BAND INFO: Aphex Twin is Richard D. (Dick) James (from Cornwall, England) and has had a remarkable impact on electronic music. From a very young age, Richard was interested in electronics; he would disassemble and re-assemble electronic equipment to learn how it worked. James has influenced many artists and has worked on a lot of side projects. You can find two songs created by Aphex Twin off of Nine Inch Nails "Further Down the Spiral" album. James has also worked with classical music composer Phillip Glass. A really cool note about Aphex Twin's material is that he cleverly hides secret messages or meanings in song titles or within the songs themselves. There are a ton of song titles that are anagrams of "Aphex Twin".
...I Care Because You Do - OVERVIEW: Sit back and prepare to be taken on a ambient/trance journey with an occasional stop by Breakbeat Hotel and Intelligent Dance Beat Park. OK, that's really corny, but it sounded good at the time! This album is a lot slower as compared to Twin's other albums. This one is also a lot more relaxing. We've got a great mix of electronic styles here that range from some ambient, drum 'n bass, all the way to trip-hop. I can't really say it's meant for relaxing, even though many of the tracks are very smooth and slow. There are also the very upbeat songs with sharp beats. Overall, it's a great album if you're looking for a good mix of different types of techno. Here's some hush-hush stuff that you may not know: on track #11 (Cow Cud Is A Twin) a lot of the electronic sounds are actually a robotic-sounding voice that says "I care because you do" and "Aphex Twin". Track #1 (Acrid Acid Jam) is an anagram of "Richard D. James" and tracks #12 (Next Heap With) and #3 (Wax the Nip) are analgrams with "Aphex Twin".
RECORD LABEL: Sire Records
VOCALS: Little to none
# OF TRACKS: 12
RUNNING TIME: 1:03:50
RELEASE YEAR: 1995
YOU'D LIKE THIS CD IF YOU LIKE: Future Sound of London or Kraftwelt
Richard D. James Album - OVERVIEW: You will never hear another electronic album that sounds like this one. Average people define techno as "a bunch of whistles, bells, and clanging sounds", and that's pretty much what this album is. However, this is good stuff! The off-beats come together while high-pitched electronics add into the beat. There is no certain sub-class that this album fits in to. Some would probably call it "crazy drum 'n bass" (which has been called "drill 'n bass), but that isn't saying enough. The drum 'n bass aspects are there, but there's also some acid, trance, and intelligent dance mixed in as well. There is an oddness about this album which cannot be described by words alone. The best way I can describe the listening experience of Aphex Twin's "Richard D. James" album is that it is a "frightening psychodelic calmness". Some interesting things that a person would like to know about this album is that "PEEK" (track #3) and "Inkey$" (track #12) are both BASIC computer commands.
RECORD LABEL: SIRE RECORDS
VOCALS: Little to none
# OF TRACKS: 15
RUNNING TIME: 43:27
RELEASE YEAR: 1996
YOU'D LIKE THIS CD IF YOU LIKE: Mu-ziq or Kraftwerk
RATING: 7 / 10
