# Aphex Twin — Xtal

Aphex Twin’s Xtal (1992) appears on 2 of our lists — Ambient and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 2 in Ambient. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1992
- **Label:** Apollo / R&S
- **On:** Ambient and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [Aphex Twin](https://waxonia.com/artist/aphex-twin/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/aphex-twin--xtal/

## What 2 lists say

### No. 2 in [Ambient](https://waxonia.com/genre/ambient/)

A wordless vocal loop over a soft breakbeat, made by a teenager on home-built equipment. Ambient music discovering it could have a pulse without losing its stillness.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

A wordless vocal over a break that has been degraded until it sounds remembered rather than played. Ambient's most-loved record by someone who denies making ambient.

## Analysis

9 sections, the first drop at 0:17, 6% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 112.3 BPM — holds throughout
- **Dynamic range:** 5.8 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:54

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, other
- `0:17` B · **peak** (bar 8), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `0:34` B · **peak** (bar 16), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `1:00` C · **peak** (bar 28), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `1:50` C · **steady** (bar 52), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `2:14` C · **peak** (bar 63), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:05` B · **peak** (bar 87), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:55` C · **steady** (bar 110), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `4:29` C · **outro** (bar 126), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: other

**Drop** at 0:17 (bar 8). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Aphex%20Twin%20Xtal) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sWcLccMuCA8)

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