Aphex Twin: 26 Mixes For Cash

written by: Cory Q

The latest effort from Richard D. James, otherwise known as Aphex Twin (or AFX, or Polygon Window...) may sound a bit commercial with the title 26 Mixes for Cash, but I can assure you that Aphex Twin has kept his strange groove and creepy vision intact and his reputation as a top notch sine wave wizard is only reenforced on this album.

In this 2 disc, 13 songs a piece effort, James has compiled a chunk of his remixing work from 1990 up to now with material by Nine Inch Nails, Meat Beat Manifesto, Phillip Glass, Curve, and Saint Etienne to name a few. Ranging from the minimal and trippy (Gavin Bryars "Raising The Titanic") to the aggressive and pounding (Die Fantastischen Vier's "Krieger"), Aphex Twin delivers the moody techno beats and ambient floating atmospheres we have come to expect.

Each disc has a particular feel. Disc1 is more mellow and groovy: easier to listen to. It consists mainly of flowing beats and ghostly vocals when present. Disc 2 is more frenetically drum 'n' bass oriented. I can't sit and listen to both discs back to back. Trying to do so takes too long (Disc 1 clocks in at 71 minutes and Disc 2 at 68 minutes) and gets a little boring at times as Aphex Twin doesn't so much specialize in rhythmic grooves as spastic beats intermixed with ambient twists. He is also working with someone else's base material so each song has to vary by degrees in mood and feel.

26 Mixes for Cash is one of those albums that is better if you listen to it in chunks, not as a whole album. If you think of it more as a compilation of singles through the last decade and break it up as such, the listening experience is better. I found that 4 songs at a time is all I can really get through before flipping tracks and searching around. The mixed blessing of this album is that it doesn't solely rely on James' vision of the music. It was somebody else's first and he has bent it to his will so he is constrained by his original material.

If you are acquainted with the work of Aphex Twin and like it, then 26 Mixes for Cash is right up your alley. If you can sit though long songs with not a lot of rhythmic variation or like creepy techno, then this is also for you too. If you don't know anything about Aphex Twin, don't start here. Go with Selected Ambient Works Volume 2 or Windowlicker.

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