if ur following my instagram in 2026 you would know i talk about autechre alot. but the amount i talk about them isnt even proportional to how influential they r to me. both sonically and in ethos, they are a cornerstone of my creative method, so when i was first starting out on max/ msp, software i would’ve heard after discovering them but who they indirectly set me on the path of erudition towards, i was overwhelmed by the amount of possibilities on how to make sound with it, so i just stole from them (and sv1)
according to some q&as they've done, their current live rig is 16 channels of a synth and a sequencer and 4 effects per channel [example] and i, very slowly but surely, coded something similar to this. less channels and fx though. laptop would’ve exploded if i tried that. not sure how they do it but i say that alot regarding them
but once it was about operational, i eventually had to come w terms that this centralized and interconnected way of making music was not for me. it was generally too stiff for my liking. it wasnt me
what works for autechre does not work for me, in spite of how much influence i draw from them. im generally aware that as a person and artist i have to mostly disregard how others do things and kinda just… do things until i find out whats fruitful for me but i let my love for autechre cloud me and i didn’t allow max/ msp to be itself. i spent bout 2-3 months coding ‘the machine', yet i havent opened the patch in just that same amount of time, it serves no creative use for me. but its body still provides nutrients! the erudition gained from those months was key in my learning and current knowledge of max. i would go through that again if given the chance
stealing as artists can help u discover what works but it can just as valuably help u discover what does not and what u must let go of despite how much you want it to work. the selfishness to steal and the selflessness to realize that what you stole isn’t working for u is key. you need both, u must steal n let go! dont steal too much though, grow your own flowers.