Analogue Bubblebath 3-4, On EP + On Remixes

gibbon is pretty boss^

On

On - obviously one of Aphex's best songs of all time. beautiful melody, farting noises! the intro is probably the best intro RDJ has come up with, but he's not usually big for intros anyway. sublime, gorgeous.

73 Yips - just realized that this is a re-done (or original) version of Start as you mean to go on, lol. It's a bit groovier than the I Care version, but I still dig that one more for some reason. Great song though, hardcore beats throughout, keeps the industrial feeling of the EP.

D-Scape - We're going into near-SAW II territory here. This reminds me so much of Hedphelym from 85-92, deep and suppressed, just waiting to explode, but never does. I'd even go as far to say that this is Hedphelym (Industrial Remix).

Xepha - That creepy melody just shines in this one. The beats are nice, but that repetitive synth lead just strikes my ear every time it comes around. Great closer to the EP.

One of his best EPs definitely, superb album. 9/10

lol, like 10 people have asked me to change it

but he's cute, once you get to know him. I named him Calvin.

  On 4/1/2010 at 2:49 AM, bubbhasdance said:

lol, like 10 people have asked me to change it

Ignore them. =D

  On 4/1/2010 at 6:09 AM, ataraxy2 said:

  On 4/1/2010 at 2:49 AM, bubbhasdance said:

lol, like 10 people have asked me to change it

 

Ignore them. =D

ignore him

I still lol hard at yours Calx, I still don't know why

lol, i wish i could see it the same way. i guess i'm just used to seeing the album art with it

Don't see what the fuss is about with On. I don't like any of the tracks on the EP and the On remixes, with the exception of the mu-Ziq remix, which is alright I guess.

I personally think that On is in his best tracks, but that's just me

to each his own

Listened to AB4 a couple days ago, I think it's quite underrated.

Elephant Song - Primal is really the only word needed to describe it. The beat is extremely repetitive but it forces you to hear it's little details. The scream almost sounds like an animal until you hear it isolated, then you totally can tell it's RDJ. Not much else to it, there's a creepy synth sound, a 4/4 beat creeps in the middle of the song, and I hear a door creaking at points. Ends just as it feels too long, maybe too long for most people anyway.

Gibbon - Acidy, well made gabba track. I feel like it could of been a Caustic Window track.

Cuckoo - This one grew on me, very happy upbeat little melody...RDJ's excursion into Japanese techno?

Sloth - A bit long, but a good ambient track. Quite minimal percussion, I mean it's consistent but the beat loops change very gradually.

Knievel - My dad would appreciate this. The first part always makes me lol, and I like the kid's (or is it a woman...I can't quite tell with the effects and filters) question and the Snake Canyon reference.

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:33 AM, joshuatxuk said:

 

Cuckoo - This one grew on me, very happy upbeat little melody...RDJ's excursion into Japanese techno?

 

what exactly do you mean by that? i have not heard that term used before

Like, that cutesy side of japanese electronica

Well, stuff like Ken Ishii. It's still techno but the melodies are, well, "cutesy japanese."

i've never seen ab4 on vinyl, i suppose you can get it?

i like it. ab3 is kinda random but i bet it blew lots of people away when it was first released

on is amazing (the track), i think it must have influenced me quite a lot cause when i write my own tracks often it's that same mood, progression that i like

http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/21488432?ev=bp_titl

not bad!

  On 4/2/2010 at 4:47 AM, joshuatxuk said:

Well, stuff like Ken Ishii. It's still techno but the melodies are, well, "cutesy japanese."

I just checked out a Ken Ishii music video on Youtube, this stuff is fucking awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnU51pb47yM

Double post? Bah, who cares.

I've listened to AB3 all the way through, and now it's time for my review:

.215061 - We start the album with a lovely, warm, sunshiny track. The melody has a lot of depth, even though it mainly repeats the same note several times. I really love how the tone in the background suddenly jumps to the foreground at 2:10 and plays a little tune. Very good stuff.

.1993841 - This tracks is OK, but it's way too repetitive. Basically a plodding rhythm with lots of high-pitched bleeps and squeaks. It has another of AFX's dark melodies characteristic of his early works.

.0180871r - A great deal of this track is just vocoded samples of strange voices, with very simple, clattering percussion. At yet, it works. It builds into a great, spooky atmosphere. I guess it's the strings, they carry another, rather effective melody.

.942937 - I really, really like this track. A solemn, delicate chorus plays over an ear-piercing, relentless train of percussion. And somehow, he makes it work. We get an atmosphere that is energetic, yet sensitive. It reminds me of thunderclouds gathering on a dark, gloomy day. And the clouds are filled with loud nanotech robots chattering away.

.0180871l - This track is simply manic. A rainstorm of melodious little droplets, banging onto a surface and releasing streams of beeps. It has an epic rhythm, and later in the track, we hear a melody which amplifies the mood of the track without carrying a specific emotion.

