After 13 Years, Aphex Twin Has Triumphantly Returned With ‘SYRO’ [Album Review]

Aphex Twin has been hailed as one of the most influential figures in contemporary electronic music. His latest release, SYRO, will not disappoint his loyal fans. The album is a 55-minute journey into a lucid dream world of the musician, featuring layers of fragmented beats and myriad sounds created on synthesizers. It is the England-based musician’s first album in 13 years since his 2001 release Drukqs.”=

Ireland native Richard D. James first made his debut as Aphex Twin back in 1992, with the album Selected Ambient Works 85-92. On the dreamy and futuristic SYRO, we can see how far James has come as a musician in the two decades since.

The new album takes the listener on a journey, transporting us into a fantasy world of beats and synths. Each track is unique and unconventional, telling a story through the electronic sounds. The opening number, as well as the creatively named track, “4 bit 9d api+e+6” a little later on, implement samples of children’s voices. James manipulates the voices so well that we are forced to focus on the actual sound of the words rather than their meaning, adding an interesting musical layer to the songs.

The music on SYRO is composed of complex layers of beats, synths, and other sounds, forming an abstract musical collage. The best example of this is the track “PAPAT4 (pineal mix)” which presents two opposing fragmented ideas. The track opens with a dreamy, floaty synth, which is then suddenly, and alarmingly interrupted with bursts of laughter followed by a contradictory poppy beat. The two different contrasting layers then continue simultaneously, producing a somewhat trippy and confusing effect. About midway through the song, a third layer of cheery, staccato strings is added intermittently, both complimenting and conflicting the opposing ideas already presented. Altogether the track feels like overlapping layers of consciousness weaving in and out of each other, taking the listener on a trip to a dreamlike wonderland.

One of the strongest moments on the album occurs in the last track “aisatsana,” when James comes in on the piano over layers of twinkling bells and a bright high-pitched synth. The song has an optimistic, bubbly feel, driven by the racing drumbeat. When the piano enters, its beautiful melody brings a surge of empowerment, allowing the song to fully open up. The album then ends on an optimistic note with a final track that brings the listener back down to Earth and leaves them fully satisfied with the experience.

Aphex Twin has indeed made his triumphant return to the music scene, and any loyal fans are guaranteed to enjoy SYRO.

SYRO Tracklisting:

01. minipops 67 (source field mix)
02. XMAS_Eve10 (thanaton3 mix)
03. produk 29
04. 4 bit 9d epi+e+6
05. 180db_
06. CIRCLONT6A (syrobonkus mix)
07. fz pseudotimestrech+e+3
08. CIRCLONT14 (shrymoming mix)
09. syro u473t8+e (piezoluminescence mix)
10. PAPAT4 (pineal mix)
11. s950tx16wasr10 (earth portal mix)
12. aisatsana

-Sammie Taylor