Get this! Even if you hate electronic music and only listen to classical, here is inventive genius that transcend genre.
Contrary to generally-accepted audiophile leanings, I love electronic music. Reviewers, fans and friends know that I frequently demo EDM (electronic dance music) at shows and demos.
Unfortunately, a lot of EDM is lame with the same musical themes repeated over and over, or badly recorded, or just tacky and embarrassing. However, there are some sublime artists out there. There is electronic music I could easily associate with a classical symphony.
Aphex Twin (Richard David James) I regard as one of the best. His music has influenced probably every genre of electronica since he rose to prominence in the early 90's. His first album, Selected Ambient Works '85-92, was called the best album of the 1990's by British youth culture and music magazine FACT. He has been called "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music" by English newspaper The Guardian.
For the past 13 years, James was secluded in the Twilight Zone with massive amount of of electronic gear. And out of this solitude, disconnected from the hyper-connected modern world. The Washington Post calls it a "masterpiece – the kind that get made in seclusion, painstakingly and obsessively".
The new album, Syro, was released today Sept 23, and I have to say that it is *bleep*ing brilliant. Rumours of the album started leaking out in August, and I've been waiting for this with great impatience. A vinyl copy of his last album, Drukqs now regularly sells at over $200 in good condition (not that I would ever sell my copy). I am on the ballot for a copy of the Limited Edition vinyl, but with only 200 copies available, I don't think that I will be so lucky.
In addition to vinyl and CD, tt has also been released as a 24-bit WAV file. The vinyl is as clean as the proverbial whistle, and to my ears anyway, is the format to get.
Mono & Stereo friend Gary Koh of Genesis Advanced Technologies, Inc.