New Aphex Twin Record

Laptop fuck-up? First it was a MP3 player. I suspect that story is another AFX-legend. ;)

http://sh55k01.jvb.tudelft.nl/logo/emperor1.gif

I think it is a failure as a total album though. The piano songs are good and deftly programmed, but the track sequence does not seem to be put together in any seemingly cogent manner. Also, the jungly bits sound more as though they are actually the fake aphex tracks that show up from time time on the internet, rather than his music. It just seems as though he threw a bunch of stuff together and called it drukqs.

It does not seem like an album so much as a collection of tracks that were randomly thrown together. It does not seem like there is a particular thread or flow that runs through the album. With that being said, there are still tracks on their that are absolutely brilliant.

Now, slightly off-topic: but it should be taught in rock-critic 101 that in these days of programable cd-players you.don't.need.to.edit.an.album.as.an.artist. Is this a secret law in rock-crit land? Paragraph 6.2 Whenever an artist releases a double album, state in smug tone that it could have been edited into one decent album. -end rant-

No, seriously, I like it. "Gwarek 2" is a stand-out, as is one of the piano jobs on CD2: Stockhausen and Delius (respectively) on one album! I also don't get the comments about "thrown together", programmable CD players, etc. Half the fun, at least on first listen, was wondering what's coming next - another piano bit? another jungly bit? or what?

Real question for me is whether this album has any staying power, or will it just soon get filed away in the "admired, but unplayed" pile, like all my other AFX save for Windowlicker.

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=35999

?¿?

(7\)

> particularly with the apparent use of the Yamaha GX1 synthesiser
> (a piece of kit so dear it cost over £30k back in the 1970's and
> there are only a handful in the country

looks like a beast.

http://www.electone.com/museum/?i=61

features 3 keyboards, a pedal keyboard and a switch you activate with your knees.

slick

needs wheels and an engine and a granny

Garu GX1 synthesizer

I've heard the track "Alspacka" (I think) off this. It's wonderful.

Maybe Vangelis made the record?

i keep searching craigslist and ebay for analogue synths and all i keep finding is this analog shit

Alspacka is a track off of the Confederation Trough EP. The others are "Fredugolon 6" and "GX1 Solo". The vinyl version subtracts "GX1 Solo" and adds "Akunk"

The tracklist of the full length "Rushup Edge" is:

1 Synthacon 9
2 Last Rushup 10
3 Shiz Ko E
4 Rushup I Bank 12
5 Death Fuck
6 Goodbye Rute

I'm giving both a first listen right now.

That's the full tracklisting? I was kind of hoping the 9, 10, 12 indicated another 6-8 tracks were missing from the leaked version.

It's... all right. Some nice sounds but I'm not too excited by it yet. Then again it took a while for Analord to grow on me and this is somewhat similar in style.

Been listening to this for a while. I like it okay, but I'm starting to wish he would do a SAW volume 3. The spazzy drums remind me of the dot-com era or something.

Alspacka is a track off of the Confederation Trough EP. The others are "Fredugolon 6" and "GX1 Solo". The vinyl version subtracts "GX1 Solo" and adds "Akunk"

The tracklist of the full length "Rushup Edge" is:

1 Synthacon 9
2 Last Rushup 10
3 Shiz Ko E
4 Rushup I Bank 12
5 Death Fuck
6 Goodbye Rute

I'm giving both a first listen right now.

wtf what label where did u get it send t0 me now

OMG THIS IS AMAZING!!! I am loving this sound.

wtf what label

-- am0n, Friday, June 22, 2007 3:53 PM (4 hours ago)

wtf me stupid

finally an afx/steely dan collaboration

It's too bad the vinyl version of the Confederation Trough EP doesn't include "GX1 Solo", because it's probably the best song he's released as The Tuss.

I'm finding these new songs to be kind of bleh. They're above average compared to most of RJD's peers, but they seem uninspired compared to his previous output. On Rushup Edge, there isn't the variety of tempos and sounds and textures that I was expecting. It's not until the closer "Goodbye Rute" that things change up noticeably.

Nothing will ever approach "...I Care Because You Do" I think.

phelan is on the case

BTW am finally hearing this and def liking.

xpost. Uh, wha?

Why do people get paid to write this stuff?!

it's not that bad. kinda makes me want to explore this guy's stuff a bit more.

RWJ

This reminds me that I still have to purchase Analords 5-11.

Richard Wood Johnson... as in like Robert Wood Johnson, the hospital that's near my house?

i stopped reading here:

After his 1993 debut, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, defined "ambient" (the first of several genres James was to invent...

That Village Voice article is absurd fanboy drooling. Wow, RDJ is a good marketer who jumped on the viral marketing on the internets bandwagon.

I like this album a lot though.

I've been laying off electronic music for a few years, so I just got the Chosen Lords collection a couple of days ago. I like it quite a bit. It is like RDJ finally said fxxk it with all of that hyperactive mumbo jumbo and made a follow up to Selected Ambient Works 85-92 with a bit of the rush from Surfing on Sine Waves.

If The Tuss stuff is just as good, I will check that out next. I never got the 26 Mixes for Cash, so that is one I also want to check out.

