''Classics'' is a 1995 compilation album by
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 ...
ian Richard D. James, more commonly known by his
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
of
Aphex Twin (credited here as The Aphex Twin).
The album collects James's early releases, including the ''
Analogue Bubblebath
''Analogue Bubblebath'', also released as ''Aphex Twin ep'', is the first record by musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugu ...
'', ''
Digeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
'', and ''
Xylem Tube''
EPs with a handful of other songs, including remixes of
Mescalinum United's "We Have Arrived". It was released by
R&S Records
R&S Records is an independent record label founded in 1983 in Ghent, Belgium. R&S represents the initials of Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes, the couple that created the label. R&S Records has had several subsidiaries, most notably Apollo R ...
following James' success on
Warp Records
Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, ...
. James was not involved in the release of this compilation.
A
remastered version of the album was released on 2 June 2008. The cover for this reissue resembles that of ''
Selected Ambient Works 85–92
''Selected Ambient Works 85–92'' is the debut studio album by Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of British electronic musician Richard D. James. It was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo Records, a subsidiary of Belgian label R&S Records. Th ...
'', albeit with the black and white inverted.
Background
James' first release was the 1991 12-inch
EP ''
Analogue Bubblebath
''Analogue Bubblebath'', also released as ''Aphex Twin ep'', is the first record by musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugu ...
'' on
Mighty Force Records. In 1991, James and Grant Wilson-Claridge founded
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 ...
to promote "innovation in the dynamics of
Acid — a much-loved and misunderstood genre of
house music forgotten by some and indeed new to others, especially in Britain". From 1991 to 1993 James released two ''Analogue Bubblebath'' EPs as AFX and an EP, ''
Bradley's Beat'', as Bradley Strider. Although he moved to London to take an
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
course at
Kingston Polytechnic, he admitted to
David Toop
David Toop (born 5 May 1949) is an English musician, author, curator, and Emeritus Professor. From 2013 to 2021 he was professor of audio culture and improvisation at the London College of Communication. He was a regular contributor to British ...
that his electronics studies were slipping away as he pursued a career in the
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
genre. After leaving school James remained in the city, releasing albums and EPs on Warp Records and other labels under a number of aliases (including AFX, Polygon Window and Power-Pill); several of his tracks, released under aliases including Blue Calx and The Dice Man, appeared on compilations. Although he allegedly lived on the
roundabout 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 ...
,
South London during his early years there, he actually resided in a nearby unoccupied bank.
In 1992 James also released the ''
Xylem Tube EP
''Xylem Tube EP'' is an EP by the English electronic music producer Richard D. James under the pseudonym of Aphex Twin, released in June 1992 by Apollo Records. It was his second release under the Aphex Twin alias. ''Xylem Tube EP'' was releas ...
'' and ''
Digeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
'' (first played by DJ Colin Faver on London's Kiss FM) as Aphex Twin, the ''
Pac-Man EP'' (based on the
arcade game) as Power-Pill, and two of his four
''Joyrex'' EPs (''
Joyrex J4 EP'' and ''
Joyrex J5 EP'') as Caustic Window. "Digeridoo" reached #55 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, and was later described by ''Rolling Stone'' as foreshadowing
drum and bass. He wrote "Digeridoo" to clear up his audience after a rave.
These early releases were on Rephlex Records,
Mighty Force of Exeter and R&S Records of Belgium.
James had no creative input and was against the release of this compilation, accusing R&S of "milking as much money as they can out of me, because they know I’m not going to give them any more records."
Track listing
Notes
* "Isopropanol" is an extended mix of "Isopropophlex" from James's ''
Analogue Bubblebath
''Analogue Bubblebath'', also released as ''Aphex Twin ep'', is the first record by musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugu ...
''. The track time, 6:23, matches that of "Isopropophlex" from the original ''
Digeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
'' EP.
* "Analogue Bubblebath 1" is extended by a few seconds from its original version, with a different ending. It was the track included on some versions of the ''
Digeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
'' EP instead of "Isopropanol".
* "Tamphex" contains looping samples from a television advertisement for
Tampax
Tampax (a portmanteau of tampon and pack) is a brand of tampon currently owned by Procter & Gamble. It was based in White Plains, New York, US until its sale to Procter & Gamble in 1997. It is a subsidiary of P&G's Always brand and is sold in o ...
.
* This album was chosen as one of
''Q'' magazine's 50 heaviest albums of all time in July 2001,
noted for its crunching, metallic malevolence.
* "We Have Arrived (Aphex Twin QQT mix)" was later re-released on the remix compilation ''
26 Mixes for Cash
''26 Mixes for Cash'' is a compilation album of remixes produced by Richard D. James (under his recording alias Aphex Twin), mainly for other artists between 1990 and 2003. It was released on 24 March 2003 by Warp Records.
Background
Despite bec ...
''.
* A 3rd remix of We Have Arrived appeared on his
2015/2016 SoundCloud dump (a collection of 275+ "leftover" tracks from all eras of his career) under the title "Pcp 2 (unreleased version)".
Personnel
* Aphex Twin – synthesizer, producer
* Richard D. James – producer
* The Mover – producer
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Classics
Aphex Twin compilation albums
1995 compilation albums
R&S Records compilation albums