Anticipating SYRO the new (2014) album by Aphex Twin

re the interview, what's the correct chronological order of the tracks on ambient works 85-92?

i enjoyed that interview

dammit... I was hoping Syro would have been sent to me by now :-/

Layout of the P Fork piece is pretty neat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QO16m_YW0o

not sure what to make of this. it's not bad. but nothing is really grabbing me either.

So far I'm into 1, 2 and 6 and yeah sorta bewildered by the rest. It's a really rich album and I expect some of these will open up. But I also think half the tracks don't need to exist in public maybe? I'm a stan for the man though, and will give this album a lot of chances. Someday we'll look back at this post and laugh.

its up on spotify. 3 tracks in and im loving it so far.

It starts kind of okay-ish and gets really good after the initial 3 songs (which are as usual impeccably produced but didn't really catch my attention, might need to relisten).

180DB is a jam, specially love the final breakbeat part, wish it was longer.
The buildup to CIRCLONT6A is incredibly neurotic and brilliant, he sounds at the top of his game in here.
FZ pseudotimestretch is a tease, which I hated because it sounds very promising, it seems like it swould have been one of the best songs in here instead of being used as an interlude.
The other CIRCLON sounds like a BOC track remixed by Squarepusher.
The title track sounds cheesy but there's some great transitions going in there.
The next two tracks I could do without, they sound like 90's rave music.

The piano piece doesn't sound nearly as memorable as Jynweythek or Avril 14th and it sounds completely out of place in here but it's pretty, I guess.

btw you think papat4 is willfully referencing this macca song?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y

should have titled this one xmas evet.

how old are some of these tracks. track 11 is very jungle-y.

This bit from the pitchfork interview is reassuring:

But I don't think these Syro tracks are particularly innovative. Maybe in really subtle ways they are, for me, but there's nothing there that I need to explore more, so it's not going to put me off releasing anything. It just totally makes me want to not do anything else in that particular style.

It's an admission that these are just some old tracks and styles he had and wanted to release them before moving on to another kind of sound. Hoping this means we'll have another completely different album coming afterwards that doesn't take 13 years.

this is p funky

very good time to be getting into aphex twin for the first time. this record is great

its up on spotify. 3 tracks in and im loving it so far.

― everyday sheeple (Michael B), Friday, September 19, 2014 5:40 PM (1 hour ago)

Not seeing it. Non-US customers only maybe?

possibly. that would be weird tho

Not released in the US until the 23rd

There's some amazing moments on this album where the tracks transform into pure sonic bliss for a few bars (the title track being one of them). I don't think the solo piano piece is necessarily out of place. The whole album has a certain sense of intimacy -- samples of his family members being one example. The last song with all the environmental noise is really nice.

I'm holding out until my copy shows up.

This bit from the pitchfork interview is reassuring:

But I don't think these Syro tracks are particularly innovative. Maybe in really subtle ways they are, for me, but there's nothing there that I need to explore more, so it's not going to put me off releasing anything. It just totally makes me want to not do anything else in that particular style.
It's an admission that these are just some old tracks and styles he had and wanted to release them before moving on to another kind of sound. Hoping this means we'll have another completely different album coming afterwards that doesn't take 13 years.

I kind of like this idea of releasing an album just to get rid of it

Giving it a second listen right now and I think there's around 3 great Aphex songs and the rest feel like exercises. He is an incredibly talented producer but in a sense this feels like too little too late. Reading that pitchfork interview you get the sense that despite all the hype that the label and the media are throwing on the release, Richard himself doesn't feel like it's a great album. At one point of that interview he talks about how he is making some songs with midi robots atm which he likes more than anything on Syro, he also explains, as I quoted above, he gives the impression that these are leftovers that he needed to get out to move on.

It's hard to get excited over material that the musician himself considers subpar.

If this is an album of throwaways then it's one of the best I've heard. Wonderful melodies and layers of trademark Aphex synth-twisting. I love it.

If he thought it was subpar, he wouldn't release it

Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily take things that RDJ says at face value.

It's hard to get excited over material that the musician himself considers subpar.

actually it's really easy, if for instance you like it

Love this record and I was always lukewarm on his stuff before. Great piano track at the end too.

I'm rather unwhelmed by the whole thing. Not over or under.

feel like this could be one of the great releases of the 4th quarter of 2014. it has a certain "vibe" that really resonates with me. i must admit that my toes were tapping on one or two occasions! this is a definite classic and i'm predicting a solid 8/10 from the pitchfork boys

Don't get me wrong I think this is one of the best albums of the year and definitely one of his best releases, I was just saying that it seems like he doesn't feel as excited as Syro as the press and the label, Position Position is right, though, you shouldn't take anything he says at face value.

But, yes, I do love it. Definitely nothing that sounds 'new' coming from him but I can see it overcompensates in replay value, I'm on the 4th listen and it keeps revealing some exciting ideas and sounds. More interested in what he does next, though.

Gonna dive into this tonight. Ty missingNO for new dn.

i mean, yeah, it doesn't sound "new" in the sense of something actually new, but let's be honest, what really sounds new nowadays? especially with how the internet makes it so fast plus the whole social media thing. this is a great album, a solid eighter, but perhaps one for the music buffs and not the johnny go latelys?

"The Pitchfork boys"

Hmmmmm.

New Shellac got in the way of listening to this tonight, but Aisatsana is absolutely amazing. What a closer.

ah man i was really enjoying the phrase "a solid 8/10 from the pit"

we consulted the pit and it convulsed and bellowed "eight out of ten, pretty good"

Haha

I have enjoyed the "cool music buff" character and especially appreciate that it wasn't registered as a sock account to run on for months

Well done missingNO, solis 8/10

*solid

Japanese bonus track MARCHROMT30A edit 2b 96 [104.98] http://youtu.be/SiVmqDB8I2U

am I the only one who hasn't been able to stream this??

No, I haven't either.

I suppose I should go and buy it in a shop today.

It arrived! A whole workday to go before I can hear it though :-/

8.7 on Pitchfork.

Putting it on now ...

"Royalty to Richard (50%)... £1.0989"

isn't 50% very high?

not for indies, factory pioneered the 50/50 split iirc.

After one listen I think that 'solid' is the best word to describe this album

the music itself aside, the production on the last handful of RDJ releases - drukqs, Chosen Lords, Rushup Edge, and now Syro, is downright incredible

this sounds like aphex twin.

i haven't listened to aphex twin in forever, some SAWII aside, so it kind of just sounds like a techno album to me. which i think is appropriate at this point in time.