Aphex Twin ‎– Analord 10

If creatures inhabit leftfield electronics, Aphex Twin inhabits that space. Marks his territory like a wild wolf. Grunting acid spurts rhythms in offbeat patterns, but somehow they congele to form audio "things" that us humans can dance to in unconventional ways. The trance like effects of Aphex tracks take the listener deeper into "elsewhereness (yea maybe I just made that word up)".

Personally, this release has ups and downs.
On each EP there's one or two remarkable tracks. But there's (in my humble opinion) also a bunch of crap.
I dont say this to dis the man, but alot of tracks go nowhere.
However, for a collector like me, its a nice collectors item. 12 vinyls, a binder...limited...what can you ask for more?? :)
great tracks that i reminded: 'Fenix Funk 5', 'Crying in your face', 'Grumpy acid', 'Halibut acid', 'Reunion 2' and 'Trojan.KillAV.E'
I give this a 3,8/5

The only way to get a hold of Analord 10 on vinyl without the binder. Surprisingly little surface noise for a picture disc. Can't be the same pressing as the black vinyl because the groove starts somewhat recessed, almost like standard 10'.

Seems like Richard reserved his best tracks for Analord 10 since they came with the binder and this picture disc but that's up for the listener to decide.

Probably won't be unobtainium collectible in 20 years, but let's see.

Everyone who owns this binder, take all of your 12s out of it and just put them in paper jackets and sleeves. The poly sleeves they come in, once again, mess the records all up making them all foggy and noisy (referring to the original Caustic Window Compilation poly triple fold out sleeve that did the same thing). Sorry Rephlex, you just have bad luck w/ polyvinyl sleeves. Now stay far far away from them. Paper and cardboard for the rest of your days please.

Analord 10 is mercifully short, but of a high quality. Fenix Funk 5 displays melodies that remind the listener of Drukqs, whose rapid speedcore tracks were surprisingly melodic. While this track only really picks up after one minute, it is worth listening to.

XMD5a opens in a dark, brooding sort of way. When the drums begin to make their way in through the woodwork, it develops into a nice little acid tune. The intro is unusual compared to the rest of the track, but it has the ambient touch you'd hear from SAW2.

All in all, this is another high-quality Analord release. Definitely worth a listen.

I thought i'd let the set as a whole sink in before commenting. AFX has always been uncompromising, surprising and incalcuable throughout his career, the Analord series is no exception. No-one could have guessed what RDJ was going to do next, just like his whole career has been a long number of forward thinking and dare i say it controversial releases this came as a surprise to many, almost a hark back to the analogue systems of the birth of the electronic scene. The series as a whole is amazing, each 12" contains at LEAST one killer track, and each contains that RDJ 'special stuff' that makes the man an enigma in todays market. I love the set more every time i listen to it, OK there's a lot to get through, and the format's he chooses are probably more humourous than practical, but if you're in any way inclined to like techno, electro, acid or the sadly over-burdened and badly labelled IDM scene, then there's a wealth of solid music for you on the Analord series. And, as a parting shot, Acid rules and there can never be too many AFX releases for me, i've followed the career of this producer for over a decade, and a very happy man i am. The world would be a lot less interesting or bearable without him.

This series is a detour from the obsession with craft that has dominated electronics for the last five years. The need to validate skill by chopping up the amen break and throwing it around at 190 bpm has created a nuclear arms race that paralyzed and drained the content from a lot of music. Aphex Twin does not go totally retro against this but he pulls more tradition song ideas in a way that is new to electronics and by doing so creates something more meaningful.

Rumour has it, the Analord series was a 'gift' from Richard to Grant for the upcoming (at the time) birth of Grants first child. Makes financial sense to me. If there's one thing that will sell on Rephlex - it's AFX releases. If there's one way to sell AFX releases - it's limited edition, regular, and part of a series that you don't want to miss out on. Clever homework all round, guys.

To me Analord is a milestone in Richards releases - initially I wasn't much engaged by much of the material, but over time it has truly proven itself to me as an incredibly explorable, mature, electronic milestone. Sure, it's no giant leap (he's been there and done that - leaps are for the youngsters to achieve now) but perhaps in time it will prove itself as a historical release.

XMD5A is my favorite of the Analord series. it's haunting piano plays in my head at odd parts of the day long after the last time I've listened to it. fenixfunk 5 is no slouch either, together these tracks literally put me in an altered state. if you want to listen to somthing that will transport you, this is it.

This really is an amazing record.
really shows how forward thinking RDJ is.
fenix funk is really powerful and beautiful makes me cry almost everytime.
xmd is dark brooding and very unique in a style only aphex could do.
Has some Fx that I have never heard before very psychoacoustic in places,
A brilliant pressing on this high quality vinyl which I think was a good move as its probably one of the best produced records I`ve ever heard.