aphex twin...

Current work: 2000-Present

Music sample:

• "Jynweythek" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
  • Sample of "Jynweythek" from the album Drukqs.
  • Problems listening to the file? See media help.

• "Vord Hosbn" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
  • Sample of "Vord Hosbn" from the album Drukqs.
  • Problems listening to the file? See media help.

In 2001 Aphex Twin released his most personal album yet, drukqs, a 2-CD album which featured prepared piano songs influenced by Erik Satie and John Cage. Also included were abrasive, fast and meticulously programmed computer-made songs. Rolling Stone described the piano songs as "aimlessly pretty"^[12]. drukqs is perhaps Richard's most controversial album to date; the album lacked the novelty found in his other albums, so reviewers guessed that it was released as a contract breaker with Warp Records—a credible guess, as James' next big release came out on his own Rephlex label. It was also rumoured that he had left almost all the album's tracks on an MP3 player that he accidentally left on a plane, and rushed its release to pre-empt an Internet leak. ^[13]

In late 2004, rumours of James' return to an acid techno based sound were realised with the Analord series. This series concentrated on producing fully analogue pieces of music, written and recorded on analogue equipment and pressed to vinyl. James was very meticulous about the whole process of recording, mastering and pressing. However, label co-owner Grant Wilson-Claridge convinced James to release a digital CD, Chosen Lords, which included a selection from the Analord series, with some tracks slightly altered to improve the flow of the album.

Music sample:

• "Fenix Funk 5" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
  • Sample of "Fenix Funk 5" from the album Analord 10.
  • Problems listening to the file? See media help.

• "VBS.Redlof.B" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
  • Sample of "VBS.Redlof.B" from the album Analord 11.
  • Problems listening to the file? See media help.

For the Analord records, James used his extensive collection of Roland drum machines which he bought when they were still at bargain prices. He also used one of the rarest and most desirable synthesizers of his generation, the Synton Fenix, and the notoriously difficult to program Roland MC-4 sequencer (a sequencer with a reputation for excellent timing), as well as the famous Roland TB-303 for his trademark acid melodies.

James usually creates his own photography for his releases' artwork. Many of these photos show James' own face, grinning or slightly distorted in some way, as it can be seen in some of his videoclips ("Come to Daddy", for example). Towards the end of the second track on the "Windowlicker" single (commonly referred to as "[Formula]", "[Symbol]", or "[Equation]") a photo of James' face is revealed when run through spectral analysis ^[14] . The picture illustrates his famous toothy, evil grin (with a spiral also visible at the end of "Windowlicker"). In addition to this, the cover of "Two Remixes by AFX" is actually contained only on the CD, encoded in SSTV format.