Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760
Warp Records
The man, the myth, the legend, Aphex Twin, Richard D. James, Windowlicker, whatever name you may have for the enigmatic electronic artist, has returned after five years away from the spotlight. Not much has changed in those five years - sound-wise - but it's always a pleasure to be in-and-around the works of a musical enigma. The curtains pulled back to reveal the product of incessant obsession and fascination.
It's a big event when the likes of Aphex Twin - any artist that spends extended periods away - decides to release new material. It's as if the caliber of artist has deemed the public worthy of taking a peek inside their workspace - sometimes mental space - for a brief look around; welcome in to the world of seclusion and time spent well away. Not really in hiding, as there's not much to hide from, but a choice which involves less variables. A simpler setting of little-to-no external pressure. The only pressure is of personal choice. Evading the public eye and moving on a matter of whim seems like an oddball move to make, until you try it for yourself - some things cannot be explained, explaining them only pushes the essence further afield. You've got to live it to get anywhere near the answer.
Wander around the idiosyncratic worlds put on display; the red carpet rolled out just for you. Tip-toe and saunter through the secretive sights. Catch a glimpse of the other - the strangely skewed paths that beg to be walked down. Enticed by the forbidden fruit, an offer too good to refuse. Rotten apples are always at hand. Pluck and plunder at your own will. Rubbery rhythms make things feel mellow; smoothed and soothed out; A-OK. But the feeling that things are offset persists. This is breaking no new ground with regards to the spheres of Aphex Twin, but it proves that time and time again, not many can match up to the mastery in anything akin to a similar way.
The Blackbox Life Recorder EP may not bring anything new to the table, but the craft is still at its most endearing at the hands of Richard D. James. New cards don't have to be dealt in order to play new hands.
