'Aphex Twin' (born 'Richard David James' on
August 18,
1971 in
Limerick,
Ireland) is a
British electronic music artist, credited with pushing forward the genres of
techno,
ambient,
acid and
drum and bass.
History
Early life
Richard D. James was born of
Welsh parents Lorna and Derek James at 5:00 AM
[1] on August 18, 1971 in St. Munchins's Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital, Ireland. He grew up in
Lanner,
Cornwall,
England, enjoying, along with two sisters, a "''very happy''" childhood during which they "''were pretty much left to do what [they] wanted''."
[2] "''I liked growing up there, being cut off from the city and the rest of the world.''"
[3] The children studied in Redruth School, Cornwall.
As a child he experimented on the strings and hammers of the family piano.
[4]
According to Benjamin Middleton, James started producing music at the age of 12. As a teenager he DJed at the Shire Horse in St Ives, with Tom Middleton at the Bowgie Inn in Crantock, and also along the numerous beaches around Cornwall.
From age 16 to 18 Richard James studied the
National Diploma in Engineering from 1988 to 1990 in Cornwall College . He passed the course, although he listened to his mixes on his headphones during the practical lesson.
[5]
Early career: early 1990s
Aphex Twin's first record was the 12-inch EP ''
Analogue Bubblebath'', the last two tracks of which were made with Tom Middleton.
[6][7]
It was played on the KISS FM's playlist, an influential London pirate station, which helped the EP become a success.
[8]
In 1991 James formed
Rephlex Records with his friend
Grant Wilson-Claridge to promote
:"Innovation in the dynamics of Acid - a much loved and misunderstood genre of house music forgotten by some and indeed new to others, especially in Britain."
[9]
Between 1991 and 1993, James released three ''
Analogue Bubblebath'' EPs under the name of 'AFX', two ''
Bradley Strider'' EPs, and three ''
Caustic Window'' EPs. Under the Power-Pill name he released the ''
Pac-Man EP'' based on the
arcade game Pac-Man. Under the Aphex Twin name he released the ''
Xylem Tube EP'' and ''
Didgeridoo'', a fast-paced song designed to tire dancers at the end of a DJ set. These early releases came out on Rephlex Records,
Mighty Force of Exeter, and
R&S Records of Belgium.
[10][11]
Early in his career, James moved to London to take an
electronics course at
Kingston Polytechnic, but at the time admitted to
David Toop that his "electronics studies were already slipping away as a career in the techno business took precedence". After quitting his course, James remained in London and released a number of albums and EPs on
Warp Records and other labels under many aliases, including 'AFX', 'Polygon Window', and 'Power-Pill'. A number of Richard's tracks (released under the aliases Blue Calx, The Dice Man, and others) were also included in various compilations during this time. Local legend has it that James lived on the roundabout in
Elephant and Castle,
South London during his early years in the capital.
[12][13]
Gaining success: 1992-1999
The first Aphex Twin album, ''
Selected Ambient Works 85-92'', was released in 1992 on R&S Records. John Bush of the
All Music Guide described it as a "watershed of ambient music". ''Rolling Stone'' magazine wrote of the album: "Aphex Twin expanded way beyond the
ambient music of
Brian Eno by fusing lush soundscapes with oceanic beats and bass lines". Critics also noted that the songs were recorded on cassette and that the sound quality was "relatively poor".
[14][15] Warp Records has billed the album as "both the birthplace and the benchmark of modern electronic music ... every home should have a copy."
[5]
Warp Records pressed and released ''
Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' in 1994. The sound was much less beat-driven than the previous volume. Despite one song also having the name "Blue Calx", all of the track names were described with
pie chart symbols, each of which was meant to be paired with a corresponding image in the album jacket. To decipher song titles, listeners had to pair each numbered symbol with the correct image (for example, the first title, which is often labeled "cliffs", is realized by pairing the first symbol with the first image, which is that of a rocky cliffside)
[6]. James stated in ''
The Wire'' magazine and other media that these songs were inspired by
lucid dreams and
synesthesia.
For his 1995 release, ''
...I Care Because You Do'', James used an image of his face for the album cover, a motif that would continue in his later records. The album was a compilation of songs composed between 1991 and 1994, and represented a mish-mash of Aphex Twin's various music styles. This was Aphex Twin's last record of the 1990s to use mostly
analogue synthesizer. Aphex Twin collaborated with
minimalist composer
Philip Glass to make an orchestral version of one of the songs from this album, "Icct Hedral".
