> James likely also used the onboard sequencers on the Roland SH-101, while using CV and MIDI to keep different devices in sync.
> These ambient pads were likely recorded with the Yamaha DX-100 or DX7, as these were the only polyphonic synths James mentioned owning at the time. He likely used the DX strings patches, as they have long attack and release times as well as mellow, sine-like oscillator sounds.
> These were likely recorded on the Roland SH-101, a revered analog monophonic synth from 1982.
So is this all speculation of RDJ's production methods or was this directly sourced based on what RDJ himself said?
Sounds like speculation, but the sh-101 (which was re released as a fun little $300 battery powered toy, great gift idea) was at the time one of the most accessible synths at the time. Knowing that, they are probably just extrapolating that he would have had access to it because it was so cheap and widespread.
maybe not in the past, but at least his last full length had an entire page of all the gear in the liner notes. also the song titles are pretty much just a list of the gear used on the track (probably so he can easily recall which recording is which)
This is one of my top 10 albums. "Tha" is one of my favorites.
Also of note, Selected Ambient Works Volume II. I used to mix ambient tapes from a variety of sources in the mid-90s, and this was always features somewhere. One good mix was Autechre's _VLetrmx21_ over Aphex's _Blur_. None of it is in sync, some of it's dissonant, but it works.
I miss 90s Ambient and IDM. Em:t label of was a top one. There was a sound to all of it, and it probably had to do with 99% being produced with outboard gear straight to tape. Everything now seems to be so over-produced and "perfect".
SAW2 was the first aphex twin album I ever listened to, thank you for bringing it up. It was definitely a transition when I listened to his other stuff afterwards, but that also helped paint the picture for me of how broad electronic music can be even from a single musician. A lifelong love of electronic music grew from that experience.
[edit: listening to AT stuff today, I recall MTV included an Aphex Twin song on their MTV Amp album, and there was one on the Pi soundtrack. That's where I learned that he did more stuff.]
Even if it was about SAW and not SAW2, I love that this article was posted on HN today.
SAW has some great tunes, but it's basically just a compilation of some of his better early tunes. SAW2 is a properly cohesive album, a milestone ambient album. Peaceful and spooky, just enough sourness and dissonance to keep coming back to since it was brand new in the mid 90s.
(omg _VLetrmx21_ is such a nostalgic tune.. thanks for the reminder)
Xtal is one of the very few songs that I could not possibly imagine getting sick of, no matter how many times I hear it. It always seems to sound new, letting you notice different dimensions of it every time.
He used pretty standard pieces of gear, (Kroger MS-20, DX7) the difference is the obsessive amount of time he spent making music, and what he managed to get out of that gear. Weird, detuned moans, crazy skittering beats, all kinds of odd filter modulation and crazy stuff, and it all works well together.
Then he bought himself a Mac and made the Richard D James album, that was 1996(!)
The thing about Aphex Twin is you have to try to reproduce it to appreciate what's involved I think. The sequence for Polynomial-C's main alternating loop is suprisingly subtle, and I haven't been able to get the rhythm quite right, and I think there's a deeper reason why it's not trivial. It's not just bleep-blooping on some modular gear. They're compositions.
I remember that video and couldn't find it, thank you. The sequence isn't just the 5 step 3-note motif shifting back and forth, it's the 5 steps, 5 again, 3, 5, 3. So 21 steps that are hard to hear it through the reverb. What makes it so good is the listeners ability to lose where we are in it so it never seems repetitive. Bach's work is simple on deconstruction too. :)
This was one of my favorites in the early 90's, along with The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and their single Blue Room, Tango N'Vectif by µ-ziq, early Plastikman releases on Plus 8 Records, and Loveless by My Bloody Valentine :)
Feeling pretty old, thought I just saw this same article just a couple years ago. Turns out several outlets did a similar article for the 25th anniversary of Selected Ambient Works, so that was actually 5 years ago:
Oh yeah, Plastikman's Sheet One was an amazing example of minimal Acid. _Glob_ still feels fresh today. Everything you mention I probably have a copy floating around somewhere. Bunch of Orb, Orbital, Future Sound of London, etc.
Aphex Twin has been a large influence for tons of well-known artists today. There is just something special in how his songs convey different moods and feelings, with one of my favorites being Avril 14th, which reminds me of playing Minecraft as a young lad, although I think 180db_ [130] is my all-time favorite.
Funny how Avril 14th is one of his most popular and recognizable songs while... not being anything like most of his works. It's a straight and fairly straightforward piano song.
I agree, I think it is at least in part because the song has been used in movies and such, but there's no doubt that song is an 'easier' listen than some of his more experimental work.
It’s never an album I like to listen to on repeat (compare with flavour of the day hyperpop album) but I come back to it every year or so and it blows me away.
Last time was recently, on a long transit ride through Toronto and it set the scene perfectly. I hesitate to say it’s a timeless piece of music (like a symphony) but it really does move me in the same ways.
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> These ambient pads were likely recorded with the Yamaha DX-100 or DX7, as these were the only polyphonic synths James mentioned owning at the time. He likely used the DX strings patches, as they have long attack and release times as well as mellow, sine-like oscillator sounds.
> These were likely recorded on the Roland SH-101, a revered analog monophonic synth from 1982.
So is this all speculation of RDJ's production methods or was this directly sourced based on what RDJ himself said?
RDJ is well known for bullshitting interviews on purpose.
Also of note, Selected Ambient Works Volume II. I used to mix ambient tapes from a variety of sources in the mid-90s, and this was always features somewhere. One good mix was Autechre's _VLetrmx21_ over Aphex's _Blur_. None of it is in sync, some of it's dissonant, but it works.
I miss 90s Ambient and IDM. Em:t label of was a top one. There was a sound to all of it, and it probably had to do with 99% being produced with outboard gear straight to tape. Everything now seems to be so over-produced and "perfect".
[edit: listening to AT stuff today, I recall MTV included an Aphex Twin song on their MTV Amp album, and there was one on the Pi soundtrack. That's where I learned that he did more stuff.]
Even if it was about SAW and not SAW2, I love that this article was posted on HN today.
SAW has some great tunes, but it's basically just a compilation of some of his better early tunes. SAW2 is a properly cohesive album, a milestone ambient album. Peaceful and spooky, just enough sourness and dissonance to keep coming back to since it was brand new in the mid 90s.
(omg _VLetrmx21_ is such a nostalgic tune.. thanks for the reminder)
Then he bought himself a Mac and made the Richard D James album, that was 1996(!)
Korg - Ikea, whatever.
I found this and posted it to HN a little while ago, and it goes more in depth about it. "Techno Counterpoint - Tracking in the Music of Aphex Twin" https://disis.music.vt.edu/eric/LyonPapers/AphexTwin/
Here's a fellow who smartly documented his work on doing Polynomial-C on an SH-101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFkDH8t1Htg
One of my favorite songs.
A lot of Richard's stuff is surprisingly simple upon deconstruction. But it's his creativity in that simplicity that is key.
I remember the d'oh a few decades ago when I realized his snare rushes are just 1/64th notes.
Feeling pretty old, thought I just saw this same article just a couple years ago. Turns out several outlets did a similar article for the 25th anniversary of Selected Ambient Works, so that was actually 5 years ago:
https://www.factmag.com/2017/02/12/paul-white-aphex-twin-sel...
https://www.thestudentplaylist.com/aphex-twin-selected-ambie...
Last time was recently, on a long transit ride through Toronto and it set the scene perfectly. I hesitate to say it’s a timeless piece of music (like a symphony) but it really does move me in the same ways.