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{{Infobox
|title=Exai
|artist=[[Autechre]]
|cover=Exai.jpg
|date=7 February 2013 <small>(Digital)</small><br>4 March 2013 <small>(LP/CD)</small>
|label=Warp Records (WARP234)
|previous=[[Move Of Ten]]
|previous year=2010
|next=[[L-event]]
|next year=2013
}}'''''Exai''''' is the eleventh studio album by [[Autechre]] released on [https://warp.net/ Warp Records]. It was originally released on February 7th, 2013.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|link=https://bleep.com/release/41081-autechre-exai|title=Autechre - Exai.|website=Bleep|accessdate=19 March 2024}}</ref><!-- There's some nuances to this, note the different releases dates depending on format, and also the fact that the order for L-event and Exai was reversed (see also the theory that the album cover encodes the release date) -->

== History ==
''Exai'' was made using much of the same setup and process that were used for ''[[Oversteps]] --'' mostly made in Max either as a planned composition or a live jam that later got edited down.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|205}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AAA doc|248}}</ref> Many of the tracks on ''Exai'' were from trial runs of The System they were building for live shows.<ref>[[Exploring the parameter space: A conversation with Autechre, October 2023]]</ref><ref>{{Cite interview|page=Sean Twitch AMA, June 2022|quote=So when we did Exai, that was what we designed the rig for, but we kind of, we knew that if we could just nail our transitional bits and make it work properly, that we'd be able to use it to do, effectively, live albums like that.}}</ref>

The tracks were initially grouped together into a series of 12-inch records, but then when the main record was being compiled, one of those records split off and became ''[[L-event]].'' However, Sean noted that they saw that EP "as interchangeable with any of the 12"s in exai (which we see as a box of four 12"s)".<ref name=":1">{{Cite AAA doc|118}}</ref> 

''Exai'' was finished around late-2011, before Max 6 was released.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1=836}}</ref><ref>https://imgur.com/a/sean-ae-mastodon-2024-09-05-exai-system-revisions-https-post-lurk-org-sean-ae-113084494966085439-Fb6wPfy</ref> Sean noted in a 2016 interview that "everything was two or three years old when [''Exai''] came out."<ref>{{Cite interview|page=Autechre: elseq et al, June 2016|quote='''Sean Booth''': Exai was definitely talked about as an album for a year before its release, and everything was two or three years old when it came out.}}</ref>

On September 22, 2012, [[The Designers Republic]] posted an announcement that they were starting design work on the new Autechre album.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|647}}</ref><ref>https://forum.watmm.com/topic/75775-autechre-exai/#comments</ref><!-- try to find the original post, i want the funny "listen to track 4 now ..." --> The album was properly announced on December 13, 2012 to be released March 5th, 2013.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20121213200341/http://warp.net/records/autechre/exai</ref><ref>https://pitchfork.com/news/48942-autechre-announce-new-two-hour-long-album/</ref> However, the album unexpectedly released early as a digital download on February 7th, 2013.<ref name=":0" /><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130211003446/http://warp.net:80/records/autechre/download-exai-now</ref><ref name=":2">https://www.factmag.com/2013/02/07/autechre-releases-new-album-a-month-early/</ref><!-- likely a leak, AGAIN --> The deluxe vinyl and CD would come out as per the original announced date.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130314172515/http://warp.net:80/records/autechre/exai-out-now</ref><ref name=":2" /> The initial plan was for ''L-event'' to be released before ''Exai'', however Warp switched around the release dates.<ref name=":1" /> Alongside the release were two 10-hour Mixlr webcasts that were streamed on March 2nd and 3rd respectively.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130303011537/http://warp.net:80/records/autechre/autechre-radio-exai</ref>

=== Design ===
The cover artwork is a heavily stylized/pixelated rendering of the text “''Exai''”.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1=682}}</ref> It is also exactly 11 by 11 pixels large, furthering the "eleven" motif in the album. Ian Anderson described the design as "abstracted E, X, A and I letterforms as redacted architectural plans or elevations. Or maybe maps. The inners are simply A to F as typographical ruins."<ref>"Exai". ''The Designers Republic''. https://www.thedesignersrepublic.com/exai. Accessed 19 Sep 2024.</ref>

== Tracks ==
=== FLeure===

* The original titling is "FLeure", however Bleep and other streaming services unintentionally changed the capitalisation to "Fleure" with a lowercase l. <ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1162}}</ref>
* FLeure was fully done in Max/MSP.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1=28}}</ref>

=== irlite (get 0) ===

=== prac-f ===

=== jatevee C ===

=== T ess xi ===

* The sequencing in "T ess xi" was mostly done in Logic as opposed to Max. <ref>[[Hanalgig AMA, July 2022]]</ref>
* The first track on ''[[Hanalgig]]'' is "T ess xi" with a longer outro which was cut off on ''Exai.'' When asked about details, Sean noted that it was made in 2011.
* Despite the title similarities to "r ess" from ''[[Oversteps]]'', Rob noted in the [[WATMM Ask Autechre Anything, November 2013|WATMM Ask Autechre Anything]] that they don't share meaning.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|601}}</ref><!-- im suspicious of this, it feels like a red herring by Rob to say that it doesn't share meaning IN THE WAY people are describing it, not that they don't have any connections -->
* The main harmonic progression of the track consists of a 16 bar progression which is repeated twice, after which every repetition moves the entire progression one semitone down from the previous loop. <ref>{{Cite web|author=IOS|title=T ess xi harmony|website=We Are The Music Makers|date=16 March 2019|link=https://forum.watmm.com/topic/96713-t-ess-xi-harmony/|accessdate=2 March 2024}}</ref><!-- purposefully left it incomplete because i dont know music theory. someone more component can dissect the pattern as shown by IOS in the post.  -->

