I LOVE DRUKQS+

There are so many odd choices on Confield that if they'd not made them I'd probably enjoy it a lot more. Some sounds are so overwhelmingly loud in the mix, if they'd been toned down just a tiny bit it would have made a big difference to my enjoyment

<3 confield, the most synaesthetic album ever, incredible sounds, no aural fatigue like i get with exai.

but this is an aphex thread. i've been working my way through the analords (thanks fgti), slowly because i'm suddenly in loads of all day meetings for the first time in my career. i'm digging the faster acid breakbeat workouts, most of the rest of it i could take or leave - i was never that crazy about saw 85-92 though.

Maybe I should listen to Aphex Twin and post in the "listen to an album... and tell us about it" thread

i recommend the Richard D James album, mostly cuz it's the shortest and arguably the weirdest.

and it has his best track on

For a long time RDJ was his agreed on high point album, now it feels underrated.

I at least had never heard that kind of crazy shit sounding so warm and organic and cozy, it's like a drill n bass wool sweater.

I have never thought about the connection between the word "sweater" and "sweat" before. (And that's why I think Finnegans Wake is bullshit)

Today's Aphex spot for me was that his mum is saying "Blackcurrant drink" on "Taking Control" and his wife (although not at the time of Taking Control) is called Ms Rybina.

I know this sort of dumb shit gets said a lot but hearing the RDJ Album for the first time was a lifechanging experience, like it completely changed how I thought about music for some time, I was almost unable to sleep that night because it kinda freaked me out. but I was 18 at the time (and it was like a decade old by that point, lol), it doesn't really do that for me now

Yeah I agree that RDJ is the one to start with for the 'later' (i.e. not the ambient stuff) Aphex vibe. It was a weird experience for me too, but for different reasons—it made me realise that I wasn't actually an Aphex Twin fan, even if I thought I was... I had bought all his (main) stuff when it came out, and I liked it... Well, I liked some of it. When RDJ came out, I thought 'this sounds interesting', but wasn't really in the mood, so I stuck it on this pile of CDs I had, which was essentially a 'must listen more to' pile.

Anyway, this was in 1996, and in 2005 I was going out to meet a friend half way across town, so I wanted to listen to something and realised that this album had been sitting in the 'must listen to more' pile for NINE YEARS (across multiple flat moves), so I stuck it in the walkman and I guess because I was in the mood it blew my mind, sounding like the most modern thing, but also with these weird folk influences (not so much folk music). It's also so easily digestible, because it's quite short—you don't feel overwhelmed like clearly a lot of people (possibly everyone) did with Drukqs. It was at that point I actually think I became an actual Aphex fan, and this ultimately led me back to the likes of Drukqs and others, all of which I had bought, but really hadn't properly processed—it was RDJ that was the route into the rest of them for me.

Oh and to frogbs' point, actually I tend to think the same, that it's not going to 'do it for me' now, but weirdly every time I do stick it on, actually it does wind up doing it for me.

SAW II was the life-changing one for me. purchased cold in early high school days with no real reference for ambient or dance music of any kind yet, really. took a bit of work to adjust but it opened up some strange and wonderful new worlds. still think it's pretty special today.

The RDJ album is probably the record of his that grabbed me the most (and got played the most). It’s only been in the streaming era that I heard SAW I and II and started to get to know a lot of the later stuff.

And now I’m playing it again 😉

Yeah I put it on earlier and it stayed on all the way through... I should say I'm talking about the UK version of it—the US version I believe has the Girl/Boy EP tacked on the end of it, and whilst it has its funny moments, I don't really rate that anywhere near as much as the UK LP, which is just the first ten tracks.

Although tbf, I do like calling a track INKEY$, which was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum BASIC instruction to ask the terminal to wait for a keypress and record it in a variable.

As is PEEK 824545201, which is an instruction to look at the memory location 824545201 and return what byte is in it; however, that's far too big of a number for the computers of those days, so I would say he's just making shit up here.

cannot imagine RDJ without "Milkman"

Well yes, it is a standout track in a kind of a way, but not in a way that makes me want to listen to it lots.

I like that it exists.

In retrospect some of the reactions to Girl/Boy Song were insane - "it's the ultimate fusion of classical and electronic music" etc - great track though.

IIRC he went to a lot of trouble to record all the instrument samples for it himself. I wonder if they pop up on other tracks.

Yeah I wonder... Mind you, he seems almost bloody-minded in 'resetting' his creative approach, so possibly not. I just read that Kate Bush's Experiment IV is sampled on "4"—WTF? Is it? I'm not sure outside of Willy Wonka, I've EVER recognised a sample in his stuff.

