Since he started making sounds in the 1980s as a teenager with electronics scavenged from secondhand stores, James has occupied a singular space on the forefront of electronic music production. Earning the nickname “the Mozart of electronic music” as early as 1995, James’ experimental discography is the place where critic Simon Reynolds says that “dance music blossoms into electronic composition.”

Despite granting only a single interview since 2015, conversations around Aphex Twin are near an apex in popular culture. This year, music that James composed in the early 90s has echoed through the galleries at the Tate Modern and soundtracked even the most obtuse Gen Z internet trends (“corecore”). Aphex Twin’s forays into uncharted sonic territory loom in the zeitgeist like an invisible ether. Even those completely unaware of James’ work are enveloped by its impact.