APHEX TWIN - SYRO

  On 11/26/2014 at 10:41 AM, cern said:

But what I can't understand is why RDJ is putting up those bpm info on each and every track on Syro.. I mean it hasn't been relevant in earlier album releases right? So why now?

 

Also the gear list oboy, he said in the interview it was not 100% and wrong in some tracks.. and no DAWS? come on ;)

 

My theory on the BPMs is he is putting the track titles exactly as he has them organized himself. As he is into the DJing these days, I bet he puts the BPM on all his tracks to reference when mixing.

  On 11/26/2014 at 3:51 PM, Vaaler9 said:

 

  On 11/26/2014 at 10:41 AM, cern said:

But what I can't understand is why RDJ is putting up those bpm info on each and every track on Syro.. I mean it hasn't been relevant in earlier album releases right? So why now?

 

Also the gear list oboy, he said in the interview it was not 100% and wrong in some tracks.. and no DAWS? come on ;)

 

My theory on the BPMs is he is putting the track titles exactly as he has them organized himself. As he is into the DJing these days, I bet he puts the BPM on all his tracks to reference when mixing.

 

Yes, this. It's also part of the design, giving information about every detail, so you know exactly what you're getting, making the whole thing feel demystified, just the cold truth. Hated it when I first saw it, but I find it very interesting now, that it makes more sense to me.

  On 11/18/2014 at 1:43 PM, pyramidpanes said:

 

  On 11/18/2014 at 1:21 PM, valleyinaire said:

Not exactly Syro related, but I was watching Eastbound & Down last night and noticed this.

 

 

I don't know if anyone else has picked up on this before, but I thought it'd share it anyway.

 

woah, love eastbound & down never saw that, well spotted, 'kenny motherfucking apex'in powers'

 

the reason for that is because the black lady was one from the windowlickers video

yeh after much deliberation i am giving it then 10/10 i had reserved for it before release.

the*

  On 11/27/2014 at 1:41 AM, logakght said:

 

  On 11/18/2014 at 1:43 PM, pyramidpanes said:

 

  On 11/18/2014 at 1:21 PM, valleyinaire said:

Not exactly Syro related, but I was watching Eastbound & Down last night and noticed this.

 

 

I don't know if anyone else has picked up on this before, but I thought it'd share it anyway.

 

woah, love eastbound & down never saw that, well spotted, 'kenny motherfucking apex'in powers'

 

 

the reason for that is because the black lady was one from the windowlickers video

 

Mind blown.

Xmas_eveT10 is a real grower. I find myself liking it a little more every time it comes on. Great driving music.

Mindblowing fact is mindblowing.

Also, according to my Last.fm, I've clocked 100 listens for XMAS_EVET10. It's a 10-and-a-half-minute track, which means I've spent 1,050 minutes listening to it since Syro came out. That equates to 17.5 hours. Kinda ridiculous when you realise that's just one song from an album that has only been out for a little over two months. So damn good though. I reckon I could have easily gone another few years without another sniff of Aphex acid, had Joyrex not played the tease game with us.

Haven't really listened to Syro much since the first couple of weeks it came out. But I was never a huge fan of Aphex Twin. Is an alright electronic music album, though.

Yes it's quite good

When is miniposp [;ittle lord faulterly] mix being relised?

This is a switched on groovy album. I can dig.

for me, the less I care and have expectation of Syro, the more I like it.

most people listen to syro with too much expectation. hes not a god, just a artist like everyone else. I ifind this album very rich in term of melodies

I like syro more and more

fav songs are definitely:

xmas

minipops

produck

papat

bonus track

those tracks are insanely good for me

Syro appears on NPR's top 50 albums of 2014 (in the fifth place, although this might not be a ranking):

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/08/368731400/npr-musics-50-favorite-albums-of-2014

NME listed it as #4, and in Rolling Stone it was something like #41. Goes to show how subjective music is.

  On 12/9/2014 at 12:41 AM, valleyinaire said:

NME listed it as #4, and in Rolling Stone it was something like #41. Goes to show how subjective music is.

Yeah there is no right or wrong answer, unless it's done on something like sales but that just shows popularity.

