AFX - Hangable Auto Bulb

 If I wanted to hear freaky English kids talking about fucking potatoes over a meltdown of electronics, up until now I'd have said that I'd have to either a.) knock up my ex a few times (aayyy lmao) or b.) hit a shitload of acid. But now, thanks to the Aphex Twin side-project / spin off AFX, I can just wap Spotify on, and away we go! Wow, technology has come so far, I think I have a tear in my eye! Progress, people, progress!

As far as AFX goes, Hangable Auto Bulb is AFX to the core. That may be just as ignorant as that time I did a review where I said Electric Wizard sounds like Electric Wizard, but literally I fail to see how you can listen to this and not know who you are hearing (unless you've never heard AFX / Twin before, of course). Anxious, blippy electronics meet mellow, almost nostalgic synth work and downright bizarre sampling, culminating in a concoction that is just simply gorgeous.

Case in point, "Every Day", taking this mixture to a new level. All hail AFX.

Cool pro tip - This is the CD version of 2 12" EPs together on one release, and I'm sure a few others, unless I'm going insane...

Scorn - Logghi Barhogghi

This album was the final recording that Mick did with any connections to Earache. The album itself was produced and "marketed" by Earache Records, but released by Mick's own label, Scorn Recordings. Logghi Barhogghi is only the second Scorn album after the departure of Nik Bullen, and still sounds a bit bare and unsteady on it's feet, just like it's predecessor, Gyral. Although, unlike Gyral, LB is much more straight forward and was a definite sign of what was to come with Scorn from this point on. The name Logghi Barhogghi came from when Mick Harris over-heard an American tourist trying to pronounce the town Loughborough; that's fecking highlarious!

From start to finish, LB is a stripped-back affair of clanking percussion and heavy beats. The moody synths and unusual atmospheres are held right back. LB is all about the beat! On the first few listens through, this took some getting used to. I thought this was a remix album or some sort of experimental spin-off project, but this is a fully-canon Scorn album, despite it's very basic approach. Some tracks are stompers; heavy programmed percussion looped over and over until your brain just can't take it no more, other songs are a bit more laid back; some even barely audible, with just a purring bass line and ticking beat. Every now and then the phatter-than-your-mudda bass lines come in, scarily pre-dating all this dubstep stuff by well over a decade. That's fucking incredible!

I will say though the basic beats make this record a great buy for rappers to practice / freestyle / write tunes to. However, for most folk this Scorn album is definitely going to remain a challenging listen, and sadly will more than likely remain unknown to the festering masses. But, despite its awkwardness, LB is so goddamn far ahead of it's time it's literally frightening.

Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do

Gah, don't you just hate it when 2 x 12"s are rammed into one non-gatefold jacket? Something about this just gets right on my fucking wick, son. If you're gonna fork out for a double album repress on heavy-as-shit vinyl then you might as well go the full hog and be good enough to include a gatefold jacket. This poor bastard is loaded to the gills with discs! Blinkin' heck Warp, it's not like you haven't got the financial clout to do so ;D

Anyway, on with the music! Aphex Twin's I Care Because You Do is a mammoth electronic record of brain damaging proportions. What the hell is going on here then? Ha ha! You would literally be hard pushed to put anymore weirdness into this mixed bag of jarringly different tunes, "songs" and collages of noise. Equal parts relaxing, confusing, uplifting, inspiring and introspective, I Care... runs the gamut of the electronic music genre; pushing the envelope in all four corners at once. People tell me that the Aphex Twin is boring or not challenging enough...well I think those people have had a few too many knocks to the head! This shit is utter genius, hands down!

Boo! Hiss! Get it in a gatefold!

Aphex Twin - Richard D James Album

The first thing that I notice about this Warp repressing of Aphex Twin's classic record is that it is not a double album. That's not a problem, I just assumed that it would be on double wax. The vinyl is heavy, though! I don't know how heavy exactly, but it weighs a fecking ton (slight over-statement) and is very difficult to get out of the sleeve. When the needle slides onto the wax though, the perfect clarity and depth can be appreciated. Does heavy vinyl really make that difference? Bloody heck!

Most folks have seen the videos for "Come To Daddy" and "Windowlicker" but there is so much more to Aphex Twin that those two songs, and this album does a fantastic job of proving that; showcasing a smorgasbord of electronic sounds and puzzling samples assorted into ticking beats and lush synths. Whatever the vibe of a particular track, the electronics remain endlessly busy and ensure that there is always something interesting going on. Every time I listen to this I pick out something else that I missed the time before. The amount of time that went into making these "songs" must have been absolutely staggering.

This album has been considered a classic a thousand times over by now, so anything I can say will really do it any justice; ya'll need to load up on some mind-altering substances and appreciate the madness/genius for yourselves. And the best way to do that is get the poxy thing on vinyl, right? Reissued by Warp Records in 2012, but you can still get your hands on the original if you're that way inclined, just expect to pay a lot more for a copy.