Album: Selected Ambient Works 85–92
Artist: Aphex Twin
Artist: Aphex Twin
Born: Lanner, Cornwall
Released: February 1992
Genre: Ambient Techno
Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin, was just 14 years old in 1985, so this collection of his ambient techno works points to a very prodigious talent. James set up his own label with a friend in 1991 called Rephlex Records, while also releasing music under a wide variety of pseudonyms such as Polygon Window, Caustic Window and Power-Pill. His profile in the dance music underground was raised with the success of early single, Didgeridoo, an electronic recreation of the organic sound of the aboriginal instrument. This ground-breaking approach to music was even more evident on his first LP as Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient Works 85–92. My experience at school was of a small group of older kids, who enjoyed recreational drugs at the weekend and walked around with DJ bags emblazoned with Warp Records and other dance labels, who would wax lyrical about The Orb and Aphex Twin. So I was definitely aware of this music at the time of its release but didn't really start listening to it myself until university. For me, this record and ambient dance music generally is perfect to listen after getting back from a night of clubbing, but nowadays that doesn't happen so much, but I still like to put it on while working on a lengthy project. At over an hour long, it definitely has a hypnotic effect.
IDM (intelligent dance music) is a bit of a naff genre label, but like ambient techno it does hint at James' revolutionary approach of repurposing dance music so that it could be listened to at home. In much the same way as Burial would do a decade later, Aphex Twin captured the sound of the echoes that reverberate around your head after a night of clubbing. Xtal makes for a blissful start to the album, with its heavenly female vocal sample, while Tha has a more industrial feel and a ghostly quality with its snippets of conversation that fade in and out of the mix. Pulsewidth is one of my personal favourites, with its dancefloor-friendly beats and rubbery bass line, just one of many fine examples of how James updated Brian Eno's ambient music for the 90s. The industrial clanking of Green Calx is another highlight on the record, along with the incessant house music beat of Hedphelym. One of the more conventional pop moments on the records is We are the Music Makers, with its Willy Wonka sample and interlocking drum and synth loops. The Orb may have been the pioneers of IDM, but they never managed to blend ambient and dance music as successfully as Aphex Twin, nor do it with such primitive recording equipment.
Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin, was just 14 years old in 1985, so this collection of his ambient techno works points to a very prodigious talent. James set up his own label with a friend in 1991 called Rephlex Records, while also releasing music under a wide variety of pseudonyms such as Polygon Window, Caustic Window and Power-Pill. His profile in the dance music underground was raised with the success of early single, Didgeridoo, an electronic recreation of the organic sound of the aboriginal instrument. This ground-breaking approach to music was even more evident on his first LP as Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient Works 85–92. My experience at school was of a small group of older kids, who enjoyed recreational drugs at the weekend and walked around with DJ bags emblazoned with Warp Records and other dance labels, who would wax lyrical about The Orb and Aphex Twin. So I was definitely aware of this music at the time of its release but didn't really start listening to it myself until university. For me, this record and ambient dance music generally is perfect to listen after getting back from a night of clubbing, but nowadays that doesn't happen so much, but I still like to put it on while working on a lengthy project. At over an hour long, it definitely has a hypnotic effect.
IDM (intelligent dance music) is a bit of a naff genre label, but like ambient techno it does hint at James' revolutionary approach of repurposing dance music so that it could be listened to at home. In much the same way as Burial would do a decade later, Aphex Twin captured the sound of the echoes that reverberate around your head after a night of clubbing. Xtal makes for a blissful start to the album, with its heavenly female vocal sample, while Tha has a more industrial feel and a ghostly quality with its snippets of conversation that fade in and out of the mix. Pulsewidth is one of my personal favourites, with its dancefloor-friendly beats and rubbery bass line, just one of many fine examples of how James updated Brian Eno's ambient music for the 90s. The industrial clanking of Green Calx is another highlight on the record, along with the incessant house music beat of Hedphelym. One of the more conventional pop moments on the records is We are the Music Makers, with its Willy Wonka sample and interlocking drum and synth loops. The Orb may have been the pioneers of IDM, but they never managed to blend ambient and dance music as successfully as Aphex Twin, nor do it with such primitive recording equipment.
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