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His songs are rich not only sonically, but in the variety of ways in which he creates sounds.The Richard D. "Beetles" is perhaps the creepiest song on the album: Aphex Twin quietly and somberly laments that "Beatles under my carpet, under my feet, they come out in the heat" over slow synthesizer sounds.The crown jewel of the album is the masterpiece "Yellow Calx." The three-minute-long song is comprised of extremely intricate drum samples meshed with a few different computer noises over which a very simple melody plays. It can be analyzed and altered to reveal secrets and messages encoded in the music. James Album is Aphex Twin's 1990's magnus opus; a musical odyssey with as much to offer on the first listen as on the hundredth. The rest of the song consists of Aphex Twin gently repeating somewhat inappropriate lyrics that become increasingly distorted and pitch-shifted over fast drum hits. Aphex Twin blends and sequences the noise of a squealing computer modem with a collection of beeps, whirs, and various other electronic sounds to achieve a truly unique sonic harmony; as much an entrancing alien soundscape as a futuristic, machine-made dance tune.All songs on the album showcase Aphex Twin's perfectionist mastery of electronica, but not all are as complex as "4" or "Peek 824545201." "Fingerbib" achieves the same strange elegance of the other mentioned tracks with significantly less instrumentation. The beginning of the song sounds like computer generated gibberish, but has been revealed to be an encoded (extremely violent and vulgar) statement in English by astute listeners using software to decode the segment. The third track, "Peek 824545201" is an excellent example of this principle.
Aphex Twin's music is aurally superb, but the album offers much more. Like historical "musique concrète," Aphex Twin also manipulates recorded sound to create his music. James Album is an essential addition to anybody's record collection. He distorts, loops, and samples the human voice on multiple tracks, and he samples physical instruments and children's toys on the album as well.Looking forward, the album introduces new concepts in electronic music. In interviews Aphex Twin has claimed that he used data from 1980's video games to generate some of the computer sounds used on the album. Looking past the racing drum beats, the screeching synths, and the distorted samples, the Richard D.
Aphex Twin, like historical artists composing in the style of "elektronische musik," relies heavily on sounds generated entirely by electronic means. James Album is the perfect subject of an afternoon of relaxed listening, a semester of scholarly investigation, or as the inspiration to create new and interesting music in new and interesting ways. "Peek 824545201," for example, contains many sounds of pure electronic origin, not relying on any "real" sounds. The pleasant and soothing sounds of this first song betray the eerie beauty thematic of the album and belie the significantly more harsh noises and tracks heard later.
It provides a window into the underpinnings of the history of electronic music. The Richard D. It showcases the creativity and variety not only of sound, but of the process of making sound. The haunting nature and mechanical precision of the song is recurrent in many of Aphex Twin's works, but "Yellow Calx" stands out as one of his best for reasons that can only be heard, not explained.Taken as a whole, the Richard D. James Album is as much a tribute to the history of electronic music as a prophecy of its future.The album commences with the track "4" which pits a string melody against fast drum samples and various computer generated sounds. "To Cure a Weakling Child," "Beetles," and "Milkman" take the album in a drastically different direction, using sampled vocals to give songs a variety of different feels. James Album is deeply rooted in the tradition of electronic music.
These atypical uses of computers in making electronic music add an intriguing element to Aphex Twin's work. "Milkman" is a much stranger song. The Richard D. "To Cure a Weakling Child" combines the voice of an adolescent with very fast drum samples and computer noises to create the playful sound continued in the next track, "Goon Gumpas," which uses almost entirely either real instruments or computer representations of real instruments. Some of the track titles are borrowed from keywords in an old version of the BASIC programming language.
4 1/2Still a crowning achievement in hyper-intelligent programming, these astute electronic splurges are a pinnacle of melody and manic beat making at its most intelligent.
Absolutely wonderful accompaniment to the Aphex Twin fans collection. Their titles are often appropriate, conveying the feel of each track. The tracks: 4, Peek 824545201, To Cure a Weakling Child, and Girl/Boy Song are my most favorites. This is an album of Aphex Twin tracks covered by an acoustic orchestra. I consider this album to be a masterpiece from a sick genius. The composition and arrangement of the tracks may not be noticed to the casual listener, or at first listen; but repeat listening will prove that the violent, fast-tempo drums may shroud the often beautiful string arrangements and complex patterns beneath. For those that like or love this album, or Aphex Twin in general, I would highly recommend the album: Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin.
It is just 45 minutes of sheer, psychotic brilliance. "4" also happens to be one of my favorite tracks on any Aphex Twin album, and is a fantastic song.Whether you're just breaking into the IDM or electronic music genre, or have been a hardcore fan of it for a long time, the Richard D. James album is my favorite in Aphex Twin's discography, because it's so jam-packed with ridiculous snare rushes, catchy tunes, crazy samples, and just awesomeness in general, all of which makes you want to dance like mad to this crazy, un-danceable music. I never get sick of listening to this album, and I don't think I ever will. I love IDM, I love Aphex Twin, and I love this album. The Richard D. James album is a must-listen and, in my opinion, a must-have.
The paragon of that is "Girl/Boy Song", fusing pizzicato strings with crisp, yet at-times sloppy drumwork. I'm fond of experimental techniques melded with hummable tunes, but can't say I like abrasive bursts of noise which don't advance the music. As indicated by the running times above, this album is relatively brief, such that it could almost be considered an EP -- the best stuff is found when Aphex Twin mixes frenetic beats with lush melodies. Snares flail and assail as the string bite back, harmonic development pulling you in deeper (as opposed to the same thing repeating over and over, which is a common failing with this kind of experimental music)."4" has a delightful, Oriental steppishness to it, with an overall mood that sounds fast and slow at the same time -- RDJ, when he gets it right, is a temporal master of controlling mood through precise sound selection and arrangement."Fingerbib" is another of my faves, its near-pastoral beat tapping along, sounding like the soundtrack to a Flash animation with a humanoid and his pet-something-or-other.Most of the other tracks, however, work as LOLarious jokes suited for Internet viral videos (like the perverted innocence of "Milkman"), but they're not something I've listened to with any great length.
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