A mysterious but apparently official announcement of Aphex Twin‘s new EP, Cheetah, has been made. But the quirky fact sheet about its imminent arrival on July 8 actually raises more questions than it answers. Here are the most immediate queries it engenders.
1. Are these tracks “those” tracks?
Warp Records’ track listing for the EP includes song titles like “CHEETAHT2” and “CHEETAHT7b,” prompting curious minds to wonder whether these are the same as (or related to) similarly titled tracks Aphex Twin anonymously uploaded to SoundCloud.
2. Does it actually come bundled with a synth?
The announcement lists all sorts of synthesizer-sounding features, like 15-note polyphony and velocity sensitivity. Are we to assume Cheetah comes bundled with some sort of downloadable digital synth technology?
3. Is there really a remix contest?
Fans are invited to “Have fun programming,” and send any “superb patches and tones” they might create to Warp in hopes of receiving an unspecified prize. Is this just a cute way of announcing a remix contest?
4. Cassette? Really?
Warp promises that Cheetah will be released not only in digital, vinyl, and CD formats, but even as a limited edition cassette.
5. How seriously should we take any of this?
Well it looks like there definitely is an Aphex Twin EP called Cheetah arriving from Warp on July 8. As far as all the other stuff, who knows how far Richard D. James is willing to take his twisted sense of humor? In the meantime we’d regard any of the additional info with several grains of salt and just look forward to the music.
Track listing
01. CHEETAHT2 [Ld spectrum]
02. CHEETAHT7b
03. CHEETA1b ms800
04. CHEETA2 ms800
05. CIRKLON3 [ Колхозная mix ]
06. CIRKLON 1
07. 2X202-ST5*
*CD, Cassette and Digital track only, included on download available with vinyl