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Autechre Live In London Review ™/ Text + Pics / Steve Nosurname 4th March 2008 ''Autechre''. Not a word that inspires excitement (or even any kind of response) in most people, but to some - and believe me, there are quite a few - they represent the kind of exploding electro-funk-noise that has gone on to influence such stars as Radiohead. Tonight, in an old car park tucked behind Liverpool Street station (of all places), any preconceptions about the band anyone could possibly have were smashed to pieces. Once inside, the music is already under way - with support slots from DJ Rob Hall and SND, the lineup was something of a dream for electronica geeks. Rob Hall's mechanical and surprisingly booty-shaking abstract techno sets (he played THREE in between the other acts) are matched by his remarkably emotionless stage persona, occasionally mouthing the odd vocal refrain. SND take a more glitched-up route, still somehow causing the more adventurous of the crowd to dance robotically to their futuristic damaged-computer sound. However, as Hall comes to the end of the second round of his hypnotic machine goodness, closes his laptop, and walks away, Autechre almost instantaneously leap onstage. The lights go out, and the most bone-crunchingly powerful beat imaginable blasts from the gargantuan speakers, turning the legs of everyone in the room into jelly in the process. Faced by a bank of complex-looking equipment, the duo - made up of Sean Booth and Rob Brown - stand practically motionless for the entire hour-long set, Booth nodding his head frantically to the mind-bending beats they are creating. For the whole hour, Autechre take their distinctive 'grooves', build them up, change their tempo, and twist them into shards of spiky ''intelligent dance music'' that most certainly remains danceable. The bass is head-splitting at points, and although they create something incredibly original and quite strange, they don’t forget their pirate radio roots, with the raving crowd very nearly falling onto the stage at one point. The set climaxes with a noisy, high-tempo monster, pushing the crowd into overdrive, before Autechre walk off as dispassionately as we’ve come to expect – Booth raising his glass of beer to the audience to a deafening cheer. They might not seem that cool in today’s world of identikit Kate Nash wannabes and cheesy club pop hits, but one thing cannot be denied – Autechre rock harder than ANYONE else.		Bashy Interview The Cool Kids Lady Lykes Grimes New School Rowdy Superstar Interview The Sound Of Reason Slash Interview Hoxton Vs Hampstead Fashion Young Designers Lucinda Chua Interview Will Kay Interview The Brothers Size Chris Lambert Duane Henry Drug Trafficking Feature Does My Bum Look Big in This Life After Prison Whats Upsetting Our Children MP Julia Goldsworthy Autechre Live In London Hardcore Is More Than Music Media Box Paddington Development Trust The Cut On Myspace