The press blurb describes The Tuss as a Cornish duo discovered after “intensive MySpace exploration by the A&R department”, while adding the mystery angle of letting the music speak for itself. It also says it was recorded using “castrated dog scrotums” and the label credits one Karen Tregaskin with writing and production.
Word on the street is that The Tuss masks a new incarnation of Rephlex boss and infamous prankster Richard James, aka former techno wonder-kid Aphex Twin. For a start, he has always been proud of his Cornish roots and Tuss is regional-speak for stiffy, boner or lob-on. Titles are surreally odd or head-scratching in that AFX fashion: Synthacon 9 or Shiz Ko E, for instance.
Then there’s the music. The erectile moniker harbours a raging hotbed of musical styles ranging from deep techno strings to gabba-speed roller-coaster whoopee, sprinkled with classical stretches and ambient calm, all delivered with reckless, breakneck dexterity. The drum’n’bass mutant stampede of Death Fuck is especially AFX-like. It’s in turn puzzling, gripping, breathtaking or gorgeous, but you wouldn’t expect anything less from Rephlex (or the Aphex Twin). A bonus is that the six tracks also come as three 12” singles.
