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Thus began the adventure of Richard D. James at Warp, aka Aphex Twin, aka AFX, aka Polygon Window, aka many, too many other pseudonyms. I've never quite understood the animosity towards this label; in the end, it is one of the most artistically curated, which can't really be said of Apollo, who previously managed the SAW 85-92. But in the end, it's about throwing the occult material of a brilliant sociopath who prefers to dismantle an analog sequencer a day to the masses, so that's perfectly fine.
Surfing On Sine Waves is none other than, hear ye, hear ye, yet another handful of material drawn from the musician's boundless musical library, so that's a good thing. Any excuse is valid for raiding those archives. Contrary to what the vacation village cover and the stylish fonts of the Designers Republic might suggest, there are hardly any cliffs, surfing, and ocean inside; instead, we find an abundance of silicon-flavored alienation, frantic drum machines, ghostly synths, and acid drones for the delight of young and old. The quality is extremely reminiscent of the first Ambient Works, for many, this represents Richard's golden age, so they will have no trouble appreciating the album. The start is explosive and not coincidentally self-referential. "Polygon Window" plunges you headlong without ceremony into an elaborate whirlwind of analog sounds, dirty and stuffed with all kinds of errors (you can notice audio artifacts from tape transfer). Although the percussion from various Roland and Yamaha units reveals the era (we're talking '93 here), it's the extremely original arrangement, along with the synths modified by the Cornish prodigy, that makes the difference. The result? Like listening to the Necronomicon found in the basement of Evil Dead, more or less.
We proceed with the essential pounding of "Quoth," which thanks to those perverse hands turns into 5 minutes of tribal jubilation that knows no boredom. The timing to reach the surprising "If It Really Is Me" is perfect. A long, interminable piano piece, seasoned with vocal samples and nostalgic organs. The album's "slow one," so to speak, despite its prototypical appearance, foreshadows the musician's passion for this instrument. Richard's innate ability to fill endless minutes with few sounds, freezing the urge to press the skip button, is a further appetizer for the escalation that we will later see with SAWII. We start again with the delirious frenzy of "Supremacy II," rapid bpm, nightmare atmosphere, and unsettling computational sounds crash into the ridiculous vocal samples, further poisoning the moods generated. "UT1 - Dot" even throws oriental flavors into the mix, just like the unknown "Track 7" pays homage to the Detroit school with an acid T-303 line, but changes mood immediately afterward, inserting the typical witch house carpets beloved by the twin monkey. The conclusion is unexpectedly calm, arriving with "Quino - phec" with its funereal ambient cadence, although strangely irradiated by a warm light. No one would be particularly shocked if this piece were a gentle loan from the SAWII libraries, but the truth, unfortunately, is known only to our enigmatic long-haired man.
An album to have, obviously, if you can only find it... Not exactly an easy task, although one could settle for the 2001 Warp reissue, which also includes two unreleased tracks. Either way, good luck with the search; I'll hold onto mine, obviously original!
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