Obscure. Esoteric. Prolific. Those are all words that could be used to describe Richard D James (aka Aphex Twin). The enigmatic producer continues to rely on mountains of hardware to make his musicâan M.O. growing more and more outmoded in todayâs Ableton world. âhave to say to anyone reading this at this point you dont need any hardware to make electronic music apart from a computer, thats it,â he said in an unedited chat interview last year. âyou have to be slightly mad to want to use hardware these days, its just what ive always loved for many reasons, so i keep doin it, its what buzzes me up.â
His approach hasnât slowed him down, though; in fact, his output trumps most. Since fall of 2014, weâve gotten the Syro full-length and two EPs, Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 and Orphaned Deejay Selek (2006-2008). Today James confirmed yet another, a seven-song EP titled Cheetah.
Cheetah was teased yesterday when record stores posted mysterious flyers theyâd received online. The vintage-looking promotion advertised the EP as some kind of electronic instrument: âTo assure you that your Cheetah EP will give you many years of enjoyment, please be sure to read the owners manual carefully before attempting to operate the Cheetah EP.â It also included the logos for both Aphex Twin and Warp Records, so it wasnât difficult to put two and two together.
For those slow to the punch, though, James confirmed the news this morning when he tweeted a link to a website for the EP, which depicts the aforementioned flyer in all its tongue-in-cheek glory. Cheetah arrives July 8 via Warp.
Inscrutable tracklist below:
Cheetah EP
01. CHEETAHT2 [Ld spectrum]
02. CHEETAHT7b
03. CHEETA1b ms800
04. CHEETA2 ms800
05. CIRKLON3 [ ÐолÑ
Ð¾Ð·Ð½Ð°Ñ mix ]
06. CIRKLON 1
07. 2X202-ST5*
*CD, Cassette and Digital track only, included on download available with vinyl
Image: Warp