This Night Has Opened My Ears
I've noticed over the last couple of weeks that two of Aphex Twin's early R&S 12"s - Didgeridoo and Xylem Tube - have been re-issued.
Around the time of their original release I was completely obsessed by AFX, and these are two landmark releases.
It all started when my buddy Paul slipped me a cassette of 'Selected Ambient Works 85-92'. Until that time I was a confirmed Indie Kid, listening to a lot of American post-Nirvana dross plus the finest the UK had to offer at the time (Err... Neds Atomic Dustbin? Carter USM? Kingmaker?). Yeah well anyway I put this Aphex cassette in my stereo and my ears just yawned wide open, sucking in these beautiful melodies. I'd never heard noises like that before - I just couldn't believe there was someone on earth making music like this.
I seem to remember Ageispolis having a particular effect on me. Holed up with some cheap hash I listened to it again and again, each time mesmerised by the unfeasibly low bass frequencies coming out of my speakers.
APHEX TWIN - AGEISPOLIS
Like many people I was then confronted with the bewildering array of Aphex records trickling into the shops. Bewildering because of all the aliases he used... such as Brad Strider, AFX, Caustic Window, Universal Indicator and The Dice Man (which led me to unwittingly buy a few dodgy 12"s by another Diceman). In 1992 & 93 Aphex was in a peak of creativity that I can't believe has been matched by anyone before or since.
There was also of course Polygon Window - the alias Richard used for his second classic album (The equally stunning Analogue Bubblebath 3 can wait for another time!).
If 'Selected Ambient Works' sounded like nothing I'd heard before, then 'Surfing on Sine Waves' did and still does sound like it could only have been made by aliens. It's impossible to put my finger on what it is, but I just get a feeling in the pit of my stomach when I listen to it that convinces me that the universe is infinite and that extra terrestrial life is not just possible but probable. It seems to induce physiological changes in me. Which I can't say of many other records.
POLYGON WINDOW - POLYGON WINDOW
Thing is though, it's a slightly disturbing feeling. Perhaps this is how Rubber Johnny turned out that way?
So back to the singles...
If you've heard Digeridoo you'll never forget it. Like almost everything else he produced at the time, it just sounds so organic. You just can't imagine it's been created by pressing buttons on a computer, or even from rewiring synths. Even as a ferocious acid track it puts you right in the middle of the outback, sounding like something carried to you in the breeze, or in a dream. It's utterly unique.
APHEX TWIN - DIGERIDOO
The second single, Xylem Tube, is probably even better, containing as it does the jaw-dropping 'Polynomial-C'. A beautiful piano riff - that's so complex you can't imagine anyone actually composing it - is carried along by some stabbing synths... before you're assaulted by some brutal breakbeats. 'Braindance' - the term his label Rephlex coined to describe their work - is a fair description.
APHEX TWIN - POLYNOMIAL-C
I've also always loved 'Tamphax' from the same EP, which twists a sample from a Tampax advert into a glorious slice of industrial acid.... as indicated by the 'PH' that's found in this & most other track titles from the two EPs.
"Are you one of those girls, for whom time stands still. Once a month?"
APHEX TWIN - TAMPHAX (HEDPHUQ MIX)
If you're a vinyl buyer and don't own both of these records then go buy em !!!
If you're more into CDs then fear not, for both EPs are available in their entirity on the 'Classics' album, also on R&S.... which also includes Richard's two brutally industrial mixes of 'Mescalinum United' and the beautiful 'Analogue Bubblebath 1'.
Although if you've got nothing i've mentioned then Selected Ambient works & Polygon Window are the ones to start with!!
Around the time of their original release I was completely obsessed by AFX, and these are two landmark releases.
It all started when my buddy Paul slipped me a cassette of 'Selected Ambient Works 85-92'. Until that time I was a confirmed Indie Kid, listening to a lot of American post-Nirvana dross plus the finest the UK had to offer at the time (Err... Neds Atomic Dustbin? Carter USM? Kingmaker?). Yeah well anyway I put this Aphex cassette in my stereo and my ears just yawned wide open, sucking in these beautiful melodies. I'd never heard noises like that before - I just couldn't believe there was someone on earth making music like this.
I seem to remember Ageispolis having a particular effect on me. Holed up with some cheap hash I listened to it again and again, each time mesmerised by the unfeasibly low bass frequencies coming out of my speakers.
APHEX TWIN - AGEISPOLIS
Like many people I was then confronted with the bewildering array of Aphex records trickling into the shops. Bewildering because of all the aliases he used... such as Brad Strider, AFX, Caustic Window, Universal Indicator and The Dice Man (which led me to unwittingly buy a few dodgy 12"s by another Diceman). In 1992 & 93 Aphex was in a peak of creativity that I can't believe has been matched by anyone before or since.
There was also of course Polygon Window - the alias Richard used for his second classic album (The equally stunning Analogue Bubblebath 3 can wait for another time!).
If 'Selected Ambient Works' sounded like nothing I'd heard before, then 'Surfing on Sine Waves' did and still does sound like it could only have been made by aliens. It's impossible to put my finger on what it is, but I just get a feeling in the pit of my stomach when I listen to it that convinces me that the universe is infinite and that extra terrestrial life is not just possible but probable. It seems to induce physiological changes in me. Which I can't say of many other records.
POLYGON WINDOW - POLYGON WINDOW
Thing is though, it's a slightly disturbing feeling. Perhaps this is how Rubber Johnny turned out that way?
So back to the singles...
If you've heard Digeridoo you'll never forget it. Like almost everything else he produced at the time, it just sounds so organic. You just can't imagine it's been created by pressing buttons on a computer, or even from rewiring synths. Even as a ferocious acid track it puts you right in the middle of the outback, sounding like something carried to you in the breeze, or in a dream. It's utterly unique.
APHEX TWIN - DIGERIDOO
The second single, Xylem Tube, is probably even better, containing as it does the jaw-dropping 'Polynomial-C'. A beautiful piano riff - that's so complex you can't imagine anyone actually composing it - is carried along by some stabbing synths... before you're assaulted by some brutal breakbeats. 'Braindance' - the term his label Rephlex coined to describe their work - is a fair description.
APHEX TWIN - POLYNOMIAL-C
I've also always loved 'Tamphax' from the same EP, which twists a sample from a Tampax advert into a glorious slice of industrial acid.... as indicated by the 'PH' that's found in this & most other track titles from the two EPs.
"Are you one of those girls, for whom time stands still. Once a month?"
APHEX TWIN - TAMPHAX (HEDPHUQ MIX)
If you're a vinyl buyer and don't own both of these records then go buy em !!!
If you're more into CDs then fear not, for both EPs are available in their entirity on the 'Classics' album, also on R&S.... which also includes Richard's two brutally industrial mixes of 'Mescalinum United' and the beautiful 'Analogue Bubblebath 1'.
Although if you've got nothing i've mentioned then Selected Ambient works & Polygon Window are the ones to start with!!
posted by headphonesex @ 9:22 PM