It is like RDJ finally said fxxk it with all of that hyperactive mumbo jumbo and made a follow up to Selected Ambient Works 85-92 with a bit of the rush from Surfing on Sine Waves.

That's what many of us have been waiting for. So - worth checking out?

26 Mixes is a pretty good cross section of dude's talents. Little bit of everything.

(from the article) And for another, James was really more like Jesus Christ—a redeemer of the lowly, because, really, is there any form of music lower than house?

OK, I stopped reading there. I hope the new material is not as crap as sections of this article unintentionally imply.

"So - worth checking out?"

I think so. Chosen Lords has a consistent and flowing sound across the collection and doesn't get broken up by out of place totally drilling tunes like Richard D. James and even I Care Because You Do. AFX uses some breaks and there is some really complex drum programming on this newer stuff, but it is more in vein of his earlier more ambient techno/acid sounding recordings.

I like it. Warm and fun.

it is more in vein of his earlier more ambient techno/acid sounding recordings.

Definitely. Sounds like he's integrating the successes of the Richard D. James-style stuff into the SAW stuff.

http://bleep.com/media/images/r/g/56481.jpg

Aphex Twin Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP Warp

http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/aphex-twin-announces-computer-controlled-acoustic-instruments-pt-2/

sounds interesting... will it really be computer controlled acoustic instruments? i feel a bit like this could go the way of that squarepusher project from about a year or two back though...

glad he's not resting on his laurels though. i'd be chuffed if he starts releasing stuff on a regular basis again.

he said in an interview that he'd been fiddling with computer-controlled acoustic stuff, yeah. every time i try to imagine it i get a hideous animatronic monkey beating a snare. dunno what to expect.

conlon nancarrow is my only reference point for computer controlled acoustics. sounds like a piano having a seizure

DJ Food - 90 minute mix of the Soundcloud tracks

https://soundcloud.com/ninja-tune/solid-steel-radio-show-1322015-part-1-2-dj-food

selected his 31 favorite tracks and no 28 organ? no 1 nocares? can't possibly fit in 14 07 B, huh? get out of here with this fucking bullshit.

jk this is cool, never heard his (non-fucked with) speaking voice.

new songs up on the soundcloud

day for night 'setlist'

Posers (Andy Stott cover)
Samurai (EPROM cover)
Polynomial-C
X-103 - Eruption
Guantanamo (Jlin cover)
13 High Hats Tune Tamclap Orig (user18081971 track)
Brace Yourself Jason (µ-ziq)
Nightmail 1 (user18081971 track)
Rushup | Bank 12 (The Tuss track)

anyone figured out what's on this new record? sold only at the fest http://pitchfork.com/news/70487-aphex-twin-sells-mysterious-new-record-in-houston/

he played a fair bit more than that over two hours.

watmm seems to think he played some unreleased afx stuff toward the end. maybe that's what's on the vinyl? missed that as i was soaked and freezing and huddling for warmth under a blanket by then.

dj set or not, first half of his set was tremendous, dramatic as hell even before the thunderstorm.

also i went for a bathroom break during which my friends ran into rdj and took their picture with him >.<

If anyone comes across a leak of the white album, please share with us philistines.

Todd Osborn wrote on Facebook:

So then, since we're basically snowed in here - time for some top secret project revealing:

My oldest son, Kaito, and I will be opening a small new store here in Ypsilanti called "Technical Equipment Supply".
Clothing, decks (Palace), music - lots of 7" and cassette, but other vinyl as well - the majority is modern funk/boogie & Detroit-related hiphop.

And since we're doing all of that, why not use this opportunity to make a super-label featuring a bunch of my buddies? So, there is also a new label happening alongside the store - TECH.EQPT.SPLY.
1st release (TECH-002) Soundmurderer/Atlas 7"
2nd release (TECH-004) Aphex Twin 10"
3rd release (TECH-006) Madlib 7"
and more releases coming from Bogdan Raczynski, Flying Lotus, Wisp, Zinc, etc
Label releases are only sold in-store (no digital, no online) - 7" & 10".
A few other unique items in the pipeline but that's enough news for now.
Probably* open this Wednesday, Dec 14 onward. Probably* hours will be 2-8pm or 3-9pm, something like that.

https://www.facebook.com/technicalequipmentsupply/

http://www.technicalequipmentsupply.com/

Sad to not see a Ween cover on that set list. I'd love to hear Rdj do I'm Killing It (Kill Everything) or Stallion pt. 3

Ypsilanti Michigan?