In 1995 (primarily with ''
Hangable Auto Bulb'', a near anagram of ''
Analogue Bubblebath''), he began releasing more material composed on computers, and embraced a
drum and bass sound combined with nostalgic childhood themes and strange computer-generated acid lines. Aphex Twin's early adoption of software synthesizers predated the later popularity of using computers to make music. The late 1990s saw his music become more popular and mainstream, as he released the ''
Richard D. James Album'' and two singles, "
Come to Daddy" and "
Windowlicker", which were shown on
MTV and were cover features of music magazines including ''
NME''.
[16] The videos for both singles were directed by British artist
Chris Cunningham and caused controversy on their release due to disturbing images and themes.
2000-present
In 2001 Aphex Twin released his most personal album yet, ''
drukqs'', a 2-CD album which featured
prepared piano songs influenced by
Erik Satie and
John Cage. Also included were abrasive, fast and meticulously programmed computer-made songs. ''Rolling Stone'' described the piano songs as "aimlessly pretty".
[17] Some reviewers concluded that ''drukqs'' was released as a contract breaker with Warp Records—a credible guess, as James' next big release came out on his own
Rephlex label. Richard told the interviewers he had left almost all the album's tracks on an
MP3 player that he accidentally left on a plane with "Aphex Twin - unreleased tracks" written on it, and rushed its release to pre-empt an
Internet leak.
[18].
In late 2004, rumours of James' return to an
acid techno based sound were realised with the ''
Analord'' series. This series concentrated on producing fully analogue pieces of music, written and recorded on analogue equipment and pressed to
vinyl. James was very meticulous about the whole process of
recording,
mastering and pressing. However, label co-owner
Grant Wilson-Claridge convinced James to release a digital CD, ''
Chosen Lords'', which included a selection from the ''Analord'' series, with some tracks slightly altered to improve the flow of the album.
For the ''Analord'' records, James used his extensive collection of
Roland drum machines which he bought when they were still at bargain prices. He also used one of the rarest and most desirable
synthesizers of his generation, the
Synton Fenix, and the notoriously difficult to program
Roland MC-4 sequencer (a sequencer with a reputation for excellent timing), as well as the famous
Roland TB-303 for his trademark acid melodies.
Aphex Twin is set to play at the
All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in December 2007.
[19]
He will also attend at 14 or 15 December in Den Haag, The Netherlands at State X.
[20]
Recently, rumors have begun surfacing that James is now recording under one or more secret new aliases, such as
The Tuss.
[21] [22]
Aphex Twin is also set to DJ at the Warehouse Project in Manchester on the 7th December. Along side him will be Luke Vibert, DJ Rephlex Records, Otto Von Schirach and Computer Controlled DJs who are set to play the night as well. the event is being organized by Sequence which is a monthly IDM/Techno night put on in Manchester.
Discography
:''See
Richard D. James discography
Background
The Aphex Twin name
The name "Aphex Twin" is derived from
Aphex Systems Limited, a brand of audio signal processing equipment. It is used with permission, as was recognized on the back sleeve of his ''
Richard D. James'' and ''
Drukqs'' albums. He has explained in interviews that the 'Twin' is in memory of his brother, also named Richard James, who died at birth.
'Photography'
James usually creates his own photography for his releases' artwork. Many of these photos show James' own face, grinning or slightly distorted in some way, as it can be seen in some of his videoclips ("Come to Daddy", for example). Towards the end of the second track on the "Windowlicker" single (commonly referred to as "[Formula]", "[Symbol]", or "[Equation]") a photo of James' face is revealed when run through
spectral analysis.
[23] The picture illustrates his famous toothy, evil grin (with a spiral also visible at the end of "Windowlicker"). In addition to this, the cover of "Two Remixes by AFX" is actually contained only on the CD, encoded in
SSTV format.
Influences
'Richard D. James's influences'
At age 17, James mentioned these influences: "
Phonic Bod, ''
Computer World'',
Mental Telepathy,
Industrial Inc,
Tomita,
Tangerine Dream". More recently, he has said that he gets inspiration from "everyday sounds that can be emulated / reconstructed electronically, quality techno, especially from Europe which overshadows the current hardcore pop crap". When asked about what is next for electronic music, he said "acid-techno, ambient-techno".
