Hunter Church

The first five years of Aphex Twin’s career were full of experimentation from the youthful artist. Despite his first few EPs being consistently acid house, the vast majority of his earlier projects were fairly separate and unique in their identity. Even the two Selected Ambient Works records showcased the artist’s dynamic musical approach when comparing the two. Early on, it was rare to see Richard D. James meld the collective sum of his ideas into a single song, let alone a record.

After the IDM phenom’s sophomore LP, Selected Ambient Works Volume II, Aphex Twin quickly delved back into beat-heavy music with familiar, acid-house flavors. However, like with every Richard D. James project, themes and concepts inevitably drove these two 1995 EPs to two different extremes.

With each new Aphex Twin release comes a new story, and even newer musical boundaries. After establishing himself as an elite IDM creator with his first Selected Ambient Works 85-92 and pushing himself onto the pop charts with the chaotic but contemplative On, Aphex dove head-first into the meaning of the title to this sequel LP. Constructed to mimic his own lucid dreams, Richard D.