Last December, Richard D. James played his first live U.S. show as Aphex Twin in nearly a decade, closing out Day for Night in Houston, Texas with a turbulent two-hour rave that was intensified with convulsing laser lights, 11 screens of brain-melting visuals, and crazy rain. The weather gods were more restrained for the electronic master’s first U.K. performance in five years, but the set itself was just as mental. James again teamed up with London-based video designer Weirdcore for his Field Day appearance, turning the show into a “bespoke online visual immersion” that streamed live and now exists on YouTube. The visuals are spliced with footage of the crowd, which really does appear to be witnessing the second coming of Jesus. Special shout-out to the chap who appears around 1:11 — James does love a good display of freaky facial distortion.
Savvy disciples of Richard D. spent most of Sunday creating a playlist of the set, which includes tracks from Kamixlo, Squarepusher, and Detroit techno collective Underground Resistance. Naturally, some of the tracks are so obscure they can’t be identified, making this a work in progress. But that’s not the only thing keeping fans guessing. James has also launched a typically cryptic countdown to something happening exactly a month from now. Reddit suspects it could be a collaboration with Indiana EDM prodigy Jlin. James’s latest official release was last summer’s Cheetah EP, which came with the first Aphex Twin video in 17 years, directed by a random 12-year-old Irish boy, so it could also be just about literally anything.
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Text Hannah Ongley
Image via YouTube