APHEX TWIN - 26 Mixes For Cash

Whoever had the initial idea to release this album is to be applauded. There must be many Aphex Twin admirers who, aware of Richard D. James remix projects, could not get hold of or find all of those hidden gems over the years. Well here they are, 26-tracks worth of Aphex Twin remixes all in one package. Richard D.James career can perhaps be split into two categories, his well known love for wildly challenging experimental electronic music and his initial early forays into ambient. For many, Richard D.James is perhaps most fondly remembered for his early Selected Ambient Works releases in the early-to-mid-nineties. Therefore, fans of those albums will be delighted with 26 Mixes For Cash, which ebbs and flows in a very similar manner to Selected Ambient Works Vol 1. In fact, right from the start we hear the AXF Fast Mix of Seefeel’s Time To Find Me, which could easily have been plucked from that very album, likewise, the deliciously soothing ambient Care Mix of Journey, from Gentle People.

For those who preferred the haunting, dark ambience of Selected Ambient Works Vol 2, Kinestheisa’s Triachus and Jesus Jones’ Zeros And Ones will be particularly well received. Disc One closes with the dulcet beauty of Nobukazu Takemuras’ Let My Fish Loose, although, it has to be said, that of those not mentioned, the standard remains exceptionally high throughout the first disc, with perhaps Phillip Glass’ Heroes being the only exception. Disc Two increases the tempo, the jungle drums and mangled German prose of Die Fantastischen Viers’ Krieger is indeed rather fantastic, while the pounding industrial beats of Mescalinum United’s We Have Arrived shake you to the core. The theme turns darker still with James reinterpretation of Nine Inch Nails’ At The Heart Of It All, a seething brew of sinister electronica that is simply unmissable.

Other highlights include the wonderful burbling analogue sequences of Remix By AFX, the stripped back '80s acid of Baby Ford’s Normal and the embarrassingly enjoyable commercialism of DMX Krew’s You Can’t Hide Your Love, which perhaps encapsulates the ironic concept behind the title of this very collective. Whilst the second Disc does not quite pull it off as comfortable and memorably as the first, there is still plenty to be enjoyed here. Richard D. James is undoubtedly one of few genuine talents to hit electronic music since its popularisation in the early eighties. Few have pushed boundaries and worked within genres with such enthusiasm, flair and humour, and this double-CD showcases Richard D. James in all his naked glory.



	APHEX TWIN - 26 Mixes For Cash
	8.5
	Warp Records ~ WarpCD102 ~ March 2003
	Whoever had the initial idea to release this album is to be applauded. There must be many Aphex Twin admirers who, aware of Richard D. James remix projects, could not get hold of or find all of those hidden gems over the years. Well here they are, 26-tracks worth of Aphex Twin remixes all in one package. Richard D.James career can perhaps be split into two categories, his well known love for wildly challenging experimental electronic music and his initial early forays into ambient. For many, Richard D.James is perhaps most fondly remembered for his early Selected Ambient Works releases in the early-to-mid-nineties. Therefore, fans of those albums will be delighted with 26 Mixes For Cash, which ebbs and flows in a very similar manner to Selected Ambient Works Vol 1. In fact, right from the start we hear the AXF Fast Mix of Seefeel’s Time To Find Me, which could easily have been plucked from that very album, likewise, the deliciously soothing ambient Care Mix of Journey, from Gentle People. For those who preferred the haunting, dark ambience of Selected Ambient Works Vol 2, Kinestheisa’s Triachus and Jesus Jones’ Zeros And Ones will be particularly well received. Disc One closes with the dulcet beauty of Nobukazu Takemuras’ Let My Fish Loose, although, it has to be said, that of those not mentioned, the standard remains exceptionally high throughout the first disc, with perhaps Phillip Glass’ Heroes being the only exception. Disc Two increases the tempo, the jungle drums and mangled German prose of Die Fantastischen Viers’ Krieger is indeed rather fantastic, while the pounding industrial beats of Mescalinum United’s We Have Arrived shake you to the core. The theme turns darker still with James reinterpretation of Nine Inch Nails’ At The Heart Of It All, a seething brew of sinister electronica that is simply unmissable. Other highlights include the wonderful burbling analogue sequences of Remix By AFX, the stripped back '80s acid of Baby Ford’s Normal and the embarrassingly enjoyable commercialism of DMX Krew’s You Can’t Hide Your Love, which perhaps encapsulates the ironic concept behind the title of this very collective. Whilst the second Disc does not quite pull it off as comfortable and memorably as the first, there is still plenty to be enjoyed here. Richard D. James is undoubtedly one of few genuine talents to hit electronic music since its popularisation in the early eighties. Few have pushed boundaries and worked within genres with such enthusiasm, flair and humour, and this double-CD showcases Richard D. James in all his naked glory.