By Aphex Twin, 2003

A 26 track compilation on 2 CDs of Aphex Twin's blinding remixes (plus two previously unreleased Aphex tunes). Encompassing 10 years of always evolving, unpredictable Aphex Twin sounds, from acid trax and raved-up bangers to strangely commercial pop and his inimitably delicate, ambient empathies. Gatefold digipak.

Warp. 2003. It's hard to imagine Aphex Twin having a more appropriately named label (Warp); fitting also that 26 Mixes for Cash should have such an honest title.

Having passed off a random gabba track as a Lemonheads remix and not bothering to hear the Nine Inch Nails originals before handing over his mixes, Aphex Twin has historically proved a little wayward in his methods. Not so much remixing as recycling, Richard D James's method is not unlike flinging tracks into a garbage crusher just long enough so only the bare bones of melody and structure survive. Covering a decade's work, this stunning eclectic mix effortlessly flicks from cinematic ambience (Nine Inch Nails--"At the Heart of It All") and industrial pandemonium (Mescalinum United's "We Have Arrived") to squelching acid trance (his own previously unreleased acid edit of "Windowlicker").

The disparate range of artists remixed is as remarkable as the music, with Mike Flowers Pops and Wagon Christ making unlikely bedfellows. Improbable yet inspired highlights come in the form of his haunting interpretation of David Bowie's "Heroes" symphony conducted by Philip Glass and the breathtakingly ethereal transformation of Curve's "Falling Free." --Christopher Barrett

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