Reviews

Aural Aggravation

Sometimes, an album packs in so much into a limited space that unpacking it presents itself as a major task – which in turn leads to the question of whether or not the process of unpacking is integral to the appreciation of the work. This is true of much art, beyond music. Is it essential to be familiar with the concept and the story of its creation to appreciate a painting. This is not in any way to devalue or diminish the context, but equally, a work should be able to stand by itself.

Autistici’s biography is in itself a work of abstraction, which tells us little about the artist and more about their vision of art, and cursory attempts to find further detail are scuppered by a swathe of search results about autism and anticapitalism. So to focus on what we do know rather than to vanish down yet another rabbit-hole of research, Familiarity Unfolded follows Familiarity Folded and Familiarity Enfolded to conclude a collaborative trilogy, which on this instalment features Datewithdeath, Jacek Doroszenko, Ümlaut, Distant Fires Burning, and Neuro… No Neuro.

‘2.25 Degrees of Internalisation’, which opens the album is dense and droney to begin with, but soon fragments into something that’s altogether more glitchy and jangly, electronic pulsations creating an ebb and flow of fractured robotics, stutters and echoes. ‘Grusch’s Biologics’, which sees Autistici come together with Datewithdeath is spacious, abstract and ambient in the background, with smooth, sedate bass notes filling out the sound, but with the foreground littered with all kinds of drifting debris, pops and pings. It feels like navigating the tranquillity of zero gravity while swerving space junk – the contrast between the calm emptiness with unpredictable clutter.

‘Scarlar (E-dit) with Distant Fires Burning’ serves up some squelchy analogue synth-driven Krautrock, the likes of which is easy to get lost in, particularly over the course of almost six motorik minutes, before ‘My Modal Realism’, created in collaboration with Jacek Doroszenko ventures into territory which could almost be considered dance… It’s by no means a bomp-bomp-bomp club banger, but with its looped vocal sample and spaced-out synth grooves, it very much incorporates elements of both trance and trip-hop. With Neuro… No Neuro, ‘We Melt Clouds’ is clicky, clatterly, an exercise in abstraction and microtonalism, the sound of beetles tap-dancing alongside bent piano notes and clouds racing past on a buoyant breeze. It’s noting if not imaginative and wide-ranging, and the album’s final piece – the twelve-minute epic that is ‘Subliminal Selves’, with Ümlaut is a microscopic textural exploration, the sonic equivalent of scrutinising cells dividing under a microscope.

The range of electronic experiments on Familiarity Unfolded is admirable – and experiments are the real emphasis here. Done differently, this could have been a far more accessible, commercial album. But this is not what Autistici is about – and so, instead, we get a diverse range of weirdness. Cue applause for art over plays.

Original > HERE

Magazine Sixty

Finalising this series, Familiarity Unfolded sees the artist once again collaborating to create. It results in the expansion of sounds and ideas crisscrossing propulsive rhythms, albeit broken and at times fragmented, injecting the sonic palette with a fiery, fevered array of electronic sounds that paint a genuinely original set of circumstances. Feeling like a twisted set of languages, there is much substance to be found and grappled with here, and any hint of boredom is quickly dispersed and dealt with. With the exception of Scalar (E-dit) – Autistici & Distant Fires Burning, which conversely adopts a more traditional dancefloor structure.

It’s hard to define any of the pieces that would undermine their radical, impulsive sense of self. Instead, I’ll let the music speak for itself. File under, atmosphere, rigorous, networks, craft, electronics, hidden depths of melody.

Original > HERE

Musique Machine

Collaboration can open doors and channels to composition, allowing one to view their pieces in a new light and reveal new approaches to music creation. Autistici has released the third in a three-part collaboration series with Familiarity Unfolded (following Familiarity Folded and Familiarity Enfolded), working with five other artists over six engaging electronic tracks. With the artists both co-writing and remixing each other's work, each collab brings the pair closer together, each track being an expression of this artistic camaraderie. 

