Introduction and Background
Okay, to put it bluntly, compared to the other artists I've expressed interest in, Aphex Twin is a lot more than a far cry from the farm. He has no
correlation with any other artists I have expressed interest in and, to say the least, he is a funny little man.
Richard David James was born in Limerick, Ireland on August 18 1971, before his parents moved to Cornwall, England. This man has been making music since he was 14 years
old, his first track being made in 1985. He also makes music under many other names, such as AFX, Q-Chastic, Powerpill, Caustic Window, Polygon Window, GAK, Bradley
Strider, Universal Indicator, The
Tuss, Phonic Boy on Dope, Smojphace and The Dice Man. He's said he just does it to fuck with people, which is kind of a recurring theme when it comes to him.
Richard D. James in 1991
He started a label called Rephlex Records, which host artists such as µ-Ziq, Squarepusher and Ceephax Acid Crew, of which he is very good friends with. He has collaborated with other electronic artists, most notably Mike Paradinas (µ-Ziq) under the name Mike & Rich, and released the album Expert Knob Twiddlers.
A site that has a very extensive knowledge of Aphex Twin as a whole (history, discography, etc.) is The Aphex Twin Community, which can be found on my links page. Just a note, it hasn't been updated since 2002, so it still has Caustic Window EP marked as lost, none of the Analords, and the albums stop at Drukqs.
What is strange about Aphex Twin?
You may be like, "He's not all that different and weird, he's just some guy who makes blinkie-blonkies." Well, yes, but those are revolutionary blinkie-blonkies, first of all, and secondly, Mr Richard isn't very publicly interactive. "What's his Instagram?" He doesn't have one. No online presence, his Twitter hasn't been touched in over a year, and he hasn't done any interviews lately. But that's just in our day and age. Mr Richard hated doing interviews and probably still does. So to stop himself from getting bored while doing such things, he told outrageous lies during intreviews. People still wonder if most of the things he's said before are even true. Him getting bored with things is also a recurring theme, he also mentions how easily he gets bored with his own music in many articles and how he's always looking for something new, which explains his spontaneity. Mr Richard has always preferred to keep out of the public eye, which is why it's hard to find footage outside of interviews, which even that is lacking as explained above. He doesn't even like playing live! He says it feels awkward. Makes sense, I suppose. Oh, and also, these photos:
An unofficial album guide from a starter fan:
It actually all depends where you're coming from and what you're looking for. A universal starter would be "...I Care Because You Do", simply because of the small variety and it being an easy album without being pushed into the deep end of Aphex Twin music. If you are looking for something more ambient, try one of the "Selected Ambient Works", preferably "SAW Vol. II" if ambience is your focus. If you are looking for a harsher sound, maybe try the "Come to Daddy" EP. There isn't really a specific album dedicated to harsher music within the Aphex Twin name, this is more dedicated to maybe Caustic Window. But I want to keep in within Aphex Twin, since this is a beginner guide. The closest to harsh music under Aphex Twin is perhaps Syro, but I haven't listened to the whole album yet so I don't know for sure. If you come from more poppy music, "Richard D. James Album" is shorter and a bit cleaner and more organised. If you are looking for something more experimental, "Drukqs" is definitely the way to go. I started with "Drukqs" and I was disappointed because there weren't the songs I was looking for, but the experience can be different for everyone. "Drukqs" is very all over place, mixing ambience with breakbeat and even skit type tracks such as "Lornaderek", so I wouldn't go into it as a first album unless you think you're ready for it. Once you're accustomed to the Aphex sound, I encourage looking into tracks from his other aliases, starting with AFX. I haven't really explored that territory yet, so I can't really give advice as yet.
Music videos... and video music?
On (1993)
This is the music video for 'On' directed by Jarvis Cocker. It's a nice artsy piece of material for a wondrous, explorative song. The choppy, stop-motion-like movements of the objects in the video perfectly match the erratic way in which the piano is played. It's a bit experimental, but still not too out there, such is the case with the song.
Donkey Rhubarb (1996)
Okay, we're getting a bit stranger. Donkey Rhubarb's video was directed by David Slade, and I think he perfectly encapsulated the song with this video. Donkey Rhubarb is a song that maintains that Aphex Twin strangeness while implementing that plinky-plonky playful sound, so using giant multicoloured fluffy bears with the face from "...I Care Because You Do" playing with a bunch of kids definitely visually represents this song perfectly.
Come to Daddy (1997)
And here we get to the wonderful (and slightly demonic and nightmarish) work of Chris Cunningham working with Aphex Twin's music. Come to Daddy is the scariest, weirdest and probably most rewatchable Aphex Twin video. Cunningham claims he thought of the idea of the video in about five minutes, and it shows how easy it was to create this insane video idea from the song alone. The 'daddy' is in the TV because of the electronic way in which he says "I want your soul", the children have Mr Richard's face because how else is daddy a daddy, the screaming in the song matching up with daddy screaming at the grandma because she messed with his offspring; it is just perfectly disturbing.
Windowlicker (1999)
Another classic by Chris Cunningham, and he never fails to deliver. The whole video is supposed to be a satire of hip-hop and rap videos of the time, which kind of matches with how the song starts as a simple drum n bass beat and is a soft electronic song, but takes a sudden shift as if the song is possessed and falls apart into that noise we know and love of Aphex Twin. This video continues the theme of Mr Richard's face possessing the inhabitants of the world around him, the bikini-clad women all baring the same face as that of the dancer, and the sudden shift in the song revealing the face of a... very beautiful woman. Look, just watch it yourself it's hard to explain and comment on; it just really is that good that it leaves you speechless.
The worst thing I have ever seen...
Back to the topic of interviews, you now know how much Mr Richard hates interviews, and how he thinks they are boring. So, how about we put the man who hates interviews more than anything, and put him in an interview in a foreign country?
Yeah, uh, this interview conducted in Moscow in 1994 is the worst thing I've ever seen. The translation of the question to English is awfully long, just for Mr Richard to answer so quickly and briefly is so annoying to me. Don't even get me started how long it takes the interviewer to repeat the question in English, just completely drawing out the whole thing. I find it funny how brief Mr Richard's answers are compared to how long it takes them to ask a question. And that's not even it! I've only linked the FIRST part! Yeesh, I tried to sit through it but it was difficult.
Some extra links about Aphex Twin that can help you
The Aphex Twin Community V4: This site is very neatly decked out with tons of information, articles, reviews and photos on Aphex Twin's
stuff. It hasn't been updated since 2002, so it is somewhat limited, but it helped me immensely.
The Aphex Twin Resource: This is a resource for tons of Aphex Twin articles and interviews, and is still being updated
with new scans of articles to this day.
The Aphex Twin Subreddit: The official subreddit for the Aphex Twin community. Loads of stuff to look at as well as helpful
if you need help with anything.