Classics

Undoubtedly one of the most important and influential electronic artists to have emerged in popular music, the sonic misfit from Cornwall, the Aphex Twin, released a breathtaking slew of early singles and albums from 1991 onwards (and continues to present day). The first clutch of groundbreaking works came on the legendary Belgium label R&S Records and were collected on a compilation album ‘Classics’, released in 1995, and followed the global success of the timeless album ‘Selected Ambient Works 85-92’.

‘Classics’ receives a long overdue vinyl & CD re-press for 2025, with a fresh vinyl cut by acclaimed mastering engineer Beau Thomas, and a R&S Records sticker sheet inserted into the LP sleeves including cover artwork of the two singles ‘Digeridoo’ and ‘Xylem Tube’ EP which are both featured on this compilation album.

‘Digeridoo’ was released on the R&S Records label in 1992 and originally peaked at #55 in the UK singles chart in May of that year. Over the last 33 years the track has become one of the essential Aphex Twin tracks in a gargantuan catalogue that continues to amaze and inspire. Released as a 4 track EP that also included early Aphex productions (now classics) including the industrial, acidic clang of ‘Flap Head’ and hyperbolic futurism of ‘Isopropanol’, the release cemented a relationship with the R&S label that went on to release the ‘Xylem Tube’ EP and the pivotal album ‘Selected Ambient Works 85-92’ in the same year.

The ’Classics’ album features both the ‘Digeridoo’ and ‘Xylem Tube’ EP singles, plus ‘Analogue Bubblebath 1’, ‘Metapharstic’ (originally released on the album Mayday - A New Chapter Of House And Techno '92), two Aphex remixes of Mescalinum United’s ‘We Have Arrived’ from 1992 and ‘Digeridoo (Live In Cornwall, 1990)’.