.000890569 - One of the greatest tracks Richard has ever released. Transfixing acid techno with a very powerful, energetic rhythm. It radiates an indescribable mood which you simply must hear to understand. Beautiful.

.55278037732581 - This a very noisy, moody track. It is characterised by its skittering beats, its strobing pulses of bleeps, and most importantly, the highly acidic, foamy white noise which somehow turns into a grouchy, choleratic melody.

[AB3 CD track 8] - This is beautiful! Oh. My. God. Fluffy ambient techno with exquisite, heavenly melodies. What else can I say? 10/10

[AB3 CD track 9] - I don't actually like this one very much. Just a fairly simple acid track with a laughing sample that is apparently supposed to make it really good. It does have some good beats, but it generally goes on for too long.

AFX 6/b - AFX! dur durrr KCCH KCCH KCCH KCCCHHH dur durrr KCCH KCCH KCCH KCCCHHH dur durrr KCCH KCCH KCCH KCCCHHH dur durrr KCCH KCCH KCCH KCCCHHH

The Pigeon Street of AFX 114.

[AB3 CD track 11] - This track is actually the ambient backing to "The Garden of Linmiri" all by itself. Eerie, dark ambience with a sudden jolt of noise here and there. There are actually a lot of interesting noises if you listen closely, this must have taken a while to put together.

[AB3 CD track 12] - The musical value of a man breathing heavily as he shakes hands with the governor of love while having a shower.

[AB3 CD track 13] - And, to close off, how about some epic acid? This has some terrific percussion, clacking along over a panicky "you're running out of time!" melody. You can really get caught up in the rhythm here. Great for fast dancing. Anyway, the bubblebath is over. Pull the plug.

As you may or may not know, I have synaesthesia, and this particular release gives me a wealth of colours running through my head. So I am going to list them:

.215061 - Looks like yellow, shapely clouds, with a tinge of black.

.1993841 - A purple background with alternating red circles and lines of small black shapes. I think there's some white in there, too.

.0180871r - Yellow-orange shapes, like sketches of architecture, and strange black shapes.

.942937 - The high-pitched percussion is silvery-white, the soft chorus is like a line of ball-shaped light blue clouds.

.0180871l - Lines and lines of black circles with the occasional orange/brown squeal.

.000890569 - Shades of dark blue and light blue with a black background. The melody that comes in at 2:00 sounds white.

.55278037732581 - The chatter at the start is like a line of little red circles, the bass is black (low pitches are almost always black) and the foamy acid is green and white.

[AB3 CD track 8] - Light blue background, black and white percussion, blue and white melodies.

[AB3 CD track 9] - All the beats are black, pale blue background, white/green acid lines, the laughing is slightly red/pink.

AFX 6/b - The "dur-durr" is black and the "KCCH KCCH KCCCCH" is pure white.

[AB3 CD track 11] - Despite all the different noises, this is mainly deep blue, with tinges of black and grey.

[AB3 CD track 12] - Hard to describe

[AB3 CD track 13] - Main melody is red with a tinge of pink, all percussion is black.

And what AB3 review would be complete without a best to worst?

[AB3 CD track 8]

.000890569

.942937

.0180871l

.215061

[AB3 CD track 11]

AFX 6/b

.55278037732581

[AB3 CD track 13]

.1993841

[AB3 CD track 9]

.0180871r

[AB3 CD track 12]

Thank you for reading. Pretty soon I'll be writing reviews for On and AB4.

i see much more silver

I thought I really liked Aphex Twin, but reading these threads, I realize some of you guys really like Aphex Twin.

and if you're into autechre, then i suggest you just avoid that board. thehauntingsoul will ruin you.

Yeah, I've never been any good at fan forums. I'll be all "I thought that album was pretty good", & someone else will go "PRETTY GOOD?! HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A FAN OF INSERT BAND HERE?"

But, on topic: I thought the On EP was pretty good. One of the first RDJ releases I got. Haven't listened to the Remix EP too many times so I can't really make up my mind on it yet. Haven't heard any of the AB releases.

the muziq mix is the reason i got into Mike P

  On 4/3/2010 at 5:45 PM, Cryptowen said:

Yeah, I've never been any good at fan forums. I'll be all "I thought that album was pretty good", & someone else will go "PRETTY GOOD?! HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A FAN OF INSERT BAND HERE?

just remember that those are the kinds of fans that the artist would hate

  On 4/2/2010 at 6:44 AM, yek said:

ab3 is kinda random but i bet it blew lots of people away when it was first released

agreed. 3 has always seemed a bit awkwardly thrown together to me; nearly all the individual tracks are classics on their own, but it doesn't flow very well, whereas ab4 is more cohesive as a whole.

I almost wish I had synaesthesia sometimes, I'd like to experience these colors of these tracks