"Many describe Autechre’s music as cold and austere, whereas others perceive a warmth and sentimentality that touches even the most cerebral pieces. Much of Autechre’s music has a strong focus on complex rhythm, driving percussion, and meticulous sequencing. Often unusual rhythmic loops repeat and change incrementally, with the music constantly in transition. Sometimes patterns are set against one another, implying several time signatures at once. Later work has been notably experimental and abstract, in contrast to the more club-friendly and conventional early 1990s releases.

Reactions to their music have varied. Many of their tracks contain complex or chaotic rhythms and close harmonies which some hear as random and noisy. Fans of their recent work tend to find the value of their music to lie in its unique fusion of rhythmic and melodic elements, percussive noises being tweaked to sound like they have pitches, and clustered, often inharmonic synthesizer patches implying numerous melodic lines and chord structures simultaneously. A recurring element in Autechre’s work is the use of extremely short snippets of sound to create a fragmented, grainy effect."