Cornwall's finest...
I've known of Aphex Twin and his unique brand of electronic music since my freshman year of college, when I was introduced to one of his gorgeous breakbeat songs called "On" and the less-pretty, more painful (but still remarkably enjoyable) "Ventolin" while doing my first radio shows. Aphex Twin, ne Richard D. James, aka AFX, Polygon Window, etc. (etc. many times over), has been making and releasing music since the early 90s (and earlier, if the title of one of his first full-length Selected Ambient Works 85-92, is to be believed - the record is simply gorgeous and a lot of it can hardly be considered "ambient" at all, just sort of "quiet" techno). His take on rave music, full of wicked-fast breakbeats, paired with his amazing sense of melody, is considered almost universally classic, and his other releases under each of his various guises all fall into slightly different categories of electronic music. His early output was huge, seemingly releasing records every couple of months, and in the late-90s and early 00s, his full-length albums and accompanying videos became less frequent, but remarkably powerful.
Now, in January of last year, the first of the Analord series appears: stripped down acid-heavy techno, released under the AFX guise. Accompanying it is news that this is the beginning of a lengthy series of vinyl-only releases - 11 of them actually - including a big box/binder (as Aphex Twin-branded Analord 10, but only available via mail-order) to hold them in. I still don't have all of the records, but the ones I do have, I listen to and enjoy. The sound varies widely from one release to the next - harder, more twisted tracks on some, gentle melodies and delicate acid lines on others - but all have something to offer. What can I say, but that old habits die hard, and once an Aphex Twin fan, always a fan...
So, the next step? Chosen Lords, released by James' Rephlex Records. 'Lords' is ten tracks (of the available 41) picked by Mr. James himself to represent the distillation of the entire Analord project. Will this necessarily convert new listeners over to Aphex fans? I don't know - its a tricky collection of songs that are as forward-thinking as ever, but they definitely also look back to an earlier time in electronic music at the same time. If I were to try to introduce someone to James' catalog, I'd probably start them on SAW 85-92, the "Windowlicker" single, and 1996's Richard D. James Album. However, there are definitely a number of tracks here that are pretty classic: besides this track, "XMD 5a," "Crying In Yr Face," and "Boxing Day" immediately stand out for me.
If you already know and love Aphex Twin, then do yourself the favor of buying Chosen Lords - it is available now from Forced Exposure (US) or Boomkat (UK) or your favorite indie retailer. If you're new to the game, I'll still recommend this album, but you should probably pair it with one of the earlier records as well.
Enjoyxklknslnlooiucblgxxxx32xxlafff