Worst Aphex track

  On 1/4/2025 at 6:35 PM, ARPA said:

Ventolin is probably the worst of the worst because of the shitty tinnitus noise.

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No idea what you are talking about...    I don't hear anything like that.
EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

  On 11/2/2024 at 6:22 AM, guidewire said:

Beck - Devils Haircut remix?

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This. I like the voice distortion but then it sounds pretty half assed. Arguably though it was ahead of it's time - it has a very amateur remix uploaded to youtube vibe lol

I can't think of a notably bad tracks just stuff I don't care for as much anymore - like "Come To Daddy" for example. It's great but I rarely have an inkling to listen to it.

  On 1/10/2025 at 1:11 PM, Itsu said:

Awesome track.

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Agree 

I actually like Ventolin but I get why people wouldn't like it. For me it teeters on the edge of being too abrasive without going over and it has a great melody.

Just curious how noise fans here feel about it?

Ventolin is the logical end point of that most basic IDM ground rule: juxtaposing clanky abrasive rhythmic elements with clean beautiful melodic elements. The thing with Ventolin is that he really rides the line of what is acceptable, the crunchiness of the drums and the screeching is almost too much. The clean synth part isn't some heartstring tugging thing either, its a sort of meandering, panicked sort of elevator music, uneasy with itself, unable to settle. Its a brilliant piece, conceptually but it isn't a pleasant listen, I think its the punk side of him coming out, Anyway you need a few Ventolins to counter-balance all the Mookids.

ventolin is ambient

  On 1/19/2025 at 2:36 PM, Key said:

Ventolin is the logical end point of that most basic IDM ground rule: juxtaposing clanky abrasive rhythmic elements with clean beautiful melodic elements. The thing with Ventolin is that he really rides the line of what is acceptable, the crunchiness of the drums and the screeching is almost too much. The clean synth part isn't some heartstring tugging thing either, its a sort of meandering, panicked sort of elevator music, uneasy with itself, unable to settle. Its a brilliant piece, conceptually but it isn't a pleasant listen, I think its the punk side of him coming out, Anyway you need a few Ventolins to counter-balance all the Mookids.

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Yes. The mixture of abrasive and smooth parts is exactly what attracted me to Aphex's music. How brutal and beautiful it sounds at the same time. Which kind of explains why I'm not into his later stuff that much. And the whole microtonality for me is kind of meh. It's not really that interesting to me.

And punk side yes, but he was also influenced by early gabber and hardcore techno. And I could hear it when I started to listen to Aphex because I was listening to gabber before I was listening to him.

I sorta see Ventolin as the habanero pepper of music. It is painful yet pleasurable to experience.
Far from his worst track. It succeeds what it sets out to accomplish. I can’t imagine the batch of songs on that EP without it. It establishes the tone of the whole release. Once you get through it, the other tracks have a certain air of safety that unites the whole experience. 
Kinda like a big glass of horchata after your spicy taco. 

cmon guys we've got to find the answer to this before the board shuts down

  On 2/5/2025 at 10:29 PM, zazen said:

cmon guys we've got to find the answer to this before the board shuts down

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Yeah cmon guys. We need to get 100% confirmation before the board shuts down that Arched Maid Via Rdj is almost certainly the worst officially released aphex track.

That said someone should probably start a definitive poll to determine the best afx track, given that this is ultimately an afx fanboy forum. Yes its been done several times over the last 20+ yrs but it's never been done NOW with every aphex song ever existing at this monumental point in time.  

So yeah. Someone start the poll to end all polls from the people who know.

And yeah. It's confirmed arched maid is the worst

Easily

Arched Maid is a really, really good track tho

Xtal, that shit is so corny

People in 2025 buy a saw vinyl to hear xtal

Pls kill yourself

  On 2/6/2025 at 12:51 AM, Ivan Ooze said:

Xtal, that shit is so corny

People in 2025 buy a saw vinyl to hear xtal

Pls kill yourself

 

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We are the music makers is a pretty shit song tbh

tbh no artist has a "bad track" since the aura/name is associated with it. A "bad" Aphex Twin track would be a track that hasn't any attribute that makes it an "Aphex Twin" track. I could possibly say that some tracks in the SoundCloud could be "bad" but because they are unfinished, for example the Matriarch one, which has potential, but left it as is.

  On 2/6/2025 at 4:56 AM, geosmina said:

tbh no artist has a "bad track" since the aura/name is associated with it. A "bad" Aphex Twin track would be a track that hasn't any attribute that makes it an "Aphex Twin" track. I could possibly say that some tracks in the SoundCloud could be "bad" but because they are unfinished, for example the Matriarch one, which has potential, but left it as is.

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Yeah that doesn't make any sense

Father from Drukqs

  On 2/5/2025 at 11:19 PM, perunamuusi said:

best afx track

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shiny metal rods, duh