Yes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsJnYwa4Qlw&t=0s

0:00:00-0:00:58 Baudouin Oosterlynck - Refuge
0:00:47-0:02:26 Andy Stott - Posers
0:02:27-0:04:21 Sd Laika - Great God Plan
0:04:21-0:05:37 Eprom - Samurai
0:05:33-0:07:08 Heorge Garrison - Nag Champa Breaks
0:07:00-0:08:32 NRSB-11 - 685 471 2
0:08:12-0:09:08 Fis - DMT Usher
0:08:52-0:11:20 maybe Jlin ? / casio rz1 sound collection beats?
0:11:21-0:12:30 Qebrus - hmn fshn
0:12:30-0:13:47 higher melody, super aggressive kick drums
0:13:47-0:16:00 ???
0:16:01-0:17:59 Der Zyklus - Krypton 84
0:17:23-0:19:18 really nice slow beat
0:18:34-0:20:44 Jlin - Guantanamo
0:20:29-0:22:14 User18081971 - Tamclap2
0:22:15-0:23:48 Jlin - Infrared (Bagua)
0:23:49-0:25:45 Powell - Rider
0:25:32-0:27:08 Jlin - Erotic Heat
0:27:05-0:29:05 Concrete Fence - Industrial Disease
0:28:42-0:32:00 Aphex Twin - Hedphylum
0:32:00-0:33:24 cool percussion
0:33:19-0:34:30 DJ Nigga Fox - LUMI
0:34:30-0:34:51 seems like an older ome
0:34:51-0:38:00 super aggressive, some high tone
0:38:00-0:39:21 basskicks, muffled the fullset recording so can't really tell
0:39:21-0:41:40 Edge Of Motion - Set Up 707
0:41:17-0:42:45 HVAD - ANGST
0:42:36-0:44:51 Current Value - Gear Up
0:44:51-0:47:20 Polynomial C acid version [I think]
0:47:16-0:47:49 can someone find a better recording of this section?
0:47:50-0:49:51 metallic drumbreak, good bass
0:49:50-0:50:31 acid bassline with clap
0:50:18-0:52:31 breakbeat
0:52:29-0:55:08 hardcore/jungle (video clip)
55:08 - END OF SECTION 1
0:55:24-0:58:49 µ-Ziq - Brace Yourself Jason
0:58:49-1:01:08 X-103 - Eruption
1:01:08-1:02:13 great fast paced banger
1:02:00-1:05:28 User18081971 - Nightmail 1
1:05:18-1:08:29 The Tuss - Rushup I Bank 12
1:08:16-1:10:24 Aphex Twin - 73-yips
1:10:24-1:12:06 Hellfish - The Anti-Citizen
1:12:03-1:15:26 Rolando Simmons - Yuo're Life You'r Tsois
1:14:48-1:17:01 heavy drum roll percussion
1:17:02-1:21:22 unreleased afx track1, same drums as T08+4
1:21:25-1:23:55 unreleased afx track2, similar melody as cutting, very similar to tuss era
1:23:56-1:25:48 Qebrus - Vlcnmtr
1:24:48-1:27:50 bass heavy jungle
1:27:38-1:31:20 Aphex Twin + Squarepusher - Untitled
1:31:20-1:35:32 Paradox - Dirty City
1:35:00-1:37:12 ??
1:36:38-1:40:19 Sniper - Dubplate Pressure RMX ft. MC GQ
1:40:20-1:42:49 Dom & Roland - Deckers theme
1:42:49-1:45:34 gabber
1:45:35-1:47:17 more gabber
1:47:15-1:48:54 crazy 8bit hardcore thing
1:48:54-1:51:27 hardcore, noise/modular stuff ?
1:51:27 - END OF SET

better quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YIT9JSMqIo

some serious props to jlin in that setlist

So good. What is that AFX/Squarepusher untitled thingy?

lol at dude throwing an aphex logo gang sign

If anyone comes across a leak of the white album, please share with us philistines.

― calstars

Aphex Twin classic or Dud?

same source as the HD youtube above but includes some songs that had to be edited out to appease the youtube filters:

https://soundcloud.com/user-768622842/aphex-twin-hd-sound-live-in-texas-2016-full-concert-rec-by-audio-telepathy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss9zW21O6VQ

ha, love it

vordhosbn doesn't get enough love, that song is probably my #1 aphex twin song

nothing on drukqs seems to (outside of Avril 14th) - all those who dismissed it 15 years ago oughta take another listen today

Mt Saint Michel is epic brain burner material

I LOVE DRUKQS+

some live drum Flims btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbvCgqTkj64
(always the best)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JaYx_spDrA
(bothered to memorize the original parts)

also this popped up in my recommendations, not sure that i'd seen it before:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rndV_5q8Tkc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUtt9JZng-g

wow! i assumed it was just a single with a couple songs

Hooray

sounds a lot like remixes/alternate versions of stuff from Syro to me

Some of the snippets from his Primavera set sound incredible. This YouTube bit is legit?

i'm not hearing anything from syro on this... what in particular are you referring to?

just tracking through it, I'll listen in full tonight - idk what it is exactly but it sounded a lot like that album to me

(for the record Syro is one of those albums I enjoy a lot but can never remember much about)

Totally!

re: syro and memory

holy cow

http://www.itsnicethat.com/features/weirdcore-aphex-twin-field-day-050617-miscellaneous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WlwS3CYtJE

so there's something else, besides that field day record, that's being released on Warp in a month?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeJUkf2cKs8

kind of ridiculous

Fuck off! sample from Bad News? Vim Fuego?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWTBw_tLI7I

favorite discovery from the set is lorenzo senni at around 1:29

the Roy of the Ravers "Emotinium" track is a beaut.. almost too sweet, can't listen to it more than a few times. and the Fantastic Man track "Trance Sexual" (v lovely)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKZ9cIPvtbU

this sounded awesome, too

on a quick listen im getting remix vibes from the new album as well (mostly the first half)

but will give it a proper listen because some tracks sound really good

also if you've seen him live, does wearing earplugs actually do anything to block off enough sound? not into going to shows a lot lately but i've never seen him live and would like to experience it but i have really sensitive ears due to slight hearing loss and i have like "borderline" tinnitus

while the sound palette is similar to some of the tracks on Syro, the tracks don't sound like remixes, like the material on the eps that accompanied Oversteps and Quaristice did, re: Autechre

