Aphex Twin "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760" 12" LP

hey do feel like a postcard, a gentle reminder of comfort in how effortlessly they merge ambient synth swathes with the type of bubbly alternating beats that are familiar from late 90s video games. “zin2 test5” is the cleanest track in this regard, positioning itself orderly in the context of Y2k vibes. The titular opening track is a little more subdued, grooving effortlessly with sampled voices, before a pleasant breakbeat drops in and speeds things up. There’s moments where the track feels like a eulogy to the aggression of The Prodigy’s “Firestarter”, as if it bemoans the loss of a tribal violence that’s always been a part in dance – but it’s never dark or obfuscating.

With “in a room7 F760”, things become a little more sinister, with the key melody dropping into dystopian cyberpunk house that slowly extends itself with the help of a fake choir and what sounds like a distorted dog-bark (I’m likely wrong on this, but who knows). As before, the subtle sense of critique or satire within the structure seems wholly absent, and very much intentional. After all, a black box is meant to contain the last moments before a disaster that claims the lives of all witnesses – a last attempt of reconstructive forensics.