Aphex Twin
 

Aphex Twin rocks, discuss.

Selected Ambient Works 2 is one of my favorite albums ever made but I've never got into his other stuff properly. Those drums beats can just piss me off sometimes. That mashed potato song is amazing though.

James Blonde used to like AT when was teenager but nowadays... there's just too much other music to concentrate. So no vote from James Blonde.

yeah aphex twin are pretty good. plus chris cunningham does all the videos.

Cunningham only did two, didn't he? I seem to remember two things about any other videos - they were ostensibly homemade; they were awful.

Hip Priest'll be here to wax lyrical presently, you mark my words.

I got both of the ambient works albums for christmas and whilst they're nice enough, they're nothing that blows me away.

...i care because you do is my fave.

"Come to Daddy" (1997) video for Aphex Twin
"Windowlicker" (1999) video for Aphex Twin

"flex" (2000), using "Flex" by Aphex Twin
"Monkey Drummer" (2001), using "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels mount" from Aphex Twin's album drukqs
"Rubber Johnny" (2005), using "Afx237 V7" from Aphex Twin's album drukqs

Radiator, Tree, Rhubarb, Curtains, Hankie all blow me away when I'm wasted. I think you have to listen to it when you're fucked and in a dark forest for the full effect.

i actually like drukqs the best. i know it's unpopular but yeah...

aphex twin to me is the perfect example of different types of music.. like, "what's good electronic ambient?" then, you'd point someone in the direction of an aphex twin album. or "what's a good jungle album?" then you'd point them in the direction of aphex twin. aphex represents so much...

yep.

Aphex Twin is the reference point and yardstick by which modern electronic music is judged, his Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is a masterpiece of minimal electronic sublimity, every synth line and thin, reverbed percussion hit unwasted, profound, a coloring, subtle, yet willfully intense, combining to form a sonic landscape of utter profundity. His mastery and astuteness in manipulating electronic signals into musical artistry is inspirational.

I voted for God, but that's really over the top. Nonetheless, I do listen to him fairly often, and play every new release on my radio show when it comes out. He's done some really great stuff, and his worst is still pretty good. 26 Remixes for Cash had some great takes on stuff on it, and the ambient albums are great. I still prefer Autechre when it comes to the Warp scene though.

"Aphex Twin is the reference point and yardstick by which modern electronic music is judged,"

That's what I meant to say. But you said it better.

And to the person who mentioned Autechre... Autechre is my favorite electronic artist of all time, but I think them and Aphex are completely different.

Yeah!

Not God, but probably God's Musician.

Massive bump.
I got Richard D. James album today and it's very good. Where should I go from here? I'm thinking "I care because you do"

Richard D. James album probably features his best melodies. But I'd go for Druqks. It has EVERYTHING (if you, um, like EVERYTHING): prepared piano solos, super-complex drum programming at times, minimal drumming at other times, pure on melodic mayhem, straight-up techno bounciness, etc etc etc. Every shade of Richard is on Drukqs. It's great and underrated.

Hmm. He definitely doesn't recieve too much hype; he's simply one of the best (if not THE best) at what he does. I don't think it's possible to dispute that.

But.. Stars of the Lid.. I own (yes, own, like actual copies) everything they have done.. love them, one of my all time favorite artists, "The Ballasted Orchestra" is one of my favorite albums of all time.

I prefer They Came From The Stars than Stars Of The Lid. Aphex Twin is highly overrated, but he did produce some good stuff indeed. A personal favourite is his remix of Bowie's Heroes simphony.

The Aphex Twin has managed to stand above his contemporaries by being the most inventive figure in a fairly conservative scene. Apart from one or two tracks, I've never been that impressed.

that's how i described pita in a recent review, with different words. and in spanish.

i love aphex twin but not so much that warrants repeated listens, when i heard afx, i love it.

Because I am a drummer (I can't stop tapping on everything) I prefer the songs with amazing drum programming. Should Drukqs still be the nest step?

afx is great. genius when he is great. annoying little arty fuck when he is terrible..
i prefer his more analogy stuff. the analogue bubblebath series is amazing. so too his analord series. as for albums. i love i care because you do and richard d james but druqks is priobably my favourite just because of its insaneness coupled with his beauty.......

So I should check it out then?

oh yeah! for sure. it aint gonna hurt!

yeah, druqks has his best drum programming and.. it's a very varied album, but all of it's good.

i think it's something like: 1. druqks, 2. richard d james album, 3. i care because you do, followed by various non-ambient ep's, and then finally 5. selected ambient works i, 6. selected ambient works ii.

If you register at the We ARe The Music Makers site there's an Aphex Twin forum (http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showforum=7) which has a big list of shows you can download (see http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?showtopic=4785).


If you like that then I would indeed suggest the previous LP, I Care Because You Do. Also Selected Ambient Works Vol. 1.

Don't forget about his various aliases. As AFX, there's the recent(ish) 'Analord' series, with the 'Chosen Lords' compilation of some of the tracks. All of the 'Analord' releases are very good.

I would say one essential is the 'Surfing on Sine Waves' LP, recorded as Polygon Window.



Also...his own Rephlex abel recently released recordings by 'The Tuss'. Although The Tuss is supposedly two musicians, Brian and Karen Tregaskin, many people believe with some justification that it is another Aphex Twin alias.

EH???

Pardon?

ohh yeah!! the tuss!!! i was talking about this the other day but i haven't listened to it yet.

and yes, all of the analord series is awesome, listen to all of them in one sitting, that's the way to hear them.

Hip Priest

you said "you should get Richard D James album next" right after he said "I got the Richard D. James album". Tha'ts why I said.. eh?

Anyway...

WINDOWLICKER

Oh yes, thank you. Edited. Forgive me: I'm quite, quite mad.

windowlicker is all i have,
its awsome.
i had the richard d james album
but it was stolen

I love Aphex Twin, Xtal is the best song to sleep too.

Chosen Lords by his moniker AFX is my ever favourite one.

Have you done the spectral analises of the second track, equation? You can see Richard's face, but I don't have a good enough program to see it.

I bought Drukqs today. It's very good.

yes.

I'll never understand why this guy gets called a genius, when he clearly isn't. The funny thing is that he would admit that he isn't himself, I'm sure.

Hmm, well, "genius" is a term thrown around way too much, and throwing "genius" at someone who just pushes buttons on sequencers may be a bit much, but who can't deny that he is a brilliant programmer and comes up with some amazing melodies ("Richard D. James Album" has some of the best melodies of all time). Plus, he is equally good at making music in any subgenre within the electronic genre.. so, yeah. He's quite great!