Back catalogue: Experimental/Electronic

Review: The hype machine may have kicked into overdrive at the announcement of a new Aphex Twin EP, but after all there's a reason we all get so excited. Richard D. James is just a rare sort of artist - one who can wrench untold depth, detail and feeling from the oddest of angles and still keep it rave-ready in the process. It's been a while since we had some new material from the Cornish wonder, but now he's gifting us four fresh slabs of braindance par excellence which bristle with his distinctive touch. Those subtle microtonal shifts in the melodies, the particular flair with which the drums are dissected, the overall head-spinning tapestry of the whole thing - no one does it quite like Aphex, and this CD single gives you his considerable skills in the highest definition.

Review: Past Inside The Present welcomes back accomplished and prolific ambient master zake, this time alongside Oss and Fax who released the original featured track, 'Polymorph' on Module. Here it gets revisited by a top contemporary team after the hazy and absorbing extended mix kicks things off. ASC then goes dark with his mood rework and Zake himself remixes with a more optimistic sense of crepuscular synth lushness. Aural Imbalance layers in some fizzing and malfunctioning electronic sounds, Ossa suspends you amongst his heavenly rays and Influx brings gently broken beats. Fax shuts down this varied offering with a more edgy ambient sound.

Review: Actress (Darren Cunningham) releases his ninth album to date, 'LXXXVIII', coming as the very first presentation of the artist's voyage into "luxury sonics". ?A lifetime in the making, 'LXXXVIII' is the culmination of 25 years' honing mind-shorting, soul-igniting audio infusions for dancefloors, rave dens, festivals and concert halls. Less grainy than earlier works like Ghettoville or more recent albums like XX2RME, this one recalls a more immediate approach, the same onee heard on his forum-bound free downloadable albums, working in a wider stylistic gamut from minimal to glitch.

Review: In line with the timely reappraisal of all things R&S related, the resurgent Apollo have seen the opportunity to bring one of their most celebrated records back for another round on CD. Aphex Twin's ambient recordings mature magnificently with age, sounding ever richer and more emotive as the rest of electronic music continues to play catch up all around. From the gentle breakbeats of "Xtal" to the aquatic techno lure of "Tha", the airy rave of "Pulsewidth" to the heartwrenching composition of "Ageispolis", every track is a perennial example of how far ambient techno could reach even back then. It's just that no-one quite had the arm-span of Richard D. James.

Review: Back in 2002, the Detroit Electronic Musical Festival concluded with something rather special: a rare live performance from the Aux Men - an expanded and upgraded version of legendary Motor City electro outfit Aux88. This must-have CD presents that performance, complete with the original introduction from Eddie Fowlkes and DJ Bone, from start to finish. Full of spacey synth sounds, heavy beats, weighty bass, it's effectively a whirlwind trip through the history of both electro and Detroit's contribution to electronic music history. Thus, we get killer versions of 'Planet Rock', 'Shari-Vari', YMO's 'Computer Games', tons of Kraftwerk classics, a breathtaking interpretation of Art of Noise's 'Moments in Love' and rip-roaring takes on foundational tunes by Cybotron and Funkadelic..

Review: Los Angeles based ambient husband and wife duo, awakened souls join with Reunion Island native, From Overseas to create Keep The Orange Sun. After hearing each other's individual music, a deeper conversation started about shared musical influences and inspiration leading to the creation of this album. Keep The Orange Sun guides the listener on a thoughtfully curated path. Starting with the certainty of life's changes (Certainty of Tides) to arising self-doubt (Release/Adapt) and celebrating immersion in the present moment as the gateway to deeper connection with nature and one's life (Keep The Orange Sun). The instrumentation present in each track channels elements of electronic, shoegaze & ambient with each artist's distinct musical fingerprint highlighted.

Review: Minamo (Keiichi Sugimoto and Tetsuro Yasunaga) returns to 12k following 2020's Superstition where they paried up with singer/songwriter Moskitoo. On Tail of Diffraction the duo joins long-time friend Asuna. A new name to 12k but not to the world of ambient and experimental music where Asuna's 100 Keyboards has toured stages around the world. Minamo and Asuna have shared the stage many times in concerts and tours over years, however, this is their first recording together. These artists are well known for their mix of electronic and acoustic instruments. Minamo often employs guitars, melodicas and small percussion instruments and Asuna's recordings with toy keyboards and reed organs are phenomenal. But on Tail of Diffraction they exchanged instruments for each song and played those they weren't familiar with, approaching each one with a naivete that spawned new discoveries. The familiarity of playing live together combined with surprising new instrument combinations resulted in a freshness and excitement much needed to them in a world that has been so shuttered. There is a soaring, almost optimistic quality to Tail of Diffraction. The timbres are very present and alive. The pads arc through sunlight with glittering gold edges and the guitars are tactile and seem to be exploring hidden possibilities. The final track features Reiko Seizo with a flickering vocal performance that further feeds the idea that this album is a ray of hope. Visual artist Michiko Fujita, whose work with silk thread that expresses delicate light and shadow, provided the artwork for the album which encompasses both the playfulness and desire to search that Tail of Diffraction so beautifully embodies.