It's come to my attention that most of Aphex Twin's releases have been reviewed on this site but some have been missed out altogether such as the "On" "Donkey Rhubarb" and "Ventolin" E.P.'s. so here's a review of the "On" E.P.
On was released in late 1993 by Richard D. James otherwise known as Aphex Twin (and various other recording alias' such as AFX, Caustic Window and Polygon Window) the E.P. came out after "Selected Ambient Works 85-92", and just before the follow-up album "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" and to me is a great place to start getting into Aphex Twin.
The E.P. starts with the title track "On" which starts with very nice sounding piano with another piano melody and the sound of a thunderstorm eventually added over the top which is followed by a throbbing beat which all adds up to a fine track, but it's the main piano riff that starts at the beginning and runs throughout the song that makes this song one of the most beatuiful tracks Richard D James has ever put his name to and this song in itself is as classic as "Come To Daddy" or "Windowlicker" in a very different way and also seems to suggest the direction he was going to head for the "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" album.
The next track "73-yips" seems to recall the music Richard D James' puts out under his Caustic Window and AFX alias' and whilst it is a very good track of drill'n'bass with a very urgent feel to it, it may irritate some and those who like Aphex Twin for his softer sounding material may find little to like here.
"D-scape" sees a return to the same kind of style shown by "On" but there is a very sinister feel underlining this track, it all starts with a brilliant-sounding instrument line (I'm really not sure what it is) and is joined by very ominous sounding synth lines that build the track up very well in time for the main beat to come in, this continues and a lovely two-note clarinet part comes in making this song in my opinion equal to "On" in just how good it is.
The E.P. is brought to a close by "Xepha" which seems to merge the style of "On" and "73-Yips" and has a slight drill'n'bass feel with slightly haunting synth and background noises. A good track but for me it is not as good as "On" and "D-scape" but is still more than worth hearing.
All in all "On" is an excellent E.P., it does not seem to have dated that much and is a very good way to sample the music of Aphex Twin. In my opinion it should be made easier to get hold of as many of Aphex Twin's fans may be missing out due to it not being that widely available. The tracks "On" and "D-scape" are classic so if you are a fan of Aphex Twin I would say that this is an essential purchase.
