Autechre - Incunabula (Double Black Vinyl)

Autechre's debut album Incunabula, released on Warp in 1993, stands as one of the foundational statements of the IDM movement, a record that first introduced the duo's otherworldly vision to a wider audience.

Part of Warp’s groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence series, the album occupies a fascinating space between ambient textures, electro mechanics and techno structures. Its long, evolving tracks move with patient momentum, layering cold machine rhythms with glowing synth lines and ghostly atmospheres. Pieces like “Eggshell,” “Bike” and “Windwind” already showcased the intricate programming and sense of alien geometry that would come to define Autechre’s sound, while still retaining an emotional core that feels strangely human.

Unlike their later, more fragmented and impenetrable work, Incunabula captures the duo in a formative yet fully realised state — expansive, hypnotic and deeply immersive. It set the tone not only for Autechre’s future explorations, but also for an entire generation of producers seeking to push electronic music beyond the dancefloor into something cerebral, abstract and timeless.

Three decades on, Incunabula has lost none of its impact: it remains a masterful debut, a key document of early 90s innovation, and a gateway into one of the most singular catalogues in modern electronic music.