― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 23 January 2003 02:16 (twenty-one years ago) link
No Classics?
― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Thursday, 23 January 2003 03:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ian Johnson, Thursday, 23 January 2003 04:10 (twenty-one years ago) link
1. I Care Because You Do2. Come to Daddy3. Surfing on Sine Waves4. SAW25. SAW16. Caustic Window Comp7. Classics8. Windowlicker
Eh. 'Classics' no great shakes for me, probably why I forgot it.
― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 23 January 2003 04:12 (twenty-one years ago) link
Seconded re: Expert Knob Twiddlers as well, esp for the fab Francois Hardy sample.
― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 23 January 2003 04:16 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Clarke B. (stolenbus), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 18:52 (twenty years ago) link
I've tried it before but the results are debatable. It appears to sync up for the first 10 mins and then not really. Worth a try though if you're bored.
― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:21 (twenty years ago) link
i remember doing this a while ago,it was a bit of a laugh but i can't remember whether it was actually better or just a noveltythe reason i did it was because i read that it was designed to work well like thathaha crosspost
― robin (robin), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:25 (twenty years ago) link
― Clarke B. (stolenbus), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:41 (twenty years ago) link
― robin (robin), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:49 (twenty years ago) link
― Clarke B. (stolenbus), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:56 (twenty years ago) link
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:05 (twenty years ago) link
Such controversy as there was revolved around the lack of titles and the symbols/images he used to identify each track instead.
My basic theory with Aphex Twin is that everything without beats rules, and everything with beats sucks.
― Ben Williams, Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:30 (twenty years ago) link
― robin (robin), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:34 (twenty years ago) link
I don't think everything that has beats sucks at all but he has never managed to make an out and out grebt record by using beats.
SAWII is the best thing i've heard from him.
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:37 (twenty years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:37 (twenty years ago) link
While I think this is balderdash, I do hold the "piano" pieces on Druqks in very high regard, despite the general spottiness of that album. If I had a CD burner, I'd make myself a special EP of just those tracks. The very last track, in particular, is so beautiful it hurts.
― Sam J. (samjeff), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:38 (twenty years ago) link
The first track he was known for was Didgeridoo, which was pretty pounding. But the next was Analogue Bubblebath, which was classically fluffy.
His beats are crap! They really are.
― Ben Williams, Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Sam J. (samjeff), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:42 (twenty years ago) link
''No dude, SAW I was his first big release on Warp! I comes before II, you see...''
ok thought it was on that label from belgium, my memory fails me again at this late hour.
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:44 (twenty years ago) link
― Ben Williams, Wednesday, 16 July 2003 20:45 (twenty years ago) link
Possibly because the track is called the "Original Mix"?
SAW 85-92 and SAWII are both gorgeous and brilliant. I couldn't possibly choose.
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 16 July 2003 21:21 (twenty years ago) link
Oh, okay, whoops.
It would be quite something if all the tracks on that album really had started out like that, and then had the beats removed on a whim.
― Sam J. (samjeff), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 21:32 (twenty years ago) link
Just read this and I agree with everything Clarke B said. I like the long silences in the middle - they get very interesting in the wee hours, especially if you're half awake because it's the silences that make you wake up!
Um, Ben Williams is very VERY wrong btw. SAW1 was on R&S, not Warp. Polygon Window was RDJ's first album on Warp. And the Twin's beats rule. Obviously people are forgetting "I Care Because You Do", probably the most consistent (and best) beat-driven Aphex album. The RDJ Album and Come To Daddy are great as well.
― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 23:19 (twenty years ago) link
...and Green Calx is better than all three of them.
I don't have SAWII, so I'm going to hold off on rating it until I get a copy.
― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 23:37 (twenty years ago) link
don't you just hate posting something you already said months ago on the same thread?
― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 23:45 (twenty years ago) link
Me too Gaz. What a disappointment.
― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Thursday, 17 July 2003 00:14 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 17 July 2003 00:47 (twenty years ago) link
― Clarke B., Thursday, 17 July 2003 02:54 (twenty years ago) link
er, piano is a percussion instrument?
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 17 July 2003 03:12 (twenty years ago) link
― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Thursday, 17 July 2003 03:20 (twenty years ago) link
― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 17 July 2003 03:22 (twenty years ago) link
Okay, does anyone here actually find nothing at all remotely disturbing about these tracks? Yes the record is in some sense quite beautiful, but god how some of those sound worlds get under my skin! Maybe it's good I've never done acid...
