The Richard D. James thread

[A L I X]

Richard D. James, or as most people know him, Aphex Twin, is a household name for electronic music. Since he (probably, if we do believe him) was 14 year old or younger, he has become one of the most important electronic artists of all time, having made some of the most influential electronic albums of all time, having over 16 alternative artistic personas, releasing dozens of different EPs, singles and albums, experimenting with electronic genres like a kid playing with Legos (and being what could be considered a father to one, Intelligent Dance Music). Whether his works are:

Normal IDM

View: https://youtu.be/RhHkUg-QCwk?si=rzfD-xy_rMt-MDkv
Ambient pieces

View: https://youtu.be/_AWIqXzvX-U?si=O7msExQVoDRW4LOq
Chaotic and sometimes even sentimental drill and bass

View: https://youtu.be/MdZs5PVcwBs?si=_y7eU9jhcJghIecb
Acid Techno

View: https://youtu.be/u3sQlgtKw0A?si=NMVzbahUu23PV78J
Bizarre videos

View: https://youtu.be/eRvfxWRi6qQ?si=ZsQ1T2kezdf4EQGm
Collaborations with other great IDM artists (https://youtu.be/vZOJaQxEKeo?si=HIKjCgwbfxHbgrLy)
Musical tinnitus (https://youtu.be/fa-8GsMhznc?si=f-nuMtQ7zbpAjBkA)
Eldritch musical horrors (https://youtu.be/ZBU3uAzRejs?si=IXmgABOmyYHmU49R)
And some really sad pieces too (https://youtu.be/nHWdpfrLqGM?si=V6kqdZu9TRfVLlIB)
Richard D. James may be the most prolific and unique electronic artist of all time. And this is just a tiny tiny part of his entire discography. There will probably never be another artist like him.

@LostintheCycle

 

[SchizoNomad]

Honestly, I prefer his more Techno songs with drum machines instead of break samples, they're more minimalist and really sound like something I could put on in the background while I do something else.
Also, Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 is seriously underrated.

 

[A L I X]

Honestly, I prefer his more Techno songs with drum machines instead of break samples, they're more minimalist and really sound like something I could put on in the background while I do something else.

It's the opposite for me, albums like Richard D. James Album and some of the songs in Syro are the music that best helps me to concentrate to write. Girl/Boy Song and 4 are some of my favourite tracks from him.

 

[big_ping07]

it's always a pleasure listening to his releases. you can tell he's having fun. riding all the beats. doing whatever sounds good and feels right.
my first exposure to him was with "Windowlicker" around the age of 5. my older sibling had stumbled upon it. we were hooked from then on. i don't think there's any project of his that i would rate lower than a 7/10.
i second that Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 is underrated. almost criminally. it might be my favorite. it's an entire world in an album. i wish #9 could play in the background of my daily life.
i don't catch myself listening to much of his work anymore (there's just so much music to explore!), but this seems like a good time to revisit my faves. starting with syro... because s950tx16wasr10 is on there.

here's to Aphex Twin. what an honor to be alive in a time where i can enjoy his art!

 

[kodeb8]

One of the things I love about RDJ is he's done so many songs, his catalog feels almost endless. A few years ago he made a random soundcloud account and started dumping a bunch of unreleased tracks.

 

[LostintheCycle]

Sorry I responded late, I wrote something but I pressed submit just as the server went into maintenance. Anyway...
RDJ is amazing, I love how he has such a distinct style that resonates through all the extremities his music goes to.
I listened to about half his discography, if you count the user18081971 stuff, which was a tough feat. I've listened to most of his stuff released from the early 90s to the mid 00s.

i don't think there's any project of his that i would rate lower than a 7/10.

Oh there is definitely some.
Analogue Bubblebath Vol. 5 I'd give it a 4/10 overall, except for the first track which is absolutely incredible (easily a 9, maybe a 10). The rest of it is meh though, IIRC it wasn't even released because RDJ was not satisfied with it and I'm with him on that. So I guess can't be too harsh.
Some other ones that were mediocre include Gak, a couple of the Analords, that thing with the flying piano...

 

[A L I X]

Happy Avril 14th everyone!

View: https://youtu.be/uxTdTaNIUxo?si=ta-Rb6WdN3UpHicL

 

[Vaporweeb]

View: https://soundcloud.com/satinacorn/avril-14th-warm-analogue-cover?si=6e712b692885419d82ed0d37720e38ca&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

 

[sinaptica]

I always think of him like the contemporary Mozart.

