Aphex Twin has released a new app.
It’s called YXBoZXh0d2lu – which translates to ‘aphextwin’ when decrypted using Base64 binary-to-text encoding, as outlined in a press release – and lands ahead of the artist’s appearance at Field Day in London this weekend.
It’s been described as a “collection of AR landscapes” soundtracked by music from the former Crack Magazine cover star’s new EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760, which was shared last month via his longtime label home Warp – and served as his first new music in five years. It was developed by Tokyo-based spatial internet studio KALKUL alongside Aphex Twin and the imprint, plus frequent Aphex Twin visual collaborator Weirdcore and features accompanying immersive experiences for EP tracks. The in a room7 F760 experience, for example, promises to “bring the festival experience of the Aphex Twin x Weirdcore AV show to your living room”.
Fans had already stumbled across the app ahead of the new EP, leading many to speculate about its impending release. The app trail is said to have begun in early June, when QR codes on posters and at festival performances directed eager scanners to Aphex-affiliated locations. The app will see the EP’s tunes “expanded” via the augmented reality experience.
Download and try out the app for yourself via the App Store or Google Play for Android. Revisit our Aphex Twin and Weirdcore interviews and check out YouTube demo of the new app below.
Last year, Aphex Twin launched free sample matching software, Samplebrain. Designed by Aphex Twin – AKA Richard D. James – and built by engineer Dave Griffiths, the pair had been working on Samplebrain for the past two decades.
We turned to AR for the Aphex Twin cover story. Find out more about it here.
