Caustic Window "Compilation" Rephlex CAT 009 CD 1998 (58:13)
Joyrex J4 (4:30)
AFX 114 (1:21)
Cordialatron (4:44)
Italic Eyeball (4:26)
Pigeon Street (:23)
Astroblaster (5:29)
On the Romance Tip (5:06)
Joyrex J5 (6:55)
Fantasia (6:02)
Humanoid Must Not Escape (5:42)
Clay Hill Dub (3:25)
The Garden Of Linmiri (6:10)
We Are The Music Makers (Hardcore Version) (3:59)
Caustic Window is Richard D. James.
Overall impression: good. Richard D. James, probably better known as Aphex Twin, released 3 vinyl only eps in the early 90's under the 'Caustic Window' moniker. Finally, after much delay, Rephlex has re-issued these much sought after tracks on 1 cd. These songs are classic, somewhat minimal RDJ, not "Come to Daddy" drill 'n bass era RDJ. About half of this cd ("Joyrex J4", "Fantasia", "Astroblaster", "Joyrex J5", "Humanoids..", "The Garden..", "We Are..") is comprised of harsh, distorted and often fast tracks whereas the other tracks are are more in the laid back Selected Ambient Works 85-92 vein ("Cordialatron", "Italic Eyeball", "On the Romance Tip") or somewhere inbetween (such as the Polygon Window "Surfing on Sinewaves" album). The ususal assortment of bizarre samples, drum machines on crack, melodic keyboard lines and bleepy blasts can be found throughout. I miss this type of electronic music, it's all but gone now due to the proliferation of drum 'n bass/jungle/whatever stuff nowadays. This is lovely material, albeit the noisier tunes do get on the nerves a bit if not in the proper mood. Unfortunately, "Compilation" is a pricey import for us North American folk, but well worth it and one of the musts for the 'must have everything' RDJ addict. It deserves a spot in your cd rack right next to the Aphex Twin "Classics" and all those Analogue Bubblebath cds ...
Rephlex Records
Aphexweb fan page