Procedures that decide things, increasingly without being asked.
Drukqs is a double album released in 2001 by Aphex Twin. It contains tracks dating back seven or eight years, though most were relatively new. James rushed its release after accidentally leaving an MP3 player with new tracks on a plane, aiming to preempt an internet leak.
A five-track ambient-electronic score for a film about Facebook’s founding. Composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Released as a free EP before the full soundtrack on September 28, 2010. Won the 2011 Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Score. Portrays genius over ominous undertones.
A Rainbow in Curved Air is a solo studio construction: keyboard and percussion overdubs on the A-side, saxophone drone and tape manipulation on the B-side. Made in 1968 on one of CBS’s first eight-track recorders. It established repetition, delay, and modal layering as core tools for electronic composition — not as texture, but as architecture.
A studio recording of Verdi’s Aida, made in 1989. Contains all vocal and orchestral numbers across four acts. Omits Verdi’s rejected overture. No source material describes performers, conductor, recording venue, or engineering choices.
A low, dark opera built by deleting violins — and a Western fantasy dressed as ancient ritual.
…And Justice for All is Metallica’s 1988 studio album, recorded January–May at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles. It is defined by its dry, sterile production, inaudible bass, clicking drums, and thin guitar buzz—results of a methodical, instrument-by-instrument process overseen partly by Flemming Rasmussen (who joined six weeks in) and mixed by Thompson and Barbiero in Rasmussen’s absence. Jason Newsted recorded bass alone. Hetfield prioritised a hard vibe over singing. The album premiered at Brooklyn’s L’Amour in September 1988.