Aphex Twin classic or Dud?

he's old-fashioned. no one's cared about skittering drill and bass'y music for a decade or more. it was old-hat even then and it certainly doesn't fit in with anything people are playing currently.

he can do so much that this seems like a weird old fixation that no one would care about. i'm sure if you're a gearhead it might seem exciting.

it's fucking excellent, maybe the best thing he's done since The Tuss eps. Unfocused, my ass. It's melodically, harmonically cohesive, with loads of varied percussion--hurried, unhurried (spacious) at times, and it breathes. Listen to track four, the "Abundance10edit" track, and tell me this is old hat. It's like "Goodbye Rute", fully fleshed out. "Mt1" (track 3) recalls elements of Drukqs, as well as the delicate melodic timbres of "Fenix Funk 5", and it kicks ass. This isn't some bullshit, Venetian Snares-like, dime-a-dozen drill 'n bass track, more-is-more, hyperactive fiddle faddle.. it's a motherfucking steak dinner.

This isn't some bullshit, Venetian Snares-like, dime-a-dozen drill 'n bass track, more-is-more, hyperactive fiddle faddle

actually ....

"Mt1" (track 3) recalls elements of Drukqs, as well as the delicate melodic timbres of "Fenix Funk 5"

Maybe that’s part of it then; these aren’t key touchstones for me.

actually ....

real talk, on ILX

I like this more than Cheetah I think

I'm not as well versed as you all in RDJ's work - have heard maybe 10 of his albums/EPs - but this does remind me of The RDJ Album (my favorite). melodies are there but only in fragments, and there are lots of them. it's not nearly as busy as I thought it would be reading the comments here

His music was always so “expressive” to me, and I just haven’t really heard that element in any of the new stuff. But it could also just be that my tastes have changed, and I’m not able to give him a fair shake... I didn’t even care too much for that “legendary” Caustic Window LP (CAT023) that was released via Kickstarter a few years back (and that was old stuff).

aphex tracks absolutely dime a dozen considering the man himself just poops them out by the 100s on soundcloud

it's a motherfucking steak dinner.

it is absolutely not a steak dinner. it is a bowl of lucky charms washed down with a slug of hi-c.

Sounds pretty good tbh xpost

In my head that's more like Rustie or someone.

sure, i just meant to say APHEX is NOT NUTRITIOUS

it's not even particularly filling

rustie at least has brought something new to the table in the last 10 years, though he's been stuck in a real rut himself for at least 5

and that's okay! i think some of the best music of the last 20 years is 20 years old, eg ICBYD and RDJ albums

this is just ... whatever the word is for juvenalia, except the kind that you make when you're old

eh, it's sounding pretty well refined to these ears... it sounds elegant, even. It sounds fun, joyful.. it is fun. It doesn't sound like an old guy trying to sound youthful/relevant, or whatever.. do these tracks actually sound rote, or hackneyed to people (!?)

I don't compare this to the Soundcloud dump, as these tracks are obv. of a higher caliber / standard / more developed, or fit for a proper release.

there's loads of fantastic, often amateur music on Soundcloud, by the way

*amateur-made, i s'pose

this EP isn’t terrible but I just question why we need more music like this in 2018 esp from a man who made a career out of innovation and exploration

"do we really need more..."
About 488,000 results (0.26 seconds)

Single's pretty good, the rest is a little too heavy on the rhythm for my Afx tastes. It's no Syro, which at this point is probably the LP of his I've listened to the most.

When I think of classic RDJ (from any era), I think of each track exploring a single, strong musical idea — in engaging, surprising, and “personal”-feeling ways. That’s a defining characteristic for me. And it’s something else I don’t hear in the new work... everything feels like, idk, a technical exercise to me.

"but I just question why we need more music like this in 2018 esp from a man who made a career out of innovation and exploration"

the ep sounds like classic RDJ with new twists and turns... the percussion and flows on tracks two and four suggest/assert new areas of exploration, vaguely recalling vibes of Jlin and others, possibly? what i don't find lacking are "strong musical ideas", sustained throughout the tracks--it doesn't feel like a clinical / technical exercise, imo

it's been prompted before, but why do we need any more music like ___ _____, et al -- in 2018, 2020, 2050 etc.

99% of the time we don't

new music is super overrated.

maybe if people listened to better music they wouldn't constantly need to seek out new music

actually now that i have typed that, i realize it is not really true, maybe the thing is people need to listen better to the good music that already exists?

Is there any indication or claim that this stuff is new, as in, even recorded recently?

good question

xp

it is kind of like when basic channel happened and then spawned a million dub techno imitators and a huge dub techno scene that overall just wasn't that great

except in this case it's aphex cutting out the middle man and imitating himself over and over again

nothing wrong with some tunes iirc

Lates opinions about new music are pretty whack

one can listen to old or new music, some of us you know love music and haven’t become jaded

don't really get the complaints. it's not like some blatant *retread (not even subtly) - it's a welcome new Aphex ep, with masterful tunes. The guy sounds reinvigorated. If you're hearing self-parody then you're not really listening.

*like Malkmus on Real Emotional Trash--he actually quotes chord progressions / vocal melodies/-isms from Pavement tunes.. dunno if it's conscious or not

xp it's true, you can listen to whatever shit music you want, i have no power over you

btw tho you should know my opinions are worth their weight in gold

and that wack is spelled wack not whack

Wack as a heart attack

Dude I have no problem with you, also I haven’t even heard the aphex. Just seems you’re a little irritable

oh good. i have no problem with you either!

i just want to register my opinion - that aphex should stop releasing new music and that people should stop treating new aphex releases like titanic events - over and over and over again

Agreed yeah

Also Lowell is a great poster

you know what was a really "great" "late" album? that Daft Punk album that was released a few years ago, just a monumental achievement

just a great return to roots album from the group who invented techno!

crut stop trolling me

lowell is a fine poster. i'm not casting aspersions on anybody's posting, just registering my opinion on how overrated this new aphex is

I get frustrated with RDJ cause he seems to pump out endless variations of tracks in the style of his I never cared much for (hyper, aggressive, busy) and very very few of the style I do like (slower, trippy, contemplative).

I'm listening to "RDJ Album" now... so good

yes

i am totally not jaded, i just listened to ICBYD last night with nearly as much joy and wonderment as i felt first hearing it 21+ years ago

and then this morning i tried the new one again and made it 1.5 tracks in before i got bored

Cow Cud Is Still a Twin in 2018

I don’t have much time for his newer stuff either other than cheetah. Rep for icbyd, polynomial c, on and all the ambient ones. I think it’s also a case of saturation for me, I was obsessed with afx in high school and drukqs felt like a good jumping off point. I think it’s changed tastes for me as I’ve also found it hard to get into new aurechre due to breadth of material. Also i like less difficult music in general as I’m getting old and a big softie now

Also if afx is repping jlin then I know my tastes aren’t really in the wheelhouse anymore