You mean you weren't intimately familiar with the cinematic work containing the "Fantasia, having a party is not my idea of a fantasy..." dialogue? (j/k)

Having been an Aphex admirer since purchasing the Analogue Bubblebath 12", I have to say that my enthusiasm was somewhat lessened by hearing "Milkman". I really can't be doing with that kind of puerile guff. In fact, I found the whole "Girl/Boy" E.P. to be a complete letdown. Happily, I was blown away all over again the following year by "Come to Daddy".

Yes, as many have pointed out, the kind of studenty humour can be a bit of a put off. I forgive it, given the profound brilliance of lots of it though. And yeah I agree about Girl/Boy—one of the weakest of that period.

As much as I liked the RDJ Album (US edition), Come to Daddy was almost surely the one I ended up listening to more.

You mean you weren't intimately familiar with the cinematic work containing the "Fantasia, having a party is not my idea of a fantasy..." dialogue? (j/k)

Actually no, is it a grumbleflick or something? TBH, I don't listen to that album much... Lots of people love it, and I actually listened to it yesterday for the first time in a long time—there are some great moments, but I find it a bit of a stepping stone... The abrasive bits are just too abrasive; he hasn't quite yet worked out compelling percussion; too much in the way of 'classical' pretence, but as I say, lots of people love it, and I do think it contains some great moments; I also suspect it was a necessary step.

I do love it, it's my favorite – but it's also the first one of his that I heard/got into (and I think it often works out that way...)

Here's the (sfw) sample source for the dialogue.

Hehe, right.

Listening to RDJ Album now; it's so warm and inviting, more than I even remembered. "To Cure..." / "Goon Gumpas" is such a terrific pair.

Yes, it isn't a difficult listen. I listened to it twice tonight given the chat, and am still amazed how great it is.

Here is Goon Gumpas in Cornwall:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Goon_Gumpas_from_Wheal_Maid_DSC_2951.jpg

UK version feels incomplete to me, ending on "Logan Rock Witch"... had to search for the EP to complete the trip I'm used to.

I guess it's what you're used to.

I used to consider I Care Because You Do as AFX's zenith, but now feel it's the RDJ/Come To Daddy/Windowlicker records, which all feel "of a piece" to me.

xp from Confield discussion above - 100% OTM with the "we weren't ready for it yet" sentiments lol. It's extremely musical when compared to say Untilted, and so infinitely less weird and self indulgent than 1/3 of NTS or Elseq.

the first three tracks of ICBYD are definitely a zenith of some kind

^^word

yes yes yes

Having been an Aphex admirer since purchasing the _Analogue Bubblebath_ 12", I have to say that my enthusiasm was somewhat lessened by hearing "Milkman". I really can't be doing with that kind of puerile guff.

While there’s obviously something, I dunno, Ween-coded about “Milk Man,” the song is such a banger… those beats skittering on top of the melodic swells; synths chiming out that simple little melody; and those goofy, charming bass drops… There is obviously a very specific sort of take-the-piss artistic intent behind – “I’m gonna make these lyrics as dumb as possible” – but damn if it doesn’t work!

(for me, anyway)

Ween has a lot of Aphex-coded tracks too so I'd say the feeling was mutual

> PEEK 824545201

a lot of the cheat codes in magazines at the time POKEd 201 (RET in z80) into memory to terminate routines before lives were decremented. but you are right that PEEK is lookup and even 824545 is way too large for a 16 bit address space (65536 bytes)

(i can't remember the day of the week sometimes but i do still remember random z80 opcodes. 205 call, 195 jmp...)

morrisp OTM

Koogs OTM

"PEEK 824545201" is a missed opportunity. He could have named it so as to perform a public service. For example, POKE 59901,82 fixes the Attic Bug.

Haha

Beautiful classical guitar version of Avril 14 on Shane Parish's forthcoming album.

https://shaneparish.bandcamp.com/album/repertoire

okay I got RDJ Album on now, it's still very freaky, just pure cartoon alien shit. or maybe music for the little mushroom guys. I like how he's sampling so many "small" sounds like water drops or tapping on coke cans, and even household objects like his modem (I think?), but then in spots it'll suddenly go all orchestral. especially like the last track having all those percussive instruments in it, obviously can't be done in your bedroom with your machines. so it feels big and very small at the same time. it does still sound good but not as good as his 21st Century stuff. "Peek" always makes me feel like I have sinus pain.

Yeah would agree it's not as good as the newer stuff, but it is still great, and it was a big step (well, that and Hangable Autobulb)—I guess it's a bit like Revolver is clear big step, but whilst they're both great, I like listening to Abbey Road more.

That analogy perfectly explains our respective taste differences. I'm a Revolver >>> Abbey Road guy and put it on far more often.

I like how minimal and 'in the box'it feels even though it's totally maximalist. I'd compare it to Autechre's LP5 in that respect