As someone who releases ambient experimental music myself, I can really get on board with what Auto Chlor have on offer. The musical collective, who formed in 1995 in Athens, Georgia, estimate they have released to date upwards of 16 albums, and a countless number of EPs and singles. Their latest drop, a double-album out tomorrow, December 9, comprises 24 tracks in total, divided evenly between the ‘Kid Gloves’ and ‘Crystal Math’.
Over their 27 years of existence, Auto Chlor have had more than 70 members pass through and collaborate, under the leadership of xx periscope, the one constant. Their music is nothing if not quirky. Avant garde is another description. Auto Chlor themselves describe their sound as art rock”, “experimental”, “avant garde”, “sound collage”, and “dark ambient” – but when it boils down to it, it’s art. And let’s face it, artists don’t have to make art to please anyone but themselves, and if they win some fans along the way, it’s a bonus that they’re happy to have but wouldn’t miss if they weren’t there.
Another word to describe Auto Chlor could be prolific. Each album was completed in under a day, and that’s to be admired; their sound is pure, it’s from the heart, and there’s very little overthinking involved. It’s raw and *alive*. Each track is essentially a dadaist creation, surreal even. If you had told me they were extracts from the soundtrack of an Andy Warhol film, I’d not bat an eyelid.
All the song titles were chosen by a random word generator, which, to my way of thinking, is actual genius. As someone who makes instrumental tracks, one of the hardest things is working out what to call your creation – if you let AI look after that then you are left to continue the important business of creating (and I have no doubt that’s what Auto Chlor did with that extra time). It also saves some overthinking for the listener as well – we aren’t expected to ponder why they came upon titles such as ‘Luxuriant Coo’, for example. We know *how*.
The two albums serve as portraits of xx periscope. ‘Kid Gloves’ is about xx’s work life, while ‘Crystal Math’ is about their decaying home life.
‘Conspiratorial Irrelevancy’, track 6 on ‘Kid Gloves’, at just under 2 minutes long, is perhaps my favourite on ‘Kid Gloves’. It calls to mind Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Rockafeller Skank’ to a certain extent, albeit a more industrial sounding version.
As for ‘Crystal Math’, the standout track is the afore-mentioned ‘Luxuriant Coo’. This one reminds me of Jean Cocteau’s mind-bending classic film, ‘Orphée’, released in 1950 (as a side note, motorcyclists in the film were the model for those in the video for a-ha’s song, ‘Take On Me’). There’s an ethereal-ness to the track that is both meditative and disturbing at the same time; it’s not going to appeal to everyone (see above my comment about artists not having to please anyone) but it does to me.
‘Kid Gloves’ and ‘Crystal Math’ are out tomorrow, December 9. You can find out more about Auto Chlor and their music online on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, and TikTok.
.
Comments