Always entertaining, always surprising and (frustratingly) always elusive, fans of Aphex Twin have to work hard and wait years for their fix of anything new from the man equally well-known as Richard D. James.
But this month has seen not one but two chinks in James’s otherwise trademark bomb-proof publicity shield as – exhibit A – the electronic pioneer broke cover earlier this month to reveal a collab with US sportswear brand Supreme that saw his logo and likeness all over a new Aphex collection based on select items from their range.
Now that surprise endorsement has taken a turn for the musical as – exhibit B – James has just dropped a 191-track playlist, titled Aphex Twin: [mostly mellow] especially for Supreme, bearing a brilliant – though typically eclectic – bunch of tunes.
“Aphex Twin (born Richard D. James) is a British musician, composer and DJ widely regarded as one of the most exciting and influential figures in contemporary music. Over nearly four decades, James has continued to profoundly reshape electronic music.
"Drawing upon the broadest, weirdest strokes of acid, house, jungle, drum n’ bass, and classical instrumentation, James’s vast output ranges from placid ambient to frenzied techno and far beyond. While often accompanied by cheeky, outlandish visuals (many the work of British artist Chris Cunningham), James’s music is as emotionally poignant as it is sonically rich,” say Supreme, accurately.
Before teasing that “James has continued to release music officially and cryptically, both as Aphex Twin and across a cadre of mysterious aliases.”
His sportswear collab collection consists of: “A GORE-TEX Hooded Jacket, Alpha Industries® Cargo Jacket, Sweater, Shirt, Thermal, Football Jersey, Hooded Sweatshirt, Alpha Industries® Cargo Pant, Short, two T-Shirts, 6-Panel, Mechanix® Work Gloves, Mantis Coin Knife and four Skateboards – three sold as a set and one sold individually.”
All of which includes the familiar Aphex logo with an Aphex hoodie depicting the publicity shy man himself, bearing James’s sinister glare from his 1999 Windowlicker across its chest and sleeves.
Meanwhile the new playlist sports tracks from Brian Eno, Joe Meek, Derrick May, Marvin Gaye, Simple Minds, Herbie Hancock, Ragga Twins, Klaus Schulze, Pierre Henry, Tangerine Dream alongside a host of electronic big names including (track 102) XMAS_EVET1N by one Aphex Twin…
It's a curious and typically obscure pick from his body of work, last surfacing on his Warp album MARCHROMT30a Edit 2b 96 back in 2015, and forms part of a delightful mix that we’ve been listening to all day.
You can stream it on your choice of YouTube and Spotify right here, and take a deep dive through Supreme’s Aphex-themed (available now) clothing collection here.
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