Richard D. James (AFX, Aphex Twin)

Dana took a break from her own blog to drop this Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) playlist. Check it out and let her know what you think in the comments.

Remember when people thought "jungle" was the bomb and wearing glowing latex was cool? Think of a 17-year-old boy with a septum piercing, green hair, and vinyl pants telling you "Yo, the Future Sound of London is my favorite band!". Oh ew. When I tell people I like Aphex Twin, many look at me like I just said something so terribly unfashionable as the above statement. Yet, Aphex Twin--Richard D. James's most common and best known pseudonym--has put out several records that do not fit under the acid-rave analogous to NIN remixes sound he may be best known for in the mainstream.

Yeah, there was that "Come to Daddy" video directed by Chris Cunningham. And that harsh "Ventolin" series involving themes of extreme asthma (again, ew). Ignore that for a sec, because James has put out some of the most beautiful, complex and challenging ambient, minimalist techno, and IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) in the last twenty years. I will argue (along with many others) that his masterpiece is Selected Ambient Works Volume 85-92, a crystal clear, perfectly nuanced and calculated (from start to finish) update of the Eno sound with some serious percussion and dance beats. His follow up Selected Ambient Works Volume 2 is so sound-scape driven that it has not attracted as many followers as the first album and yes, it certainly needs several listens to fully engage with it. But when you do get to that point it is satisfying in a way that few albums are. Classics, a compilation album of sorts, also has tracks that fit into the magic mix; in it you can hear his influence on new techno artists like Ellen Allien and Gui Buratto, to name a few.

After the mid to late 90s period of horrid rave culture passed, James made an album that updates John Cage and Eric Satie's experimental composition work, 2001's drukqs. This album has hardly any bleeps to be heard. Instead James utilizes a "prepared piano" to make tarnished melodies (which were, it is notable, used to good cinematic effect in Sofia Copella's film Marie Antoinette). drukcs is so scaled down and gorgeously minimal that it brings to mind contemporaries Max Richter or Eluvium.

I have not included anything off the Come to Daddy EP, Richard D. James or …I Care Because You Do, because I don't feel the songs on those albums really capture the James that I want to share with Yahplay--and honestly, everyone has heard "Girl/Boy" on Bank of America commercials already, right? I have, though, included a song from one of James' less known pseudonyms, AFX. "Every Day"--one of the best examples of James' mastery of voice sampling-- is literally what it would have sounded like if Riot Grrl met minimalist techno in a Ecstasy dream in 1993. It sounds horrible but the song is great, I promise!

1) Every Day / AFX- Hangable Auto Bulb /1995
2) Polynomial-C / Aphex Twin- Classics / 1995
3) Bbydhyonchord / Aphex Twin- drukqs / 2001
4) Petiatil Cx Htdui / Aphex Twin- drukqs / 2001
5) Jynweythek Ylow/ Aphex Twin- drukqs / 2001
6) Xtal / Aphex Twin- Selected Ambient 85-92 / 1992
7) Ptolemy / Aphex Twin- Selected Ambient 85-92 /1992
8) Rhubarb / Aphex Twin- Selected Ambient Works, Vol, 2 / 1994
9) Corrugated Tubing / Aphex Twin- Selected Ambient Works, Vol, 2 / 1994

Total Time: 42:23