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Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Somewhere, between E.D.M.'s conception, you know, the innocent years of the 1970's, with pioneers like Kraftwerk, somewhere between then and today's "ready for the drop?" festival culture, there was this certain sweet spot of electronic dance music- I'm talking about the 90's electronica dance scene. Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, etc. 90's music may be known for grunge- when Nirvana brought underground punk to the masses- but the true underground scene of the 90's was the dance scene & culture. No-one was making bigger splashes & or bigger waves than U.K.'s own Richard D. James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, Caustic Window, Expert Knob Twister, user18081971 & user48736353001 on SoundCloud.... the list goes on. Aphex is known for songs like "Windowlicker" and seminal albums, such as 1992's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (which you will find on many critics' "Best Albums of the '90's" lists) and 1994's Selected Ambient Works II, which found the artist really switching things up, from acid-techno to really embracing the "ambient" side of things, this album is quiet and chill and full of amazing compositions. Selected Ambient Works II also has an entire book written about it, so I'd check that out if you want to explore more about this phenomenal and ground-breaking artist. Aphex, or AFX, was my true awakening when it comes to E.D.M., electronic music, or as my 90's-baby-self of nostalgia likes to call it, electronica. I remember during my high school years anytime someone asked me what kind of music I like my go-to response was, "Everything except modern country and techno." Well, 2008 Sean would surley laught at 2020 Sean- because now I love both: Modern Country (shout out to Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson) and Techno (shout out to the Kompakt record label and their Total compilation series). Anyways, back to AFX: he is a pioneer of I.D.M. (intellectual dance music [true branding of a genre]) and everything that has come in the wake of his long and influential path. Everybody from Skrillex to Flying Lotus (who included an Aphex Twin song on his Grand Theft Auto V radio-station) breathe and speak Aphex's gospel. Getting back to my awakening with E.D.M., Aphex Twin was truly my opening- my rabbit hole- the first door I went through & really embraced music made created on a computer. I kept seeing his name pop up on the aforementioned "Best of the 90's" lists on online publications and remember reading about him in The Pitchfork 500. I couldn't keep ignoring this guy so I checked him out and boy am I glad I did. Richard D. James opened me up to a whole new world of music I was too stubborn or close-minded to embrace before experiencing this giant of a musician. He taught me DJ's could be true musicians in the sense of compisition, writing, producing, building from scratch. Not every musician needs a drummer, they can have a drum machine or drum programs. It took me awhile to embrace this and Richard D. James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, was the man who crashed all my silly assumptions and ignorance. A little bit about Richard: He was born in Ireland, grew up in Cornwall, and displayed prodigious skills for music and computer coding at an early age. In the late 80's he was DJing at beach parties and clubs. James throws all of his own music into hip-hop, acid, garage, and jungle-heavy sets. If this is your first foray into the world wide web of AFX's music: I would recommend starting off with "Flim" (which anyone with ears will be able to hear its beauty) or "Xtal". Both would be good places to start. Aphex Twin: Kick drums! Breakbeats! Fuzzy melodies! Blurred vocals! Shoegaze techno? Sure! He's got it all. I could go on about AFX's massive influence, his unique sound, or his inability to stay in one place for too long & do the expected. This is a man who spent thirteen years between albums. He is obviously doing things on his own agenda. Isn't that beautiful? This is a man on his own brain-wave-length- making music that he wants to make, out to impress no-one- the way it should be... It's not Siamese... It's...
Aphex Twin
Further Reading
Further Viewing
Further Discovery
Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Somewhere, between E.D.M.'s conception, you know, the innocent years of the 1970's, with pioneers like Kraftwerk, somewhere between then and today's "ready for the drop?" festival culture, there was this certain sweet spot of electronic dance music- I'm talking about the 90's electronica dance scene. Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, etc. 90's music may be known for grunge- when Nirvana brought underground punk to the masses- but the true underground scene of the 90's was the dance scene & culture. No-one was making bigger splashes & or bigger waves than U.K.'s own Richard D. James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, Caustic Window, Expert Knob Twister, user18081971 & user48736353001 on SoundCloud.... the list goes on. Aphex is known for songs like "Windowlicker" and seminal albums, such as 1992's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (which you will find on many critics' "Best Albums of the '90's" lists) and 1994's Selected Ambient Works II, which found the artist really switching things up, from acid-techno to really embracing the "ambient" side of things, this album is quiet and chill and full of amazing compositions. Selected Ambient Works II also has an entire book written about it, so I'd check that out if you want to explore more about this phenomenal and ground-breaking artist. Aphex, or AFX, was my true awakening when it comes to E.D.M., electronic music, or as my 90's-baby-self of nostalgia likes to call it, electronica. I remember during my high school years anytime someone asked me what kind of music I like my go-to response was, "Everything except modern country and techno." Well, 2008 Sean would surley laught at 2020 Sean- because now I love both: Modern Country (shout out to Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson) and Techno (shout out to the Kompakt record label and their Total compilation series). Anyways, back to AFX: he is a pioneer of I.D.M. (intellectual dance music [true branding of a genre]) and everything that has come in the wake of his long and influential path. Everybody from Skrillex to Flying Lotus (who included an Aphex Twin song on his Grand Theft Auto V radio-station) breathe and speak Aphex's gospel. Getting back to my awakening with E.D.M., Aphex Twin was truly my opening- my rabbit hole- the first door I went through & really embraced music made created on a computer. I kept seeing his name pop up on the aforementioned "Best of the 90's" lists on online publications and remember reading about him in The Pitchfork 500. I couldn't keep ignoring this guy so I checked him out and boy am I glad I did. Richard D. James opened me up to a whole new world of music I was too stubborn or close-minded to embrace before experiencing this giant of a musician. He taught me DJ's could be true musicians in the sense of compisition, writing, producing, building from scratch. Not every musician needs a drummer, they can have a drum machine or drum programs. It took me awhile to embrace this and Richard D. James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, was the man who crashed all my silly assumptions and ignorance. A little bit about Richard: He was born in Ireland, grew up in Cornwall, and displayed prodigious skills for music and computer coding at an early age. In the late 80's he was DJing at beach parties and clubs. James throws all of his own music into hip-hop, acid, garage, and jungle-heavy sets. If this is your first foray into the world wide web of AFX's music: I would recommend starting off with "Flim" (which anyone with ears will be able to hear its beauty) or "Xtal". Both would be good places to start. Aphex Twin: Kick drums! Breakbeats! Fuzzy melodies! Blurred vocals! Shoegaze techno? Sure! He's got it all. I could go on about AFX's massive influence, his unique sound, or his inability to stay in one place for too long & do the expected. This is a man who spent thirteen years between albums. He is obviously doing things on his own agenda. Isn't that beautiful? This is a man on his own brain-wave-length- making music that he wants to make, out to impress no-one- the way it should be... It's not Siamese... It's...
Aphex Twin
Further Reading
Further Viewing
Further Discovery
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