4 out of 5

Label: Rephlex

Producer: Various

This ‘celebration’ of 100 releases for the UK electro label ‘Rephlex’ was sort of an oddity for the label founded in ’91 by Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge.  The label name isn’t exactly household but it well enough could be, with some major artists having floated through its roster (any Aphex-related work, Squarepusher, Luke Vibert).  Still, I’m sure I would’ve been exposed to more of a push for Rephlex during its fledgling years if I was overseas, but I’ve never seen the label as much of one to advertise or push its new releases too heavily in any way other than… releasing them.  So what, then, is the purpose of a compilation that doesn’t unearth any new material and doesn’t really have too much of a thematic link beyond trying to cover a range of Rephlex styles?  It’s essentially a ‘best of,’ but for whom?  I suppose it’s a good a way as any for fans of any given artist on here to find one or two more groups to check out; it’s also just a damn fine collection of songs.  It’s also supremely well sequenced to allow a listener to float through quite a diverse range of ‘Phlexiness – from the glossy groove of The Gentle People into the glitchy cut-up Cylob track, the more dance-floor stylings of DMX Krew and Railway Raver, molding into the IDM of u-Ziq and Chaos AD, then smoothed out with some Leila and Ovuca – while also maintaining enough distinctness between artists that you know when you’re moving from song to song.  It’s quite an accomplishment to be able to work in a 7+ minute morphing ethereal track – Mike Dred and Peter Green’s appropriately titled ‘Kymera’ – and have it feel synchronized with and as enjoyable as the rest of the experience.

Admittedly, even if you follow the label, the breadth of their releases (both genre wise and format) means you probably have some holes in your collection, so maybe you don’t own all the tracks here.  Maybe you’re like me and you own a record or two from every featured artist, so initially you’re looking at the line up and wondering if there’s anything really new for your ears here.  And yes, nothing is surprising – as the Allmusic review notes, ‘Coincidence’ is well compiled in that each artist’s contribution is fairly representative of their styles.  So maybe not a ‘wow’ track, but definitely an identifiable one.  Which means that you’d be hard pressed to find another easy source of such great music packaged so easily together.  Thus a great sampler for new and familiar listeners.