The first time you listen to Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (SAW) you might feel unsettled, not by the artist’s intention but because you’ll be wondering, “Where have I heard these sounds before?”. The sounds of SAW evoke nostalgic memories of late 90’s – early 00’s video games, visions of industrial England and all the time you spent wondering what a rave inside of a drum machine might look like (the ravers in this case being sentient silica components).
Like any self-respecting classic, SAW opens with a hot track ‘Xtal’ which sounds like waking up from a long forgotten dream. Your friends are waiting for you to get in the car so that the night can finally begin. The next highlight is ‘Pulsewidth’ which welcomes you in with reverberating, slapping synths. This is your ticket into the rave. The synthetic bass repeats itself until building into a mini funk solo before the song fades out the same way it opened, letting you know that you’re in friendly familiar hands.
Hot track after hot track! The next track ‘Ageispolis’ is arguably the catchiest song with its cutesy crystalline chimes. Doppler effect synth keys carry the rest of the song. Vaguely mysterious yet catchy, this song foreshadows one of Aphex Twin’s definitive sounds enthusiasts would come to love. A couple of tracks later, ‘Heliosphan’ fades in with rapid fire drums that are surprisingly non-abrasive before cutting the drums to spotlight almost tear-jerking cascading synths.
The final highlight ‘Ptolemy’ is a dance anthem that any respectable disc jockey could really tear up and mix with. The impeccable drums do most of the talking here but the main synth lead shines as well, sounding like a distant car horn harmoniously barking at you and reminding you of the album’s urban British roots.
Aphex Twin A.K.A Mr. Richard David James really does a bang up job on this one, coming onto the British electronic scene and inviting the masses to enjoy some newfangled genre known as “IDM” or Intelligent Dance Music. The sounds on Selected Ambient Works 85-92 would inspire a decade of artists all of whom hoping to create the same rhythmic dance beats through ambient techno roots while capturing charming and almost innocent vibes. A must-listen for fans of electronic music.
Electronique Critique 