Aphex Twin classic or Dud?

Despite the rictus grin there's is a genuine warmth and humour to his music, though I'll admit that, like many Warp artists, the emotional communication is indirect, showing us how to feel, as opposed to telling us what to feel. But that's fine, it's not as if they're even trying to tell us a story. Concequently this kind of music has a greater resonance with me. But then what what distinguishes him from his contempories? Well, he's survived every micro-genre he invented, reacted to and re- developed his own back catalogue - he replied to ambient with Ambient Vol 2, Drill n Bass with the classical hybrids of Richard D. James, then stirred the already stagnant electronica scene with Windowlicker, which I'm sure could hold it's own in any ILM pop league. Still a genius, even with his head firmly up his own arse.

Did you know AFX has been corresponding with Beck for months about producing the Beck's album. It fell apart cause neither were prepared to record outside their own studio. I dunno, but that would have been fun.

but i'm glad the aphex/beck thing didn't happen. even aphex couldn't make beck good.

oh, and to answer the question, classic, obviously

The Parr comparison applies for sure, but not as explicitly as it does with BoC's "Concourse" and "M9" (but then how could it?).

Aphex is classic, of course. I actually used to see him as a model for making a virtue of geographical isolation as a means of artistically refining yourself, so it's appropriate that K-reg said that. I think "Richard D. James Album" is his best work, as well, whereas FWIW I think "Bryter Layter" is Drake's weakest.

dada- you should get selected ambient works vol II. I heard the first disc of that last evening. its really wonderful 'ambient' stuff. great to read books with.

I think the general feeling on Aphex Twin is surely that he makes far better videos than records.

Most of his stuff is doodly nonsense..... some unlistenable, some rather good. Much of it sounds like he's making it up as he goes along.

-- Julio Desouza (juli...), May 12th, 2003.

Julio: "Once upon a time there was a little bear named Pooh..."

SAW V.2: "Who lived in the House At Pooh Corner..."

Julio: "One day Pooh's friend Piglet came round for tea, and said to Pooh-"

SAW V.2: "'Come on you cunt let's have some of that Aphex Acid!!!!'"

I like doodly nonsense, I like unlistenable, I like "making it up as he goes along" - someone direct me to the doodly unlistenable shit he makes up as he's going along.

I think SAW II + I think there's enuff to make a wonderful two CD 'best of'.

!

This actually makes perfect sense to me. I used to have to deal with this. (Not just because of the $ factor, but also because it takes me a long time to "absorb" new material, and I get ansy when there's stuff piling up that I'm really itching to soak up, but haven't been able to give my full attention to.)

If that's the plan, he was smart to grow the beard early.

What's the story behind Melodies from Mars?

Luke played me some of the hundreds of tracks earmarked for this Analord series and they are beautiful. More like SOSW* & CW**. But really good clear production. Lots of acid lines, but also a lot of melody & pads... Mostly analog(ue): 303, 606, 808, 909 and his collection of synths (a nice bit of chunky doepfer acid) but a few with breaks too.

* Surfing On Sine Waves
** Caustic Window

Melodies From Mars is rumored to be a demo that he sent to video game companies for them to use in their games. in any case they're probably just outtakes from the RDJ album period since a longer version of Fingerbib is on it.

http://www.richarddjames.com/

http://cdn-channels.netscape.com/gallery/i/b/banks/lg6.jpg

Aphex sucks. Their style is weak.

they broke up last year

Yo APHEX can I have your buchla modular?

why cause it looks intrsting

What really broke up Aphex Twin was the increasing tension within the group, which was kind of inevitable when you consider that Richard was devoting more and more time to card battle games, James' personality was being warped by his addiction to painkillers, and D's only true desire was to become a family man, now as much as ever. The Richard D. James album was really the last time they functioned as a cohesive group. On the bright side, I've heard Richard was working on a new solo project, and James, always a collaborator and producer above all, will surely find new talent to work with. There's also the possibility of a comeback album in the future, as long as one of the key members doesn't croak (fingers crossed!).

they still suck though

of course there are some song exceptions

Wait, now I'm confused. Do they suck or not? Because I need to know.

they suck with a few song exceptions

kind of like you, but you don't write songs.

do u like their cover of scorpions 'windowlicker'

*farts* wow I had no idea that’s actually kinda funny!

Better than some “we made old person listen to ventolin, you won’t believe their reactions!!”

‘Digeridoo’ (Expanded Edition) is the first time the EP has been re-issued with extra material. Whilst digging in his DAT archive (allegedly stored in an airtight military ammo box), Richard James revisited the recordings, encoding them through a Nakamichi CR7e cassette deck, using the customised deck with vari-speed to encode at speeds “felt right at the time”. Alongside these CR7e versions, the original mixes have been remastered by Beau Thomas at Ten Eight Seven Mastering, offering a dilated insight into one of electronic music’s most endearing releases.

