Aphex Twin Aphex Twin interview 2011 @ Sonar

nothing new here

nothing new at all

  On 6/22/2011 at 4:19 AM, troon said:

ermp foreskin for fun games chew marth

this

  On 6/22/2011 at 4:01 AM, yek said:

he doesn't like me because i'm a fan?

 

 

i thought he cared because I did...

lol

Do you blame him for disliking his fanbase? If I spend too much time on watmm, I start to hate us, too. The massive fanboy entitlement. The weird aggression that he talked about that AM interview. But I at least have the option of turning the computer off. He doesn't get that option, he can't even go to the local supermarket or pub without some fanboy getting in his face. Can you imagine what it's like to live like that? I wouldn't want it.

The comments about his ex-wife, I already explained why those irked me so much. I'm a child of divorce. When one of my parents slagged off the other parent, in our living room or down the pub, it made me want to curl up and die. To have your dad slag off your mum in the international press, that shit is forever, it's permanent in a way that a casual conversational comment isn't. (Does it affect whether I still wanna suck his metaphorical cock? Ha! Smart girls know a bloke who talks shit about his exes will end up talking the same way about you.)

Even with that aside, I'm not sure I buy this whole "the divorce ate my homework" excuse - because Warp started putting out press statements about "another Aphex album, immanent, any moment now!" in March 2009. He didn't even mention divorce until January 2011, and it was such an out of nowhere surprise that the thread got deleted because ppl thought it was a hoax or something?

After two and a half years of promising an album any day now, it sounds like he's grabbing at straws to explain why there isn't one. Hell, if he doesn't want to make another album, don't make another album. He's entitled to rest on his laurels and DJ the festival circuit for the rest of his life. That's his choice to make, not ours. (Though I do wonder if he took an advance off Warp.) But quit with the excuses.

"I've been through some personal shit, got divorced, moved to Scotland, but I'm working again now" is a reasonable explanation. "I have 5 albums ready to go (though no one can hear them except me) but I'm not releasing them coz I don't want my ex wife to get any money" is passive-aggressive, blame-shifting, excuse-making. But hey, I guess we have an idea of what the next album will be called...

Hey, if he puts out another album next week, I guess I will eat those words *and* his massive ginger cock. But this interview has flipped me from "I WANT to believe" to Aphexgnostic.

But to be honest, I don't actually think any of this gossip detracts from the music or the fandom at all. Quite frankly, if there were a Hello! Magazine that talked about *interesting* people, and was all "RDJ comes clean about those divorce rumours" and "BoC invite Hello!DM into their lovely Highland nuclear bunker" and "Kate Bush shares her favourite hash brownies recipes and studio tips" I would *totally* read it, and so would most of you. The problem with "celebrity culture" is that most of the celebrities so lionised are completely vapid and uninteresting, not that there's anything wrong with the really fundamental human desire to gossip and know, well, the stuff about other humans that makes them *human*.

I get frustrated with Mr D.James sometimes (though pretty rarely as he mostly does seem to be pretty philosophically sound). It's important not to make a god of human beings because humans are imperfect. But it's exactly his humanity that makes his music so compelling to me. So much dance music and techno-bobbins, I listen to it and it just sounds like machine code. Which is fine. But Mr D.James has this way of making machines sound like they're actually talking to one another, and not just talking, but fighting, fucking, falling in love, getting pissed, going on adventures, getting angry, getting depressed - it is actually his flawed humanity, and his ability to translate that flawed humanity into really beautiful and moving music that makes his music so special that people are willing to put up with the dissembling and the procrasturbating and hope for another album.

That's one thing he got absolutely OTM in the interview - that what makes for good music is emotion.

Also, Kate Bush. That would be weird as hell. But TBH, two perfectionist stoners in a studio together? I don't think they'd make any music, I think they'd just bake pot brownies and talk about piskies all night.

  On 6/22/2011 at 2:43 PM, Masonic Boom said:

he can't even go to the local supermarket or pub without some fanboy getting in his face.

what? of course he fucking can - 99% of people in the UK have no idea who the hell he is. he probably gets recognised in Cornwall a bit more often, but I shouldn't think it's much of a problem...he's not George Clooney or some shit.