In addition James was influenced by Chicago house, and Detroit techno pioneers like
Derrick May and
Kevin Saunderson and also
Brian Eno for
ambient music. For
house and
acid house influences include
A Guy Called Gerald,
Mr. Fingers,
808 State,
Lil Louis.
Avante Garde music is a big influence for James as well, including
Kraftwerk,
Can,
Neu!,
Tangerine Dream,
Karlheinz Stockhausen,
Tod Dockstader,
Xenakis,
Piero Umiliani,
Parmegiani,
John Cage, the french composer
Erik Satie for his piano works and his innovation ideas for
furniture music (precursor to ambient music).
On the death of BBC Radiophonic Workshop Electronic Musician
Delia Derbyshire Richard mentioned her in
NME magazine as a hero of his.
From Hiphop,
J Dilla. From Warp Records (same label),
Autechre,
LFO. Recording Engineers/Producers:
Noel Williams,
Martin Hannett. Synthesizer:
Gershon Kingsley
Lidell Townsend,
Bass Master Warriors,
Sten Hanson,
Brian Bennett,
Grace Jones."
Richard signed fellow musicians and personal friends
Tom Jenkinson (
Squarepusher), Mike Paradinas (
µ-ziq), and Luke Vibert (
plug) to his
Rephlex record label. From 1994 these were influence by
drum and bass and
jungle music. Their drum and bass was faster and faster and more complicated so fans of Rephlex records call it
Drill and bass (Drill instead of drum).
Later
Hellfish & Producer and
Venetian Snares from
µ-ziq's
planet-mu influence Aphex Twin for noise and gabber.
Many songs include sounds from and references to the ZX Spectrum. For instance, "Carn Marth" from Richard D. James Album includes the tape loading noise of the game
Sabre Wulf.
'Influence on others'
Richard's own Rephlex Records label, which he co-owns with Grant Wilson-Claridge, describe Aphex Twin's music as "Braindance".
[24][25]
Fans of Aphex Twin made an internet discussion list in August 1993 to talk about Aphex Twin and Warp Records. It was called the Intelligent Dance Music List. From then fans from the internet have called Aphex Twin
IDM to describe Richard's novel approach to dance music.
[26][27]
Perfect Sound Forever: Another term that's been used to describe your work is 'intelligent dance music.'
:"I just think it's really funny to have terms like that. It's basically saying 'this is intelligent and everything else is stupid.' It's really nasty to everyone else's music. (laughs) It makes me laugh, things like that. I don't use names. I just say that I like something or I don't." - 'Aphex Twin'[28]
The
London Sinfonietta has performed arrangements of
Aphex Twin.
[29] In 2005, the orchestra
Alarm Will Sound released ''
Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin''. The album consists of acoustic arrangements of some of James' electronic tracks.
Aphex Twin has said, "I don't really like rock & roll." Despite this, he has had an influence on rock bands like
Radiohead.
[30] However, he has dismissed the idea of going on tour with them: "''I wouldn't play with them since I don't like them.''"
[31] However, he has stated that he is a fan of
Ween.
The
mathcore band
The Dillinger Escape Plan has covered "Come to Daddy" on one of their EPs, ''Irony is a Dead Scene'', that featured
Mike Patton as vocalist. The jazz ensemble
The Bad Plus covered "Flim" on their album ''These Are the Vistas''.
Aphex Twin's press
James described himself in the ''Guardian'' newspaper as follows
:"I'm just some irritating, lying, ginger kid from Cornwall who should have been locked up in some youth detention centre. I just managed to escape and blag it into music."
[32]
Aphex Twin said he composed ambient techno music at the age of 13; he has "over 100 hours" of unreleased music; he made his own software to compose with, including
algorithmic processes which automatically generate beats and melodies; he experiences
synesthesia; and he is able to incorporate
lucid dreaming into the process of making music.
[33]
James owns a tank (a 1950s armoured scout car, the
Daimler Ferret Mark 3) and a
submarine bought from Russia, and he lives in southeast London in a converted bank, which was formerly the
Bank of Cyprus and then
HSBC.
Aphex Twin provided all 3 of the tracks, [rhubarb] (SAW2), Xtal (SAW1), and [parallel stripes] (SAW2), in the BBC's digital widescreen test transmission, broadcast on a loop in the UK between November 1998 and early 2002.