Familiarity Unfolded is a collaborative effort, so the overall tone and style of the album cannot be pinned down and each track is allowed to create its own method in which to express itself. Opening the album is the Autistici solo piece that, I'm assuming, serves as the source and inspiration for the collaborative tracks that follow. "2.25 Degrees of Internalisation" is a somewhat robotic slice of ambient that feels otherworldly but at the same time oddly comforting. The synth swells that fill out the mix behind the delayed and decaying notes help push the track into soundscape territory all while remaining active and rhythmic. "Grusch's Biologics" follows and is the collaboration between Autistici & Datewithdeath. Greatly expounding upon the rhythmic tendencies of the first piece, numerous, propulsive layers keep the track bouncing and upbeat, even when the tonal quality would hint towards something dark and gloomy. The soundscape/cinematic layer is still present, and when it pokes its head out, the electronic gaiety helps to frame it nicely. Coming from a distance, "My Modal Realism" brings about a softer, more natural bit of electronics, with birds and insects giving the song a realistic texture (as evidenced by the title). The third track sees a collab with Jacek Doroszenko, who keeps his realism mix moving with a central drum section and human vocalizations. Sunny and joyful, like coming outside after a rainstorm, this one has quite a shift from the two previous tracks and certainly brings a smile to one's face.

Although continuing with the watery, rainy sounds, "Subliminal Selves" focuses on more of a strong, gray feel, with the rain keeping the listener in place while the drones move freely about. The realism is strong in this piece as well, providing a nice base for the pulsing synths to add artificial texture. This pairing with Ümlaut is a longer piece but focuses on growth and natural progression, utilizing its runtime to the fullest. "Scalar (E-dit)" brings that heavy, synthy beat back and works in a rad bass groove, giving this one a John Carpenter feel. Autistici & Distant Fires Burning have the most head nodding track on the album with this one, and while it doesn't get too far outside of its bounds, it doesn't need to...its trajectory is excellent. Neuro... No Neur joins in to work on the closing track, "We Melt Clouds," a wistful exercise in rainy day reflection. Looking out the window as the drops cascade down, either wishing for a respite to head outside or taking the moment to look inward, "Clouds" has a few notes that really twang the heart and mind, using choice timing and sparseness to make their point. 
 
An intriguing premise set over six engaging and evocative tracks, Familiarity Unfolded closes out the trilogy on a very strong note. Electronic but still somewhat organic, the album takes collaboration to wonderful levels, each track allowed to be its own being, but still part of a collected whole. It's impressive, too, that with each artist given their own freedom and boundaries, all the pieces can still connect in such a meaningful way. Having only heard the third entry in the series, I would gladly check out the first two instalments and see how this one compares.

Original > HERE

African Paper

Autistici will release their new album, “Familiarity Unfolded,” on March 7th as an LP and download via Audiobulb. This release concludes a three-part series dedicated to online collaborations with international acts from various fields of mostly electronic-focused sound art. Following “Familiarity Folded” and “Familiarity Enfolded,” this third installment continues the concept of collaborative writing and recontextualization.

Existing sounds and compositional patterns are taken up, often deconstructed into their components, and reassembled in a new form. This process gives rise to pieces in which, as the label aptly puts it, individual styles and collective dynamics are closely interwoven. The album is conceived, as they further explain, as a dialogue between origin and transformation, a sonic movement between personal expression and collaborative creation. Contributing artists include Datewithdeath, Jacek Doroszenko, Ümlaut, Distant Fires Burning, and Neuro… No Neuro, each bringing their own perspectives to the pieces and expanding the spectrum of the recordings. For years, Autistici has been known for multifaceted, richly detailed soundscapes that blend ambient, electronic sound exploration, and modern classical influences. The album features artwork by Jeff Düngfelder, the creative force behind the Ümlaut project, who also works as a visual artist.

Original > HERE

Anxious Magazine

Familiarity Unfolded concludes a three-part series devoted to online collaborations with experimental artists – after Familiarity Folded and Familiarity Enfolded , it's time for the final installment, in which the collage of co-authors reaches its full form.

On this album, Autistici, along with collaborators Datewithdeath, Jacek Doroszenko, Ümlaut, Distant Fires Burning, and Neuro… No Neuro, develop the practice of co-creation as a transformative process. Collaborative writing and remixing lead through the dismantling of source material and its reassembly, bringing sounds back to life: the movement of air and the emergence of new beats and pulses signal the birth of new versions of the songs.

Here, sound and meaning intertwine in a dance—individual contributions intertwine into works that transcend conventional authorial boundaries. On the one hand, there is respect for the original, on the other, the assertiveness of individual expression; in this relationship, a dialogue emerges that leads to a redefinition of the language of music. Each generation of collaborators further transforms and contextualizes the pieces, demonstrating the immersive nature of collaborative practice and testifying to the ongoing development of music as a form of communication and collective reflection.