It bangs

Good looking out

Digeridoo doesn't really do it for me; however, I am well interested to hear about his AIRTIGHT MILITARY AMMO BOX.

It keeps the munitions fresh.

loving this today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoL2kG-Y0u4

Not sure if it’s been discussed elsewhere but the Disco Polo book is great fun, very much recommended for AFX freaks

Disco POGO

I have it but have barely had time to look at it. I keep secretly hoping for a mild case of the flu or something that will sideline me a bit

7\

Just ordered it, but now I'm sad I missed the Daft Punk one

I like the book but it’s exactly as advertised, reprints of Jockey Slut essays and interviews with some new bits and bobs.

I love the cover photograph. It’s by Wolfgang Tillmans who must’ve been very young. In the the background you can see the legs of Riley Reinhold who was helping out stickers on what, IIRC, is Analogue Bubblebath.

s/out/put on

I’ve never been able to figure out if that’s a mangled vocal sample in “cow cud” or just a synth approximation...
if you mean the quiet laughing voice at the very beginning (before the shout), I'm pretty sure that's derived from a classic Mac OS text-to-speech program

― real muthaphuckkin jeez (crüt), Wednesday, December 2, 2020 6:33 AM (four years ago) bookmarkflaglink

nah, i meant the ghostly "woooooo" massed choir sample, i think it's just kinda "bitcrushed" or something so it sounds synthetic and slightly unreal. amazing cool sound, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D7dM6u53Us

I wanted to hate it, but halfway through I started uncomfortably recognising myself in it.

By the end, I realised it was me. But with Japanese Cyberpunk bands. Because that's the way I can fetishise someone else's youth and a different future that didn't arrive.

love Frankie

New Aphex Twin track dropped along with Italian hard launch

https://on.soundcloud.com/sGmhbQJIIrNr3GOQ2I

Oooh that was the ambient version

https://on.soundcloud.com/iXiYxQpmrQt7r1ETfF

Also might be of interest: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRcivAsCSMT/?igsh=MTg1czc1aXVrenFhaQ==

I appreciate that the “Behind This Track” explanation is as much about the vacation pic as the music.

Aphex Twin overtakes Taylor Swift in monthly YouTube listeners

A quirk of YouTube Music's reporting means that the monthly audience is drawn not only from direct plays on videos connected to official artist accounts, but also the passive use in YouTube Shorts. Aphex Twin's charts show 5.10 million listeners—still impressive, but someway below the half-billion mark.

RamonPang believes Aphex Twin's eye-catching numbers stems from the enduring virality of "QKThr," taken from the electronic icon's 2001 album Drukqs. The track is cited as the background music for a vast array of videos, such as "postmodern corecore edits about the internet, stupid meme videos, subtle foreshadowing and hopecore," among other things.

Going through another phase with RDJ. I started as I usually do with his post-comeback material and was re-reading the wild Syrobonkers interview where he describes the context for the “Richard…yep” sample in “4” – apparently he was in his tank sampling some stuff and his father interrupted him.

It’s such a small moment—I’m not sure I ever even noticed that sample before in the midst of all the yearning strings and wild snare rushes— but it really encapsulates the warmth underlying so much of his music, certainly compared to contemporaries like Autechre. The sample actually plays (at least?) twice – once midway and again before the close. It’s obviously not the only time RDJ brought his parents directly into his music – there’s also the birthday voicemail they left him on Drukqs and, on a darker note, the post (track?) he did in the wake of his father’s passing sometime around COVID which I believe sent him into a bit of a spiral.

But there’s something especially touching about this sample. Even just the way you can hear him distractedly but dutifully answering his dad—CLICK, “Yep” as he goes about his business—is an understated reminder that his unusual closeness with his family was a key source of support for his wild sonic adventures. That this features in the opening track on what is effectively his eponymous release seems like no coincidence.

a nice appreciation, thanks for sharing it.

Indeed. There are a bunch more on Drukqs, like his mum shouting "Lorna", "Derek", "Richard", "Sarah", and another (can't remember which), where his mum (presumably entering his bedrooms) says "Ooh Richard, you've got so many machines", and he immediately reacts with "It ain't that many".

Stop making that big face!

Great post Naive Teen Idol

interesting you didn't notice that sample, first time I heard it that was the thing that stuck in my mind about it. because the music itself felt so alien (to this day I don't think any other album has made me feel as weird as I did listening to RDJ Album for the first time) and then it resolves to that little bit of humanity, that always felt very deliberate

Yup