Autumn
Autumn
Autumn was founded by childhood friends Peter Bonne (“Sen”) and Geert Coppens (“Ense”) in 1980. The pair shared an interest in experimental music and at age 16 had accumulated from family and friends the synths and keyboards they used to release their first tape, Seven Days Autumn. They put out I Invite later that year. In 1981, having generated a substantial fan base and equipped with a slew of rented gear, they set up an event called Hard Breakfast which exhibited improvisational electronic music and graphic art. From this point on visuals became a vital element of the group, who that year also composed some original tracks for an 8mm film of classmate Jan Verheyen.
Bonne and Coppens acquired additional synths, keyboards, drum machines and electronic drums, which allowed them to release a much evolved tape called Experiments With Environments. The band matured and tightened up further in 1982 when joined by Peter Koustaal.
During 1983, Geert conceived the idea of performing a soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. They spent over six months writing the piece and obtaining a decent video copy of the film. In February of 1984, Autumn performed their soundtrack live at Leuven University, backed up on multiple monitors by meticulously synced up video. Despite the huge success of the performance, a commercial soundtrack was released for the movie simultaneously and the band was unable to secure copyrights or tour with the act.
Discouraged by the Metropolis setback, the band only recorded one more tape, Silicon Valley, before disbanding in 1984. From there, the band explored other electronic music styles, forming side projects Linear Movement, Twilight Ritual and A Split Second.
(Related: Linear Movement, Twilight Ritual, A Split Second)