AFX – 2 Remixes by AFX

The two remixes in question on what is essentially a double A side are of two acid house bangers, Flow Coma by 808 State and Box Energy by DJ Pierre.

Aphex Twin claimed in an early interview that the only artist to have had any influence on his music was 808 State. But by extension DJ Pierre must’ve also had an influence, given he was responsible for effectively creating the acid house sound with 1987’s Phuture (released as Acid Trax).

So how does Rich honour his musical heroes? By twisting their tracks into two absolutely unhinged acid breakbeat carve-ups. The Box Energy remix is a barely constrained maelstrom of frenetic breakbeats pinging around with warped 303 lines in a particle accelerator, except rather than releasing subatomic particles, a handful of chunky Mitsubishi E’s is flung 30 years out of the spacetime continuum and back to the future. For a less hectic version, the vinyl can be played at 33rpm, making the acid lines funkier and allowing more intricacies of the drum programming to emerge.

Flow Coma is arguably one of the greatest acid tracks of all time, and the remix more than does it justice. The searing siren synth lines of the original are compressed, folded back in on themselves and then fed through a sonic mangler. The beat sounds like it’s at the mercy of someone drawing random patterns on a Kaoss Pad, but along with the burbling acid bassline somehow retains an irresistible funk.

Unusually for Twin remixes, these actually bear some resemblance to the originals, albeit taking them in unexpected directions. I guess because unlike most mixes he was commissioned to do for cash, many of which are gathered on the 26 Mixes for Cash Compilation, these are tracks by artists he admired and was influenced by. 

Both cuts are peak Aphex for me, demanding your full attention with their insatiable energy as soon as they come on. The palpable sense of fun he clearly had engineering them can be heard tearing through the speakers. I used to play the Flow Coma mix loads back in the day, Box Energy is less familiar but just as good – pure fire.