A couple of them sound like he just unboxed a new synth and is playing around

but you know he is programming with synths that are so rare he is one of maybe a dozen or fewer owners so...

this does kinda feel like outtakes but who cares?

he's not averse to using presets on popular synths either. I remember borrowing a friends DX-27 in college and hearing a patch that was an exact sound used on one of his record, Polygon Window maybe, I can't remember where.

haha I didn't say I disliked it!

polygon window was in 1993, 24 years ago

If nothing else, this revive has reminded me of the majesty of "Warriors of Genghis Khan".

DX 27 was already a cheap vintage synth when polygon window came out. And the point was that during a time he was claiming to build all his own synths out of tanks or whatever, that was a common preset.

it seems like in this day and age a lot of people could put something on youtube claiming it to be from many electronic bands (lost tracks) - who would really know

Didn't Marumari do that years ago, putting his tracks on slsk as lost BoC tracks or something?

Finally listening to the Field Day set itself. Good stuff.

http://item.warp.net/interview/aphex-twin-speaks-to-tatsuya-takahashi/

RICHARD D. JAMES: I really enjoyed working on this with you. I know I only joined the project near the end, but I found it really exciting. Like a proper job, ha.

TATSUYA TAKAHASHI: Richard, it was amazing working with you on the monologue. And now to be interviewed by you?!? That's crazy. But also a lot of fun. The monologue was also the last Korg synth that I was involved with directly, so I guess it's a nice conclusion to things.

RDJ: It is now the only synth on the market currently being made to have full microtuning editing, congratulations!

TT: Thanks! But it was completely because of you that we included microtuning. If you hadn't insisted on it, I definitely wouldn't have discovered how powerful it was.

RDJ & TT: *intense hugging for 10 minutes*

Haha yeah, but great geeky read. RDJ uses smiley's and 'LOLz'

i just finished it, and yes, so good! it was interesting to hear that RDJ is a synth demo nerd and collects them! would listen to RDJ's comp

oh man awesome i <3 tats

that bonus link from the end (https://dood.al/pinktrombone/) is fun for the whole family, too

what a great interview! i basically want every volca and the monologue now

I wish faders were curved horizontally and vertically, so you could make them like a double helix that go over and under each other, hehe.

you are completely nuts in the best kind of way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnF_mMDgZ08

New(?) website with new tunes for sale. https://aphextwin.warp.net/ (thanks keith)

i haven't looked too hard but it seems like he's tacking the soundcloud demos onto the relevant releases (they are available individually but sometimes it's cheaper to rebuy the entire thing, i think)

More importantly it looks like it will be a repository for the Rephlex catalogue.

interesting.. wonder if they're doing reissues on CD with these "bonus tracks"

I wonder if these versions of the soundcloud demos are properly mastered?

Also, this is written on the about page (https://aphextwin.warp.net/about):

If you buy a whole release, album, ep etc on this site then any tracks that are added to it after, you get for free :)

it's great you can stream more-or-less his whole back catalogue for free

SAW 1.5...

http://i.imgur.com/Y4E6NLy.jpg

excellent!

drool

i know don't sound excited about it but this is great news

Has anyone confirmed that the extra tracks are included with CD / vinyl orders from the webstore?

As downloads, obviously. It's not clear as the listings for physical items just show the standard tracks.

SAW 1.5 :O

yes please SAW 1.5!

God's promise has been fulfilled! *lights self on fire*

whats the track they are talking about?

Guess I should start stocking up on the week's worth of hallucinogens I'm gonna need to burrow 1.5 as deep into my being as 85-92 and 2 are at this point.

here's what was on his "saw 1.5" soundcloud playlist:

"Sams Car”
“Afx origTheme”
“Red Alert”
“Suzanne”
“Dance and Play”
“Nova Robotiks”
“21 Forgotten T”
“Lannerlog”
“Bimbongo”
“Symbonsad”
“Original Chaos Riff”

awesome

This may interest some - 'Stone in focus' (original track #19) has just been added to the SAWII download:

https://aphextwin.warp.net/release/68148-aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-volume-ii

this is sick https://vimeo.com/223378825

https://www.mixcloud.com/suppamicropamchopp/%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%B0%B4%E8%B6%8A%E3%81%AB%E3%82%88%E3%82%8Baphex-twin-mixtape/

pic.twitter.com/C2TsLU4TfZ

— Energy Crow (@acd_bitter_sad) June 19, 2023

w12 today, looked freshly posted

he's helpfully covered up one of the qr codes but the other works. points to a website that redirected me to Google site and some new app

such a palaver getting a qr code from an image in a tweet

https://boxh0d2lu.xyz/p1-s and then about 1000 digits, probably more than the qr code could encode. that's giving me an https error in mac broswer

I'm not about to install some app from a random qrcode pasted up on the street - here's the developer's website though: https://www.kalkul.com/

"We are an augmented reality company building new emotional technologies for artists, brands & spaces to create a more human connection with their audience"

definitely feel whatever this dude is doing next is gonna be some AI thing

An app. Great.

