Drukqs is truly a modern masterpiece.

  On 10/27/2021 at 10:45 AM, milkface said:

I couldn't agree more, Vordhosbn genuinely painful to listen to in headphones/ earphones. Ziggomatic 17 too but I love the track enough to jam through the pain

Those 2 tracks i do like.. .. but in my fantasy Aphex land they'd have tussy/syro drums. 

Maybe the best album ever made

I have fond memories of stumbling upon the promotional website for this circa 2004. Not my favorite album overall but one I nonetheless listen to in awe on occasion. To be honest, and I hate saying this, but I can understand why it was met with lackluster reviews even if there were unfairly harsh. Especially in hindsight it's hard to understand why even those not keen on the overall album didn't gush over it's highlights: 20 years onward is particularly incredible when you think about the jump made he and others in the genre made from 1991 to 2001. 

stop listening to 128kbps mp3s you guys

joke joke

But yeah i think Drukqs has a very much PC tracker style sound that is different from the kind of sound he got out of his vintage synths and gear in later albums. Its a more piercing. aggressive and razor sharp sound, it cuts you more than the round and warm sound of Syro or Analord. But its what makes it work. Just the right amount of edge and pain to merge with the lush.

They wouldnt hit the same if they were not.

  On 10/27/2021 at 5:44 PM, thefxbip said:

They wouldnt hit the same if they were not.

 

I can appreciate that for sure. It is what it is and despite my qualms it does have a nostalgic place in my heart being of-an-era. Totally being a nitpicky cunt

  On 10/26/2021 at 5:15 PM, T3551ER said:

 @Scarb0a song that I've determined is based around the ultrasound of a baby and seems like it's from the perspective of an infant in the womb, 

Are you talking about gwety mernans? Ive had the same thought, not that I think that's the intention.

  On 10/28/2021 at 4:30 PM, vkxwz said:

Are you talking about gwety mernans? Ive had the same thought, not that I think that's the intention.

Yeah, that's it! Not completely convinced myself (re the perspective from the womb) but it's what it conjures in my head. Crystallized after I heard the ultrasound of my baby's heart for the first time (I was like... this sounds really familiar? oh right, Aphex - then I thought about what it must be like to be there, floating in the darkness w/ all warm and thoughtless with this liquid heartbeat sound and it felt like this track totally nails that.... whatever that actually is like though... who knows!....)

Penis Hihat.

Random observation for Aphex Twin Spotters. The Sky comedy called Brassic plays Gwety Mernans for a few seconds Season 1 episode 2 at 8mins 30secs. It was rather unexpected. That is all. Thank you.

Drukqs will never be topped by anything. The perfect album IMO.

  On 10/29/2021 at 3:23 PM, psn said:

Penis Hihat.

Yeah

  On 11/8/2021 at 4:00 PM, thumbass said:

Drukqs will never be topped by anything. The perfect album IMO.

Maybe Boards Of Canada Battle Extra Terrestrial Beings In Outer Space?

Coming to a record store near you. (But not necessarily soon)

What dawned on me today re Drukqs is that up until and including this album, Richard's musical progressions seemed to be based around classical and orchestral. Even when it didnt include actual strings, plucks, or voices, still the arpegiators or polysynths followed classical sounding riffs, often trancey too, sometimes even deceptively simple colorful melodies...

Analord and forward, it seems more experimental, atonal, fusion, funk, jazzy and so forth. Less musical simplicity / beauty / emotion, and more complexity, texture, and nuance. This isn't really a judgement, his music post 2001 is still brilliant as it is, I guess I never thought of this too much how Drukqs feels like it was the turning point until now. And I for sure miss that aspect.

Also, isn't that kind of the state of electronica / acid / idm / techno? Much of it from the mid 2000s.and forward was less of this simple melodic thing and more intricate musically or understated or "retro" whatever that may mean.

Listening to Strotha Tynhe, It's always sounded like a subtle phaser on this track but im realising now that its not moving in a consistent sin wave, the phase is all over the place. This + the way the track somehow feels like there is some extra "motion" going on at points makes me think that its not a phaser at all. Maybe the original recording has being re-recorded, with the position of the speaker or microphone moving around to create this effect. But then again the volume doesn't really change in that way and it doesn't feel like it moves around your head.

Ive also noticed this weird phasing in a lot of his other tracks, like the percussion on Heliosphan, anyone know what's going on here?

Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount and Ziggomatic 17 is really Top 3 Aphex Twin tracks for me. 

The drum programing combined with the ambient approach and beautiful melodies keeps me alert and calm at the same time.

Never gets old! 
 

  On 4/26/2022 at 11:35 AM, vkxwz said:

 

Ive also noticed this weird phasing in a lot of his other tracks, like the percussion on Heliosphan, anyone know what's going on here?

Janky cassette tape in the case of heliosphan probably lol

  On 4/26/2022 at 2:32 PM, Berk said:

Janky cassette tape in the case of heliosphan probably lol

Could be, this effect is all over SAW

  On 2/21/2022 at 11:25 PM, Lane Visitor said:

What dawned on me today re Drukqs is that up until and including this album, Richard's musical progressions seemed to be based around classical and orchestral. Even when it didnt include actual strings, plucks, or voices, still the arpegiators or polysynths followed classical sounding riffs, often trancey too, sometimes even deceptively simple colorful melodies...

 

Analord and forward, it seems more experimental, atonal, fusion, funk, jazzy and so forth. Less musical simplicity / beauty / emotion, and more complexity, texture, and nuance. This isn't really a judgement, his music post 2001 is still brilliant as it is, I guess I never thought of this too much how Drukqs feels like it was the turning point until now. And I for sure miss that aspect.

Also, isn't that kind of the state of electronica / acid / idm / techno? Much of it from the mid 2000s.and forward was less of this simple melodic thing and more intricate musically or understated or "retro" whatever that may mean.

 

Expand  

Imo, if anything Drukqs is when he got even MORE into classical not less. Before that it was mostly all kind of post-rave sounds (jungle,acid,techno)+ambient.

I agree that it also became more funk.

With drukqs he did a merge of  rave music + avant-garde classical, John Cage, Satie, Musique Concrete, Electroacoustic+funk.

Afterwards tho, i think the electroacoustic/music concrete/experimental aspect took a step back and the funk element took more and more space with The Tuss and Syro.

I dunno.. He released the "Computer controlled acoustic instruments pt2" EP tho.. 

I have only listen to that EP once, Its little bit too heavy for me and not so playful. Maybe its because I don't like acoustic instruments that much. 
If he had combined that material with some Syro/Tuss tracks it would be more like a Drukqs II album. 

 

  On 4/26/2022 at 8:46 PM, Summon Dot E X E said:

It makes for two nice playlists to pull the CCAI pt1 out of Drukqs and combine it with CCAI pt 2. The resultant pure energy of Drukqs and longer playtime of CCAI is cool.

It sounds good.. also tracks like Xmas Evet_10 goes along with tracks from the CCAI.. I Need to listen thru that EP again. 

Yeah true, and there is always the Fuji tape for abstract modular.

But what i mean is that never since Drukqs he incorporated funk, rave acid with high level of abstract texture/musique concrete/electroacoustic to the extent he did in Drukqs in a single track.

It still there but never to the same level than in the break tracks like Omgyjya-Switch7.

Thats the Tracker magic right there! I think is not even possible to make stuff like that from a Cirklon Sequencer.. Not that he only uses that but you know.. 

Probably a different mindset too.

Syro is a lot warmer and groovy. 

Drukqs break trx have a really cold, austere and aggressive vibe. Must have been going through some shit while making some of them.