The first entry in the Ivan The Tolerable archive reissue series - and what a place to start. Originally self-released as a 10" lathe cut on Ack! Ack! Ack! Records in February 2018, now remastered and pressed on limited edition khaki vinyl. 250 copies. This is IT.

Oli Heffernan recorded the bulk of this over a single weekend in January 2018. Living alone in a big house. Not seeing people. Going through what he calls "a very minor breakdown that was to last for pretty much the entire year." Tracked in the back room of 97 Hambledon Road, Middlesbrough using two questionable microphones, a broken HH 100 amp, a friend's drums and a Tascam DP08 that wasn't going to see the year out (RIP 2009-2018). Then Robbie Major came round and layered violin drones through the amp - trance-inducing stuff that channels the spirit of Tony Conrad & Faust's kosmische explorations - and Ben Hopkinson sent over saxophone parts recorded at home. Mixed and mastered the same night. Released a month later. Moved on.

Years later, Heffernan listened back and realized: this is possibly the closest he's ever gotten to capturing the sound in his head. Grubby. Cavernous. Claustrophobic and swirling. Violin drones that pull you into deep cosmic territory. The title track "Autodidact" he's recorded four more times since this version - never got that sound back. Still trying.

Some records capture a moment that can't be repeated. The gear breaks. The room changes. The breakdown lifts. What remains is the document - a transmission from a very specific time and place, raw and unpolished, Outside the Dream Syndicate filtered through North England fog. Essential listening for anyone following the Ivan The Tolerable universe. Limited khaki vinyl via Up In Her Room.

"I recorded the bulk of this record over a weekend in January 2018, in the midst of a very minor breakdown that was to last for pretty much the entire year. I was living in a big house all on my own, smoking too much and not really seeing any people. Happy days indeed. It was tracked in the back room of 97 Hambledon Road, Middlesbrough using two questionable microphones, a broken HH 100 amp, my friends drums and a Tascam DP08 (that wasn't to see the year out, RIP 2009-2018) When I was done, Robbie came round and recorded a ton of violin drones through my amp and i remember feeling like i'd gone into a trance a few times, then Ben recorded his parts at home and sent them over. Mixed and mastered the same night - I released it myself a month later as a lathe cut 10"and then promptly moved on. I listened to the album for the first time in years to write this sleeve note and I think it is possibly the closest I've ever got to capturing the sound I hear in my head - I love how grubby and cavernous it sounds, claustrophobic and swirling - the track Autodidact I have recorded 4 more times since this version and I've never got that sound back. I'll keep trying." - Ivan The Tolerable