Trolley Fidelity: Autechre for Aisles, Checkouts and the Slog Home

The big shop is not a listening session. I say this as someone who has tried. It is a low-level logistical operation conducted under fluorescent light, with a trolley that pulls left and a phone that wants to fall out of your hand every time you reach for the own-brand pesto. But Autechre, being a band who have spent thirty-odd years making music for systems, rooms and awkward in-between spaces, can be made to fit. As of November 2026, this is the route I keep coming back to.

Produce: wet, bright, slightly out of order

Start with something from the early catalogue. 'Bike' from Incunabula is the obvious pick, all soft pads and patient motion, and 'Foal' from Amber works if you want a bit more melody while you are deciding between two nearly identical bags of spinach. The produce aisle is the closest the supermarket gets to Incunabula: bright, slightly naive, a bit too pleased with itself. Use closed-back headphones and keep the volume around 30 to 35 per cent. Leave one ear free. You need to hear the misting machine, the trolley behind you and the person saying 'sorry, just behind' while you are both reaching for the same avocado.

Chilled: the long fridge hum

The chilled section is where the shop slows down and the fridge hum takes over. This is 'Altibzz' from Quaristice territory, or 'see on see' from Oversteps if you want something that feels like it is being piped in from a nearby room. Keep it low, 25 to 30 per cent, because the aisle is already doing half the work. The risk here is not volume but condensation. Do not handle your phone with wet hands. Do not take a call. Do not stand in front of the yoghurts for four minutes because the track has opened up and you have forgotten what milk is.

Frozen: sub-bass and cold hands

The frozen aisle is where Autechre's low end becomes a physical hazard. 'LCC' from Untilted and '1 1 is' from Exai both do the thing where the subs make the trolley rattle and you briefly mistake it for a wheel bearing. 'Fleure', also from Exai, is the more patient option if you are only in for peas. Volume at 45 per cent, one ear free, because the freezer door alarm is real and you will not hear it if the bass is doing its job. Cold hands plus touchscreen plus a track that keeps folding in on itself is a bad combination. Keep the phone in a zip pocket between picks.

The middle aisle: Autechre's true retail form

Here is the argument. The Aldi or Lidl middle aisle is not an aisle. It is a session. It has no fixed order, no obvious category and no respect for what you came in for. You go in for a wok and come out with a wok, a head torch, a pack of microfiber cloths and a five-CD box of something you cannot pronounce. That is elseq. That is NTS Sessions. That is the sprawling back catalogue in retail form: long, exploratory, occasionally brilliant, frequently baffling, and absolutely not arranged for your convenience.

Put on 'elyc6 0nset' from elseq 1 if you have the time, or 'gonk steady one' from NTS Session 1 if you want the middle aisle to feel like it is unfolding around you. Volume at 40 per cent, one ear free. You need to hear the tannoy and you need to hear the pallet truck. Do not walk into the kitchen roll. The middle aisle rewards attention but punishes immersion.

Checkout: a self-checkout panic ranking

The self-checkout is the pressure test. The machine says 'unexpected item in bagging area' and you are suddenly in a dialogue with a piece of software that has no interest in your day. A mini-ranking, from best to worst:

1. 'Rsdio' from Tri Repetae. Steady, mechanical, close enough to a scanning tempo that you keep moving. Volume 30 per cent. The bass will not drown the beep.
2. 'C/Pach', also Tri Repetae. Good clank, good momentum, but the rhythm might make you double-scan a bag of carrots. Keep it at 35 per cent and ignore the temptation to nod.
3. 'Dial.' from LP5. Queasy and anxious, which mirrors the guilt of using the self-checkout while a human till sits empty two lanes over. 30 per cent.
4. 'Pen Expers' from Confield. Too much panic. The machine will win. You will press 'help' and then feel worse.
5. 'Gantz Graf'. Do not. If this comes on at the self-checkout, abandon the basket, go to a human, and apologise to nobody.

The walk home: heavy bags shortlist

Once you are out, the listening changes. The bags are heavy, the pavement is wet, and you need something long and steady that does not demand a decision. Shortlist:

• 'VLetrmx' from the Garbage EP. Long, patient, exactly the right length for a trudge.
• 'Overand' from Amber. Warm and even, good for balancing two bags without stopping.
• 'Notwo' from Untilted. Quiet and strange, keeps you alert without raising your heart rate.
• 'Altibzz' again, because it still works when you are ten minutes from home and the handles have started to cut in.
• 'ce16' from elseq 4 if you want the walk to feel slightly longer than it is, in a good way.

Volume at 50 per cent, wired headphones, phone in pocket. Do not use noise-cancelling with transparency off. You need to hear traffic, cyclists and the particular silence of a car that has stopped for you but that you have not noticed.

Autechre and supermarkets are both systems you learn to read. The difference is that one of them wants you to buy a duvet cover shaped like a dinosaur. If your headphones leak 'Gantz Graf' into the cereal aisle, you have become the event. Keep it trolley-faithful, keep one ear free, and save the deep listening for when the bags are down.