Is Aphex Twin's Recent Music Less Ambitious Than His Earlier Work?

In recent years, he has continued to bless us with new music, but there's a sentiment among some fans that his latest releases lack the groundbreaking ambition that characterized his earlier work. While the new tracks are undoubtedly enjoyable, they seem to fall short of pushing the envelope in the way we know he's capable of. What are your thoughts on this? Is Richard taking a more conservative approach to his music these days, or is this just another phase in his ever-evolving artistic journey?

My god. Maybe shift the criticism more on people who think like that. Looking at someone making art and going through a list of things it's supposed to be to be "ambitious" to me is such one dimensional thinking it puts me off. He makes music mainly for himself. Someone who wrote a good story, directed a special movie or created an album that echoes throughout culture didn't make it to be the next frontier of his own medium. They made it because they wanted to express a part of themselves, and the passion being put into work resonated with people.

Stop this shit man. You're becoming debby downers entirely missing the point of art.

Frustrating to have to think about it like this, but I tried to answer in good faith.. this is gonna end up like the Snares thread isn't it

There's something Zizek says about disagreement between right and left wingers, where not only do they disagree on points of policy, they disagree on the entire frame - like they have a completely different definition of what the debate is even about - it's like the topic here, framing music as being about "ambition" or "experimentation" and on the other side "emotion" or "personal exploration" - like, it really would have to be a discussion of what makes you feel excited about music in the first place, which could never really be a debate, because they are totally different ways of understanding what music is meant to be

I have a feeling that he has always just done what he wants, living in a very insular world. Perhaps it was the context of the culture and media landscape at the time that imposed the visionary label on him. You are never in control of the time you live in or what people say about you. 

I do understand the impulse to make such a thread though. Personally I do find the newer releases less 'surprising', but it is to be expected given that he is an established artist releasing music since the early 90s with a very distinct style (even if it does have a few branches such as ambient, acid, etc...).

Do you think Richard D. James Is playing too much of his unreleased tracks that are fucking mindblowing? 

- Yes 

Do you have a problem with that? 

- Yes

What should Richard D. James do about that? 

- Release all the fucking tracks already! 
 

I think he's doing such a blindingly overall marvellous job (soundcloud, new releases, DJ sets) that maybe some people can't see the wood for the trees, or as Americans say 'can't see the forest for the trees'

Maybe as we get older, music doesn't blow our minds as much as it did when were younger and more impressionable. That's probably got something to do with it, and not Aphex's fault.

  On 8/30/2023 at 12:19 PM, beerwolf said:

I think he's doing such a blindingly overall marvellous job (soundcloud, new releases, DJ sets) that maybe some people can't see the wood for the trees, or as Americans say 'can't see the forest for the trees'

I did feel, and still feel letdown by Syro, but those post Syro blues are thankfully long gone. And I'm enjoying the ride to be perfectly honest.

What do you mean by "post Syro blues" ? 

  On 8/30/2023 at 12:28 PM, cern said:

What do you mean by "post Syro blues" ? 

I deleted it as you quoted it. It don't matter. Rambling on a bit.

  On 8/30/2023 at 12:35 PM, beerwolf said:

I deleted it as you quoted it. It don't matter. Rambling on a bit.

Alright, 

Anyway I think you are into something.. 

On the "older" days I feel more neutral when it comes to music, I don't get this rush I got before. . 
On my younger days I could have Dark DNB, Breakcore and heavy Techno on all day long and what a rush it was! That time for me is so over. 
Now is like chill idm, breaks, Ambient glitch and then Dubby ambient to sleep. 

It feels way more relaxing and good with tracks like the rfc pt8 from Barcelona EP. This style of him I love so much that is why I have Analord 02 as my all time favorite. 
I want to have these "normal" 909-breaks and some synths on top and Im totally fine with that. 

RDJ don't need to prove anything 


 

This poll is madness 

I'm wondering if the sequence of his earlier releases, like ICBYD, RDJ and drukqs, gave people an expectation of development because of the progression from more harmonic, more straightforward rhythm, less nuanced sonic qualities, to the opposite, which meant they expected Syro to continue in that direction, where in some aspects, Syro and Analord mixes elements of drukqs with elements of older stuff (while I do think Syro also has some elements which are genuinely new)

Would also be interesting to see a detailed analysis of the change in the average frequency spectrum of each album as well as including how much variation occurs in each spectral range, because I feel like that is something that followed a progressive change which Syro etc. deviated from

drill pop innovation peak

This same debate has been going on for the 20+ years I have been an Aphex fan. People moaned that Drukqs was just a crappier retread of earlier drill n bass. People complained that Analord was backwards looking and reheated Analogue Bubblebath trax.

