunabula'' and ''Amber'', Autechre "took an increasingly remote turn, moving away from both the blissful pastures of the chillout zone and the wildfire, staplegun rhythms characteristic of the 'Intelligent Dance Music' brigade." Raggett continued that the first track "Kalpol Introl" "sets the overall mood for the rest of the record" with the track's combination of minimal beats and bass with various keyboard textures and understated melodies. He concluded that ''Incunabula'' "follows the same general tone; tracks often experiment with ghostly keyboard backing and mostly clinical beats combined with odd, individual touches."

Release

''Incunabula'' was released by

on 29 November 1993. It was released again by

on 25 January 1994 in the United States. ''Incunabula'' was re-released on vinyl by Warp on 11 November 2016.

Reception

In a contemporaneous review, the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' stated that the repetition of most

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

would be repellent to audiences but that this was not the case with the genre's "ambient strain", lumping Autechre with groups like

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 1 ...

and

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and artists such as

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publication ...

. The review found little relevance in citing individual tracks as highlights as they ebbed and flowed into each other, but stated that "the music is never boring and does inspire fits of introspection." From retrospective reviews,

of ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...

'' discussed both ''Incunabula'' and ''

'' stating the two were "terrific adventures in homebrewed Techno but not radically dissimilar in method from the work of their Warp contemporaries." Raggett (AllMusic) stated that "despite the relative sameness in the basic arrangements of tracks covering the better portion of the album -- a few song subtractions wouldn't have hurt the 75-minute length any -- ''Incunabula'' still stands out as a better effort than many other U.K. techno albums of the early '90s." ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' gave the both ''Incunabula'' and ''Amber'' two and half stars out of five, describing them as "smart if unexciting ambient watercolors" that "give no indication of the innovations to follow". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' gave a positive review of the album, praising tracks such as "Bike" and "Basscadet", described as a "fan-favorite hit of sorts", while criticizing the album's "unwarranted" length. '' Fact'' would place the album at 11th place on their list of best albums of the 1990s, stating that it was a "symphony of whirrs, cranks and rattling spokes; its formal ingenuity and sheer, brute intensity have sealed its status as a set text for the ages."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Incunabulas record sleeve. * Sean Booth – writer, producer * Rob Brown – writer, producer * Adrian Harrow – assistance * Richard Brown – assistance * Darrell Fitton – assistance * Geoff Pesche – mastering * The Designers Republic – design * Daniel 72 – original images

References

External links

''Incunabula''
at the official Warp website {{Authority control 1993 debut albums Autechre albums Warp (record label) albums Wax Trax! Records albums Albums with cover art by The Designers Republic