^^ ok boomer

it's Aphex Twin, not Radiohead

ftr i too am deeply underwhelmed

Bump this thread when/if the music becomes accessible without an online treasure hunt

Yeah I don't want to be a cynic, and I shouldn't slag it off before I've properly checked it out. But these kinds of interactive app-based guerilla marketing campaigns seem to appeal to a particular type of person.

The Biophilia app was a novelty. Much as I heart Boards of Canada, I wasn't going to go scavenger hunting around the world for clues about their new album - just give me the music please.

As for Aphex, a QR code for an app feels more like the work of a marketing agency who think they're smart than RDJ's style of merry pranksterism.

I guess it's much harder to do cool, fun sleight of hand in the internet era. We live in a post-mystique world where any sort of mystery about artists' identities and messages are impossible to obfuscate.

The plausible sounding summaries of all the shenanigans I've read (on reddit) reckon that most likely there will be a new song tomorrow, 21st June, and an EP next Wednesday, 28th June.

on my phone it's not even a full app, it's one of those applets that doesn't require installation

just a little augmented reality bit where it's doing a little animation of the aphex twin logo over the poster while playing a short clip of presumably new music

I don’t have any information (and I don’t want to ask because, unlike some of you jerks, I enjoy the theatrics) but I’d bet there’s something happening.

I enjoy his theatrics because he oscillates between being self-obsessed and entirely detached. If this is a shady marketing stunt, I doubt he’d comment! It’s win-win.

The Biophilia app was a novelty.

Yeah. It’s interesting if, and only if, the music is interesting. You can’t champion innovative graphic design without a desirable product.

if the app's just a PWA then they can add things as they go

(the google page said '100 downloads' when i looked yesterday)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5311M2lqV0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SUhWO_Nfl0

for those of us with images off...

^ new track taken from official soundcloud and uploaded to youtube

and this is video of the app for the curious, with a sample of the above

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3wPfTXFrvk

(and fpsa's video was 90 minutes of live footage: "Aphex Twin at Best Kept Secret Festival 2023 in Netherlands")

dog latin’s video has already been removed. What’s the official SoundCloud?

it's not 'aphextwinofficial', last post 11 years ago

but that track is here
https://soundcloud.com/richarddjames

sounds nice, too bad all this nonsense with QR codes and apps is so alienating

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=justin+strauss+the+lot

whoops wrong link!

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

was sharing a link to Justin Strauss's appearances on the Lot when I noticed the official posting of this.

into this track

agree about the qr code fatigue

just release a friggin' record for god's sake

yea it's pretty good, on par with the Collapse EP stuff, though a bit more toned down in a way that I think is nice

can't believe Syro was nearly a decade ago

It's very nice but it could easily have been on Druqks, is my feeling

Wow. I was expecting a rave banger!

The programming is, per usual, absurd. The melody is is the most somber since Selected Ambient Works Volume II and the rhythm (and harmony) is nostalgic or even self-referential (it reminded me of ...I Care Because You Do more than Druqks). I do miss some of the mixing tricks he started using in Syro and recent live performances.

(The mixing stuff might be present but lost on Spotify.)

If there’s an album, I pray he does an interview similar to the interview he did with David Burraston for the release of Syro. There’re so many issues from the past decade that I’d love to hear him talk (or write) about: open source, SoundCloud (and Bandcamp), cryptocurrency, mixed reality, artificial intelligence, etc.

I'm not sure I want to know Richard D James's opinion on cryptocurrency, mixed reality, artificial intelligence, etc.

This new track is fine, on first listen seems fairly generic, but that's what I thought about Syro at first too.

LOL, OK?

I wouldn't say generic, and for sure his recent stuff has been quality. But I'll be honest, every time I play a new Aphex track part of me is hoping for more "shocking brand-new worlds" (as Disco_Nihilist put it on this board years ago.)

Yeah I just don't know what I expect from Aphex any more, as opposed to "what to expect", that is.

I guess I really want to be blown away in the same way I was when I first heard Bouncing Bucephalus Ball when I was 17, but that's likely asking far too much.

That said, he seems quite happy making "just pretty good tunes with nice melodies and beats" these days, as opposed to doing something as conceptually daring as, say, Ventolin, Windowlicker or SAWII.

I like the beats being sort of 92 breakbeat ardkore. Wasn't his old favourite Trigger's Stratosphere in his sets a few years ago?

"I like the beats being sort of 92 breakbeat ardkore."

this track is very nostalgic but also weird, I really like it

I think it’s strange that it’s a single rather than an EP or album. It doesn’t say much as a single.

it's lovely but definitely generic aphex. if AI was fed in a ton of AFX i could imagine it spitting this out.

would not be surprised if that's how he made it, though I think it sounds too good to be AI right now

I mean I wouldn't put it past him. But he's also his own AI generator, I wonder if Warp conducts night raids on his vault every few years to wrest a release from him. I'm sure all the QR code stuff is just marketing department bs too.

xp

It's definitely very weird, and a nice return to focusing on synth tones and use of voice. I feel AFX has become increasingly one note since 2001, and this track is one of the more atypical 21st century tracks he's dropped! Hope it's a sign of things to come.

the sound of the opening beat reminds me of "Beat It"

I think it’s strange that it’s a single rather than an EP or album. It doesn’t say much as a single.

it is an EP with four tracks, WAP480

I'm not sure I want to know Richard D James's opinion on cryptocurrency, mixed reality, artificial intelligence, etc.

