Aphex Twin, the – “Digeridoo Ep ” – [R&S]

Originally released in 1992, “Digeridoo” is one of the first half-dozen releases from Richard D. James, and quite a milestone in the annals of electronic dance music. There are no digeridoos here, only the sound of a Roland 303 synth that has been tweaked, processed, or otherwise manhandled to emulate the sound of that Australian aboriginal instrument. Alternating between fairly ambient passages and stabbingly propulsive beats, the sound of “Digeridoo” is in fact the sound of the drugs kicking in. The other three tracks here operate in similar sonic territory, but none quite as successfully as the title track.