Aphex Twin - Xylem Tube EP [R&S Records]

Aphex Twin’s Xylem Tube EP landed in the summer of 1992 via R&S Records, hot on the heels of his landmark Digeridoo release, and represented a bold follow up from the then fresh-faced Richard D. James, aged just 21 years old. Out of print for nearly two decades, this long-awaited vinyl reissue brings back one of the foundational works in his early catalogue.

Where Digeridoo pushed the endurance of rave tracks to their limit, the Xylem Tube EP expanded the Aphex Twin sound into new dimensions, with Polynomial-C becoming an enduring classic through its spiralling arpeggios, tough breakbeats, and alien-sounding melodies. Tracks like Phlange Phace and Tamphex (Hedphuq Mix) pushed distortion, humour, and rhythm into uncharted territories, while Dodeccaheedron stands as a bold indicator of James’ radical ideas of how dance music could sound, with its ominous and shadowy synths over a cacophony of eerie and fractured beats.

Three decades later, the EP stands as not just a key chapter within the Aphex Twin canon, but also as a statement of intent from an artist determined to reconfigure the DNA of electronic music. Now faithfully reissued on vinyl for the first time since its 2006 pressing, this edition brings one of Aphex’s most sought-after R&S titles back into circulation, after almost twenty years out of print.