I'll never forgive him for destroying (rumours say) the master for Selected Ambient Works II

The world would be a better place if we had a vinyl reissue of this masterpiece. It's not difficult to understand, Richard.

He only cares about his dammed Ferret MKIII armoured car.

 

[spjörk]

one of my faves from the soundcloud dump, so many legendary tracks tucked away on there

 

[MySpace Tom]

I love RDJ. I used to spin the 51/13 Aphex Singles Collection on my CD player. I still blast 26 Mixes for Cash out the windows in the summer. A couple of months back, I posted my rare longbox copy of drukqs but I think the post got deleted

The first time I technically heard an RDJ track was probably on Nine Inch Nails' remix album Further Down The Spiral, which was At The Heart of It All. The story of that track is that Aphex Twin was approached to remix a song for Nine Inch Nails and agreed to do it. About a month later, the execs came by to pick it up, but he completely forgot to work on it. So he had the execs wait for like an hour to "go get it", but he just pieced it together from a completely unrelated track he had sitting around. That's why it's credited as "created by Aphex Twin" rather than "remixed by", which is hilarious

I used to work retail at a grocery store. One time, the store completely ran out of milk. My boss (AKA: the guy who failed to order milk) told me that he called a manager at another store who agreed to let us get some of their stock. He told me to drive over, load up my car, and bring it back. I go down to the store and these guys help me load my little 2001 Chevy Cavalier with something like 18 crates of milk. They're in the trunk. They're on the floors. They're buckled up in every open seat, stacked up to the short ceiling. As I take off, I suddenly remember: I have the Richard D James album (with special bonus tracks) in the back seat! I reached behind the seats between stacks of crates, pulled it out of the backseat pocket, and jammed it into the CD player. I was cruising down the freeway at 65 miles per hour, A/C cranked up, car full of milk, with the radio maxed out blasting Milkman. "I WOULD LIKE SOME MILK FROM THE MILKMAN'S WIFE'S TITS!" It was one of the most surreal and hilarious moments that I remember

Speaking of Milkman, a lot of people got exposure to Aphex Twin thanks to David Firth on platforms like Newgrounds. His animations were a little unhinged

One time I was at Newbury Comics and found a huge assortment of original AFX records. I was scooping them up when some guy came up and tried to get them from me since he said he saw them first. Thankfully there were a few dupes so I let him have those, but I kept anything that only had a single copy. The total amount was over $300. I tried to talk the store into giving me a discount since I was getting so many records. They at least took the tax off which was cool since I was expecting them to just give me a straight up "no"

I'm actually surprised at how overrated SAW II is. It's all that ever seems to come up whenever people talk about RDJ anywhere. I was talking to a coworker about music and he said he loved Aphex Twin, but SAW II was the only album he would ever listen to. He didn't even know what drukqs was. It's kind of like when a Radiohead fan says that they haven't heard their other work, but they love the band and their favorite song is definitely Creep

Anyways, here are some (among many) of my favorite Aphex Twin songs:

AFX - Arched Maid Via RDJ


This track has three movements. It goes from having fun and playing around to slowing down and taking things seriously, to finally scrambling forward, hopeful for the future in the face of uncertainty. I find it to be uplifting

The Tuss - Akunk


What can I say? This track is just wabby. This song is what it would feel like to be Rocky Rodent wandering the city on bendy legs after huffing a shitload of hairspray

Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy


(This hasn't been mentioned yet either?) I love this track. It makes fun of nu metal radio rock, but became a hit single on its own, outshining the music that it was dunking on. The music video is also fun. Chris Cunningham must have had a blast making it

---

Ventolin was already brought up as musical tinnitus, which is true. Though I don't know which track is more of a shitpost: that, or...

AFX - Elephant Song


This track is to Aphex Twin as what Big Man With a Gun is to Nine Inch Nails

 

[A L I X]

The first time I technically heard an RDJ track was probably on Nine Inch Nails' remix album Further Down The Spiral, which was At The Heart of It All. The story of that track is that Aphex Twin was approached to remix a song for Nine Inch Nails and agreed to do it. About a month later, the execs came by to pick it up, but he completely forgot to work on it. So he had the execs wait for like an hour to "go get it", but he just pieced it together from a completely unrelated track he had sitting around. That's why it's credited as "created by Aphex Twin" rather than "remixed by", which is hilarious

That's the most Richard thing that I have ever heard. An actual TDS remix by Aphex Twin would have been great, though.

This track is to Aphex Twin as what Big Man With a Gun is to Nine Inch Nails

I never understood the hate towards BMWG. It's one of the most important songs in the context of TDS. Saying it sucks it's the same as saying Fitter Happier by Radiohead sucks.

