Anticipating SYRO the new (2014) album by Aphex Twin

Part of it is because i think those initial tracks must have been made at least 2 decades ago, so while they're historically interesting as artefacts, they're not THAT interesting to me as a listener. i'm much more up for hearing what he's been up to from the druqks era onwards, and possibly more recently. Sad to say Syro has failed to move me - I bought the vinyl, I tried and tried to get into it but it just hasn't clicked in any way. Part of me thinks it's just down to my tastes having changed since he went away, but i'm not so sure; Syro just didn't seem to have that mischief sparkle or maverick disobedience I used to like about his work.

The other thing is just the track titles. Same with Autechre in the last ten years. As the track titles get more and more impenetrable, so too it gets harder for me to differentiate my favourites. Maybe that's the point - Exai (by Ae), for instance, has highlights, but their work has turned into more of a hard drive lucky-dip. Whack everything into a playlist, hit shuffle, and see what comes out.

Agree with the above re. Syro. I have never fully engaged with it.

That's a good point about the track titles. For Aphex at least the titles would be funny or utterly unique in some way - the small photos on SAWII, the anagrams of "Aphex Twin" on I Care..., the math equation, the computer virus names on Analord (which I thought was truly clever). Ae is pretty obnoxious with it.

Will need to spin Syro again - probably was my most listened-to of 2014, though tbh a lot of that time was kinda spent trying to figure out how much I like it - like Daft Punk's RAM there's a lot of baggage attached to a release like that, and it's neither obviously great nor obviously bad, and if nothing else both these albums sound incredible. But outside of "minipops" and "180 db" I don't remember much of it!

Metz track is the one for me, like a late-career statement of purpose

4 bit, papat4, and the 'earth portal mix' track are enduring favorites, as well as the metz track. the earth portal mix (2nd to last track) especially, there's a lot to chew on.

Never really got into Syro, nothing really stands out for me on that album. I did enjoy the EP he released early this year quite a bit (which seems to have been mostly forgotten since the huge dump of unreleased tracks has come shortly afterward), it makes me optimistic about what he's going to do in the future.

I only gave Syro a proper listen about a fortnight ago and I flat out loved it tbh, one of his best.

At first I felt like it was a lovely sonic item on a technical level, but I wasn't convinced that the tunes / melodies / ideas were quite there. But then I just found myself listening to it more and more and more - it helped that Nora seemed to respond really well to it - and feeling like it might be my favourite. I think I wish it was shorter, just so it was more easily consumable, but I'm also glad it lasts an hour or so, because I just enjoy listening to it and don't want it to stop, if that makes sense.

Not listened in a couple of months, thinking about it. Must revisit.

I thought initially it was his 'bossa nova record', something light that might sell (he's admitted as much) but it's been a grower for me too

I'm with Scik, it kind of whizzed by me on the first couple listens but by the third or fourth, it all opened up. Besides the fact that it just *sounds* incredible (the drums especially), there's a ton of great melodies and ideas that are so densely packed. But it never gets obnoxious like all the 00s autechre clones that would just splatter random frenzied beats everywhere, it's very purposeful and pleasant.

Is there a stand out track or two from the sound cloud stuff that you guys have enjoyed and can recommend?

28 organ
Martins Car

28 organ

4 red calx(slo)

(suzanne, 2tone, martin's car, sam's car, the donkey rhubarb remix, with my family, no cares, high hats tune....)

