SAW II turns 30

  On 10/3/2024 at 12:47 PM, hayhook said:

Rhubarb orc rev should have been it's own separate release with maybe a fwd version and something else from that concert.

It's anachronistic and not in the same sound palate as the rest of the album. shouldn't have been a bonus.

Obvious picks: Red Calx (slo) or On (28 Mix) or the TEEX AB3 Track or an unreleased something no one has heard before?

My two cents.

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red calx = no

on 28 mix = yes

ab3 track 11 = underwhelming/boring

5 just fall asleep = i would've loved to see this! unreleased saw2 yeah?

alternate version of domino = subtly implied by the soundcloud uploads of radiator (both versions) and saw2 version of domino (titled "modal 10").

i still don't get the hype for the red calx track (either version). maybe the title is drawing a lot of attention to it. to me it's just a very dry, uninteresting track with an atmosphere that sounds a bit forced. plus, i don't believe the technique of slowing the speed of the track down to 50% (or 25%) was not used in any saw2 tracks on the original release, but it was used on th1 slo and it bugs me a little. seems like a soundcloud thing.

Red Calx is beautiful. One of his all time best ambient outtakes.

  On 10/3/2024 at 10:38 PM, species8472 said:

find this hard to believe

check the new stone in focus upload:

at 3:46 there is a weird glitch sound in your right ear that wasn't present in the original.

That glitch was always there. Just more pronounced on this release. Bit louder, clear and in front. Less muffled in tape hiss. 
imo

Purchased digitals now available for download on aphextwin.warp.net

Re: the omission of Red Calx, I agree it doesn't match the heights of Blue Calx but I still like it a lot. Its yet another permutation of the same idea that many of the best SAWII tracks are based on: a metronomic pulse and then a looped melancholic chord sequence/melodic figure played with a string/classical orchestra type patch/sample.

Red Calx seems to have been worked on less because a lot of the sounds are dry and less treated, maybe Richard thought there was already one too many of this same idea and left it be, but he is still extraordinarilly talented at doing these tracks and even a lesser one is still very enjoyable.

I had assumed that he had already slowed down the original SAWII tracks on tape, i thought that was the working fan theory on how he made a lot of it, what with the slightly grainy textures and whatnot.

  On 10/4/2024 at 3:46 AM, Satans Little Helper said:

That glitch was always there. Just more pronounced on this release. Bit louder, clear and in front. Less muffled in tape hiss. 
imo

You are right but you have to turn up the volume annoyingly loud to hear it faintly. Idk why they made it so prominent in the remaster.

  On 10/4/2024 at 12:36 PM, Wunderbar said:

You are right but you have to turn up the volume annoyingly loud to hear it faintly. Idk why they made it so prominent in the remaster.

Had no idea they remastered it since the 2017 digitals were put on the aphex store but apparently this is exactly the case and they've turned the gain up considerably on this edition, possibly causing this audible clipping/saturation in places - https://www.reddit.com/r/aphextwin/comments/1e664d7/saw_ii_expanded_remastered/

  On 10/4/2024 at 12:49 PM, Scaramouche said:

 

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That’s reeealy noise

  On 10/3/2024 at 10:24 PM, killabyte11 said:

I'll have to compare the remaster to the original when I get my CD.  There are tracks on SAWII that are quite raw/dirty so I'm not sure if you're  hearing the songs as they're intended or if there's something noticeably different from the orignals.

was listening in car, where everything else I listened to sounded better/fuller/deeper/more nuanced than I had ever heard. then played stone in focus and it was just frying the speakers. then had the same thing happen on my denon/dali home setup.  (though it sounds just fine on my head phones/klipsch computer speakers/marshall portable etc)

  On 10/2/2024 at 6:27 PM, Dragon said:

it's amazing to finally hear this in such good quality

what are your thoughts, papa joyrex?

Ssss... aight

quite aight?

Oh man! Just down the road from me, but I was at work!

"

Rough Trade Nottm is very excited to present an in-store 'Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Expanded Edition)' Listening Event from Aphex Twin. This unique event celebrates the release of 'Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Expanded Edition), released via Warp.

The following will be available at this event:

Posters: A limited number of posters will be available for attendees, while stocks last.

Slipmat Giveaway: A pair of Aphex slipmats are up for grabs for fans attending the event.

