The first album in 13 years from the Limerick-born Richard D James, aka Aphex Twin, Syro acts as a powerful reminder of just what a pioneering talent James actually is. In the decade-plus since that last major release, 2001’s Druqks, umpteen electronic producers have come and gone, and yet none have quite managed the unique blend of slamming techno, anarchic humour and melancholy ambience that Aphex Twin has made his own.
Evidence of just what a poorer landscape electronic music has been in James’s absence arrives as early as the first track, ‘minipops 67’, which features eerie synths layered over danceable rhythms, interspersed with mangled vocal samples and strange sound effects. It’s a genre-defining mixture that James first unleashed in the early ’90s, and hearing it tweaked and refined for the 21st century is tremendously exciting.
As someone who has created his own style, James is in the privileged position of not having to worry unduly about trends – ‘Windlowlicker’, one of the greatest singles of the ’90s, was released fully 15 years ago and still sounds like the future. As ever, throughout Syro, James gives his imagination free reign, and yet he retains the happy knack of brilliantly marrying experimentation to accessibility.
Unlike, say, Autechre (a tremendous outfit in their own right), there is always a strong melodic core to Aphex Twin’s output, no matter where his sonic adventures take him, and Syro features a great many detours indeed. ‘XMAS_EVET­­10’ underpins moody synths and plaintive piano notes with skittering beats, ‘produk 29 [101]’ merges heavy, industrial rhythms with otherworldly, Boards Of Canada-style electronica, and ‘syro’ slices and dices a catchy electro riff and mixes it with a glitch groove, whilst also containing a strange ambient suite.
Best of all is ‘180db’, an uptempo electronic jam based around an utterly outre synth rhythm – the carwreck potential here is considerable, but thanks to James’s melodic finesse, it works brilliantly. Indeed, Syro consistently demonstrates that Aphex Twin belongs to that elite group of artists who have broken new ground in music. Great to have him back.