― silverfish, Wednesday, June 21, 2023 1:31 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Maybe on mixed martial arts though

did folks cop the ambient version, I didn't do all the QR code nonsense so I would have missed it if not for Phil Sherburne's newsletter

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/19fcYuy4BlUXzZqxkeSDP-zd_7F55wdbC

https://aphextwin.bandcamp.com/album/blackbox-life-recorder-21f-in-a-room7-f760

Yeah I just don't know what I expect from Aphex any more, as opposed to "what to expect", that is.

I guess I really want to be blown away in the same way I was when I first heard Bouncing Bucephalus Ball when I was 17.

For me RDJ’s career was interesting in how it was getting progressively more avant-garde, from those rather sedate and melodic early works to the drill-n-bass and atonality of the latter ’90s. But then RDJ retired while Autechre kept producing music that surprised from one album to the next. So now Autechre has basically replaced Aphex Twin for me. Anyone else have the same experience?

*raises hand*

Huh, I feel like it was almost the opposite for me; I dug how he was moving from esoteric early stuff to releases with progressively more "popular" appeal... culminating in "Come to Daddy" on TRL (and winning!), and the elaborate music video for "Windowlicker," etc.

Then he went away and resurfaced with a series of (dull) vinyl-only releases, and it was like... ok, I guess you're done with that trajectory.

Though I like Autechre, even at his most glitchy/experimental/esoteric there is an air of melodic, otherworldly melancholy with RDJ that I just don’t quite get with those guys.

gotta love people accusing RDJ of using AI to create new music and then hyping up autechre as the more exciting alternative. isn't their whole deal using "algorithms" to automate their music-making?

e.g. Their studio set-up or system varies from album to album but is a labyrinth of possibilities relying on self-written mathematical algorithms that induce their sounds and rhythms to behave in specific yet experimental ways after Autechre manipulate a massive range of parameters.

that's AI, baby

I wasn't accusing him of it upthread but rather speculating he might be a guy to generate a ton of it and release the best stuff and then have a good laugh about it, which I think is very different from what Autechre do

Definitely that feeling, Melomane.
It's not dissimilar to Plaid - I like it when a new Plaid album comes out because it's like buying a fresh pair of my favourite brand of underpants. I know what I'm going to get and it feels good nevertheless

I'd argue that even Autechre are starting to sound kinda similar from album to album, or at least you know what an Autechre album sounds like by now, but somehow they manage to keep me on my toes

if argue that that's not AI, baby. generative, perhaps, but not AI.

i'd argue...

just like AI, aphex, autechre and plaid were all better in the 90s

what's better than all of their music combined is reading the same opinions about them for 20+ years

mine is that anyone who didn't like / wasn't impressed by syro has a screw loose.

pfft that’s nothing imagine posting the same opinions about them for 20+ years :-P

just like AI, aphex, autechre and plaid were all better in the 90s

lol cmon Oversteps -> Exai -> elseq -> NTS is like the greatest run of albums in this genre ever. and if not, it's at least the longest.

tl;dl

matttkkkk otm

personally I think it's all been downhill since the first AI comp for all of them and most music in general.

actually I agree with frogbs more, I just couldn't resist the quick grab

matttkkkk offfftm

dang

TBF, you could pick almost any four albums from Ae's catalogue and call it the greatest run in history.

Chiastic Slide - LP5 - EP7* - Confield is another one

*Yeah it's an album idgaf

Sign and Plus are the kinds of left turns and changeups I'd love to see from Richard. I feel he's got some wild and beautiful stuff packed away (can I fantasize about SAW III for a sec?) But I feel something is holding him back...

OTM.

What drew me to his work all those years ago was the handbrake tunrs. You just didn't know what to expect from release to release, or even track to track. And Windowlicker did feel like the peak of his empirical phase, just hinting at going full-on pop but with B-sides representing his most experimental and most melodic sides.

And Windowlicker did feel like the peak of his empirical phase

that's just your experience, man

icwydt

yeah I don’t really buy into this whole innovation narrative, I think he has still continued to produce excellent funky electronic music, analords and syro both rule

TBF, you could pick almost any four albums from Ae's catalogue and call it the greatest run in history.

