(Broken Face no. 13) As if to make sure that we fully comprehend how how eclectic this experimental outside label really is, they have also released Autodidact's brand new album The Blooming of One Hundred Shotguns around the same time. For those of you not familiar with this "slow-motion dissonance engine" they've been around since 1995 exploring all possible aspects of dense waves of effects-laden guitars over hypnotic rhythms, often of the electronic variety. Admittedly I must say that 72 minutes of dissonant guitar attacks/white noise a la late Skullflower is a bit too much at once, but broken down into pieces it's a very rewarding listen. What makes this album special is that the outcome always remains melodic, even in the most fuzzy and distorted moments, and that Autodidact carries a strong psychedelic vibe alongside the obvious noise/space influences. This is especially evident in the mind-cleansing 18-minute opener, which blends a squadron of efx with strummed acoustic guitar and loops into an unstoppable twister of totally addictive cosmic repetition. Imagine a mix of Skullflower, My Bloody Valentine, and Zeni Geva and you'll at least be in the right ballpark. - Mats Gustafsson

(Vital Weekly no. 319) Behind Autodidact we find one RFK on guitars, effects, loops and editing and The Ice Queen Esmeralda on beat 'n bass. Although the cover lists nine tracks, I only found five on the CD, but the CD is entirely filled with music. Autodidact loves walls of sound. Lotsa guitars and lotsa drums fill up so much of the space on this release that it is hard to breath. Musicwise Autodidact find themselves somewhere along the lines the lines of My Bloody Valentine. Lengthy pieces here of a heavy spacious character, but with not always enough variation in the pieces themselves or as a whole (the pieces sound all kinda similar) that it's hard to enough it throughout. Maybe RFK should have done some more editing... But I'm sure it will finds it's way to heavy space heads around... - Frans de Waard

(All Music Guide) The enigmatic outfit Autodidact released its second full-length album on Public Eyesore in 2001. The Blooming of One Hundred Shotguns comprises five extended tracks, even though it lists nine track titles (forcing this reviewer to use abstract track numbers here). In each one of them, RKF has overdubbed a handful of guitars -- four in most cases, it seems. Folk acoustic strumming, sustained e-bow notes, dashing chords and wailing cries add up to create dreamy soundscapes that have more to do with the music of Swans or Richard Pinhas than, say Sonic Youth or Glenn Branca. In tracks 1 and 5, a sequencer provides crude drum programming and a bass line (they are credited to The Ice Queen Esmeralda, but don¹t be fooled), implying these are planned out compositions. They work well, but tend to linger for too long, a remark applicable to any of the five cuts. 72 minutes of guitar scapes is simply a bit too much to stomach in one gulp. Tracks 2 and 4 contain very nice textures, dense shrouds of guitars that don¹t become oppressive. This ambient quality, coupled with an obvious attraction to melody (as subdued it can sound at times) make Autodidact¹s music appealing. Less self-indulging editing (and better fade-outs) would have pushed this CD-R a couple of steps up. - François Couture

(Blastitude no. 12) These are the folks behind the Dead Angel web zine, which is always worth a look. I only read about 10% of each issue, but I always like the other 90% just as much, dig? I guess it's the same with most free/noise discs...I only actually hear (pay attention) to about 10% of 'em, but I like the other 90% just as much. Actually, I'm gonna hear a lot more than 10% of this disc, because about eight minutes in I've been listening to it all so far and I like it. The nineteen-minute title track starts with a nice heavy metal fanfare (hey droners, remember fanfares?) played by guitar or keyboard fuzz with a drony background. The fanfare is for the following jam, a languid 'n' stately acoustic guitar strum that takes up the bulk of the track. Great echoey percussion and a beautiful distorted guitar seconding the acoustic's chords. Sounds like a Pink Floyd ballad played by First Issue PiL. Around the ten minute mark, the rhythm section starts throwing down another actual on-the-one groove, somehow making tribal and heavy music that really works without invoking images of patchouli, dreadlocks, and uncomfortable body piercings. Track two is a loud drone that really works. (Cale/Conrad/MacLise/Young/Zazeela still have the one true model, and Autodidact is in the spirit.) Good track...but there are still like 48 minutes left on the CD. Can I make it? Music like this works better on vinyl because there's an inherent time limiter: 20-25 minutes per side. You have to edit in just the right stuff. - Matt Silcock

