Aphex Twin - drukqs (Warp)

It's been a while, but Mr Richard D James has proved the rumours of his retirement to be greatly exaggerated and emerged with one hell of an Aphex Twin collection. This 2-CD opus stretches to around three hours and covers every piece of ground ever touched upon by one of the dance scene's biggest geniuses. "drukqs" is a roller-coaster ride of musical styles and concepts, ever-changing and completely unpredictable. Opening with the soft dulcimer sounds of 'jyn wey the k' and suddenly exploding into the breakbeats of 'vordhosbn', this is one wild ride.

It counterpoints nice melodic piano pieces, like 'strotha tynhe' and 'avril 14th', with insanely high bpm extravaganza like 'cock/ver 10' or 'Mt Saint Michel + Saint Micheal's mount', with sound effect compilations like 'qwarek2' threaded through. Parents wishing their son a happy birthday is included as 'lorna derek', adding a nice personal element, while the British PM's name gets stretched and twisted in the demented '54 cymru beats'. This is the most varied and possibly the most brilliant release yet by Aphex Twin, showcasing the depth and breadth of his unequalled talent.

Donnacha DeLong