TS: Aphex Twin: Selected ambient works 85-92 VS SAW Volume 2

SAW II destroys 85-92 in my book, always has - most of those early loop tracks run on far too long. Though it's much better than Classics and "i" is beautiful as anything on SAW II, that set's still got the best ambient pieces Eno left off Apollo.

I cannot say what was ripped off from what off the top of my head, but I have had SAWII for years and have only recently been getting a lot of Eno's ambient material. There have been more than a couple times where I will listen to Eno and recognize something from SAWII.

SAWII and SAWI are vastly different records and I do not think it is fair to judge them against each other. I quite like them both, but for very different reasons. I do find that it is very difficult to play SAWII at a party, but SAWI goes over quite well. Then again, most of my friends hate drifty ambient music with a passion. ;)

If I hate to take sides, I would go with SAWII. If only for Blue Calx and Disc 1 track 3.

When will someone point out that mt is late to the party?

1. I Care Because You Do
2. Come to Daddy
3. Surfing on Sine Waves
4. SAW2
5. SAW1
6. Caustic Window Comp
7. Windowlicker

Richard D. James album/Drukqs - consigned to crap bin. The 'V/VM Help Aphex Twin' pair of mini-CDs are better than either by a long shot.

No Classics?

1. I Care Because You Do
2. Come to Daddy
3. Surfing on Sine Waves
4. SAW2
5. SAW1
6. Caustic Window Comp
7. Classics
8. Windowlicker

Eh. 'Classics' no great shakes for me, probably why I forgot it.

Seconded re: Expert Knob Twiddlers as well, esp for the fab Francois Hardy sample.

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.

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 novelty
the reason i did it was because i read that it was designed to work well like that
haha crosspost

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.

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.

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.

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.

''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.

Possibly because the track is called the "Original Mix"?

SAW 85-92 and SAWII are both gorgeous and brilliant. I couldn't possibly choose.

Haven't really dug anything Aphex has done since drukqs tbh. I also remember there was another rumor that he made it a double album so that he could get out of his contract with Warp. Don't know if that's true or not. But goddamn does it have some amazing songs on it. How can anyone hate "Avril 14th"?

I would like to second all of mr dog latins points

Drukqs is one of my favourite electronic albums largely because of how all over the place it is (though I can definitely hear where the criticisms come from), but I'm a terrible dilettante when it comes to this sort of thing so that doesn't count for much. His last couple of releases have just refused to grow on me I'm afraid

comparing his other stuff to Come to Daddy and Windowlicker seems like setting yourself up for disappointment, both those tunes are parodies that would've really have made sense in another era

would've -> wouldn't've

Snake charmer music? Which song is this?

― Mr. Snrub, Friday, March 31, 2017 12:15 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

CD2 Track 6 on the UK version (Windowsill) I think.

xpost:

They're also two of his most overrated tracks... being, yes, both parodies that relied a lot on RDJ's short lived "Aphex Twin as personality" schtick.

. It's a very stilted album with little quality control, and does this cyclical mid-tempo / banger / avant-garde / mid-tempo / banger / avant-garde thing all the way through.

Firstly, I disagree about the album having little quality control, and secondly you've just described one of the reasons the album is great.

comparing his other stuff to Come to Daddy and Windowlicker seems like setting yourself up for disappointment, both those tunes are parodies that would've really have made sense in another era

― frogbs, Friday, March 31, 2017 2:21 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

would've -> wouldn't've

― frogbs, Friday, March 31, 2017 2:22 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The lead tracks were parodies, but what about Flim, Nannou, Bouncing Bucephalus Ball, IZ-US, To Cure A Weakling Child, the Equation track? Feels like they each had their own identity and a 'pop' approach. After Windowlicker (well, after Druqks really), it seemed he got less interested in following that path and more interested in trying to revive acid techno on archaic machines.

Drukqs is one of my favourite electronic albums largely because of how all over the place it is (though I can definitely hear where the criticisms come from), but I'm a terrible dilettante when it comes to this sort of thing so that doesn't count for much. His last couple of releases have just refused to grow on me I'm afraid

― ultros ultros-ghali, Friday, March 31, 2017 12:31 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

While I don't rank it as high as Drukqs or Selected Ambient Works II, I still have a great deal of time for Syro... it's RDJ's "pop" record, but the compositions are still strange. A lot of the tracks sound as if they started out straight ahead, then RDJ did what he could to fuck 'em up and sound not-quite-right... and the sound design is wonderful, as ever.

Yeah I can't fault the sound design and compositional detail of Syro but I just don't get much out of it. There's a chance it'll click with me at some point though

Dog latin OTM upthread.

Like the XMAS track on Syro, but the album exhausts me and is a reminder of why that strain of ever evolving electronic music is really not my thing these days. Perhaps poorly articulated - "Cheetah" came as a relief because it was pared back.

85 > 2

Syro's first few tracks are fantastic, but then it all merges into an dull electro-funk soup for me. I like the Cheetah EP much better, but brevity may have something to do with it.

Personally think Flim towers over much of what he's done since. Glad he's still putting stuff out though ...

This particular strain of electronic music hit such a peak in the early '00s... Drukqs, Confield... superb.

I've also been disappointed by most stuff since the Flow Coma remix. I know there's gold in Analord but I always forget exactly which impenetrably named tracks to check.

Cheetah is the exception. Wasn't into it at first but came back one day and realized it's just seismic tunes. Maybe not formally ambitious but I defy anyone to find a superfluous note or an emotion that seems simulated rather than just contained. Most u+k since CTD.

hold on though are frogs and dogs up there really acting like Windowlicker isn't a banger on a big system

About half of Drukqs bangs on a big system, too. The other half soothes my speakers after it's knocked the fuck out of 'em.

Yeah I though dismissing Windowlicker as a mere 'parody' seemed a bit odd ...

It's still one of his most overrated tracks. 'Flim' is brilliant, though - Top 10 Aphex track for me.

I'm not dismissing it as parody, but that was the starting point, no? Don't get me wrong the track rules but its such a clear one-off.

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.

Film is overrated there I said it

yeah. I mean don't get me wrong I like Flim plenty but I don't get why it gets singled out so much.

windowlicker is great track

fu if disagree

I have literally never seen so many dog latin otms in the entire time dog latin has been on ilx.

Sure, if the O stands for "off", which he certainly is regarding Druqks.

COME ON YOU CUNTS, LET'S HAVE SOME APHEX ACID!

^^^ 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

drukqs pwns

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.

my mistake, Fredugolon 6 is on the Confederation Trough ep. The CD version has this little gem: https://youtu.be/_wTl-wYL0-k

^ This guy gets it!

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.

designer of saw II artwork/logo:

https://www.facebook.com/residentadvisor/videos/10154686276379480/

that was nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDSFMxLQBsk

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR594wqhkiL/

having the logo mutate over time to unrecognizability would have been brilliant

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

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

And this is OTM

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.

there have been many posts saying exactly that...

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.

all his tracks have his signifiers though?

Yeah, I guess so..perhaps some just resonate with me more

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*

https://youtu.be/_1Pk2bKF3xs

this Aleksi Perälä character uses tonalities (Colundi Sequences?) that vaguely recall saw II.. giant catalog of his stuff on Bandcamp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB_ClJ9nikY

Thanks for sharing that am0n. Getting serious tingles.