Name: Drukqs by Aphex Twin
Brand: Aphex Twin
SKU: 801061009236
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (210 reviews)

ALBUM

Despite threatening retirement several times, in 2001 Richard D. James finally released another Aphex Twin record. But for all this record tells listeners, he may still be in retirement. Spreading 30 tracks (most with unpronounceable titles) across two discs, Drukqs sounds less like a major new statement from electronica's best producer than the results of a Sunday afternoon's trawl through his hard drive for files he hasn't released before. Many songs here evoke the feel of recordings long since past, from the quiet ambient techno of his breakthrough, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, to the demonically extroverted programming of Richard D. James Album and the Come to Daddy EP. Stylistically, the record leans toward the later recordings, with many tracks here reprising the off-key melodies and overloaded drum programming of "Come to Daddy" or "Windowlicker." There's also little rhyme or reason to the program; James veers directly from a drill'n'bass firestorm ("Cock/Ver 10") to a delicate piano piece à la Erik Satie ("Avril 14th") to an acid-techno burner ("Mt. Saint Michel Mix") with barely a glance backward for transition. Of course, aside from all the criticism, the previously unreleased musings of Aphex Twin are still far more intriguing and solid than most producers' best releases. The opener, "Jynweythek Ylow," and "Ruglen Holon" are brilliant, inscrutable pieces reminiscent of a rusty, bygone music box or the gamelan music of Indonesia. And a few of the second-disc highlights, "Meltphace 6" and "Taking Control," chart a middle ground between the emotional ambience of early Aphex Twin and the wracked hysteria of his later work. Drukqs is a sprawling album that defies listeners to understand or enjoy it as a whole, and would've worked much better as a fan-only release than the long-awaited return of the techno vanguard's favorite producer. ~ John Bush

Drukqs

Product information

Release options

1. Jynweythek

2. Vordhosbn

3. Kladfvgbung Mischk

4. Omgyjya-Switch7

5. Strotha Tynhe

6. Gwely Mernans

7. Bbydhyonchord

8. Cock/ver10

9. Avril 14th

10. Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount

11. Gwarek2

12. Orban Eq Trx 4

13. Aussois

14. Hy A Scullyas Lyf Adhagrow

15. Kesson Dalek

16. 54 Cymru Beats

17. Btoum-Roumada

18. Lornaderek

19. QKThr

20. Meltphace 6

21. Bit 4

22. Prep Gwarek 36

23. Father

24. Taking Control

25. Petiatil Cx Htdui

26. Ruglen Holon

27. Afx237 v.7

28. Ziggomatic 17

29. Beskhu3epnm

30. Nanou2

Technical Specifications