Autechre - NTS Sessions 8xCD - Warp, 2018 - I had certain ideas about what 8 hrs of Autechre might sound like. Assumptions that it might be impenetrable; overwhelming; aimless; even boring. These ideas were very wrong. Inspired by my recent review of Autechre's entire discography leading up to elseq, I decided to grab this 8 CD set and take the plunge. I'm going slowly, having listened to the first 4 discs over the last two weeks, trying to savor and really enjoy the experience. What I can say is this isn't the impenetrable mess of bleeps, bloops, and MAX/MSP nightmares I though it'd be. These songs are relatively accessible, even when they're constructed out of more "difficult" sounds and structures. And so far the first 4 discs have been very consistent, an impressive feat for the amount of music on offer. For those here who appreciate computer music and haven't heard this, it's definitely worth a listen. I think listening to a lot of Autechre before diving in helped, but like every Autechre album this one has a language all its own. Special mention to Four Of Seven from Session 1, Disc 2, which has got to be one of the funkiest and easily enjoyable tracks Autechre's done since 1998.
I have the 12xLP box set of this release. It really took me a while to absorb the album - there is so much of it! It still feels quite distant to me; I have not connected to it like I have many other autechre albums. There are definitely stand out tracks but overall I struggle since it is so huge. I keep meaning to try and make a few condensed playlists.
SIGN/PLUS from last year feels like it was treading old ground a bit; the first time an autechre album has done that for me. Lush sound design and constantly evolving structures as you would expect though. They are still top tier producers for me.
I have the nts cd box and the lp box (I bought the cd one myself without knowing colleagues at an old job got me the lp one as an incredibly generous leaving gift.)
Despite having it this way I’ve easily spent more time listening to the mp3s than either box. I think with newer AE stuff listening to the purely digital versions without the time limitations of cd or vinyl is really how they intend for it to be heard. Not that their intent should be sacred or anything but I definitely find approaching it all as 4 long sessions feels like the best way to absorb it and it was really exciting and rewarding experiencing them like that when they were originally broadcast. Can especially recommend headphone listening with the NTS sessions. For me it’s just the greatest thing they have done and as the 2 new underwhelming albums show it’ll be tough to better it