Bleep

Co-founder of Suction Records, Solvent created these tracks on the very same Yamaha CS-5 synthesiser which Richard D. James used to make his 1994 album Selected Ambient Works Volume II has gone on to influence countless artists from across the musical spectrum. Unsurprisingly, the music of RDJCS5ep runs with the playful energy and iconoclastic spirit of 90s IDM and British electronic composition. Hissing electronic drums, squelching bass tones and humming synth leads characterise all of the cuts here, from the melody-rich opener ‘Curtains’ to astral electro vignette ‘Mould’. Given that this EP first emerged in 2011, these tracks are something of a missing link between the seminal sounds of Rephlex Records and the 2010s electro resurgence which was spearheaded by labels like Central Processing Unit and Suction Records itself.

Solvent saves the biggest surprise of the RDJCS5ep reissue until last. Those who purchase vinyl copies will find a fifth track, ‘Sandpaper’, at the end of the record. Solvent has etched ‘Sandpaper’ by hand onto all vinyl of RDJCS5ep in order to create a unique loop/glitch/groove joint. With a etching of Richard D. James' liner notes for Selected Ambient Works Volume II into the bottom of the Yamaha CS-5 used on RDJCS5ep, ‘Sandpaper’ also strengthens links between the two records still further.

This edition of Solvent’s RDJCS5ep honours both the sound and spirit of Aphex Twin’s seminal album Selected Ambient Works Volume II.