Aphex Twin has unveiled his first new track in five years, via an AR app QR code treasure hunt, then almost immediately deleted it.
The track, Blackbox Life Recorder 21, was briefly available on the IDM legend's official SoundCloud account, but has now been removed, leaving a trail of broken embeds across the internet.
Happily, at least one enterprising fan ripped the track while it was in the wild, and has posted it to YouTube, where you can hear it below - for now.
UPDATE: Not anymore, that YouTube rip has now been taken down BUT a new official audio vid has now dropped (below), the track is officially available via the streaming service of your choice, and vinyl is also now available for pre-order.
The track, which is Aphex Twin's first new output since Collapse in 2018, is also currently available via Deezer, (UPDATE: um, no it isn't anymore) where it appears as track 1 of a new four-track EP called Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760.
Fans were alerted to the possibility of imminent new music at last week's Sonar 2023 in Barcelona, when typically oblique Twitter posts asked frenzied treasure hunters to "LOOK OUT FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL". It has since emerged that YXBoZXh0d2lu, an augmented reality app, reveals music and animation when prompted by the right QR codes. Presumably, more QR codes will appear in the coming days and weeks.
Aphex Twin is on tour in Europe this Summer and will perform at London's Field Day festival on 19 August.
