So Aphex Twin just released a new track and accompanying video by the name of ‘T69 Collapse’, ahead of the scheduled release of a new EP titled ‘Collapse’ on September 14th. This music video, which follows a string of strange advertisements plastered across numerous London tube stations, was scheduled to be aired on US TV network Adult Swim but had to forgo this due to concerns about its strobing effects. When you begin the video these concerns become immediately justifiable, but i’m glad this ended up somewhere (aka Youtube) as its a real visual masterpiece.

If you don’t know Aphex Twin, google him – I wouldn’t write a detailed biography about the guy for the sake of it – that’s why Wikipedia exists. No, the subject of this piece is merely to transcribe the first 20 or so seconds of the video, whereby a frame by frame analysis reveals a very interesting conversation about Simulation theory and the merits of Swedish Jam. Why? Read the blog title.

Here is the full transcript (to the best of my ability), as promised:

“This track is called collapse by the way cos when the bass bit kicks in and the tempo starts slowing down its like a collapse of sorts.

Im gathering visual references at the mo but is there any other point cloud or other references you like i should look into?

Nope dont think so… i still love ascii visuals also… surprised it never got used more but maybe it has, i dont get out much.

Sure ill look into doing 3d ascii point cloud crossover maybe when you get up close to the point cloud its more like ascii… Yeah i see your point with midi… but you could just edit tight to the beat manually anyhow cant you?

Yeah i could but with your kinda music it would take for ever with midi files would be instant and tight as f**k

What places to include would be relavant in london?

Deffo the sliver box in elephant and castle

That will be one of the focal points of the video a bit like the monolith in 2001 collaged within the cornish stuff

Anything else in london?

Nah all crap how about the sun on cafe next to clissold park, haha Collage stuff

top yeah… And how quickly they add woods stuff in that star wars thing… crazy realistic

Maybe we should do something with political slant in this video, like how the media can manipulate things to make you think

Oh been getting well into simulation theory of late didnt realise a lot of prominent science are now saying the chance we are living in base reality is about 1billion to one!

Love it… Simulations in simulations in simulations for ever probably… god is just an ai

I kind of dont want to accept it altho i agree its feasible, id rather think its not,,

All these normal people who watch shi like britains got talent and such, its either proof of its not a simulation (cos why would you bother simulating that) or its proof that we are living in a failed simulation

I cant see what it would be a problem accepting, i quite like the idea ha

I think thats what i hate the most about it,, is that it opens the gate for creationism interpretation…

Yeah well science is not much better, cant explain how life started or what was before the big bang and loads of other stuff Just evolution and even that has gaping holes

So was just chomping on a peanut butter toastie with swedish jam… thinkin the idea that code i.e. us can imagine something is pretty wild. Code re-writing itself and envisaging the future re-write of itself – this obviously applies to any act of imagination: Imagination>making something>then observing it>observing it then re-writes the code as you watch/experience what you made then repeats itself if you do it again

Imagining a future version of itself by imagining what effects the re-write is having on you and then adjusting the imagination to give desired effects

(Screen flashes orange covering up a line but i think its about jam brands so its likely irrelevant – hence it’s obscured)

And that tip, ive been well into almond butter and manua honey lately, anyway was thinking if it was all a sim, the technology would be so advanced, its probably even beyond code,, like many steps further analogue-digital…

Like some semi organic technology like in existenz…

The ‘I Googled it So You Don’t Have To’ Section:

T69 – An American Medium Tank with an oscillating turret mounting a 90mm cannon with a nine inch drum loader. Developed on the basis of the T42 experimental medium tank in the mid-50’s, the vehicle never entered mass production. Aphex Twin loves his tanks after all.

Point Cloud – A set of data points in space generally produced by 3d scanners, which measure a large number of points on the external surfaces of objects around them.

ASCII – ‘American Standard Code for Information Interchange’ – ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment and other devices.

Silver Box in Elephant and Castle – Also known as the Michael Farraday Memorial, Aphex was rumoured to be living here at one point apparently.

Simulation theory – a philosophy of mind theory stating that cognition is a form of computation. It is relevant to the simulation hypothesis in that it illustrates how a simulation could contain conscious subjects, as required by a ‘virtual people’ simulation. In simple terms – it’s the philosophical theory that we are all actually living within 1999’s The Matrix. A real interesting one to read about, which is made more relevant to contemporary society every day as world technology advances. Or not.

Existenz – A 1999 Sci-Fi Horror film written and directed by David Cronenburg starring Jennifer Jason Lee and Jude Law, all about how humans interact with technology – through the means of a bio-mechanical Xbox.

Fascinating.