Ok so the Blackbox Life EP didn't reinvent the wheel, but the Collapse EP contained some pretty next level sounds/programming. The Mt Fuji tape was all electroacoustic stuff that I never expected he would release. Some of his unreleased live tracks are still spine tinglingly exciting. There's been a few duff trax here and there - but there always has been (and he probably considers them as his best.) I'm not worried he's lost his touch.

To be honest, like most master craftsmen he makes everything look easy and hardly breaks into a sweat while doing it, which is probably why people think he isn't radically pushing things forward. Trust me, this is a great time to be an Aphex fan. There's even a thread about it as we speak!

Did AFX change or did the fangirls change?

probably both.

@chronical I get what you're saying. On the other hand I don't really see the problem with a (benign) thread like this, just some speculation don't take it too seriously

in the beginning dog created the afx and the acid

Man's 52 years old and spent the majority of his adult life breaking new musical ground. You have to consider that when bitching about a lack of "innovation". There are plenty of new artists who release incredible innovative music every single day, and it's a shame that whatever they make won't make the splash that their music deserves just because they haven't been in the scene for 30+ years.

What's important is that his music doesn't skimp on the emotional depth that's always been present. At least to me, that's always been AFX's strength. 

If you want mind bending sound design, listen to AE. 

I love all his work and very grateful for anything by him.

  On 8/30/2023 at 2:57 PM, koolkeyZ865 said:

What's important is that his music doesn't skimp on the emotional depth that's always been present. At least to me, that's always been AFX's strength. 

Amen

This is the key ingredient. No other Mofo comes close. Perhaps BOC. 

I personally think he isn't doing enough homework and needs to put more effort in. C-

. C- 

He's a 52 year old multi-millionaire with kids. I don't expect him to be as creative or ambitious as he was when he was in his 20s and hungry.

  On 8/30/2023 at 4:45 PM, aderei said:

I personally think he isn't doing enough homework and needs to put more effort in. C-

I'm joking. I think the question itself is weird af. Go listen to old Aphex if you want old Aphex. But also tell me collapse didn't have tracks on it that blew your mind.

Nice poll. What strikes me about Aphex Twin is his authentic passion for music creation, with little regard for external opinions or norms. His most recent work stands out for its unique sonic character—there's an evident individuality to it that is simply compelling. What I respect in any artist is the liberty to pursue their vision authentically and wholeheartedly. In Aphex Twin's case, I don't think he ever set out to be "groundbreaking"; it's just a natural byproduct of his unfiltered creativity.

interesting thread here. i like it. some solid posts.

i'd like to say that aphex came up in a musical-social scene and a driving part of how this was perceived or even marketed had to do with "futuristic" sound; the excitement of defining boundaries of new genres and the excitement of pushing them; and an iconoclastic almost macho "innovationism." i think that scene is dead. and he's no longer a young man.

the underlying thing of richard has always been he does what he wants and doesn't give a fuck. "this record is just to make money fast bc i left my hard drive on a plane so it's whatever." "this record is just remixes i made for money." "i made this track in the car with the laptop plugged into the stereo, just having a laugh." and then the accompanying music is often so unbelievably good, of such an insanely high level of craft that you kinda have to think this whole attitude of "yeah whatever just having a laugh" is the actual joke bc he knows he's making mind-blowing shit.

it does kinda seem to me he doesn't really lean into that persona so much anymore. i think his musical statements are less severe and his public image is less provocative. again i think the scene is no longer there, the media landscape is different, music consumption is different. but i still think he's being himself. i see no compromise or weakening.

i think his music seems more understated these days. but i also think the craftsmanship is still there and it's still at a really fucking high level that most of us can hardly dream of. i think his attention to detail is probably greater than ever. people say "syro" was somehow weak or boring or whatever the fuck people were saying. but imo that stuff is so elegant, beautifully arranged, gorgeously mixed and produced, it's just completely on another level from what most artists in the game are capable of. it's really beautiful music imo. it's definitely less provocative, less in your face and bold, but it's no less moving and inspiring to me. and honestly, i still think he's showing off a lot in these newer records. especially considering the claim that some of this stuff is just stereo recordings of him pressing "play" on the sequencer and doing everything live. i mean, let's be real, that takes incredible artistry. like, go on youtube and listen to the countless videos of people doing live hardware music. it's like the difference between match light and the fucking sun.