The release of Syro, Aphex Twin’s first proper album in 13 years, is a big deal, and the hype machine’s revved up nicely to hail its arrival. (Read Stranger writer Kyle Fleck‘s incisive feature on it here.) Syro is neither Aphex Twin’s best work nor his worst. It’s a solid collection that bears his beloved trademark skittish, eccentric rhythms and effortlessly gorgeous melodies that seem at once alien and unbearably human.
Fleck is correct to call Syro “one of his most open and accessible, delivering a crowd-pleasing set of futurist electro, alien acid, and mutated machine-prog.” It even features a track—”s950tx16wasr10 [163.97]” (earth portal mix)”—animated by the “Apache” breakbeat, one of the hoariest, most overused samples in electronic-music and hiphop history. Oh, did I laugh hard on first hearing it. Good to see Richard D. James hasn’t lost his perverse sense of humor. My current favorite cut on Syro is “PAPAT4 [155]” (pineal mix)” with its oneirically woozy synth motif and erratically staccato beats, but Aphex full-lengths have a tendency to grow and mutate on you the more you listen to ’em and it’s likely new revelations will hit over time.
With event releases in electronic music such as this a relatively rare phenomenon, it seemed relevant to check in with Seattle record stores to see how Syro is selling after a week or so on the market. Consider the results below more fuel for your “vinyl is back!” conversations.
Everyday Music: 24 LPs, 22 CDs. Manager Josh Hanson said: “I think it’ll continue to sell for a while. It didn’t quite beat out Jack White’s first-week sales.”
Wall of Sound: 10 LPs, 3 CDs.
Sonic Boom: 22 LPs, 19 CDs “Those figures met expectations and match what Sonic Boom brought in,” said clerk Greg Brown. Sonic Boom hasn’t sold out yet, though. “We stocked it deep. Our buying strategy tends to be buying for about a month. We’re looking to be pretty on target.” Are those a lot of sales for an electronic record at Sonic Boom? “Yeah. That’s the most we can hope for for the first week of a release.”
Silver Platters: 20 LPs, 20-30 CDs “All the stores [three altogether] sold out of the vinyl on the first two days,” said clerk Brandon Smith. “We were supposed to get more; that was probably all we could get. Those things are limited at first. For the CD, we’ve still got a bunch, but we’ve sold about 20 or 30.” Was it surprising that Syro sold so well? “Not really. It’s been a long time since the last album. With the way vinyl’s come back, it’s not surprising we sold all the vinyl real quick. That’s the kind of thing that sells well. It’s hip and stuff. We don’t sell that much electronic music, really. I think people remember Aphex Twin from the ’90s. Newer electronic stuff doesn’t sell that well, but if Moby put out a new one, we’d probably sell a good amount of those. [Syro] definitely appeals to the demographic that buys vinyl.
Easy Street: 17 CDs, 5 LPs “We didn’t know what to expect,” said Adam Tutty. “It had been so long since [Aphex] had put out a new record. We were kind of hoping it would be around there.” Do you sell a lot of electronic music in general at Easy Street? “I wouldn’t say it’s our strongest seller, but we do sell a fair share.”
Spin Cycle: 19 LPs [Spin Cycle doesn’t sell CDs] “I ordered 20 hoping I could sell them, but it was a little scary,” clerk Bret Gardin said. “It took much shorter than I thought it would [to sell that amount].”
Zion’s Gate: 0. “I haven’t got it yet,” said owner Stephen Benbrook. “I just found out about it. So, I don’t have it, bro. I do have it on order and I’m sure I’ll sell a couple of copies.”
