"minipops 67 20.2''" (also known unofficially as "the Manchester track") is a song by the English electronic musician Richard D. James, credited under the pseudonym

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

. It is the opening track and lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Aphex Twin's sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Syro ''Syro'' () is the sixth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released on 19 September 2014 on Warp. It was James's first album under the Aphex Twin name since ''Drukqs'' (2001). Th ...

'' (2014). Released as a single on 4 September 2014 on Warp Records, James debuted "minipops 67 20.2 at a show in Manchester seven years prior to its release and the song was made available on several

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

s. The track received positive reviews after its premiere broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and its official download release.

Background and recording

"minipops 67 20.2 is one of the older compositions on ''

'', which

Richard D James Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

estimated as being recorded in 2007 or 2008, according to '' the Fader''. The song's title is a reference to

Korg Mini Pops The Mini Pops were a number of early analog drum machines from the Japanese musical equipment company Korg during the late 1960s and the 1970s. The machines were based around a number of preset rhythm patterns, such as waltz, samba, rhumba, bo ...

, a 1967 drum machine used by James during ''Syro''s recording sessions.

Release and reception

"minipops 67 20.2 premiered on Zane Lowes BBC Radio 1 programme on 4 September 2014. Following its original broadcast the track was released as a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

on Warp Records official SoundCloud account and YouTube channel, accompanied by a portion of the single's press release in

broken English Broken English is a name for a non-standard, non-traditionally spoken or alternatively-written version of the English language. These forms of English are sometimes considered as a pidgin if they have derived in a context where more than one ...

. The single, which was James' first single release under the Aphex Twin pseudonym since 1999's " Windowlicker", was made available as a digital download from various online retailers including

Bleep.com Bleep is an online independent record shop that mainly showcases music from independent artists and labels. Created by Warp Records and launched in January 2004, Bleep offers single music track, tracks and whole albums as both digital and physic ...

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, Google Play and Amazon. The single cover art, which is similar to the artwork for ''Syro'', details statistics and user activity on Aphex Twin's YouTube channel from February to September 2014. Upon its release, "minipops 67 20.2 received warm critical acclaim. Writing for NPRs All Songs Considered, Otis Hart referred to the track as "signature AFX" and said "the synths bounce erratically … The warped vocal sighs are disorienting, yet blissful. There's nothing poppy about it, yet it somehow sticks in your head." Pitchfork Media writer Patric Fallon awarded "minipops 67 20.2 the "Best New Track" accolade and called it "analog maximalism", comparing its composition to James' previous releases, including "the plinky, translucent synths of '' Selected Ambient Works''" (1992), the "vocal abstractions" of '' Richard D James Album'' (1996) and the "excitable dissonance" of '' Drukqs'' (2001). '' Rolling Stone''s Daniel Krepps referred to "minipops 67 20.2 as "melodic" and reminiscent of James' earlier

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

material, and noted that during his 13-year hiatus as Aphex Twin "his talents haven't dulled in the least." Chris DeVille of

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

praised the song, describing that it "bears traces of

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

s liquid bounce and

Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s high-minded skittering, while the vocals reflect Thom Yorkes alien moaning." Consequence of Sound noted that "minipops 67 20.2 "finds Aphex Twin triumphantly returning to form."

Live performances

Richard D James debuted "minipops 67 20.2 at a performance at the Warehouse Project in Manchester, England on 7 December 2007.

Bootleg recording A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and traded ...

s of the performance titled the song "the Manchester track", which was its unofficial title prior to its inclusion on ''Syro''.

Track listing

;Digital download #"minipops 67 20.2 –

Chart positions

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs Aphex Twin songs Warp (record label) singles Songs written by Aphex Twin