Aphex Twin

𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮, 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙-𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝘿. 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙍&𝙎 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨.

Originally released in the summer of 1992, Aphex Twin’s ‘Xylem Tube’ EP landed hot on the heels of the groundbreaking ‘Digeridoo’ and revealed just how far Richard D. James was prepared to push electronic music. Where ‘Digeridoo’ tested the limits of the rave floor, here he blasted open new portals — the iconic ‘Polynomial-C’ unfurling with its spiralling arpeggios, frantic breakbeats and cosmic melodies, while ‘Tamphex (Hedphuq Mix)’ and ‘Phlange Phace’ splinter distortion, humour and rhythm into shapes no one had yet imagined. Closing cut ‘Dodeccaheedron’ shifts the mood into darker terrain, a brooding signpost of James’ radical sonic imagination.

More than thirty years later, ‘Xylem Tube’ is still a heavyweight masterclass in electronic construction, a definitive early statement from an artist rewriting the DNA of dance music. This long-awaited reissue restores one of the most in-demand R&S titles to vinyl, bringing back a peerless four-tracker that still reads like a dream for Aphex heads and adventurous listeners alike: Polynomial-C, Tamphex, Phlange Phace, Dodeccaheedron. Sheesshh… essential.