Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin (Drawing: Srta.Aiko)
Aphex Twin makes abrasive industrial music, and beautiful ambient music. He rarely makes anything in between, more often juxtaposing these extremes together. As with fellow Warp Records act Autechre, his music's unique.
Quotes
...I didn't have any money. If I wanted to get anything different, I had to change what I had or make something. Through customising the stuff, I got a working knowledge of the keyboards and the circuitry... I realised that making the stuff and coming up with sounds that no-one else could was my main asset, so I decided to keep working on it.
— Richard D. James (Aphex Twin), 1993[1]
I don't want to use a sound I've used before. There's an infinite number of sounds in the world, and it's a waste to use the same sound twice.
— Richard D. James, 1993[2]
I hate making music that sounds like other people. I make my music consciously different, the same way that other people make theirs sound consciously the same.
— Richard D. James, 1996[3]
It's something that I've always liked. I like mixing complex things with simple things, so the complex things don't get too avant-garde and way out... To do really complicated things is just a matter of time, how much time you spend doing it, and you know you can produce it if you spend enough time, something that's going to be complicated — the challenge comes from making it like really accessible at the same time; so I like to mix something simple, or deceptively simple, with it.
— Richard D. James, 1997[4]
I just try and make things as personal as possible. I don't make music that won't do something to me in some shape or form, otherwise it's a waste of time. It's got to affect me in some way when I listen back to it, or when I'm making it, and that's the only underlying requirement of any track I do, for me... If there's no emotion in it, it's rubbish, it just becomes a technical exercise.
— Richard D. James, 1997[5]
Equipment list
Pre 1992
- Alesis QuadraVerb[6][7][8][9]
- Casio FZ-10M (modded with custom filters)[6][1][2][9]
- EMS Synthi A[10][11][7]
- RAM Music Machine[9]
- Roland SH-101[12][6][1][9]
- Roland System-100 Model-101[12]
- Sinclair ZX Spectrum[1][2]
- Yamaha DX100[12][6][9]
- Yamaha QX21[9][13] ("Near impossible to use")
Additions circa 1992
- Atari 520ST[6][1][2][7][8]
- Dr. T's Tiger Cub[14][15][16][17]
- ST Speech[18][19]
- Unnamed DAT recorder[1][2]
Additions circa 1993
- Akai MPC60[7]
- Boss BX-8[8]
- Korg MS-20 (×3)[1][7][8] ("The only keyboard I haven't changed is the Korg MS-20; I've got three of those. It's a mad keyboard, it's got a great range of sounds, and I like it the way it is.")
- Korg MS-50[7][8]
- Korg SQ-10[1] ("An old Korg analogue sequencer")
- Roland R-8[20]
- Roland System-100M[1][2][9][10] ("Fully loaded, I think it was around £200, maybe less.")
- Roland TB-303[1]
- Sequential Circuits Studio 440[8]
- Yamaha DX7[1]
Additions circa ...I Care Because You Do
- Pearl Syncussion-1[21][22] ("Bought for about £50 in Notting Hill Video Exchange")
Additions circa Windowlicker
- U&I MetaSynth
Additions circa Analord
Unknown era
Selected discography
- AFX, Analogue Bubblebath 3, 1992
- Selected Ambient Works 85-92, 1992
- Selected Ambient Works, Volume II, 1994
- ...I Care Because You Do, 1995
- Richard D. James Album, 1996
See also
References
- "The Aphex Effect" Dave Robinson, Future Music, Apr 1993, pp. 22—23
- "Cagey, Canny, Krafty" Phil Ward, Music Technology, Jul 1993, pp. 52—58
- "Getting Away With It" Frank Tope, Mixmag, Oct 1996
- "Eponymous Rex" Marc Weidenbaum, Disquiet, Apr 1997
- Morning Becomes Eclectic, Sep 1997
- "~~ rephlex ~~ aphex ~~ drn ~~" Ben Middleton, alt.rave, Oct 1992
- "'Destroy' Aphex Twin studio photo circa 1993"
- "Aphex Twin Live in Paris" Apr 1993
- "Aphex Twin SYROBONKERS! Interview Part 1" Dave Noyze, 2014
- "Aphex Twin SYROBONKERS! Interview Part 2" Dave Noyze, 2014
- "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" Richard James, 2017
- "Richard's at Door of Disc Dreamland" Jeremy Ridge and Dale Webb, The West Briton and Royal Cornwall Gazette, Jan 1992
- "1989. Made on near impossible to use QX21 sequencer." "5 window peeper+6-Pbod" user18081971, Aug 2015
- "High Hats Tune Tamclap Orig" Richard James, Jan 2015
- "Synthi Rhy" Richard James, Feb 2015
- "Tiger Cub Delay" Richard James, Feb 2015
- "@c_r_y_s_t:pretty sure it was Dr. T's Tigercub on the Atari ST...software you hardly ever hear about." "a12. ab3 .215061." user18081971, Oct 2020
- "Insert Coin. Pac-Man. Eat them up, yum yum! Power-Pill. Whoops!" "Pac-Man (Original Full Version)" Power-Pill, Pac-Man, 1992
- "...electronic techno music, controlled manually by Aphex Twin's programs." "UT1 — Dot" Polygon Window, Surfing on Sine Waves, 1992
- "Re: aphex and 808" Ben Middleton, IDM, Nov 1993
- "The Waxen Pith" Aphex Twin, ...I Care Because You Do, 1995
- "Pearls" Richard James, Jan 2015
External links
Interviews
- "The Aphex Effect" Dave Robinson, Future Music, Apr 1993, pp. 22—23
- "Cagey, Canny, Krafty" Phil Ward, Music Technology, Jul 1993, pp. 52—58
- "Eponymous Rex" Marc Weidenbaum, Disquiet, Apr 1997
- "Aphex Twin SYROBONKERS! Interview Part 1" Dave Noyze, 2014
- "Aphex Twin SYROBONKERS! Interview Part 2" Dave Noyze, 2014
Artists: Aphex Twin | Autechre | Derrick May | Fatboy Slim | Juan Atkins | Kevin Saunderson | LFO (artist) | Man Machine | Moby | Nine Inch Nails | Orbital | Richie Hawtin | The Future Sound of London | The Prodigy | Underworld | Vladimir Ussachevsky | Wendy Carlos | William Orbit
R&S Records: Aphex Twin | Juan Atkins
Rephlex Records: Aphex Twin
Warp Records: Aphex Twin | Aphex Twin guide | Autechre | LFO (artist) | Richie Hawtin