Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II Is Getting Expanded

Released in 1994, Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II is a far cry from his more beat-driven material like 1995’s …I Care Because You Do and 1996’s Richard D. James Album. Its serene-yet-ominous soundscapes were inspired by Richard D. James’ own experiences with lucid dreaming and synesthesia. James himself likened his ambient music to “standing in a power station on acid” while one critic described it as the sound the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey would make if they started singing.

Since its release, Selected Ambient Works Volume II has come to be considered one of the greatest electronic albums of all time, and its influence can be heard all over the place in modern ambient and electronic music. So naturally, an expanded edition is being released to mark the album’s 30th anniversary. This expanded edition will be released in a variety of formats and bundles, including a 4xLP vinyl set contained “in a hinged oak case with a bespoke chemical etched and eroded copper plate and engraved logo with paint infill” and a 3xCD set. (The double cassette edition is already sold out.)

All of the formats will include a previously vinyl-only song titled “#19” (listen to it below) as well as two new songs, “th1 [evnslower]” and “Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev.” The expanded edition of Selected Ambient Works Volume II will be released by Warp Records on October 4, 2024.