Which kinda makes all awards and charts rather pointless :)

I have to agree with the guys saying that Syro's mastering sucks. It is compressed and limited beyond a certain threshold where everything sounds lifeless, dull and boring - where rhythm and playfulness of dynamics disappear. Transients and peaks completely squashed - vacuum.

It feels as if this pure, sterile analog tracks sounded boring during production phase (which would not surprise me if it was the case) and mastering attempted to give them a bit of an excitement factor. It failed. One of the least interesting albums sound-design-wise I have heard in a long time. No dynamics, no fun.

It is sad, because up-tempo tracks from Drukqs were one of the best mix-wise I have ever heard in electronic music. Dynamic, yet powerful. And sound-desing was interesting too.

  On 12/9/2014 at 10:57 PM, Jev said:

I have to agree with the guys saying that Syro's mastering sucks. It is compressed and limited beyond a certain threshold where everything sounds lifeless, dull and boring - where rhythm and playfulness of dynamics disappear. Transients and peaks completely squashed - vacuum.

 

It feels as if this pure, sterile analog tracks sounded boring during production phase (which would not surprise me if it was the case) and mastering attempted to give them a bit of an excitement factor. It failed. One of the least interesting albums sound-design-wise I have heard in a long time. No dynamics, no fun.

 

It is sad, because up-tempo tracks from Drukqs were one of the best mix-wise I have ever heard in electronic music. Dynamic, yet powerful. And sound-desing was interesting too.

What are you listening to the album on that is giving you the impression the mastering sucks?

My experience is completely opposite.

Edit: in case my question was unclear, what is your method of playback? IE headphones, large system, small monitors etc.

Sounds great off my system.

be glad our chosen lol has not abandoned his musick and shares it with us you ungratefull maggots

i don't think it will ever be one of my favorite afx albums but still it's a bless and a beast of an album

james, more imminent shit in 2015, pls, thank you

Syro didn't last long around here. I'm a really big fan of richards stuff from 85-99 and most of the Tuss stuff - but the new songs IMHO are mostly OCD programming, layers and fx rather than songs that actually works without a ton of gimmicks.

I generally love detailed programming, but there must be some substance beyond that, too.Therefore I actually really like the cheesy and simple "180db_" - many times it doesn't have to be so complex to make a fun track that works quite well!

I like "XMAS_EVET10 (Thanaton3 Mix)" and the main theme in the japanese bonus track.

Still playing "Rushup I Bank 12" (33 rpm) and "GX1 Solo" almost daily, so unbelivable great tracks!

(and "irlite (get 0)" daily, but that's just a slightly bit off topic... :D)

  On 12/10/2014 at 12:17 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 12/9/2014 at 10:57 PM, Jev said:

I have to agree with the guys saying that Syro's mastering sucks. It is compressed and limited beyond a certain threshold where everything sounds lifeless, dull and boring - where rhythm and playfulness of dynamics disappear. Transients and peaks completely squashed - vacuum.

 

It feels as if this pure, sterile analog tracks sounded boring during production phase (which would not surprise me if it was the case) and mastering attempted to give them a bit of an excitement factor. It failed. One of the least interesting albums sound-design-wise I have heard in a long time. No dynamics, no fun.

 

It is sad, because up-tempo tracks from Drukqs were one of the best mix-wise I have ever heard in electronic music. Dynamic, yet powerful. And sound-desing was interesting too.

 

What are you listening to the album on that is giving you the impression the mastering sucks?

 

My experience is completely opposite.

 

Edit: in case my question was unclear, what is your method of playback? IE headphones, large system, small monitors etc.

 

Sounds great off my system.

 

I have a luck of having a sound-system worth of a brand-new-mid-class car daily at my disposal. JBL speakers and Nu-Force amplifiers. I also have AKG K701, ATH-ES7 and some Shure headphones (which are pretty bad).

But mainly, I have cca 8 years of producing and mixing experience and "whole-life" of critical listening experience.

To my ears, the mastering and level balancing of individual tracks (mainly caused by mixing during production by AFX himself) are terrible. Frequency balance is rather good, but levels are a mess. It might be intended but I don't like it. I find it boring.

