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Exai is the eleventh album by electronic music duo Autechre, released on Warp Records. The double album was released in digital form on 7 February 2013,[1] with double CD and quadruple vinyl versions released on 5 March 2013.[2] At the time of its release, Exai was Autechre's longest album to date.[3]

Exai
Studio album by Autechre
Released	7 February 2013 (download) 5 March 2013 (CD/LP)
Recorded	2012
Length	120:32
Label	Warp Records WARP234
Producer	Autechre
Autechre chronology
Move of Ten (2010) Exai (2013) L-event (2013)

Like other Autechre albums, Exai was followed a few months later by a companion EP entitled L-event. The tracks, all from the same sessions, were conceived of as a series of 12" vinyl records, during which L-event ultimately "became a separate entity" that the duo sees as "interchangeable" with the 12"'s that comprise Exai.[4]

Artwork and Title

Exai (and companion EP L-event) features album artwork by The Designers Republic. Following the album's release, fan speculation included theories that the artwork was based on Conway's Game of Life[5] or binary code.[6] Autechre members Sean and Rob were initially reluctant to discuss the album as they "wanted to see what people could figure out,"[7] but ultimately confirmed that the artwork depicts a heavily-pixelated typography exercise.[8] Exai is Autechre's eleventh album, and the title may be derived from a phonetic rendering of the Roman numeral "XI," or eleven, which also appears in one track title: "T ess xi."

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
BBC Music	Favourable[11]
Clash	(8/10) [12]
Drowned in Sound	(7/10) [13]
FACT	(3.5/5) [14]
musicOMH	[15]
Pitchfork Media	(5.9/10)[3]
Pop Matters	[16]
Resident Advisor	(3.5/5) [17]
The Skinny	[18]
Slant Magazine	[19]

Exai has received positive reviews, with a Metacritic average rating of 80 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics.[9] Grayson Currin of Pitchfork Media thought the album had some good moments, but was too long at two hours, and would have been improved by more editing and trimming.[3] Chris Power of BBC Music was more enthusiastic, calling the album Autechre's best in fifteen years.[11]

Track listing

Release history

Country/Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue number
Japan	27 February 2013	Beat Records	2×CD	BRC-365LTD
Europe	5 March 2013	Warp Records	2×CD	WARPCD234
			4×LP	WARPLP234

References

External links

• Official release announcement

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