[34]
'ZX Spectrum Competition'
Richard claims to have produced sound on a
Sinclair ZX81 (a machine with no sound hardware) at the age of 11:
:"When I was 11, I won 50 pounds in a competition for writing this program that made sound on a ZX81. You couldn't make sound on a ZX81, but I played around with machine code and found some codes that retuned the TV signal so that it made this really weird noise when you turned the volume up."
[35]
By displaying changing patterns of color on the monitor (in the case of the Spectrum, as with many early personal computers, the display monitor was a television), the natural hum from the
cathode ray tube was modulated, producing a semblance of melody.
'Luke Vibert remix competition'
In May 2006 the artist Tahnaiya Russell (a surreal artist who cites Aphex Twin as an influence in her biography
[8]) won the remix competition in ''Future Music'' magazine. Tahnaiya Russell's remix of the
Luke Vibert track was deemed by Vibert himself to be the best of the submissions ("Relaxed and sophisticated, but with large balls and huge bass").
[36] Richard James revealed to the magazine that he had entered under the alias, but was unaware he had actually won, and the prize of sample CDs was instead awarded to runner-up Michael Stephens.
Equipment
During an interview with
Future Music, Richard said he liked using
Ableton Live but prefers
Liveslice for beat editing/stretching.
In an interview with Japan's Snoozer magazine in 2001, James stated that his favorite instruments were his piano, laptop computer, and the Synton Fenix.
In one of his older interviews in the ninties, Richard said he used
Protools and "stuff like that". In the same interview, he reveals that he has "homemade" equipment which covered software programmes written by himself and synthesisers and various hardware devices he built when he was younger.
Richard D. James studied electronics in Cornwall College and Kingston Polytechnic in London. He built his own synthesizers and samplers in his early years, he has also modified and
circuit bent his equipment. James programmed his personal music software
algorithm also.
UPIC by
Iannis Xenakis[37]
Citations and references
1. ''Lornaderek'', from the album ''Drukqs''
2. ''The Face'' magazine
3. [1]
4. [2]
5. [3]
6. Ben Middleton talking about Aphex Twin on early usenet
7. AFX - Analogue Bubblebath
8. [4]
9. The Rephlex Manifesto
10. BBC Aphex Twin
11. BBC Aphex Twin
12. interview by David Toop
13. list of aliases
14. Review by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine
15. Review by All Music
16. Cover of ''NME'' March 20 1998
17. [7]
18. Synths, drukqs and rock'n'roll FairfaxDigital, January 9 2004
19. ATP Official Website
20. State X Official Website
21. Article on The Tuss in ''The Guardian''
22. Article on possible new aliases in the ''Village Voice''
23. The Aphex Face Bastwood.com, retrieved on 23 May 2006
24. Rephlex - the Record Label BBC - h2g2, August 28, 2002
25. V/A - Braindance The Milk Factory, May, 2001
26. IDM list http://music.hyperreal.org/lists/idm/
27. Drill and Basswww.allmusic.com
28. Perfect Sound Forever interview Perfect Sound Forever by Jason Gross, [September 1997], 1997
29. Interview with Morgan Hayes and David Horne, March 2, 1997
30. Radiohead - ''Kid A'' www.bbc.co.uk by Rhys Tranter, 17 June, 2003
31. Aphex Twin Interview ''Kludge Magazine'' by Arturo Perez, March 16, 2002
32. http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,3605,563163,00.html
33. "Aphex Twin: Mad Musician or Investment Banker?" Don Anderson, ''Space Age Bachelor Magazine'', Date unknown
34. Google Video
35. ''The Face'' John O'Connell, ''The Face'', October Issue 2001
36. "Aphex Twin Wins Music Remix Competition" We Are The Music Makers.com news post
37. Aphex Twin interview 'In Future Music''
External links
★
Aphex Twin links at
Open Directory Project
★
Aphex Twin discography at
Discogs
★
Complete Aphex Twin discography at xltronic.com
★
The Aphex Twin Community
★
Aphex Twin at ''
Rolling Stone'' magazine site
★
Aphex Twin Equipment List at ''
Street Electronics'' web site
★
VideoClip - Aphex Twin & Reflex raving @ the Dead Sea, Israel 2000
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
