Surfing on Sine Waves is better than Selected Ambient Works 85-92

There, I said it.

SOSW is perfect. Maybe it is because it was recorded pretty much all at the same time, same studio, whereas selected ambient works is more of a compilation. SOSW just puts me in this perfect melancholy zone of beauty and sleep. Its mixed SO nicely, SAW is all over the place, perhaps SAW has more charm, but overall as an album, SOSW does it for me like nothing else out there. I can listen to the whole thing and just feel great, satisfied, enlightened, calm. SOSW has no blemishes.

i dunno about no blemishes, but it is most certainly more cohesive as an album. I like it better i reckon.

I like If it Really Is me.

yeah I guess. I never really thought about that though, as the atmosphere is otherwise quite the same. "can't pick a favourite overall record as they're all different and great in different ways." You hit the nail on the head, I love all aphex albums, thats the problem, you can't really RATE them in any order.

so aphex albums are over here being rated, saw2 is off to the side kind-of hanging out on its own

I have to disagree. There's something about the melodies & lo-fi sound of SAW 85-92 that resonates with me.

They feel like tunes you've known all your life. Very nostalgic.

That's not to say I don't think SOSW is utterly brilliant.

SOSW is probably my favourite RDJ album

Quino-Phec is bliss

Audax Powder is one of my favourite Aphex songs.

Are we talking the original release, or the 2000 reissue that featured two extra tracks Rich dug up from his Polygon Window archives?

that untitled track

I sometimes listen to Quino-Phec on loop over and over and over as I sleep for hours and hours and hours.

  On 8/4/2009 at 11:54 PM, boris said:

I sometimes listen to Quino-Phec on loop over and over and over as I sleep for hours and hours and hours.

This. Quino-Phec is my favourite track from this release...

Although I wouldn't say this release is better than SAW 85-92, too many timeless tracks on SAW...

I probably listened to SOSW more than any other RDJ release.

I don't want to rate any of his early albums though, that would be a crime.

Meh. I don't think much of Surfing on Sine Waves. Quino-phec is amazing though.

I'm not into that sound, so I'm not fond of SAW either. But I prefer it to Surfing on Sine Waves. Just for Heliosphan. Tha. Green Calx. Xtal. Schottkey 7th Path. Actually, listening to SAW just now makes me realize I sometimes love that sound. Listening to Surfing on Sine Waves just before it makes me realize I mostly don't.

I think Tha is one of my favourite Aphex Twin tracks.

  On 8/4/2009 at 10:38 PM, aencre said:

that untitled track

yes

i'm sure my opinion on which is better would change constantly, but i feel a much more consistant mood with SOSW. but i don't think it makes it better, they both kick ass

  On 8/4/2009 at 10:38 PM, aencre said:

that untitled track

My favourite.

Most tracks on SAW 1 are pretty meh   

Surfing on Sine Waves....ahh memories I had with that record. The fact that it still gives memories shows its timelessness.

im inclined to agree, except xtal is one of the best tracks EVER. It really is a moment of genius.

i think the same about Heliosphan and actium

Possibly because I haven't had much time with SoSW, but it just doesn't click with me the way SAW 85-92 does.

I recognize that SoSW is great, but for me at least, it's an album that I need to be in a certain mindset to appreciate, and that isn't very often.

SAW is a beautiful go-to album all the time any time, there is a magic vested in its sounds that never fails to be emotionally engaging. The basslines on songs like Ageispolis, Actium, Watmm, and of course Xtal are just ethereal and other-worldly. The fact that it's so simple and lo-fi yet manages to connect on a complex level make SAW my pick

  On 8/7/2009 at 2:16 AM, Marked x 0ne said:

it's an album that I need to be in a certain mindset to appreciate, and that isn't very often.

i feel the same about almost any album. i need heavy rotation for all music before getting back to it

don't forget about audax powder. that might be my favorite. next best is [untitled].

i think quixote, untitled and if it really is me are my faves. if it really is me is a completely different afx sound

bringing this back; SOSW is that sweet sweet blend of acid techno and ambient, and its climbing the ranks of my top 5 RDJ albums rapidly. audax powder is massive, but Untitled takes the cake for me. Quino-Phec sets his discog chronological sequence up perfectly for SAW II. killer LP.