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"2 remixes by afx"

So, V/Vm releases 2 CD singles of Aphex Twink remixes and all the nerdyRicky James worshippers go insane that this happens. People startposting to newsgroups saying how much of an "outrage" this is withoutknowing the truth behind everything. Now we've got this, the Twinkhimself remixing an 808 State classic, "Flow Coma" (from the 1988 album'Newbuild') and DJ Pierre's "Box Energy", yet neither are credited onthis coverless release, issued by Men Records, a sub division ofRicky's Rephlex label. Where's the outrage? The funny thing is, thiskicks ass over much [if not all] of his original output over the lastfew years. I do love the retro-style cut-up collagery of the 808 track,created entirely from analogue gear in perfectly square 4/4 beats, nowmimicing much of the broken beat stuff James excels in. His remix of"Box Energy" also relies on the original's analogue 303-saturated acidnoises. The last track, "Bonus High Frequency Sounds" is a ratherunnecessary 2-minute tag to the remixes, no doubt a toss-off from AFX'smuch anticipated, much downloaded forthcoming full-lengther. Overall,it's a great little package for those who like to have fun with theirelectronic. Aphex fans do need to come to grips with reality, however:Ricky's a hack, quite admittedly good at it, but his best stuff isn'tnearly original. I know I'll get tons of hate mail for this one, but Ihave faith those hero-worshippers will eventually come around tolearning more about original music.

 

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