Richard D James is simply head and shoulders above his electronic peers. Anyone wanna argue dat??

Yup, he's one of the best. But I think he enjoys being obscure. It's not for everyone.

He is exceptional. Best kept secret I would say.

Aphex Twins kicks ass!
I really like Come To Daddy and Windowlicker!
The Daddy video is WOW!

Aphex is definetley an innovator in electronic music, though he's a pretentious dick. I saw him in Chicago a few years back and he just laid there on a sofa with a laptop and manipulated beats, some of the shit he was doing was sick, it was truly a fascinating show. After he left the stage the crowd went into a frenzy, they cheered and roared until he came back out for an encore, this bastard came out and mooned the audience, what a fucker! I've also read a couple of interviews with him where he's come off as a primadonna, but shit there someone most of us at the org know of that's the same way but we're still fans.

I read somewhere that his release Ambient Works Vol 1 were tracks that he compiled when he was sixteen, which solidifies the fact that this guy is a genius. I've also read that he owns an abandoned bank where he has a studio installed inside of a vault, he also owns a tanks where he's installed a studio as well. If you like Aphex there are several artist on his label that are worth investigating such as;

• The Boards of Canada
• Prefuse73
• Plaid
• Autechre

These groups aren't for everyone, some of their stuff is a little abrasive, but it should make the average fan of electronica drool. If you're a fan of hip-hop I highly recommend Prefuse 73- Vocal Studies + uprock Narratives








[This message was edited Fri Oct 3 14:55:23 PDT 2003 by magnificentsynthesizer667]

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

I taped this from a friend a long time ago. Funny, I just came across the tape a few days ago. Well, I didn't really come, but I enjoyed the music quite a bit...

What's the point of watching someone manipulate beats on a laptop?

VinaBlue said:

I was wondering that too, but he also had a stage show going on while he was chilling on the couch, some of the highlights for me were watching this guy with hair down to his ass shave half of his head on stage, some people also came out in different colored bear suits and started dancing around, the rest i can't remember it was mainly eye candy to keep us from posing the same question that you just did. The shit he was doing live was amazing even though he was just clicking buttons on a computer, it was shit I had never heard by him. Another bizzare thing about this guy is that he releases a lot of white labels, so even though he was on hiatus from sony he was still productive. He still releases material under various pseudonyms.

minneapolisgenius said:

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

I had nightmares after THAT video.

minneapolisgenius said:

It is a frightening watch!

"I want your soul", "IIIYYY WANT your SOOUUULLL"


Beats & loops above the rest

I've been getting back into his music hardcore.

Richard D. James is the best Bjork album she never made.

My ex loved them, and I tried to give him a whirl, but I just couldn't get into it. He tried to explain to me why it was so good, but I just didn't dig it.

I'm not saying he's bad or anything, I just chalk it up to it's just not my thing...sort of the same way I love Radiohead, and my boyfriend could take them or leave them.



But those videos were very freaky!!

CinisterCee said:

He ain't no secret here in his home country. He's had plenty of top 40 hits. I've seen him live at Glastonbury and I saw him DJ once in London at Turnmills. I was very stoned the first time and very, very drunk the second time. I loved it.

daned said:

No doubt he was too! He's a genious of sorts. He has the ability 2 create a beautiful melody but its an acquired taste indeed. His I Care Because You Do album is probably the most essential work of his. Its great. I really wanted 2 see him this year at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona. However, I got lost in the fucking complex till 7am in the morning trying 2 find my friends 4 3 fucking hours!...Yeah, I missed him!

As much as I am willing to admit Aphex Twin is one of the best electronic artists out there...I would necessarily say he was the 'best'. That prop i would give to Matmos...because at the core of all the electronic noodling and beats there is good old fashioned 'song structure' and 'melody'. Their latest album 'The Civil War' is the hottest stuff they've done...check it out!

obviously my would in the first sentence was meant to be a 'wouldn't' lol

Aphex is a god.

daned said:

He hit top 40?? That blows me away