― Clarke B., Thursday, 17 July 2003 03:32 (twenty years ago) link
Yes. I listened to SAWII while shrooming one time. Everyone went to some godawful bar to celebrate someone's birthday so I was all alone. I eventually had to turn it off because it was 'giving me bad vibes, maaan.' I do wish there were more hauntingly beautiful tracks on there, such as the one Clarke just mentioned (Disc 1, Track 3--which to me isn't lonesome, but instead evokes the feeling of lying in bed in the arms of a lover)(but it does have that 'all is right w/the world, too bad I'll eventually die' mood too)
― oops (Oops), Thursday, 17 July 2003 03:46 (twenty years ago) link
― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 17 July 2003 04:22 (twenty years ago) link
Clarke B's story about his dad and Disc 1, Track 3, aka One Of the Most Beautiful Songs Ever = genius.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 July 2003 04:41 (twenty years ago) link
"Selected Ambient Works 85-92, 2x12" (R&S)Selected Ambient Works 85-92, CD (Distance)Selected Ambient Works 85-92, CD (Apollo)Selected Ambient Works 85-92, CD (Apollo)"
i dont remember it ever being on warp either.the warp site shows the 'on' ep to be the first aphex record out on warp, 15.11.93
― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 17 July 2003 09:46 (twenty years ago) link
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 17 July 2003 10:20 (twenty years ago) link
Call me old-fashioned, but I like my beats to have at least a minimal sense of rhythm.
― Ben Williams, Thursday, 17 July 2003 12:38 (twenty years ago) link
― Clarke B., Thursday, 17 July 2003 16:35 (twenty years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 17 July 2003 18:30 (twenty years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 17 July 2003 22:13 (twenty years ago) link
SAW1 makes me immensely happy and brings make too many good memories of being in London and my conversion from serious student to clubber; SAW2 is rewarding, but not immediate in the same way as SAW1.
I listened to both this week, and SAW1 wins.
― Nik (Nik), Friday, 9 April 2004 20:29 (twenty years ago) link
― don, Friday, 9 April 2004 21:30 (twenty years ago) link
― the music mole (colin s barrow), Friday, 9 April 2004 21:46 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 9 April 2004 23:08 (twenty years ago) link
Strangely that sentiment also neatly describes how I feel about Nirvana's Nevermind and In Utero.
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 10 April 2004 02:51 (twenty years ago) link
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 10 April 2004 02:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Sunday, 5 November 2006 20:26 (seventeen years ago) link
I never found out when the songs were recorded but Xtal gives the impression of being quite old, doesn't it?
I'm going to play this now.
― A Rush of Cold Blood To The Head (Bimble...), Sunday, 5 November 2006 20:31 (seventeen years ago) link
^^^ for real. Drukqs was my proper intro to Aphex, i had heard only Stone in Focus (on Astralwerks comp.) and SAW vol. II in a car, previously. to this day, i've heard nothing that touches the depth and feel of tracks like 54 Cymru Beats, Vordhosbn, Meltphace 6, Ziggomatic 17, Omgyjya-Switch7, Cock/ver10, Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount, and Taking Control (all fucking epics)--in this vein of aggressive, super-detailed "drill + bass" music. Except for maybe Death Fuck Mental Beats, on Rushup Edge. my attitude/approach wasn't colored by anything - i had no expectations, nothing to gauge it by. i loved the piano tracks at first, and was nearly repelled by the aggro 'drill' tracks.. it took a couple years to grow on me. the miscellaneous ambient bits and piano tracks provide a welcome relief to the more intense tracks, as well as added atmosphere and a sense of a journey/exploration. the overall sequence is great, wouldn't have it any other way. one of my favorite albums
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Saturday, 1 April 2017 00:53 (seven years ago) link
drukqs pwns
― just another (diamonddave85), Saturday, 1 April 2017 01:54 (seven years ago) link
saw II sounds lush on my stereo setup, it's really enveloping.. like somebody stated upthread, it's as if it's emanating from something other than the stereo speakers. hard to compare it to 85-92, the music is markedly different - the terrain and spaced out qualities of it aren't really present on 85-92. Stone in Focus is timeless and beautiful. it does sort of evoke the feelings of late night/early morning acid comedown, like a warm cave/gentle brain balm. Love Tha, too
Syro is spotty, for sure. Papat4 (Pineal Mix) + S950tx16wasr10 (Earth Portal Mix) are both fantastic, along with the front end of the album (Minipops + XMASEVET10). 4 Bit 9d Api+e+6 is another banger, even my mom dug it. the Circlont tracks are chunky-sounding, they don't have that effortless feel/flow that characterizes some of the "drill" tracks on Drukqs.