Chiastic Slide - LP5 - EP7* - Confield is another one

*Yeah it's an album idgaf

I mean, starting with Tri Repetae it's a continuous run of just one of the greatest albums of the genre after another, at least according to autechre fans like me.

e.g. Their studio set-up or system varies from album to album but is a labyrinth of possibilities relying on self-written mathematical algorithms that induce their sounds and rhythms to behave in specific yet experimental ways after Autechre manipulate a massive range of parameters.

that's AI, baby

I'd argue this is more jam band than AI

funny enough I kinda think Tri Rep is one of their weakest which I think speaks to what an incredibly strong catalogue they have overall (though for me it's less the tunes and more just the way it sounds)

anyway I think the thing with 90s Aphex is it had this real world connection that other groups (besides maybe BOC) didn't have. what really hooked me into his work was the use of actual recorded sounds, like he's just some bored middle schooler tapping on a coke can and thinking "you could make a dope track out of this". also his tunes generally had one main melody/idea so it was easy to remember what was what. and sometimes that main idea was something completely outside the world of electronic music which was really neat. like to me all 12 tracks on ICBYD are distinct, as are all 10 on RDJ. some are clearly better than others, some you wanna loop forever and others you wanna skip, whereas Syro to me is just 60 minutes of music

having said that I do really like the new stuff, think Syro is probably his best album overall, and Collapse is maybe the best sounding vinyl I own, so I'm cool with it. at the same time I think he could be doing a lot more, also think he doesn't really care so much and is cool just being a weird conspiracy dad who pops his head out once in a while

^OTM re: distinction btw his '90s & new stuff generally

As someone with very little background in electronic music, I heard ICBYD and was immediately hooked, drawn into his world & aesthetic. There’s no way that would’ve happened if I had first heard, say, Analord or Syro (an album I gave numerous chances and finally sold back because it was just so boring to me, a formerly massive fan)

One thing to keep in mind with RDJ is that he has much more of a connection with dance music. He plays tracks by lots of underground producers in his live sets (which seem to be a mix of originals/live PA/djing new club music and classic jungle/breakcore), and it's become a bit of a thing to get included. Autechre have only become further distanced from dance music (which is fine).

I've spent a lot more time over the years with AE records and they mean more to me, RDJ is more about specific mind-blowing tracks for the most part. I do like that he's settled into a late-period thing of further exploring and refining his various things (ie breakbeats, old hardware synths with weird tunings, melodic electroacoustic shit, etc). I guess you could say the same thing about AE, but their algorithmic MAX/MSP world has always felt much more mysterious.

Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt. 2 is a sick record btw (i love drukqs).

^^^

yes, by far my favourite of his late period (Syro-onward)

wishing he'd gone more down the ventolin b-sides route but hey ho i love me a burbling fusion teutonic orientalism as much as the next guy

And Windowlicker did feel like the peak of his empirical phase

that's just your experience, man

Flow Coma remix was I think the last holy shit moment for me.

I feel he's got some wild and beautiful stuff packed away (can I fantasize about SAW III for a sec?) But I feel something is holding him back...

I dunno if it's holding him back or just ... how long can your soul stay on fire?

there was lots of beautiful stuff in the soundcloud dump, if you compiled the best stuff 12 tracks from that it would be the best afx album ever

the word stuff should not be there

also, changed my mind, prob still 2nd best compares to saw85-92

flow coma remix but the other side (dj pierre i think?) is even better. also the windowlicker acid house cowbell remix, that was good stuff

syro and collapse ep are nice, cheetah was cool, but ultimately they leave me cold compared to, say, icbyd, hangable auto bulb, or rdj

nvm i got the sides mixed up! flow coma yeah

RDJ is underrated at this point. especially odd given that Aphex is more popular than I ever thought he'd be.

ICBYD was my introduction to him and to electronic music, so I can't see it clearly. The first three tracks will be played at my funeral.

there was lots of beautiful stuff in the soundcloud dump, if you compiled the best stuff 12 tracks from that it would be the best afx album ever

― brimstead

cosign

really hope that stuff shows up as FLAC quality files on Bandcamp someday

some of them were released digitally as bonus tracks, not sure if they were mastered or anything tho:

https://aphextwin.warp.net/release/71105-aphex-twin-i-care-because-you-do

Yeah Flow Coma remix was all time. Part of me feels like the rest of Analord and a lot of the work after was Richard trying to hit that mark again but failing.

RDJ + Come to Daddy + Windowlicker is the AFX "apex" imho. The variety, creativity, and beauty in those three releases is staggering compared to what came before and after. This period feels like a kaleidoscope of kaleidoscopes. On RDJ alone you have shit like 4, Fingerbib, Goon Gumpas, Girl/Boy and Beetles on the same record! Good lord (or should I say good analord)? The fact that Flim and Bucephalus Bouncing Ball are on the same release is incredible! I wish his work had this energy, excitement and enthusiasm. It's still great in spots but yeah.

There's tracks on Plus, Elseq, Oversteps and especially Exai that had my attention and immediately felt like all timers and creative statements in ways I haven't felt that about Richard since literally the Flow Coma track.

Also don't sleep on the Caustic Window LP, the one never properly released but leaked about a decade ago after a test pressing went up on discogs. 101 Rainbows is all time

idk if i’d call any aphex release “underrated”, seems like there’s lots of acclaim for his most minor works. this discussion seems related to a very brief discussion on on another thread about how most techno projects are really only vital for the first few releases (that’s obv at least equally related to a particular way of listening to techno type music)

i think of “underrated” idm as being like, early alec empire on mille plateux or something. does anybody still think about alec empire? no matter what afx does, he’s always on the radar for some reason

Okay yeah underrated is the wrong word. I just feel like its relative prominence is out of whack. This isn't just another old man hating on Drukqs (it is.)

