3 out of 5

Produced by: Richard D. James

Label: Warp

While it seemed Richard D. James went away after Drukqs, that was never really case.  The man continued to work, continued with a massive output, we just didn’t necessarily get to hear the results.  The Analord series bubbled along pleasing fans, and then there were some scattered releases leading up to Syro, which suddenly seemed to open the floodgates to allow access to all that work.  And better yet, some of it would get actual releases (i.e. not only digital), making those of us who dig physical items happy.  Much of the tide post-Syro consisted of constant Soundcloud additions; those are now gone, and Selek is in its wake.

While these tracks might not’ve appeared (in entirety) as part of those uploads, the EP has a similar outtake feel to it that many of those tracks had.  And like the Acoustics EP, it’s more realistically a couple of “finished” tracks, buffered by some experiments; unlike that EP though, the tracks don’t really add up to a greater picture.  The bookend tracks are pretty amazing, and possibly worth the purchase alone: opener serge fenix Rendered 2 is all the smoothed-out IDM greatness James delievered on Syro, while the penultimate NEOTEKT72 is a more classic house track, early Aphex-era, warmed over with the layering that, to me, has helped to define James as an original.  Inbetween there are some peaks, but no single track is great from start to finish.  Instead, we get some ditties (dmx acid test), and then variations on pre-Aphex house or early AFX hardcore, but stripped of a lot of the “extras” until the final minute or so of each.  The overall old-school vibe is supported by some awesome 90s-esque packaging.

The limited appeal of the entire run definitely makes this more of a fans release, but it’s not so scattershot to not be enjoyable to casual listeners as well, especially given the reminders of greatness at EPs start and finish.