Surfing on Sine Waves
1993 studio album by Polygon Window
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Surfing on Sine Waves is a studio album by the musician and producer Richard D. James under the alias Polygon Window. It is the only album released under this name; James is better known as Aphex Twin. The record was released on 11 January 1993 through Warp Records.[4] It entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 2 on 23 January 1993. James' previous album, Selected Ambient Works 85âââ92, was then at No. 9 on the chart, and James briefly had two records in the Dance Albums Top 10 under different pseudonyms.[5] The 2001 reissue edition includes the previously unreleased tracks "Portreath Harbour" and "Redruth School".[6]
74:54 (Expanded Edition)
| Surfing on Sine Waves | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 11 January 1993 | |||
| Studio | Llannerlog Studios, Cornwall | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:02 (Standard) 74:54 (Expanded Edition) | |||
| Label | Warp | |||
| Producer | Richard D. James | |||
| Richard D. James chronology | ||||
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| Artificial Intelligence series chronology | ||||
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Background
The cover of the album features a photograph of Chapel Porth beach in Cornwall, where James spent time with his sisters as a child; James thanks the seaside village in the liner notes.[7] The title Surfing on Sine Waves was chosen by Warp founder Rob Mitchell after James mentioned that "loads of people I knew growing up in Cornwall were poser surfers and I didn't wanna hang around with them."[8] The record is the second release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series.[9]
Reissues
In 2000, the album was reissued with two extra tracks placed before "Quino - phec"; "Redruth School", which shares the name of James' alma mater and "Portreath Harbour".[7][10] In August 2025, an extended edition further added the tracks "Iketa", "Quoth (Wooden Thump Mix)" and "Bike Pump Meets Bucket" from Quoth.[11]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [13] |
| Select | 5/5[14] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[15] |
Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised Surfing on Sine Waves as "a great collection of abstract electronic/dance madness, caught somewhere between the driftiness of his more ambient works at the time and the rave-minded nuttiness of Digeridoo."[12] Mark Richard-San of Pitchfork wrote, "Catchy, melodic and memorable tracks are what made the Aphex Twin so wonderful at his best; Surfing on Sine Waves has a handful of these, albeit in rough, embryonic form."[6] By September 1993, the record had sold 50,000 copies.[16]
In 2012, Fact placed Surfing on Sine Waves at number 26 on its list of the "100 Best Albums of the 1990s".[17] In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number 26 on its list of the "50 Best IDM Albums of All Time".[3] Writing for Pitchfork, Andrew Nosnitsky said, "These days, Surfing doesn't get mentioned as often as the louder, more ambitious, 'proper' Aphex records that would follow, but it's easily as refined on a technical levelâand maybe even more emotionally rewarding."[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Richard D. James.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Polygon Window" | 5:24 |
| 2. | "Audax Powder" | 4:36 |
| 3. | "Quoth" | 5:34 |
| 4. | "If It Really Is Me" | 7:01 |
| 5. | "Supremacy II" | 4:04 |
| 6. | "UT1 â dot" | 5:17 |
| 7. | "Untitled" | 6:24 |
| 8. | "Quixote" | 6:00 |
| 9. | "Quino â phec" | 4:42 |
| Total length: | 49:02 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Portreath Harbour" | 4:44 |
| 11. | "Redruth School" | 2:43 |
| 12. | "Iketa" | 4:30 |
| 13. | "Quoth" (Wooden Thump Mix) | 7:57 |
| 14. | "Bike Pump Meets Bucket" | 5:58 |
| Total length: | 74:54 | |
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Richard D. James â writing, production, arrangement, programming, engineering, location recording
- The Designers Republic â design
- Samantha Robinson â photography
Charts
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)[18] | 19 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] | 23 |
| Dutch Vinyl Albums (GfK Dutch Charts)[20] | 9 |
| Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[21] | 17 |
| Japanese Dance & Soul Albums (Oricon)[22] | 11 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] | 9 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] | 72 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[25] | 43 |
| UK Dance Albums (OCC)[26] | 1 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] | 1 |