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Exai

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Exai
Studio album by
Autechre
Released7 February 2013 (download)
5 March 2013 (CD/LP)
Recorded2012
Genre
Length120:32
LabelWarp Records
WARP234
ProducerAutechre
Autechre chronology
Move of Ten
(2010) 		Exai
(2013) 		L-event
(2013)

Exai is the eleventh album by electronic music duo Autechre, released on Warp Records. The double album was released in digital form on 7 February 2013,[1] with double CD and quadruple vinyl versions released on 5 March 2013.[2] At the time of its release, Exai was Autechre's longest album to date.[3]

Like other Autechre albums, Exai was followed a few months later by a companion EP entitled L-event. The tracks, all from the same sessions, were conceived of as a series of 12" vinyl records, during which L-event ultimately "became a separate entity" that the duo sees as "interchangeable" with the 12"'s that comprise Exai.[4]

Artwork and Title

Exai (and companion EP L-event) features album artwork by The Designers Republic. Following the album's release, fan speculation included theories that the artwork was based on Conway's Game of Life[5] or binary code.[6] Autechre members Sean and Rob were initially reluctant to discuss the album as they "wanted to see what people could figure out,"[7] but ultimately confirmed that the artwork depicts a heavily-pixelated typography exercise.[8] Exai is Autechre's eleventh album, and the title may be derived from a phonetic rendering of the Roman numeral "XI," or eleven, which also appears in one track title: "T ess xi."

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [10]
BBC MusicFavourable[11]
Clash(8/10) [12]
Drowned in Sound(7/10) [13]
FACT(3.5/5) [14]
musicOMH [15]
Pitchfork Media(5.9/10)[3]
Pop Matters [16]
Resident Advisor(3.5/5) [17]
The Skinny [18]
Slant Magazine [19]

Exai has received positive reviews, with a Metacritic average rating of 80 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics.[9] Grayson Currin of Pitchfork Media thought the album had some good moments, but was too long at two hours, and would have been improved by more editing and trimming.[3] Chris Power of BBC Music was more enthusiastic, calling the album Autechre's best in fifteen years.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sean Booth and Rob Brown

No.TitleLength
1."FLeure"4:51
2."irlite (get 0)"10:01
3."prac-f"4:20
4."jatevee C"4:14
5."T ess xi"6:43
6."vekoS"6:42
7."Flep"6:43
8."tuinorizn"3:40
9."bladelores"12:20
10."1 1 is"7:18
11."nodezsh"8:40
12."runrepik"4:35
13."spl9"7:06
14."cloudline"10:13
15."deco Loc"5:27
16."recks on"9:22
17."YJY UX"8:24
18."18 (keyosc)" (Japanese bonus track)8:57
Total length:129:29

Release history

Country/Region Date Label Format Catalogue number
Japan 27 February 2013 Beat Records 2×CD BRC-365LTD
Europe 5 March 2013 Warp Records 2×CD WARPCD234
4×LP WARPLP234

References

  1. ^ "Download 'Exai' now. Pre-orders of 2XCD + 4XLP receive instant digital". Warp Records. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  2. ^ McGovern, Kyle (13 December 2012). "Autechre Ready Two-Hour, Double-Disc Album 'Exai'". Spin. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Currin, Grayson (19 February 2013). "Autechre: Exai". Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. ^ Booth, Sean. "AAA - Ask Autechre Anything - Sean and Rob on WATMM! – Page 12". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Autechre Exai Cover Art - Life Pattern". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Hidden Message In Autechre Cover Art?". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ Booth, Sean. "AAA - Ask Autechre Anything - Sean and Rob on WATMM! – Page 21". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. ^ Booth, Sean. "AAA - Ask Autechre Anything - Sean and Rob on WATMM! – Page 72". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Exai". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Allmusic review".
  11. ^ a b Power, Chris (15 February 2013). "Autechre Exai Review". Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. ^ Matthew Bennett (4 March 2013). "Autechre – Exai". Clash. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Autechre – Exai". Drowned in Sound. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  14. ^ Angus Finlayson (18 February 2013). "Exai". FACT. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  15. ^ Steven Johnson (1 March 2013). "Autechre – Exai". musicOMH. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  16. ^ Tom Fenwick (6 March 2013). "Autechre – Exai". Pop Matters. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  17. ^ Andrew Ryce (7 March 2013). "Autechre - Exai". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  18. ^ Mark Shukla (13 February 2013). "Autechre – Exai Album Review". The Skinny. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Slant review".
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