ntp

• Format: Vinyl LP, album reissue, remastered, limited edition
• 500 copies limited
• Packaging: Textured gatefold sleeve
• Original release: 1969, privately pressed 10-inch vinyl album
• Original pressing: Fewer than ten copies, with only one surviving copy known when the album was rediscovered

NTP is a remarkably intimate collection of British underground folk songs privately recorded and pressed in 1969. Created by school friends Robert Hickson and Jeremy Blackford, the album originally appeared as an extremely small 10-inch vinyl pressing intended primarily as a permanent record of their early songwriting.

The group's initials stand for “Normal Temperature and Pressure,” a scientific term remembered from school physics lessons. Hickson and Blackford began writing and performing together while still young, appearing in pubs and folk clubs around Berkshire and developing a subtle sound based primarily on acoustic guitar, piano and close vocal interplay.

The recordings occupy an unusual space between traditional singer-songwriter folk, melodic late-sixties pop and the quieter edge of British psychedelia. The arrangements are restrained and uncluttered, allowing the melodies and gently observant lyrics to remain at the centre of each performance.

“People” opens the album with a concise introduction to the duo's understated style, while “Miranda” is its outstanding romantic composition, combining a bittersweet melody with an almost hypnotic simplicity. “Please” and “Secret Love” continue in a similarly intimate direction, and “Well Well Well” closes the first side with a slightly more playful character.

The second side begins with the direct simplicity of “A Love Song.” “Time Love” and “Reginald” demonstrate the writers' ability to turn ordinary situations and personalities into quietly poetic songs, while “Sweet Nothings” balances affectionate lyrics with delicate accompaniment.

“You Can't Alter Me” brings the album to a firm and personal conclusion. Throughout the record, NTP avoid elaborate production and instrumental display, relying instead on carefully formed melodies, dry humour and the natural character of their home-made performances.

Only a handful of copies of the original 1969 record were produced, and the musicians remained unidentified when the surviving copy was first rediscovered. This limited Seelie Court edition restores the complete ten-track album and presents it for the first time as a full-sized vinyl LP in a textured gatefold sleeve.

Track listing:

Side A

1. People
2. Miranda
3. Please
4. Secret Love
5. Well Well Well

Side B

1. A Love Song
2. Time Love
3. Reginald
4. Sweet Nothings
5. You Can't Alter Me