NTS Sessions 1-4

NTS Sessions 1-4 Artist Autechre Released 9 April 2018 Label Warp Records (WARP364)

JNSN CODE GL16 / spl47 ((2017)) NTS Sessions 1-4 Warp Tapes 89-93 ((2019))

NTS Sessions 1-4 is the thirteenth studio album by Autechre released on Warp Records. The parts were first individually broadcasted on NTS Radio throughout April 2018. The first session aired on April 5th, with the digital download made available on April 9th, 2018. The second, third and fourth sessions were aired on the 12th, 19th, and 26th respectively, with their digital downloads made available only a few hours after they aired. Physical versions of the album became available for purchase on August 13th, 2018.

Tracks

NTS Session 1

t1a1

• The percussion was previously used at the start of the 2014/2015 live sets. (example)

debris_funk

• On the vinyl version, the outro ends solely with the note decay rather than the immediate transition into "l3 ctrl".

north spiral

• On the CD version, the intro has been altered to just start with the clicks, rather than the transition from "carefree counter dronal" to it.
• "north spiral" appears in the 14/15 live sets. (example)

32a_reflected

• The synths used in "32a_reflected" appear at the end of the 2016 live sets. (example)
• The "reflected" in the title most likely refers to the composition of track, whereby the original recording was duplicated, has its channels flipped, and then played in reversed against the original track, creating a musical palindrome by reflecting it.

NTS Session 2

elyc9 7hres

• The title shares its name with "elyc6 0nset" from elseq 1-5, which "elyc9 7hres" reuses certain elements from.

violvoic

• "violvoic" appears on the 2014/2015 live sets. (example)

wetgelis casual interval

• The synths from "wetgelis casual interval" appeared a few times in their 14/15 live shows. (example)
• "wetgelis" likely references the composer Vangelis.

peal MA

• On the vinyl version, "peal MA" has a much longer intro that got separated from "e0"

turbile epic casual, stpl idle

• "turbile epic casual, stpl idle" shares a few commonality with elseq 1-5's "oneum."
• Elements of "turbile epic casual, stpl idle" appear in the 2016/2018 live sets. (example)

NTS Session 3

splesh

• "all end" briefly appears at the end of "splesh".

acid mwan idle

• On the vinyl version, "acid mwan idle" fades in rather than transitioning straight from "tt1pd".

g 1 e 1

• In the early 2014 live shows, "g 1 e 1" could be heard near the end of the sets. (example)
• "g 1 e 1" is constructued mostly from tuned delay lines. [1]

nineFly

• An early version of "nineFly" appears on the 2015 US live sets (example). The final version of this track uses "basic threshold fft" noise reduction. [2]

shimripl air

• "shimripl" may be a shortened version of "shimmer, ripple"

icari

NTS Session 4

column thirteen

• An altered version of "column thirteen" appeared in the middle of the 2018 live sets. (example) [3]
• On the vinyl version, the transition element from "mirrage" is removed.

shimripl casual

• "shimripl casual" appears in the 2016/2018 live sets. (example)
• On both the CD and vinyl version, the track ends with a fadeout.
• On the vinyl version, the track is split into 2 parts, with a few minutes on the side with "column thirteen" and the rest on a different side.

all end

• In an interview with Pitchfork, Sean explained that the material on NTS Sessions 1-4 dates all the way back to 2011 with an early "bladelores" jam. [4] The particular drone sound at the end of "bladelores" is what became "all end". It also appears at the end of "splesh".
• It was confirmed that "all end" was made solely by Rob. [5]
• On the vinyl and CD versions of NTS Sessions, "all end" only has a fade in rather than the short transition from "shimripl casual" at the start.
  • Due to the length of "all end", it was additionally split up into 3 parts to fit on the vinyl edition.

sinistrail sentinel

• Exclusive bonus track for people who brought NTS Sessions on AE_STORE and Bleep. Part of the Adult Swim Single Program.
• "sinistrail sentinel" appeared on the 14/15 live sets. (example)

Tracklist

#	Title	Length
NTS Session 1
1	t1a1	18:40
2	bqbqbq	11:16
3	debris_funk	10:25
4	l3 ctrl	16:52
5	carefree counter dronal	5:14
6	north spiral	15:01
7	gonk steady one	22:25
8	four of seven	13:06
9	32a_reflected	7:02
		2:00:00
NTS Session 2
10	elyc9 7hres	10:21
11	six of eight (midst)	8:42
12	xflood	9:25
13	gonk tuf hi	7:53
14	dummy casual pt2	5:16
15	violvoic	15:01
16	sinistrailAB air	2:41
17	wetgelis casual interval	2:39
18	e0	15:45
19	peal MA	5:04
20	9 chr0	15:45
21	turbile epic casual, stpl idle	21:30
		2:00:00
NTS Session 3
22	clustro casual	11:03
23	splesh	8:56
24	tt1pd	22:12
25	acid mwan idle	11:57
26	fLh	8:18
27	glos ceramic	13:26
28	g 1 e 1	7:00
29	nineFly	10:04
30	shimripl air	7:06
31	icari	19:58
		2:00:00
NTS Session 4
32	frane casual	13:43
33	mirrage	6:22
34	column thirteen	17:02
35	shimripl casual	24:32
36	all end	58:22
		2:00:00
37	sinistrail sentinel (AE_Store & Bleep exclusive bonus track)	11:42
Total		8:11:42

Trivia

• NTS Sessions 1-4 is by far the longest Autechre album, with a runtime of exactly 8 hours.
• The vinyl release of NTS Sessions 1-4 spans twelve discs, making it the largest album Warp Records has ever released.
• After the initial debut of the first session, NTS Radio kept it looping for the week between each sessions. After all four sessions were aired, the entire 8 hours were then looped constantly, which you can still tune into to this day.
• The initial 12xLP box set was laden with warping issues and ultimately had to be repressed and replacement copies distributed to buyers.

Links

• AE_STORE
• Bleep
• Discogs

Credits

• Autechre (production)
• Rob Brown (writer, producer)
• Sean Booth (writer, producer)
• Noel Summerville (mastering engineer)
• The Designers Republic (design) [6] [7]