Seriously? Yep.

What do you do when you scroll around Instagram and you see someone posting that they’ve just relesed a “Windowlicker” cover version? Do you jump with joy? Shrug? Roll your eyes thinking oh what a supremely original idea?

It’s one of these pieces of music most of us probably think should just be left untouched. So idosyncratic, so tied to the peculiar world of Aphex Twin, and so monolithic that anyone deciding to cover it will run the risk of being suspected of simply speculating on some of that Aphex shine reflecting well on the sales of their own release.

Those were my initial sentiments when I stumbled over this one. What made me stop scrolling was the label that posted it. Wah Wah 45s. They are way too much in love with music to do a cheap stunt like that. Another move that got me clicking: special test press, hand stamped, marbled – and just 15 of them. Fifteen! Hop over to Bandcamp, give it a quick listen, get it if it’s good.

I almost missed getting one of the 15. This “Windowlicker” version is so much fun that I just kept listening. The audacity! The energy! The creativity! Damn! I came to my senses just in time to order one.

There is this quote by the artists, Raz & Afla, about the B-side of this, “Going Back To My Roots”, where they praise the original and say: “We wanted to give it our own flavour.” As much as this might be true for the B-side, it certainly applies to “Windowlicker”.

Thankfully so. To not turn this into an embarrassment it needs another flavor, another dimension, another world. Which is what they have given it. Raz & Afla are known for their lively and joyful Afro Electro vibes, and as much as this may sound like something incompatible with Aphex Twin, it works beautifully. About as convincing as Señor Coconut covering Kraftwerk, and that’s legendary stuff.

I keep imagining Mr. James somewhere on a beach in Ghana, maybe Axim Beach, if only for the name of it, donning classic Adilette slides and the darkest of sunglasses, strolling along just above the water’s edge, the unlikeliest of tourists, as if a little alien to the concept of palms, sometimes looking up to one or the other cabana, and then suddenly standing still, hearing something from one of them, thinking no it couldn’t be, but yes, how odd, to hear your own music in a place like that, in a such a lovely and lively version, then settling down on a rock close to the cabana, feeling a little less in a strange place.

My bet would be that he’s all nods about this version, just like Lamont Dozier or Richie Havens would have applauded what Raz & Afla have done to “Going Back To My Roots”, even if it doesn’t really bring something new to the tune. It’s all positive vibes, no more no less.

It all depends what kind of crowd you’re trying to please. “Windowlicker” for an eclectic crowd that you hope will nod and smile when they realize what’s going on, “Going Back To My Roots” for a fun bunch that will thank you for not straight out giving you the Odyssey version, or even worse, the one by FPI Project.

Lovely stuff.

Release for review:
RAZ & AFLA – WINDOWLICKER/GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS – WAH WAH 45S

Get the vinyl on Bandcamp: Click
If sold out, try Discogs: Click