Fredugolon 6 (on Rushup Edge) is another underrated track.
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Saturday, 1 April 2017 19:49 (seven years ago) link
my mistake, Fredugolon 6 is on the Confederation Trough ep. The CD version has this little gem: https://youtu.be/_wTl-wYL0-k
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Saturday, 1 April 2017 21:36 (seven years ago) link
^ This guy gets it!
― The Roger Waters Experience (Turrican), Saturday, 1 April 2017 23:10 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1YMO1DZJMc
There's nothing as refined or fleshed out as this, on the RDJ album. 54 Cymru Beats is a modest example, check out Taking Control or Ziggomatic 17.. these tracks set a high-water mark that hasn't been touched since.
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Sunday, 2 April 2017 01:23 (seven years ago) link
designer of saw II artwork/logo:
https://www.facebook.com/residentadvisor/videos/10154686276379480/
― dollar general (am0n), Thursday, 6 April 2017 17:24 (seven years ago) link
that was nice
― Raul Chamgerlain (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 6 April 2017 19:59 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDSFMxLQBsk
― dollar general (am0n), Thursday, 6 April 2017 23:31 (seven years ago) link
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR594wqhkiL/
having the logo mutate over time to unrecognizability would have been brilliant
― 0 / 0 (lukas), Friday, 7 April 2017 05:13 (seven years ago) link
hold on though are frogs and dogs up there really acting like Windowlicker isn't a banger on a big system― 0 / 0 (lukas), Friday, March 31, 2017 5:23 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― 0 / 0 (lukas), Friday, March 31, 2017 5:23 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I really really like Windowlicker FWIW. It's clever in more ways than one.
but I do see what you're saying DL, there was definitely a sense of each track being its own thing back then. that whole stretch from ICBYD to Windowlicker rules because you don't know what you're going to hear, the way he mixes acoustic and real-world sounds with drill n' bass hell was always fascinating to me. it's hard to imagine him doing something like "Logon Rock Witch" or "4" anymore.― frogbs, Friday, March 31, 2017 8:34 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― frogbs, Friday, March 31, 2017 8:34 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
And this is OTM
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 7 April 2017 12:18 (seven years ago) link
Yeah there was a Disco Nihilist post that I think about a lot, talking about how Aphex releases used to be like shocking brand-new worlds. Hard to imagine that happening again.
― 0 / 0 (lukas), Friday, 7 April 2017 18:48 (seven years ago) link
there have been many posts saying exactly that...
― clouds, Friday, 7 April 2017 18:52 (seven years ago) link
At this point I find the most exciting thing Aphex Twin does is occasionally bring out tracks that include his signifiers, like on "Cheetah" there's a couple synth pads that sound like his classic ambient work.
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Friday, 7 April 2017 18:57 (seven years ago) link
all his tracks have his signifiers though?
― clouds, Friday, 7 April 2017 19:14 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, I guess so..perhaps some just resonate with me more
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Friday, 7 April 2017 19:19 (seven years ago) link
he comes up with some gnarly bass lines, like those in 4 bit, papat4, and Xmas_Evet10 on Syro. hell, even the circlont14 (Shrymoming mix) 20-step bass breakdown is good for a calboti (an internal chuckle). the textures are surely popping, or maybe they're just remarkable. papat4 is elating, the bass is burgeoning.. but it's short-lived. oh, Aphex *sigh*
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Saturday, 8 April 2017 13:56 (seven years ago) link
https://youtu.be/_1Pk2bKF3xs
this Aleksi Perälä character uses tonalities (Colundi Sequences?) that vaguely recall saw II.. giant catalog of his stuff on Bandcamp
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Saturday, 8 April 2017 14:08 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB_ClJ9nikY
― dollar general (am0n), Monday, 10 April 2017 20:11 (seven years ago) link
Thanks for sharing that am0n. Getting serious tingles.
― Fetchboy, Wednesday, 19 April 2017 05:28 (seven years ago) link