Polygon Window – Surfing on Sine Waves (1993)

Polygon Window – Surfing on Sine Waves (1993)

Warp Records became interested in the music of Richard D. James following the release of Aphex Twin’s ethereal and mystifying Selected Ambient Works 85-92, so it’s interesting that their first project together was Surfing on Sine Waves, the gritty, relatively straightforward lone album credited to Polygon Window. The first studio album and second installment in Warp’s seminal Artificial Intelligence series (an early proponent for the IDM, a.k.a. Intelligent Dance Music, genre), RDJ’s 11-track LP is perhaps his most overtly vintage-sounding, as it relies heavily on early sci-fi and rave tropes. And yet there is something in the rubbery 303 sequences of anxious tunes like “Untitled,” or shuddering bangers “Supremacy II” and “Quixote,” that charms you with its raw determination. It also doesn’t hurt that Surfing on Sine Waves has a couple of veritable aces packed into its deck — “Portreath Harbor” and “Polygon Window” are two fantastic RDJ productions no matter what alias they fall under, and you could easily convince me breathy album closer “Quino-Phec” was pulled from a Selected Ambient Works session. Suffice it to say that Surfing on Sine Waves might be best suited for aging electronic music purists or those curious about such sounds, but in that regard, it’s a proper knock-out.