Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Volume 2

Richard D James was a real marvel during the 90s when he first made his mark as the "rave age Mozart". His simple and unique style was predominantly dance-based techno becoming increasingly glitchy and edgy but at it's best, creating grooves and textures we'd never quite heard before. Sometimes he would be mellow and melodic and at other times harsh and industrial.

When I heard Digeridoo played as the intro music to a Curve gig in London, it changed my life.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92 was probably the album which put Aphex Twin firmly on the map and at the forefront of electronic music at that time. It is a beautiful collection of works which for some of us have become classics. Beat driven, analogue synth, squelchy, sometimes dissonant....I'll save this one for another time.

Selected Ambient Works 2, however, was a surprise. An uncompromising stride into the world of pure ambient, non-dance oriented experimental sonic meanderings, usually brief, based around tone and atmosphere. Mesmerising and sometimes harsh. Sounds with unique qualities. A little earlier than this album there had been a genre called "isolationist" music which was a bit vague and undefined. This album seemed to fit that category and it creates a quiet environment for introspection and gentle thought. The album artwork suggests the uncovering of something ancient and there were no track titles on the original, only a photo for each track - the tracks were later known as "cliffs" or "radiator" or "shiny metal rods" giving the whole album a certain arthouse feel.

My only reservation is that the tracks could be longer, more immersive, but I only think that now having got used to longform works by other artists.  This is a beautiful and unique album.