Aphex Twin - Drukqs

Richard D James (aka Aphex Twin) needs little introduction. Icon to the Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) scene and master of media manipulation, every release he makes causes endless discussion and a fevered exchange of opinions by followers of the genre. James has experimented with numerous styles of experimental electronic music since the early 90's and is consistently greeted with critical acclaim, both for his music and the Chris Cunningham promotional videos that accompanied his more recent works.

After an extended hiatus from the scene, James began appearing as a DJ and news of a new album slowly emerged. Spanning 2 CDs or 4 slabs of vinyl and totalling 30 tracks, Drukqs was met with a mixed reaction. As usual, James chose almost all incomprehensible track names and makes us expect the unexpected. In typical mischievous Aphex style, there is a track consisting entirely of his parents singing Happy Birthday to him on his answer phone.

A slightly odd mix of trademark Aphex mayhem, pretty little piano interludes and atmospheric ambient works; Drukqs is a strange combination of completely different musical styles, switching without warning between them, but somehow forming a consistent whole. Some speculation flew around as to whether Drukqs is a compilation of random archive recordings from James' vault or whether it truly is new material. The style of the tracks would fit perfectly in and around the mid to late Aphex Twin era, so maybe the archive collection is a valid claim, maybe James did put the tracks together to complete his contract.

The point is…it really doesn't matter. There might not be anything new in terms of concept and sound here, but James once again shows why he is regarded as the leader of the IDM scene. Drukqs switches from drill 'n' bass mayhem through a gently subdued piano piece and on to throbbing emotive ambience ("Omgyjya-Switch", "Strothatynhe" and "Gwely Mernans" respectively), even the numerous ambient sections and tracks are quite wonderfully portrayed. While the tracks on Drukqs differ in style quite dramatically, they all bear the trademark of a quality electronic music artist; they just have that confident accomplished sound about them. And let's face it, there are few electronic music artists as revered as Richard D James.