Anyway, this is all very subjective as there clearly is many people in the world that love heavy, vacuum-like compression in music. Me too, but I still need some peaks and transients in the end. Autechre's "Pen Expers" and Untilted album are good examples of how to get the vacuum compression right, in my opinion. Syro is not.

  On 12/10/2014 at 2:35 AM, Jev said:

 

  On 12/10/2014 at 12:17 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 12/9/2014 at 10:57 PM, Jev said:

I have to agree with the guys saying that Syro's mastering sucks. It is compressed and limited beyond a certain threshold where everything sounds lifeless, dull and boring - where rhythm and playfulness of dynamics disappear. Transients and peaks completely squashed - vacuum.

 

It feels as if this pure, sterile analog tracks sounded boring during production phase (which would not surprise me if it was the case) and mastering attempted to give them a bit of an excitement factor. It failed. One of the least interesting albums sound-design-wise I have heard in a long time. No dynamics, no fun.

 

It is sad, because up-tempo tracks from Drukqs were one of the best mix-wise I have ever heard in electronic music. Dynamic, yet powerful. And sound-desing was interesting too.

 

What are you listening to the album on that is giving you the impression the mastering sucks?

 

My experience is completely opposite.

 

Edit: in case my question was unclear, what is your method of playback? IE headphones, large system, small monitors etc.

 

Sounds great off my system.

 

 

I have a luck of having a sound-system worth of a brand-new-mid-class car daily at my disposal. JBL speakers and Nu-Force amplifiers. I also have AKG K701, ATH-ES7 and some Shure headphones (which are pretty bad).

 

But mainly, I have cca 8 years of producing and mixing experience and "whole-life" of critical listening experience.

 

To my ears, the mastering and level balancing of individual tracks (mainly caused by mixing during production by AFX himself) are terrible. Frequency balance is rather good, but levels are a mess. It might be intended but I don't like it. I find it boring.

 

Anyway, this is all very subjective as there clearly is many people in the world that love heavy, vacuum-like compression in music. Me too, but I still need some peaks and transients in the end. Autechre's "Pen Expers" and Untilted album are good examples of how to get the vacuum compression right, in my opinion. Syro is not.

 

which JBLs do you have? 4340s? I've got a nice pair myself. I'm really a fan of 1970s - mid 1980s american made speakers (cerwin, JBL) as well as tannoy and canton from europe. Not a fan of new speakers so much (besides them being out of my price range).

Yes this is all very subjective, I definitely hear a bit more compression than usual in his work but it's more than likely intentional. He said himself this is supposed to be his most accessible album. There is likely a correlation between the compression and him trying to make it accessible, no? Besides that, I found the palette and richness of some of the sounds he used to be far more attention worthy than the little bit of extra compression. Like the bass on 4 bit, or the cloudlike pads on papat...

Isn't it more palatable to a larger audience this way (bit compressed), or am I understanding it wrong?

cheers

edit: tl;dr, what I mean is sometimes more dynamic might bother inexperienced listeners ears, no?

  On 12/10/2014 at 2:44 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 12/10/2014 at 2:35 AM, Jev said:

 

  On 12/10/2014 at 12:17 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 12/9/2014 at 10:57 PM, Jev said:

I have to agree with the guys saying that Syro's mastering sucks. It is compressed and limited beyond a certain threshold where everything sounds lifeless, dull and boring - where rhythm and playfulness of dynamics disappear. Transients and peaks completely squashed - vacuum.

 

It feels as if this pure, sterile analog tracks sounded boring during production phase (which would not surprise me if it was the case) and mastering attempted to give them a bit of an excitement factor. It failed. One of the least interesting albums sound-design-wise I have heard in a long time. No dynamics, no fun.

 

It is sad, because up-tempo tracks from Drukqs were one of the best mix-wise I have ever heard in electronic music. Dynamic, yet powerful. And sound-desing was interesting too.

 

What are you listening to the album on that is giving you the impression the mastering sucks?

 

My experience is completely opposite.