Autistici is a creator known for his intricate soundscapes, balancing organic elements with synthesizer textures. His material has appeared on labels such as 12k, Audiobulb, Home Normal, Hibernate, and Eilean Rec. Drawing on the region's industrial heritage and the harsh landscape of the Peak District, Autistici creates deeply immersive compositions for listeners seeking ambient and experimental experiences.

Original > HERE

Progressive Rock Central

Autistici & Collaborators has released Familiarity Unfolded. This electronic music recording completes a three-part project focused on online collaboration among experimental artists. The project contains deep industrial influences, delivering an inventive mix of beguiling ambient and accessible experimental music.

The series includes: Familiarity Folded, Familiarity Enfolded and Familiarity Unfolded. This final installment features collaborative writing, co-composition, and remix work that revisits earlier material. Artists deconstruct existing audio and text elements, then recombine them into new versions. As a result, familiar elements return with altered rhythm, phrasing, and structure.

Each contributor responds to the source material while they introduce personal choices, which shifts both meaning and form from version to version. The collaborators include a Datewithdeath, Jacek Doroszenko, Ümlaut, and Neuro… No Neuro.

Autistici has previously released music through labels such as 12k, Audiobulb, Home Normal, Hibernate, and Eilean Rec.

Original > HERE

Igloo Magazine

ibilance as instrument becomes one of many aural signatures threaded through the six pieces comprising the third and final instalment of Autistici’s Familiarity Unfolded. This closing chapter draws together a wide field of collaborators—Datewithdeath, Neuro… No Neuro, Subliminal Selves, Distant Fires Burning, My Modal Realism, Ümlaut, and Grusch’s Biologics—each contributing distinct tonal identities while remaining anchored to a shared sensibility.

Subtle outliers of nuanced production and found-sound field chicanery flicker across the works, decorating a landscape shaped by drones, plucked freeform gestures, slowed and recontextualised breakbeats, fire crackles, sub-bass probes, and moody pads. Bass guitars and arpeggiating Moogs emerge and dissolve, never overstaying their presence, always serving the broader emotional contour.​

What dominates is the spirit of collaboration itself—a quiet celebration of contemporary, often remote, creative exchange. These are not merely joint efforts but deeply interwoven dialogues. A personal highlight arrives in the Neuro… No Neuro collaboration, where fragility and tenderness are rendered in near-pure form. Its warmly atmospheric, oceanic drift carries a sense of openness and emotional breadth, articulating an ambient language that feels both intimate and expansive.

Taken together as an entire trilogy, Familiarity Unfolded completes and achieves a rare cohesion. Each release strengthens the others, forming a unified body of work that equals its initial stage individual parts. The story is complete. Not as two but as one Undivided.

Original > HERE

FBi Radio

Autistici & datewithdeath – Grusch’s Biologics [Audiobulb/Bandcamp]
Sheffield-based sound-artist David Newman has run the Audiobulb label since the netlabel days of the early 2000s, and for a similar length of time he’s made exploratory sounds as Autistici of a similar aesthetic to the label – post-IDM beats, glitchy sound processing, an electro-acoustic approach to found sounds, field recordings and instrumentation. Artistic collaboration has been a big part of what Newman’s done as Autistici and Volume Objects – the 2010 remix album Resonating Wires was a favourite release back then, but even his “solo” releases have often featured guests. Last year, two of three “familiarity” EPs came out from Autistici on Audiobulb – Familiarity Folded and Familiarity Enfolded, both of which featured simpatico either artists remixing Autistici or working with him, creating meticulous sound-art, sometimes with beats, usually mixing acoustic sounds with electronic approaches. Those two releases have limited CD editions; the third, out now, is Familiarity Unfolded, which can be found on vinyl as well. One of the best collaborations is with St. Augustine, Florida musician & writer Travis Johnson, who worked for many years under the alias datewithdeath, as well as running the Poverty Electronics label. Following an illness, datewithdeath has been retired – although not without clearing the cupboards with some stunning collections, including the collaboration/remix album Culotte Sine and the posthumous (so to speak) album Apple Tree Brightness. Johnson can now be found prioritising writing with Frolic Press, but there’s still a musical arm – Frolic Press Recordings that will feature his & others’ work – forthcoming is a novella from Aidan Baker of Nadja, with an accompanying solo album out for pre-order now. In any case, the glitchy & detailed “Grusch’s Biologics” is one of my favourite tracks from Autistici’s trio of releases.

Original > HERE