Warp Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Thankfully, Richard D. James has decided to finally release at least some of the output that he's been banging on about since mid-2000s. In a number of interviews, the might Aphex Twin hinted that he has vast artilleries of tracks stacked up and unreleased, probably more on purpose than out of laziness...or maybe not. What we do know is that AFX is reborn after the string of acid 12"s released about 10 years ago on Rephlex, that saw the alias become one of the most popular of James' alter egos. Orphaned Deejay Selek is a collection of tunes that contain all of the Twin's magic and unpredictably, but that also cut straight to the point and head to the middle of the dance floor. This is banging brain dynamite coated in the man's iconic style and flair. Welcome back AFX, and many hats off to Warp for making it happen.

Review: Some 25 years after delivering his debut 12", Richard D James hasn't lost the ability to thrill or inspire. By his obtuse standards, the material that makes up the surprise Cheetah EP is actually rather laidback and melodious. "Cheetah2 (LD Spectrum)", for example, sounds like a slow house jam written by robots, while the even deeper "Cheetah7B" shuffles along in a metronomic fashion, seemingly oblivious to the increasingly aggressive World at large. Of course, those trademark skittish IDM rhythms are present - see the B-side's lead cut - and the Cornishman has thrown in a couple of hazy ambient cuts for good measure.

Review: While his AR antics and massive stage shows might be a far cry from the subversive rave culture he came up in, Aphex Twin remains one of the most fascinating and gifted electronic dance music producers of his generation. Get past the fanfare and bluster, and it's still an incredibly exciting prospect to be opening up a new box of his charms, and he's as generous as he's ever been on this new four-track EP. As a key architect of the braindance sound (whether he likes the tag or not), Richard D. James demonstrates his gift for uncanny emotionality and dexterous drum programming on the lead single 'Blackbox Life Recorder 21f', hitting a spot not too far from the realm of his last album Syro and The Tuss material. With a lush fold-out sleeve to house it all in, it's another fine addition to the canon of a true cult phenomenon.

Review: NYC songstress Lafawndah makes her big label debut on Warp with some killer jams produced by Night Slugs lynchpin Lvis 1990. "Town Crier" is bass driven urban dance with her sweet soaring vocals backed by stuttering and clattering industrial textures. "Ally" is a full frontal and funky bass assault with exotic middle eastern instrumentation infused throughout as she declares "I'll take you like in like a firefly". "Tan" is the most restrained and stripped effort on here, with massively reverberated drums carrying the track wonderfully while "Crumb" is the most chilled track: it's pop inflected and will take you on a journey with its immaculately programmed steel drums. Big things!

Review: Sean Bowie is back with another ode to the tortured, damned, and damned good. The Florida-born enfant terrible of US alt-rock can barely put a foot wrong in our eyes, whether that's the post-chillwave of Teams, the moniker he was recording under in the early-2010s, or the Tumor releases. This is the place where Death In Vegas fans come to be reassured it's not quite over yet.

The Asymptotical World, not to be confused with The Asymptomatic World, is a case in point. This is punk, if punk decided to dive into bed with electroclash and they had a baby that wasn't really what anyone expected. It's sludgy, scummy, guitar-driven chaotic noise that occasionally dissipates into white mayhem, all the while maintaining not just its sense of self, but an underlying feeling you're two seconds from a rave while in the moshpit.