I used to work retail at a grocery store. One time, the store completely ran out of milk. My boss (AKA: the guy who failed to order milk) told me that he called a manager at another store who agreed to let us get some of their stock. He told me to drive over, load up my car, and bring it back. I go down to the store and these guys help me load my little 2001 Chevy Cavalier with something like 18 crates of milk. They're in the trunk. They're on the floors. They're buckled up in every open seat, stacked up to the short ceiling. As I take off, I suddenly remember: I have the Richard D James album (with special bonus tracks) in the back seat! I reached behind the seats between stacks of crates, pulled it out of the backseat pocket, and jammed it into the CD player. I was cruising down the freeway at 65 miles per hour, A/C cranked up, car full of milk, with the radio maxed out blasting Milkman. "I WOULD LIKE SOME MILK FROM THE MILKMAN'S WIFE'S TITS!" It was one of the most surreal and hilarious moments that I remember

Speaking of Milkman, a lot of people got exposure to Aphex Twin thanks to David Firth on platforms like Newgrounds. His animations were a little unhinged

One time I was at Newbury Comics and found a huge assortment of original AFX records. I was scooping them up when some guy came up and tried to get them from me since he said he saw them first. Thankfully there were a few dupes so I let him have those, but I kept anything that only had a single copy. The total amount was over $300. I tried to talk the store into giving me a discount since I was getting so many records. They at least took the tax off which was cool since I was expecting them to just give me a straight up "no"

I'm actually surprised at how overrated SAW II is. It's all that ever seems to come up whenever people talk about RDJ anywhere. I was talking to a coworker about music and he said he loved Aphex Twin, but SAW II was the only album he would ever listen to. He didn't even know what drukqs was. It's kind of like when a Radiohead fan says that they haven't heard their other work, but they love the band and their favorite song is definitely Creep

SAWII is great but the Richard D. James album is so much better. Girl/Boy Song and 4 are some of my favourite songs done by him, and the tracklist is overall better than SAWII.

 

[MySpace Tom]

I never understood the hate towards BMWG. It's one of the most important songs in the context of TDS. Saying it sucks it's the same as saying Fitter Happier by Radiohead sucks.

To be clear, I never said that it sucks. It's certainly shitposty though. Trent wrote it in like a day and did it partly as a jab at gangsta rap. It has its place in TDS, but saying that it's one of the most important songs on the album is a huge stretch. It's about as much effort as Fitter Happier on OK Computer, or Cesaro Summability (and Intermission) on Tool's album AEnima. They have their place in each album as a counterpoint or break from the rest of the music, but they're generally simpler compositions. The role they play is about as important as the tracks themselves, which can't be so easily said about the other songs on each album

Girl/Boy Song and 4 are some of my favourite songs done by him

They are fantastic tracks. I actually wish he did more with orchestral samples, though I'm guessing he either just discovered acid bass and dropped the more conventional rompler sounds or burned out on them after working with Philip Glass

 

[A L I X]

It has its place in TDS, but saying that it's one of the most important songs on the album is a huge stretch.

Maybe not musically, but thematically it absolutely does. Even though Trent made it as a quick jab, it can be interpreted as the song where the TDS protagonist finally collapses and goes crazy (probably raping someone or commiting a mass shooting), before finally realizing what he has turned into in A Warm Place and Eraser. It would be really weird that Trent had not realized how well it fits as an interlude.

 

[266hz]

you think hes ever played fortnite

 

[赤い男]

you think hes ever played fortnite
View attachment 97998

That image seems like something @A L I X would post non ironically.

 

[turntableToothache]

View: https://youtu.be/q86g1aop6a8?si=970RsI-wU6nYqcLn


Perfect ambient music for a cold autumn morning in my opinion. There is an unique talent within him, with so very few notes, such simplistic and minimalistic effort, he manages to produce incredible works that resonate with the human spirit. Fascinating artist.

 

[MySpace Tom]

Maybe not musically, but thematically it absolutely does. Even though Trent made it as a quick jab, it can be interpreted as the song where the TDS protagonist finally collapses and goes crazy (probably raping someone or commiting a mass shooting), before finally realizing what he has turned into in A Warm Place and Eraser. It would be really weird that Trent had not realized how well it fits as an interlude.

The whole album is about the collapse and going crazy though though a drawn-out self-destructive process. Big Man With a Gun is just a step in that: it's about a fantasy of intense sexual violence as a way to feel some sense of control in his life again. It's like if someone made an album dedicated to grief and each track was dedicated to one of the stages of it