Confirming you don’t just bust out a blimp for no reason, Richard D. James has made good on his promise that a return to the Aphex Twin name signals a renewed productivity. He’s announced that SYRO—his first new Aphex album in 13 years, and one of the best releases of 2014 (according to some)—will soon be followed by the new 13-track EP, Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt. 2. It’s due out in a mere two weeks on January 23, destined to drive fan forum moderators and the last surviving record store clerks crazy henceforth by people asking fruitlessly for Part 1.
The announcement came accompanied by the minimalist cover art above and tracklist below, which mirrors SYRO’s randomly garbled DOS-code aesthetic. Presumably the music will follow suit—though the prankish James could be literal here, with many of these tracks containing just the single instrument it describes. (Or in the case of track nine, a computer-controlled fiddle and washtub.) Eh, I’ll still buy it anyway.
Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt. 2:
01 diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13
02 snar2
03 diskhat1
04 piano un1 arpej
05 DISKPREPT4
06 hat 2b 2012b
07 disk aud1_12
08 0035 1-Audio
09 disk prep calrec2 barn dance ( s l o )
10 DISKPREPT1
11 diskhat2
12 piano un10 it happened
13 hat5c 0001 rec-4