APHEX TWIN – Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Anyone who hears this album for the first time today will rub their ears in amazement: what’s so ambient about the 13 tracks? Essentially, “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” is a free-spirited, multi-layered, emotional, atmospherically dense and above all powerful techno album that contains subtle IDM, electronica and beatz elements and is reminiscent of early Plastikman tracks. It only becomes ambient under the standards of rave and hardcore and thus the sounds that moved the British youth between Sheffield, Leeds, London and Cornwall, where Richard D. James (born 1972) aka AFX or Aphex Twin came from. In retrospect, “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” not only marks the start of James’ career, but also a “turning point in ambient music” (allmusic.de). In 2003, “SAW 85-92” ranked #92 on NME’s 100 Best Albums list. The masterpiece is also mentioned in the book “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”. Like the original, the new edition of “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” will be released as a double LP on Apollo, a sub-label of R&S Records. The remastered repress was made from the original DAT tapes by Matt Colton.