  On 6/22/2011 at 2:43 PM, Masonic Boom said:

I'm a child of divorce. When one of my parents slagged off the other parent, in our living room or down the pub, it made me want to curl up and die. To have your dad slag off your mum in the international press

yeah yeah blub blub yawn - i'm also "a child of divorce" (plus I think younger than you so I think it's time you got over it)....anyway, means nothing - every cunt gets divorced these days. plus i don't see anywhere where he "slagged off" his ex-wife at all. he might have mentioned legal complications in terms of assets etc, but i wouldn't call that slagging someone off.

  On 6/22/2011 at 2:43 PM, Masonic Boom said:

Do you blame him for disliking his fanbase? If I spend too much time on watmm, I start to hate us, too

er, but you're like by far the worst offender.

  On 6/22/2011 at 2:53 PM, BCM said:

  On 6/22/2011 at 2:43 PM, Masonic Boom said:

Do you blame him for disliking his fanbase? If I spend too much time on watmm, I start to hate us, too

 

er, but you're like by far the worst offender.

For what? Making cock jokes and saying he has pretty hair?

I'm just saying, that the level of stalky bullshit and personal hostility that I've had from this board, for the crime of being a silly fangirl that likes to make cock jokes- if that's the level of projection and aggression people here treat me, for *liking* him, I can't imagine how much worse people treat him, for *being* him.

He's doing a Derrick May.

  On 6/20/2011 at 10:38 AM, Rabid said:

  On 6/20/2011 at 7:05 AM, goDel said:

I have no clue.

 

Either the divorce-bit was completely untrue, or to some extent true minus some sort of dry humor. Or attempt at it. Because if there actually has been one, he needs to mature a bit on his humor, to say the least.

 

Plus, he either shouldn't have given the interview, or he should have taken it more serious. There's not much in between, imo. But hey, I haven't got much information to go with here. Still enough to judge him anyways. One word essentially made the entire story: divorce.

 

 

*goes back to judging the guy*

I don't get it. Since when is aphex supposed to take interviews seriously? Since when does he give politically correct answers. Like, there's nothing new here. Except maybe that he mentioned a subject that's touchy for you. I personally won't draw conclusions from this interview because he barely said anything.

The thing is, there's a huge difference between being "politically incorrect" with respect to your ex and your kid(s), and being "pol. inc." with respect to, lets say, submarines, bankvaults, new records, lost mp3 players, the amounts of unreleased tracks (you know, the usual crap). The ex and kid(s) actually are human beings. Submarines don't have friends or families. Exes and kid(s) do.

This interview was a load of crap, as usual. What was new, was the crap with respect to specific people (his ex and, arguably & indirectly his kid(s)). I can't remember that he talked crap about other people before. Apart from fans, and sheople in general. Targeting his ex in the El Pais is quite new. And I'll stick with calling it immature. Which is strengthened by the recurring subject of his stand on giving interviews. I'd imagine that after 20 years of experience with giving interviews, he'd became better at it. From the looks of it, he hasn't.

Talking crap is OK and all, but when specific people are addressed (his former family, of all people!), a boundary is crossed. I honestly don't get why people wouldn't draw that line (even in the context of nonsense interviews). Again, it was a national newspaper. Not some local scroll of toilet-paper.

BTW, It's not that this subject is touchy for me. I couldn't care less, tbh. Of course, this leaves still room for having an (semi-informed) opinion, which I do.

ps.: i'm sorry if this reply is a case of "food after dinner".

I also get the impression the true story is that his personal problems got in the way of releasing a new record. Why is his emphasis so much on showing he has so many releases ready? First it was 5 now its 10 next its 15 releases. Hard to take it seriously. I assume his fans are not ok with him touring instead of making music as much as they where not ok with him doing records instead of touring and that causes him to invent all this bullshit. Goes also well with some quote a while ago about him "currently rebuilding his studio". Sounds much more logical to me than having 10 releases ready. unfinshed tracks for sure but it takes time to get these done and they do not count as 5 complete releases when they are never finished or released.

It kind of reminds me of "I could do this too -> but you never did so you don't get any credit for it" statement by eno. 10 unreleased lps are worth 0

  On 6/18/2011 at 3:33 AM, impotentwhitecapitalist said:

he is truly a spiritually aware man. much respect and blessings to him.

