From the unveiling of Aphex Twin's long lost Caustic Window LP to the soundtrack of this summer's sunset boat parties, it's been a busy month in the world of electronic music
One of dance music's ultimate mythic records finally emerged this week, as an LP from Caustic Window, Aphex Twin's alter ego, appeared 20 years after it was canned with no explanation, and with just five test pressings in existence. One appeared for sale and was bought by a Kickstarter campaign, and it's now up on YouTube. This is the kind of thing that overweight men who stand at the back of Bang Face weekenders make burnt offerings for. But is it any good? While it certainly lacks the sophistication of what is, to these ears, the greatest piece of music ever recorded, it is a mostly excellent selection of acid techno belters and ambient curios. It is at its best when it goes for the most straightforward dancefloor moments. Mumbly's Orbital synth tones and Wacky Races samples are pure 90s, but its central riff is timelessly almighty. Airflow rides a hooligan-chant melody over blockhead beats and will certainly get caned this summer. The most striking thing about this record is that it dovetails perfectly with the current "hardware jams" school of house and techno. White Material, The Corner, L.I.E.S these labels explicitly tap into the very historical moment that Caustic Window is coming out of. Their style would seem regressive were the rudimentary sound palette not so plainly brilliant, but there is still an inevitable sense of nostalgia for a simpler technological era. So to have a capsule from that time suddenly emerge in the present is overwhelming, and transports us to a place where yesterday and today collapse in on each other in a daze of analogue drums.
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by Ben Beaumont-Thomas via Electronic music | The Guardian
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