 

Edit: in case my question was unclear, what is your method of playback? IE headphones, large system, small monitors etc.

 

Sounds great off my system.

 

 

I have a luck of having a sound-system worth of a brand-new-mid-class car daily at my disposal. JBL speakers and Nu-Force amplifiers. I also have AKG K701, ATH-ES7 and some Shure headphones (which are pretty bad).

 

But mainly, I have cca 8 years of producing and mixing experience and "whole-life" of critical listening experience.

 

To my ears, the mastering and level balancing of individual tracks (mainly caused by mixing during production by AFX himself) are terrible. Frequency balance is rather good, but levels are a mess. It might be intended but I don't like it. I find it boring.

 

Anyway, this is all very subjective as there clearly is many people in the world that love heavy, vacuum-like compression in music. Me too, but I still need some peaks and transients in the end. Autechre's "Pen Expers" and Untilted album are good examples of how to get the vacuum compression right, in my opinion. Syro is not.

 

which JBLs do you have? 4340s? I've got a nice pair myself. I'm really a fan of 1970s - mid 1980s american made speakers (cerwin, JBL) as well as tannoy and canton from europe. Not a fan of new speakers so much (besides them being out of my price range).

 

Yes this is all very subjective, I definitely hear a bit more compression than usual in his work but it's more than likely intentional. He said himself this is supposed to be his most accessible album. There is likely a correlation between the compression and him trying to make it accessible, no?

 

Isn't it more palatable to a larger audience this way, or am I understanding it wrong.

 

cheers

 

The JBLs are "Ti 10K".

The compression can be a part of an accessible sound. Less dynamic == less variation == less challenge for a listener. But it can also mean not enough swing in a rhythm, not enough or no gradation and therefore no emotions.

The main problem of Syro aren't the peaks, though. The level balancing of individual tracks is the main culprit. It sounds so amateurish sound-wise that I honestly thought AFX was taking a piss. To me, there is a fine line between deliberately loose, DIY production and clearly amateurish or rushed, or not very well thought-out production. Together with the sterile, analogue 80's sound-design aesthetics and arpeggio compositions, this record does not do it for me.

Also, AFX does his best when he's brutal and aggressive, in my opinion. I have never really enjoyed his "tender" tracks or his "jokes" (the Milkman was funny, but the composition was rather weak).

EDIT: Also, the compression means it can be played loud. Not good for a critical listener or enthusiast but obviously great for dancing in a club. Compression also means "wow-effect" but on the other hand can mean "less longevity".

vinyl and cd have different mastering, but i suppose you know that?

considering the way he recorded evrything (assuming its true) - shitload of old synths to 2 tracks and all that stuff, maybe its best takes out there, and it was hard to do postproduction correctly. just thinking out loud

edit: @jev

very nice. I have a pair of 240ti as well which I love (not nearly as nice as yours of course). They did an awesome job with the titanium tweeters.

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like my understanding is correct. The difference is I guess that I enjoy less of a challenge sometimes! Aphex easy listening, if you will.

  On 12/10/2014 at 3:10 AM, Mag said:

vinyl and cd have different mastering, but i suppose you know that?

 

considering the way he recorded evrything (assuming its true) - shitload of old synths to 2 tracks and all that stuff, maybe its best takes out there, and it was hard to do postproduction correctly. just thinking out loud

Yes, you might be right with this. If he recorded an already compressed sound then there is a limit in what you can do with it. On the other hand, transient designers could improve some of the drum samples on Syro drastically.

I have not heard the vinyl. Someone care to record a track from the vinyl and upload a sample of it somewhere?

  On 12/10/2014 at 3:13 AM, StephenG said:

edit: @jev

 

very nice. I have a pair of 240ti as well which I love (not nearly as nice as yours of course). They did an awesome job with the titanium tweeters.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like my understanding is correct. The difference is I guess that I enjoy less of a challenge sometimes! Aphex easy listening, if you will.

The JBLs sounds beautiful. They are not mine, however. They are of my father who was waiting (and saving) a significant part of his life to get them. So I am very lucky to have them at my disposal.

Yes, Syro is definitely easy listening.