― brimstead, Tuesday, June 9, 2015 11:13 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

for your consideration:

parking lot
plinkyplonk
sline
SomewhereOTTGTBAG
(watery big ez)
26-5a
Scorrier
Just Fall Asleep
1.5 dp5 beats

Made a playlist of your recommendations here:
https://goo.gl/Q40bew

Very much continuing to enjoy all of this. He has basically handed his baseball card in with this thing and faxed one gigantic middle finger to all the haters and lamewads out there.

some favorites:

5 7z - hard, gnarled. barreling down a hairy piste, lot of terrain features. one of the hardest, most chiseling of the whole batch.
34 ibiza spliffs - "dreamy," a brain balm, aural salve.
cheetah3 teac - sounds later period-ish. dry, funky bass w/minimal percussion. sort of a gussied-up analord vibe. pleasant, understated.
pretend analog extmix 2b - also sounds mid-later period. has a relaxed Tuss vibe. proper funk, dreamy, phex-ian, soft washes of color/melody.. pads?
24 tsim 2 - repetitious piano riff goin on in the middle section is excellent. overall sorta bangin/bouncing obnoxiousness.
5 scorrier - sort of axel foley siegin' for 12 minutes. has like that 'sharpening knives' percussion that kinda gets old.

https://clyp.it/jngbfmuf

But then I just found myself listening to it more and more and more - it helped that Nora seemed to respond really well to it - and feeling like it might be my favourite

You won't be so favourably disposed when her first words turn out to be "fucking whore".

parking lot
plinkyplonk
sline
SomewhereOTTGTBAG
(watery big ez)
26-5a
Scorrier
Just Fall Asleep
1.5 dp5 beats

Some of these are spoof Aphex Twin song titles right?

Nora's first words are likely to be extravagantly disgusting based on how I speak around her.

Super thanks, calstars; I've avoided engaging with all the soundcloud stuff because baby etc, but that playlist is all lush stuff.

Holy shit 5 scorrier [101 rainbows]

Did you give Caustic Window a listen when that appeared?

Nah, never got round to it; anything that hasn't had a pretty straightforward release in the last 12 months has pretty much flown straight past me. I assume I should?

ty lowell for your little rundowns, v useful for those of us who haven't been wading through it all

no sweat, a couple more that i dig on: (mortal 1) is hard hitting and spare, mostly atonal. it reminds me a bit of rsdio (tri rep) by autechre. 4 Acid Organ is pretty great, too. sort of an obvious highlight, like 28 organ, (HAB un23)(unfinished), and 18 Mello Punchy.

T13 Quadraverb was one of the original tracks shared in that two-part interview that was taken down, and it remains a favorite. pleasant, ear-rubbing effect on several elements in the track. pretty low-key, melodically

What's the EP like that was released towards the end of last year?

pretty good I thought, and the Electro-Acoustic record was also good although I need to listen to it a bit more. So much RDJ!

wait ... there was an EP released that _wasn't_ Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt 2?

That's what I thought I was referring to?

Caustic Window is great yeah, and a more manageable way into the 'lost' material than the huge Soundcloud dump.

I felt like CCAI2 felt a bit similar to that Squarepusher thing he did with all the robots..?

xxp I thought SM meant this: http://www.discogs.com/Aphex-Twin-MARCHROMT30a-Edit-2b-96/release/6844178 bonus tracks from the Japanese release of Syro

there is too much aphex

oh oh right

DID SOMEONE SAY TOO MUCH

https://twitter.com/AphexTwin/status/627149600114221056

https://soundcloud.com/richarddjames/marchromt30a-edit-2b-96-mastered

? that is the Japanese bonus track/single that Neil S linked to a few posts above

Bizarre, Aphex made a thing about posting it today and all.

https://www.mixcloud.com/keyfumbler/aphex-twin-glastonbury-1997/

fuckin nice

new ep, AFX • ‘orphaned deejay selek 2006-2008’, is pretty sweet, playable

playable always good.

where else to hear this than the one spotify track?

not sure what's featured on Spotify, is it https://soundcloud.com/richarddjames/serge-fenix-rendered-2 ?

there's a link to "simple slamming b 2" (radio broadcast excerpt) if you scroll up a bit..

That Marchromt track is better than 90% of Syro.

disagree, though it reminds me of autechre a little bit. no love for the earth portal mix?

Wasn't the marchromt track released as part of an EP a few months ago? I swear I've heard it before.

it's the bonus track for the Japanese version of Syro.. it's been up on youtube for a while.