ICBYD was such an amazing album to get on board with – it was at this perfect "midpoint" where you could dip back and discover all his early stuff, while at the same time experiencing in "real time" that incredible ramp-up which followed... that ideal scenario of being a big new fan of an artist right when they happen to be "in the pocket" and upping their game with each release.

there was lots of beautiful stuff in the soundcloud dump, if you compiled the best stuff 12 tracks from that it would be the best afx album ever

― brimstead

could you please do that???

just checked my playlist "AFX sound edit" is 59 songs. Down from the 248 I have in "AFX sound"

I have career-spanning playlist called AFX edit 4 which features 25 tracks from the soundcloud dump.

I have another playlist called AFX Edit Edit which only 5 songs from soundcloud. They are:

Sams Car
Donkey Rhubarb Remix
Gerald Remix
Organ
Bradley Echoes

yr mileage may vry

these are some of my favorites, I’ll try to post a zip file of stuff Sunday

(suzanne, 2tone, martin's car, sam's car, the donkey rhubarb remix, with my family, no cares, high hats tune....)

― brimstead, Tuesday, June 9, 2015 11:13 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Re Alex empire, low on ice is still pretty cool. Carl crack was more talented tho, see black ark

doesnt have to be a zip, I got the whole dump so if you just post a list I can make a playlist

ICBYD was such an amazing album to get on board with (etc)

^^

xp frogs here's some of my compiled playlists - ignore my 3-digit track id #s at the beginning

"Ambient"
061 11 early morning clissold.mp3
107 4 red calx slo.mp3
111 4 Red Calx.mp3
140 th1 slo.mp3
163 33 SAW II un stabbing interview.mp3
164 9 un chopped f beginning SAWII un.mp3
173 5 just fall asleep.mp3
179 35 SAW II un road shimmer f.mp3

"Dance"
011 SomewhereOTTGTBAG.mp3
085 (vocoderdisco).mp3
133 d15-8 ny groove2.mp3

"Pretty"
041 19 ssnb.mp3
051 11 donkey rhubarb remix.mp3
052 18 with my family _.mp3
053 1 nocares.mp3
093 26 5 (demo).mp3
096 7 cutting.mp3
099 28 organ epic.mp3
112 5 Girl Boy Dark Version.mp3
131 37 last clissold maybe.mp3
132 15 sekonda.mp3
137 (watery big ez).mp3
139 th1.mp3
142 blue carpet.mp3
156 cottage4 af 1.mp3
157 4 acid organ.mp3
158 18 mello punchy.mp3
167 23 pianox.mp3
183 1 Lmt.mp3

"Slow"
005 suzanne.mp3
007 20 pink floyd.mp3
008 parking lot.mp3
022 sams car.mp3
024 10 bcr78.mp3
045 14 07 b.mp3
047 20 vtnm.mp3
048 21 vtnm2.mp3
054 7 ∂ƒ∆ rough mix.mp3
055 2 ∂ƒx 126b.mp3
060 71 1st bank trac.mp3
062 12 space beat.mp3
063 13 barbarella on microdots.mp3
066 11 slo bird whistle peel sesh.mp3
084 8 lush ambulance 2.mp3
097 5 sline (jap flute energy rave).mp3
098 35 japan.mp3
108 7 lush slow blips.mp3
109 19 slow early morning.mp3
134 d15-10 dulcimer dub.mp3
143 dsb.mp3
144 hilo.mp3
165 5 scorrier.mp3
169 23 band pass beat slo.mp3
174 7 dub cliker + 0hz.mp3
188 3 Slothscrape.mp3

saw the current single, blackbox life recorder, in hmv, was £12 on cd and in my mind eps are still £4 so it's probably the first thing of his that i have deliberately not bought

but clicking around last night, his own website is selling digital copies £3 for AND they come with 5 additional tracks (4 remasters done by him and a new track)

https://aphextwin.warp.net/release/399837-aphex-twin-blackbox-life-recorder-21f-in-a-room7-f760

(god, that website is annoying)

Oh what? I can't even work out what I'm buying

Yeah, I feel like for the full CD album price its a bit short. I was psyched to buy an Aphex Twin CD on release day though, haven't done that since.... Windowlicker? In all the complaints about the vinyl being the dominant physical format rn I have yet to hear anyone mention that both Come To Daddy and RDJ records are definitely truncated compared to the "accepted" CD/streaming versions (possibly a USA thing...)

Yeah it’s a real bummer since the vinyl often has more than enough room for them. Syro for instance is a 3xLP for an album that’s only an hour long and it doesn’t even include the bonus track. Ditto with the last 2 tracks on Collapse. I like this stuff but cmon I ain’t paying $29 for 14 minutes of music

Kind of ironic considering SAWII was truncated for CD

“Come to daddy” missing half of the songs (specially IZ-US which is my favorite song in there) is a bummer. RDJ vinyl album does seem to have the same 10 songs tho?

when rdj album was released in the us, sire added the girl/boy song bsides to the end, it’s supposed to end with logon rock witch

yeah that's understandable, those tracks always felt like B-sides to me. but yea Come to Daddy really works well in its 8-track version

having listened to the blackbox life recorder thing a couple of times now i find it very slight. the only but that jumped out at me was the little acid squelch sequence on the extra track

there's all sorts of extra stuff tracked onto the downloads on his store. come to daddy has 11 tracks, for instance. i think you can buy them individually but i don't really know where to start.