The Pop Corporation

Aphex Twin, we’re happy to say, is at it again. Even though he’s not been especially prolific with sensible, mainstreamish releases, he’s been quite busy with a number of lung busting, eye frying shows around the world. Of course, there’s a been a slew of things released for the ultra-dedicated.

Like what? Well, devotees will tell you that there’s been outtakes, archival bits, ambient things, live leaks, cassettes and vinyl bits-and-bobs, but they’ve flown under the radar for people who have other music to try and keep up with too. For the die-hards, they’ve been sated, in their little Discord chats, fizzing with excitement at each muttering and 808 click.

If you feel like you’ve missed out and want to catch up on some homework, then over on Reddit (where else?), there’s a stupefyingly detailed chart that has tracked all the music – click here for that. For now, we’re focusing on Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 EP, which is delightfully named if you’re into the Aphex Twin want to have things named like someone mashed their keyboard with their forehead.

It’s no ‘∆Mᵢ⁻¹=−α ∑ Dᵢ[η][ ∑ Fjᵢ[η−1]+Fextᵢ [η⁻¹]]‘, but it’s definitely got a bunch of numbers in it that might mean something to someone, but not us. Basically, since ‘Syro’, this is as official as a release gets for Richard D. James, and that was yeeeears ago now.

He dropped this video, which once more, bends his own face all out of shape, as well as getting familiar things and twisting them until you’re left with a giddy feeling a bit like a fun flashback. That’s Aphex in a nutshell though, isn’t it? He’s timed his return just as the internet got weird again, the world went upside down, and all the kids started getting back into psychedelics.

The title track sees James’ employing the break and some gloomy double bass, before splintering it and aping the editing style of the ‘I Care Because You Do’ LP – it’s not quite as frantic as that, but it’s definitely not as freeform as the ‘Richard D. James’ LP. Those two albums are imperial phase Aphex, so whichever way you look at it, it’s a welcome return.

Perhaps our favourite from the 4-tracker is ‘zin2 test5’ which is a much more dry affair, with acid basslines and a beat that nods to Aphex’s R&S output. It’s Aphex you can dance to, which is always a welcomed thing. Then there’s ‘in a room7 F760’ which is very unpolished for Aphex Twin (in a fun way, we’ll add), which is all swooning synths and a brutally dry drum that we’re not sure we’ve heard from James before.

The EP closes with the Parallax Mix of the title track, which ups the gloom and icy reverb, and again, it’s good stuff. All in all, there’s more echoes of ’80s percussion in the mix, like boogie and ’80s funk clavs and twitchy hats, but obviously, this is Aphex Twin – he’s willing and able when it comes to sticking them in the deep fryer and making them fizz along with your eardrums.

We’re never quite sure how Aphex pieces his music together or how he decides what tracks make a released project, but with that, there’s a definite vibe with this EP that makes sense. It’s more moody than playful, more floaty than dense – there’s not the chest collapsing density that we saw in the past, and as far as we can tell, no nob jokes – dare we say it – is Aphex mellowing a bit in his old age? Not to say this is a straight-up pop record; it’s far from that. He’s still the best experimental electronic artist on the planet and deserves all the fanatics he’s got. Rather, this won’t dissuade anyone of his genius, but also, if you’ve got friends who have felt overwhelmed by his music, they might be into this EP.

If you’re listening on Spotify, there’s four tracks. On the digital release of it, there’s another four tracks to get stuck into. Excited? Well, ever the impish fucker, they’re the same four tracks that are differently mastered. There’s hidden bits too, which we’ll let you find out about yourself, and there’s bound to be more, because this is Aphex Twin and nothing is straightforward with him.

However, as far as the accessible music goes, he’s back and he’s on form, and that’s great for everyone. We just need Boards of Canada to come out of hibernation and real ale, sourdough electronic nerds will be happy.