 

 

ahh good to see my 2012th post is a spiritual one!

wat

just being weird

  On 6/22/2011 at 5:58 PM, o00o said:

10 unreleased lps are worth 0

Until they are released. Then they're worth 10. I get your point, but I do get excited to hear that he has loads of unreleased stuff, because because at least it's there (which is at least worth a bit more than the 0 you say.) Of course we may never hear most of that until he dies and someone leaks it all out in one massive move.

  On 6/22/2011 at 8:52 PM, KyonPalm said:

  On 6/22/2011 at 5:58 PM, o00o said:

10 unreleased lps are worth 0

 

 

...and then I snap back to reality and realize there's no way in hell he has anywhere near the 600+ tracks he always claims. *feelsbadman.jpg*

He sure has them but there is a huge difference between having some unfinished or mediocre tracks you are not willing to release or 5 finished awesome LPs with no miss at all. Every artist has many unfinished tracks he works on. That's how production works

masonic, i dont think you realise - when people refer to aphex stalkers on watmm, they use YOU as an example.

lol

  On 6/18/2011 at 3:20 PM, zazen said:

  On 6/18/2011 at 7:46 AM, marf said:

I feel bad for him.. and his kid.

also sad to hear he's not making music at the moment - for his sake, not for ours.

  On 6/20/2011 at 11:04 PM, acid1 said:

I really have no clue how many more months/days/hours/minutes of WATMM I can stand. You haters are ridiculous. Thank you to the OP and translators.

these points above all else IMO

Not much I want to say. As far as this money and divorce business goes, it'd explain the DJing but lack of releases. A gig is performance, at worse it's a "job." It just seems more emotionally substantial, as an artist, to making a living from releasing your personal music, so I'd understand a definite pause in doing so when you're in the middle of a divorce.

  On 6/22/2011 at 9:35 PM, kaen said:

masonic, i dont think you realise - when people refer to aphex stalkers on watmm, they use YOU as an example.

kaen, you might not realize that when aphex is hating on fanboys, it's not just about masonic, but about 90% of watmm-ers in general.

what's even worse: with respect to all the watmm-stalkers, she's shown more rational reasoning than many others have in this thread, imo. yes, i'm putting myself on the line defending masonic here. i just don't like the anti-masonic mentality. stalker or not. it's totally unnecessary and more a sign of the fundamentalism which comes with fanboism in general, imo.

  On 6/22/2011 at 9:48 PM, goDel said:

i just don't like the anti-masonic mentality.

seriously man, fuck those mason dudes, they like run the planet secretly for their own ends and shit.

lol

http://xltronic.com/mb/91850/0

honestly, I feel bad for him, for reasons i'm not going to go into

that thread's way old!

I'm well aware that the "OMG stalker!" comments are about 95% projection because hey, it's really funny how the same dudes who call *me* a stalker are the same dudes whose IP addresses turn up in my referral logs. Their little crushes on me are kinda flattering, in a creepy teenboy kinda way.

Anyway, I think o00o and goDel have pretty much covered the salient points and were pretty OTM.

The more I think about this interview, the more he seems just cranky and bored with the questions, which aren't particularly interesting TBH - it's entirely possible the whole thing is just RDJ trolling. He's certainly provoked a reaction out of us, though it's been interesting to see who's been peeved by which bits. I was reading an interesting bit of music criticism the other day, talking about the difference between artists who troll their critics, and artists who troll their own core fanbases, and which is smarter. He certainly has the latter down pat.

I kinda echo the people who say they feel sad for him. I went back and read the AM interview, and that question about what scares him the most, and his answer of "My own mind when I'm not making music. Like a lot of people, if I stop, I can be destructive." He seemed pretty self aware of his own tendencies, in that interview at least. Would be great if he was moving past that destructiveness.

  On 6/22/2011 at 10:47 PM, Masonic Boom said:

it's really funny how the same dudes who call *me* a stalker are the same dudes whose IP addresses turn up in my referral logs.

and how do you connect said IP addresses with particular posters here? that comment makes absolutely no sense.