Aphex Twin is Back and Fartier than Ever

Last week, Scotland voted against declaring independence from the United Kingdom, and we've all witnessed the fallout from the decision: the violence in Glasgow, the resignation of Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, and Prime Minister David Cameron's promises of more devolution.

But what does Richard D. James think of all this? After all, the legendary electronic producer -- best known as Aphex Twin -- has a significant stake in the decision, given that he was raised in England and now lives with his family in rural Scotland. Would he have become a Scottish citizen? What about his wife and two sons?

As far as I'm aware, however, no one has asked James what he thinks about the independence referendum. He's been conducting plenty of interviews lately, but everybody seems to be much more interested in what kinds of drum machines he uses and how he went about wiring his home studio.

And it's no wonder people are so eager for a glimpse into his creative process. After all, it's been 13 years since the iconic producer dropped an album, a drought that was finally broken this week when Syro arrived on shelves. Its release came in the wake of a fascinatingly esoteric hype campaign, which included a cryptic announcement via the deep web, an Aphex Twin-branded blimp flying over London, and an unintelligible press release referring to him as an "influential electronic fartist."

Now that Syro is finally out, it's clear that Aphex's 13-year break wasn't due to a lack of inspiration: the album's 65-minute runtime is stuffed to the brim with ideas, its 12 tracks a dense web of sputtering drum machines, spacious synth melodies and computerized squelch. The rhythms are brisk, urgent, and a little too anxious to be truly danceable (so don't expect Aphex to supplant Skrillex and deadmau5 as the kings of blockbuster EDM).

Syro's arrangements reward dedicated at-home listening with their gorgeous sonic details: there are the chiming tones that accent the throbbing funk of "XMAS_EVET10 [120] [Thanaton3 Mix]," the impossibly dense breakbeats that skitter through the futuristic circuit board freak-outs "CIRCLONT14 [141.98] [shrymoming Mix]" and "s950tx16wasr10 [163.97] [earth portal mix]," and the distant twitter of birds occupying the gaping negative space in the gentle piano closer "aisatsana [102]."

So, in light of all these fantastic cuts, what does Scotland's "no" vote mean for Aphex Twin? Well, for one thing, Syro is probably going to clean up at next year's BRIT Awards.