=== vekoS ===

=== Flep ===

=== tuinorizn ===

* An early version of "tuinorizn" appeared in the [[Oversteps Tour|Oversteps tour]]<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1505}}</ref> ([https://youtu.be/dEtauI9aN1E?si=zGXHnenH1NNO5Gfx&t=4320 example])
* A common interpretation of the title is that it is phonetically pronounced like "twin horizons".
* Rob mentioned that there's "glottal shit on the bas[s]line".<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1120}}</ref>

=== bladelores ===

* In a [[Autechre on Their Epic NTS Sessions, David Lynch, and Where Code Meets Music, August 2018|Pitchfork Interview in August 2018]], Autechre noted that they had a 2011 jam that later became "bladelores" <ref>[[Autechre on Their Epic NTS Sessions, David Lynch, and Where Code Meets Music, August 2018]]</ref>
* The reverb sound at the end of the track reappeared later on "splesh" and "all end" from ''[[NTS Sessions 1-4]].''
* Part of the name likely comes from lores~, a resonant lowpass filter max module.<ref>{{Cite web|link=https://docs.cycling74.com/max5/refpages/msp-ref/lores~.html|website=Cycling74|title=lores~ reference -  Max 5 Documentation|accessdate=29 March 2024}}</ref>

=== 1 1 is ===

* "1 1 is" was done by Sean. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20240131161422/https://post.lurk.org/@sean_ae/111850811524269315</ref>

=== nodezsh ===

=== runrepik ===

* "runrepik" appeared in the [[Oversteps Tour|Oversteps tour]].<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1=460}}</ref><!-- get example -->

=== spl9 ===

=== cloudline ===

=== deco Loc ===

* The sample manipulations are achieved via a video-cut up patch made around 2005-2006 by Rob where Sean then took the patch and then "did some hip hop type stuff with it."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20231126120035/https://post.lurk.org/@sean_ae/111475792280312902</ref> Sean noted the percussion he added was just samples of "wood and rubber." <ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1=203}}</ref> One of the samples for "deco Loc" was found to be from a [https://vimeo.com/610474568 Bols liqueurs ad], which was uncovered via one of the 4utechre's streams.<ref>{{Cite web|author=TiltIfGibbersEbb|title=deco Loc source|website=Reddit|date=26 December 2021|link=https://www.reddit.com/r/autechre/comments/ropmcq/deco_loc_source/|accessdate=2 March 2024}}</ref>. The other sample is still unknown.
* "deco" may refer to the assembly command of the same name for "decimal output".

=== recks on ===

* "recks on" uses drum samples from a factory disk (either ZD611 "Rock Drums 1" or ZD612 "Rock Kit") for the Emu SP-12.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20241121214428/https://post.lurk.org/@sean_ae/113522651639066014</ref> <!--  definitely phrased badly, i think he meant JUST the snare but /shrug/ -->

=== YJY UX ===

=== 18 (keyosc) ===

* The 18 is likely in reference to it being the 18th track on the Japanese issue of ''Exai''. keyosc (which can be read as key oscillator) was also speculated to be a jab at WATMM predicting the new Autechre album would be called Kiosk, which Autechre did not confirm nor deny.<ref>{{Cite AAA doc|1=1401}}</ref>

== Tracklist ==
{{Tracklist|list={{tl track|number=1|title=FLeure|length=4:51}}
{{tl track|number=2|title=irlite (get 0)|length=10:01}}
{{tl track|number=3|title=prac-f|length=4:20}}
{{tl track|number=4|title=jatevee C|length=4:14}}
{{tl track|number=5|title=T ess xi|length=6:43}}
{{tl track|number=6|title=vekoS|length=6:42}}
{{tl track|number=7|title=Flep|length=6:43}}
{{tl track|number=8|title=tuinorizn|length=3:40}}
{{tl track|number=9|title=bladelores|length=12:19}}
{{tl track|number=10|title=1 1 is|length=7:18}}
{{tl track|number=11|title=nodezsh|length=8:40}}
{{tl track|number=12|title=runrepik|length=4:35}}
{{tl track|number=13|title=spl9|length=7:06}}
{{tl track|number=14|title=cloudline|length=10:13}}
{{tl track|number=15|title=deco Loc|length=5:27}}
{{tl track|number=16|title=recks on|length=9:21}}
{{tl track|number=17|title=YJY UX|length=8:24}}
{{tl total|time=2:00:39}}
{{tl track|number=18|title=18 (keyosc) <small>[Japanese CD exclusive]</small>|length=8:57}}
{{tl finaltime|time=2:09:36}}
}}
== Trivia ==

*A major theme of the record is the number 11, corresponding to the place in its discography. The album name itself is a phonetic spelling of “XI”, the roman numeral for eleven, as well as being an anagram of “AE XI”, meaning “Autechre eleven”, or “Autechre’s eleventh album”.

== Links ==

* [https://autechre.warp.net/release/249268-autechre-exai AE_STORE]
* [https://music.apple.com/us/album/exai/596757670 Apple Music]
* [https://autechre.bandcamp.com/album/exai Bandcamp]
* [https://bleep.com/release/41081-autechre-exai Bleep]
* [https://www.discogs.com/master/519732-Autechre-Exai Discogs]
* [https://soundcloud.com/autechreofficial/sets/exai Soundcloud]
* [https://open.spotify.com/album/2lx0qyNEcAQ9y6NJrpXKjs Spotify]

==Credits==
*[[Autechre]] (production)
*[[Rob Brown]] (writer)
*[[Sean Booth]] (writer)
*[[Noel Summerville]] (mastering engineer)
*[[The Designers Republic]] (design) <ref>https://www.discogs.com/master/519732-Autechre-Exai</ref>

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Album]]