Earlier this month, billboards with Aphex Twin's logo began appearing in major cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Berlin, London, and Bristol. In previous years, when something like this happened it meant a new record, like when he released Syro in 2014. Not this time, however, as synth makers Novation were the source of the hype from the get go, And it is indeed a new piece of hardware from Novation that Richard D. James helped design.
The synth in question is the Novation AFX Station: "Designed in collaboration with electronic music legend Richard D James aka Aphex Twin, AFX Station is a limited edition release of Bass Station II. A sound designer’s dream, AFX Station has the same powerful feature set as Bass Station II, with the addition of AFX Mode pre-installed, which revolutionises the way the monosynth can be played and programmed."