Autechre, Flutter (1994)
The environment in which Autechre formed is a world away from today’s hyper-commercialised, TikTokified electronic music culture; thousands of pill-happy ravers were congregating every weekend for multi-day DIY outdoor parties. Tabloids sensationalised the rave movement and the government introduced the Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994, providing police with the power to break up unsanctioned, open-air gatherings at which sounds “characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats” were played. Autechre took this as a challenge, releasing a track that winkingly evaded the government’s laughable restrictions; containing no identical beats or repeated phrases; a satirical middle finger to the establishment’s ill-advised attempts to stifle the burgeoning free party scene and the electronic music that inspired it.