''Analord'' is a series of eleven 12"

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

records released in 2005 by UK-based

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

artist Richard D. James, primarily under the alias AFX. The series marked James's return to primarily analogue equipment following his computer-oriented programming work in the late 1990s. After their release, James "distilled" the 3½ hour, 42-track series into the 10-track compilation album '' Chosen Lords'' (2006), effectively his first full-length release since the 2001 album ''

Drukqs ''Drukqs'' (stylised as ''drukQs'') is the fifth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released in 2001 on Warp. It is a double album alternating primarily between tracks of meticulously programme ...

''. On 24 December 2009, the

Rephlex Records Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists ...

website began posting unreleased/bonus tracks for the ''Analord'' series in

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

and

WAV Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced "wave") is an audio file format standard, developed by IBM and Microsoft, for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is the main format used on Microsoft Wind ...

digital formats. In all, 21 bonus tracks were added to the series, totalling 62 tracks for a runtime of 4 hours and 36 minutes.

History

The first installment, ''Analord 10'', went on sale through the

website on 15 December 2004, and was packaged in a faux-leather binder with sleeves for housing the rest of the series. It was later re-released as a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

. Both pressings of ''Analord 10'' were marketed under James' primary alias Aphex Twin, although other ''Analord'' recordings were released under the AFX pseudonym.A beginner's guide to the many sounds of Aphex Twin
www.avclub.com, Retrieved 2015-07-11 A condensed, album-length version of the series, '' Chosen Lords'', was released in 2006.

Musical equipment used

James has programmed a variety of analogue equipment throughout his career. Instruments on ''Analord'' include drum machines such as the

Roland TR-606 The Roland TR-606 Drumatix is a drum machine built by the Roland Corporation from 1981 to 1984. It was originally designed to be used with the Roland TB-303, a monophonic analog bass synthesizer, to provide a simple drum and bass accompaniment t ...

, TR-808, and

TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to syn ...

; sequencers such as the

Roland MC-4 The Roland MC-4 MicroComposer was an early microprocessor-based music sequencer released by Roland Corporation. It could be programmed using the ten key numeric keyboard or a synthesizer keyboard using the keyboard's control voltage and gate outp ...

; and various synthesizers and

polysynth Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophoni ...

s, including the

Roland SH-101 The Roland SH-101 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1982 and 1986. Though it was something of a commercial failure during the time of its manufacture, it later became a staple of electronic music in the 1990 ...

and

Roland TB-303 The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were ...

, a Synton Fenix Modular.

Allusions

*Tracks on ''Analord 8'', ''Analord 9'', and ''Analord 11'' are named after computer viruses and other

malicious software Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, ...

, allegedly to prevent or discourage file sharing. *The images on both sides of ''Analord 11'' feature the Michael Faraday Memorial in

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...

, London (which is near the disused bank Richard D. James owns). * Both sides of ''Analord 1'' feature the

Roland MC-4 Microcomposer The Roland MC-4 MicroComposer was an early microprocessor-based music sequencer released by Roland Corporation. It could be programmed using the ten key numeric keyboard or a synthesizer keyboard using the keyboard's control voltage and gate outp ...

as the label art. * Side B of "Analord 4" has a Halibut's eye as the label art, connecting with the track "Halibut Acid".

Track listing

Analord 1

Released 24 January 2005.

Analord 2

Released 24 January 2005.

Analord 3

Released 21 February 2005.

Analord 4

Released 21 February 2005.

Analord 5

Released 14 March 2005.

Analord 6

Released 11 April 2005.

Analord 7

Released 25 April 2005.

Analord 8

Released 9 May 2005.

Analord 9

Released 13 June 2005.

Analord 10

Released 15 December 2004 and credited to Aphex Twin rather than AFX. Re-released as a

on 11 July 2005.

Analord 11

Released 13 June 2005. ^* Released on 24 December 2009, only available through download.

References

External links

Rephlex Analord webpage

Rephlex Analord 10 webpage
* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Acid techno albums 2005 EPs Aphex Twin albums Rephlex Records EPs EP series