Editing Confield (section)

== Composition ==
{{Listen
| filename = Autechre - Pen Expers.mp3
| title = "Pen Expers"
| description = The third track from ''Confield''. "Pen Expers" has been likened to a drill 'n' bass track with hard percussion and high-pitched melodies.
}}

''Confield'' has been described as [[Intelligent dance music|IDM]],<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/confield-mw0000003112 |title=Confield – Autechre |website=[[AllMusic]] |accessdate=6 July 2012 |last=Bush |first=John |archive-date=21 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621234437/http://www.allmusic.com/album/confield-mw0000003112 |url-status=live }}</ref> experimental,<ref name="allmusic" /> electronic,<ref name="spin">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4iBwoaNrbcC&pg=PT10 |title=Autechre: Confield / Built to Spill: Ancient Melodies of the Future |journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |volume=17 |issue=8 |date=August 2001 |accessdate=9 December 2018 |last=Weisbard |first=Eric |pages=136–38}}</ref> [[electronica]],<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last1=Aizlewood |first1=John |last2=Denselow |first2=Robin |last3=Williams |first3=Richard |last4=Sullivan |first4=Caroline |last5=Wyse |first5=Pascal |last6=Aizlewood |first6=John |title=We will rock you |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/apr/27/shopping.culture2 |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 April 2001 |archive-date=19 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419070846/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/apr/27/shopping.culture2 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[abstract music|abstract]].<ref name="allmusic" /> In a review for ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', Malcolm Seymour III described how abstract the album was in comparison to the duo's previous projects.<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite news |last1=Seymour III |first1=Malcolm |title=Autechre: Confield Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/365-confield/ |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=17 April 2001 |archive-date=20 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420225826/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/365-confield/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Seymour III also stated how ''Confield'' was a lot less accessible to newer listeners compared to Autechre's previous projects.<ref name="pitchfork" /> Mike Barnes of ''[[The Independent]]'' called the music harsh but beautiful, noting its repetitive beats and its complex rhythms throughout.<ref name="barnes" /> In a retrospective review of ''Tri Repetae'' for ''[[The Quietus]]'', Gary Suarez noted how the album treated melodies like "bitter foes", with sounds being [[Audio time stretching and pitch scaling|timestretched]] and manipulated.<ref name="triquietus" /> Louise Bradbury of ''[[OffBeat (music magazine)|OffBeat]]'' noted how melodies "took secondseat" with ''Confield'', with sweeping percussive elements being the main focus of the album.<ref name="ob">{{cite magazine |author=Louise Bradbury |date=1 June 2001 |title=Music Reviews|url= |magazine=[[OffBeat (music magazine)|OffBeat]] |location= |issue=160 |issn=1090-0810 |page=20}}</ref>

Tony Naylor of ''[[NME]]'' called "Sim Gishel" a track with atmospheric, stifled melodies and disjointed beats.<ref name="NME">{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/autechre/4997 |title=Autechre : Confield |journal=[[NME]] |date=11 May 2001 |accessdate=28 January 2025 |last=Naylor |first=Tony |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223054842/http://www.nme.com/reviews/autechre/4997 |archivedate=23 February 2013}}</ref> "Eidetic Casin" was also noted for its "iridescent chimes".<ref name="NME" /> Pascal Wyse of ''[[The Guardian]]'' commented on the "strange sampled snoring" of "Uviol" and the melodies resembling voices on "Lentic Cathachresis".<ref name="guardian" /> In a review for [[AllMusic]], John Bush described "Cfern" as a track that "keeps listeners guessing" with conflicting rhythms and confusing beats.<ref name="allmusic" /> Bush also said the opener "VI Scose Poise" contained "bouncing-ball-in-a-ring-modulator production" along with melodies in the minor key.<ref name="allmusic" /> Seymour III compared "Pen Expers" to [[Drill 'n' bass|drill 'n' bass]] with "vacuum-navigated" percussion.<ref name="pitchfork" /> "Parhelic Triangle" contains a brooding baseline and a variety of chimes; Seymour III compared the track to "Acroyear2" from ''[[LP5]]''.<ref name="pitchfork" /> In ''Sounding Art'', Katharine Norman stated "Bine" contained warped drum machines and disordered sounds.<ref name="soundingart">{{cite book |last1=Norman |first1=Katharine |title=Sounding Art: Eight Literary Excursions through Electronic Music |date=2004 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Aldershot |isbn=9780754604266 |page=156}}</ref> Norman compared the track to a "machine gone mad".<ref name="soundingart" />