(Eld Rich Palmer no. 11) Guitars (again!), efx, loops, and beats'n'bass. by use of such modest accoutrements "The Blooming of One Hundred Shotguns" by Autodidact was conducted and recorded, a work of mind-jarring sounds and visions. Keep this name in mind! As a point of reference, the label suggests the records from a semi-legendary Broken Flag. Indeed, I know little of their catalogue, but there is something of Maurizio Bianchi in Autodidact. They have some so obsessive and meandering loops that make emotional cascades. A deep listening would set a listener in a state of trance. These resemblances lead to another names: Maeror Tri/Troum, SubArachnoid Space, however the record has moments which make it not so obvious - notoriously droning bleakness is interwoven with spatial guitar works, needful to take a breath. The only thing that annoys me is the copy of mine comprises five tracks instead of the nine as the track list states. Anyway, this is outstanding work, and a must-have type of thing. Recommended! - Krzysztof Sadza

(Ampersand Etcetera 2002_10) I'm a sucker for the guitar solo as ambience with edge – such as Fripp and Castro: and Autodidact (rkf as the main player (guitar, fx, loops, editing), the ice queen esmerelda on beats 'n bass) deliver is spades on this lovely album. There are 9 track titles, and only 5 tracks, so I am assuming that the different sections of the two longer tracks have their own names. 'The blooming of one hundred shotguns/flowers embrace the sun/the chairman dreams of boxcars filled with grain' starts with a wall of sound, a big high fuzzing with guitar notes progressing within it. Then suddenly a strummed guitar with a clicking metronome loop and an electric solo over the top, feedbacky but melodic and balanced; and finally a complex drum rhythm comes in with driving bass and droning guitar. The pace kicks up and it ends with pulsing power chords. Ringing shards of metal, zinging with guitar in the whooshing wall of sound, soft squeaky tones weaving through the end of 'The dream grows teeth (dead flowers)'. Another long piece 'Maggots eat the stems/like a baby carved from stone/the forest, filled with wolves' is more of a whole than the first track, a white noise whoosh running through at various densities. The guitar grows out of some stuttering then runs distantly below the noise; then there are lightning shimmers and juttering high tones and a shudder guitar with a deep bass and high feedback tones, fades; a swirling pulsing mass of guitar and tones pulsing rising and falling noisy; then finally the white noise coils around a fripp-ish solo in the distance. Simpler and attractive 'Celestial drift' interlaces lyrical acoustic and electric solos; and finally 'Blues for a li'l peach' another simpler piece as complexly mutating powerchords swirling and pulsing, rising and falling with a full drum kit solo drives along. A great guitar album, with nicely placed rhythm elements, very enjoyable.) - Jeremy Keens

(Chain D.L.K.) Autodidact are (or were? This was recorded in 99-00 and issued last year) Rkf (guitars, effects, loops, editing) and The Ice Queen Esmeralda (beats 'n bass). "The blooming of one hundred shotguns" is a long journey through abstract but evocative atmospheres. Tracks are often composed of several movements, like mini suites. It's mostly effected guitar drones, which are very well orchestrated so that the result is an ever mutating, ominous sonic mass - psychedelic but often scary and grand. Sometimes the bass and programmed beats come in, giving a more rockin' backbone though mainly repeating the same riffs in a quite minimalistic way - it's like an ambient version of noise-wave, with some resemblance of bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine or Jesus and Mary Chain. You have to approach the whole work with adequate mood and concentration, since tracks are very long and the structure based on repetition can put you off at a first listening - but it's a good cd of experimental guitar-based ambient. - Eugenio Maggi

(Ibol no. 4) when listening to "the blooming of 100 shotguns" (a name i expected much more violence from), at most times, you will hear 2 guitars and a very minimal beat. one track, which is over 10 minutes long, is just one chord progression (of only 2 chords!) played over and over again, with slight embellishments and emphasis on different harmonic elements. one word for you: DRONE. the first track starts with a long series of scales, which really caught my attention because of their "constant impending doom" quality, and the second track has a sort of minimal industrial feel. track 3 (23 minutes long!) could be called dark ambient, but after that, it's all droning guitars. well done for what it is. - Bob Saunders

(Neozine no. 18) This CD put me down and kept me locked to the seat. Autodidact play a very majestic darkwave / new age / noise ambience that should inspire reverence and loyalty from everyone who ever felt a doleful day. The sound elicits an abysmal depth of feeling that sinks you slowly into the dream state of servile gloom and abject surrender. They use only guitars, efx, loops, and some repetitious beats, but it has me swirling in a haze of awe and fright. A potent potion, even for the darling. Most of these multi-layered tracks range over 10 minutes. Long (some over 20 mins.) This as sin and sorrowful as a funeral dirge. Beautiful. - CHC