Goodie Bag Competition: One fan from the UK will win a goodie bag containing an Aphex umbrella, Aphex clothing and a copy of both London 19.08.2023 and Barcelona 16.06.23 12"s. 

  On 10/4/2024 at 1:01 PM, hayhook said:

was listening in car, where everything else I listened to sounded better/fuller/deeper/more nuanced than I had ever heard. then played stone in focus and it was just frying the speakers. then had the same thing happen on my denon/dali home setup.  (though it sounds just fine on my head phones/klipsch computer speakers/marshall portable etc)

Interesting.  I bounced back and forth between the 24 bit remaster and a CD rip of the original, just on the first track so far and didn't hear a huge difference.  Definitely a slight bump in volume which isn't always a good thing.  On the original, certain tracks definitely have moments where they distort but that's never bothered me.  If compression was used in the remastering process, it could definitely exacerbate those effects.  I haven't compared Stone In Focus yet but it sounds like you're listening on some pretty decent systems.  I compared the digital tracks on studio monitors.  Listening to the vinyl on my home stereo system, nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at me.

  On 10/5/2024 at 7:23 AM, killabyte11 said:

Interesting.  I bounced back and forth between the 24 bit remaster and a CD rip of the original, just on the first track so far and didn't hear a huge difference.  Definitely a slight bump in volume which isn't always a good thing.  On the original, certain tracks definitely have moments where they distort but that's never bothered me.  If compression was used in the remastering process, it could definitely exacerbate those effects.  I haven't compared Stone In Focus yet but it sounds like you're listening on some pretty decent systems.  I compared the digital tracks on studio monitors.  Listening to the vinyl on my home stereo system, nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at me.

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so, I think I found the culprit.

Playing my 1979 vinyl sounds great. (still awaiting new vinyl in the mail)

Playing new digitals via airplay from iphone to car and iphone to home system: distorted all to hell.

Playing new digitals over bluetooth from computer, sounds fucking fantastic even at high volume. No distortion at all.

It's just weird that this seems to be the only album that blows speakers, when I airplay to my home stereo or in a car from my iphone

so: something is fucked up in my iphone->airplay EQ or something. anyone got any tips how to fix this? (PM me? so not hijacking the thread anymore)

So sad. I know how he feels

  On 10/5/2024 at 1:49 PM, Caged Element said:

So sad. I know how he feels

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That's beautiful

just popping in to say this record is a masterpiece and one of the best albums of all time. 

i know richard has many accomplishments and this isn't his only masterpiece but imo this one just kinda has that special, inimitable aura to it. you put this shit on, you're going to richard's world and nothing else takes you to this world. it's deep, it's strange, it feels intense and personal sometimes.

imo, this album is a blessing

-alco

https://www.instagram.com/p/DA1laeipPpr/?igsh=dTF2dndsbGNjcTI2

If I was in London I'd probably go to that one tripped out for a laugh and dance

Those Rhubarb notes are very touching I've spent many hours reflecting to that song playing events over and over like a dream

  On 10/7/2024 at 11:04 PM, Alcofribas said:

just popping in to say this record is a masterpiece and one of the best albums of all time. 

i know richard has many accomplishments and this isn't his only masterpiece but imo this one just kinda has that special, inimitable aura to it. you put this shit on, you're going to richard's world and nothing else takes you to this world. it's deep, it's strange, it feels intense and personal sometimes.

imo, this album is a blessing

 

-alco

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It’s definitely a grail record for me

  On 10/7/2024 at 11:12 PM, Mattthegoone said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DA1laeipPpr/?igsh=dTF2dndsbGNjcTI2

If I was in London I'd probably go to that one tripped out for a laugh and dance

now that's a proper listening party venue. much more appropriate than yer local record store.

too bad it's a free non-ticketed event in LONDON, can you even begin to imagine how many unbearable cunts are gonna be in there

  On 10/5/2024 at 1:49 PM, Caged Element said:

So sad. I know how he feels

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Yes very sad and very human of him to say this and especially to share something so intimate with us! I still don’t know how he feels but I’m imagining that more and more lately bc my parents are getting very old

  On 10/8/2024 at 8:28 PM, xox said:

I still don’t know how he feels but I’m imagining that more and more lately

Unfortunately for me, I can. It's an awful feeling