Selected Ambient Works ‘85-92 Turns 30

https://thequietus.com/articles/32306-aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92-anniversary

Cool

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

That journalist knows their stuff, the fourth paragraph has a round up of 'stories about aphex twin' which covers nearly all the weird little rumours I've heard through the years.

  Quote

Many stories orbit Aphex Twin. Some are real, some are fictional, many are indistinguishable between the two. Some were born on message boards that seem like the Dead Sea Scrolls now, and evolved through years of hearsay. Some were invented and spread by Richard D. James himself. The name Aphex Twin refers to an older brother who shared his name and died at birth. The artist lived inside the Faraday Cage in Elephant And Castle. He owns a tank and a submarine. He composes music via lucid dreaming. He recorded a piece of music for Virgin Airlines that was rejected because it sounded like an unfolding disaster. He used to drop water balloons onto the queue for Ministry of Sound. He released the underrated Drukqs after leaving an MP3 with 282 unreleased tracks on a plane. Paid to remix Nine Inch Nails, he handed them an old track of his without bothering to listen to either. Pursued by Madonna, he wrote her a “weird acid song” where she would “growl like a piglet”. He earned money to make his first tunes from working in Cornish mines, alongside naked miners because of the heat - “I was well spun out” he recalled. He incorporated food blenders and sandpaper into his DJ sets. He made hit singles that few know are his work. Dozens of legends exist. The genius of this approach is that Richard D. James managed to achieve prominence while keeping the vampire as far as possible from his door. To pull it off, he created Aphex Twin to take his place, but it went further than just bait. One look at his gleefully grotesque promotional photographs or watching the Chris Cunningham-directed videos from the height of his fame, and it’s clear James had created his own vampire, one borne from all the disdain and humour he felt towards the industry.

Expand  

SAW 85-92 was great and of everything he's done since, I think Analord was the most similar vibe, but a big step forward rather than a retread and similarly great.

  On 11/10/2022 at 11:44 AM, zazen said:

That journalist knows their stuff, the fourth paragraph has a round up of 'stories about aphex twin' which covers nearly all the weird little rumours I've heard through the years.

SAW 85-92 was great and of everything he's done since, I think Analord was the most similar vibe, but a big step forward rather than a retread and similarly great.

Ackshually the journalist DOESNT know their stuff because it's the faraday MEMORIAL on e&c roundabout, NOT a faraday cage, he'd know that if he looked at the centre label of analord 11 a-side chucklesnort

Thank god it was done to cassette tape instead of Dat.

Love this album more than my life.

THIRTY! Godamn I feel old. What a timeless record. Honestly, such a gift. How can you ever be in a bad mood listening to this!!

Been listening to this recently

Lets also acknowledge his 2012 era DJ set mixing of tha with bangers.

EG: