I bounced off Autechre for years. Every time someone recommended them, I’d put on an album, find it impenetrable, and turn it off after ten minutes.

Something changed recently. I’m not sure what—maybe I’ve just listened to enough other electronic music that my ears have calibrated differently. But I put on Tri Repetae last week and suddenly I could hear it.

Not “understand” it, exactly. But hear it as music rather than noise. The rhythms that sounded random started to feel intentional. The textures that seemed harsh started to seem beautiful.

The lesson, maybe

Some things require patience. Not everything reveals itself immediately, and that’s fine. The music that takes work to appreciate often becomes the music that matters most.

I’m still working on Confield. I’ll report back.