Aphex Twin classic or Dud?

*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..."
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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

"Acrid Avid Jam Shred" is seriously one of the greatest opening traxx of any album

yes

vahid, granny, what did you think of cheetah

i felt that cheetah was relatively fresh

*furrows brow, moves left foot a quarter turn while holding hands in ready position*

Oh shit!! I've always wanted to find this (and here it is) --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiXoIZ7pf9g

having a party still not my idea of a fantasy in 2018

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?

so should I listen to this y/n

ok to clarify a bit RDJ has made a career out of innovation and overhaul and discovery and creating new types of sounds, like even when the Analord stuff was hella retro throwback, it didn't sound identical to anything he'd done before

this sounds identical to lots of stuff he'd done before, like this literally sounds like outtakes from druqks or RDJ album

when I say "I just question why we need more music like this in 2018" I mean I'm kind of underwhelmed when someone who for so long presented new ideas presents old ideas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrWTZk0sMS4

one example from the new ep

constantly trying to present new ideas is what leads to shitty "difficult" music. obv I have no idea what he was thinking about back then, but maybe he just was making sounds that he liked? and they happened to be "new ideas"? and he's still producing sounds that he likes, whether they're new to listeners or not.

haven't heard cheetah!

when I say "I just question why we need more music like this in 2018" I mean I'm kind of underwhelmed when someone who for so long presented new ideas presents old ideas

Nobody makes music like this, as good as this--that might be part of why some find it enjoyable. Who is overrating it, Pitchfork!?

well i daresay you're overrating it

when you say "nobody makes music as good as this"

it sorta helps when you're not anticipating / expecting anything. I suppose it also helps if you hold Drukqs, Analord, and the Tuss in high esteem.

you keep contradicting yourself!

see also upthread when you said it was simultaneously hurried and unhurried!

see also when p sherburne said in his pfork review that it was both random like a demolition derby and precise like a laser guided missile

i mean this is part of what i'm reacting to - the praise i'm hearing seems ... incoherent

describing music.. generalizing descriptions, so as to try to relate it coherently... you're bound to fail, fuck up, miss the mark, etc.