''...I Care Because You Do'' is the third studio album by electronic musician Richard D. James under the alias

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

, released on 24 April 1995 by

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

. Containing material recorded between 1990 and 1994, the album marked James's return to a percussive sound following the largely beatless ''

Selected Ambient Works Volume II ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' is the second studio album by Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of British electronic musician Richard D. James. It was released by Warp in March 1994. Billed as a follow-up to James' debut ''Selected Ambient Works 8 ...

'' (1994), and pairs abrasive rhythms with

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

elements. The cover artwork is a

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

by James. ''I Care Because You Do'' peaked at number 24 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. It was supported by the single and EP release of the track " Ventolin". The album received positive reviews, with ''

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'', ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' commending it as a return to form for James. It garnered comparisons to the work of composer

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, who later re-recorded the track "Icct Hedral" for James's 1995 EP '' Donkey Rhubarb''. In 2017, ''

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'' ranked ''I Care Because You Do'' the 13th best IDM album of all time.

Composition

Each track on ''I Care Because You Do'' is annotated with a date, revealing that the tracks were created between 1990 and 1994. It was James' final album to be recorded primarily with analogue technology before he turned to

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

production methods. Many of the song titles are

anagrams An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, the album finds James "pairing his

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

experimentalism with more symphonic

material, aligned with the work of many post-classical composers" such as

. Writer Dave Thompson described the album as "pulling together calm, serene moments then launching into battering and bruising beat-heavy tracks," observing that the rhythms shift "from trancey to hip-hoppish." Thompson also noted the influence of modern composers such as Glass. ''

'' stated that the music had "little to do with

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

in any of its more popular guises," also comparing it to the work of composers Glass and

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

but asserting that the album draws "most strongly from hip-hop. James' trademark is to put rhythm and percussion above all else; his beautiful, haunting melodies are relegated to the back of the mix." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' stated that the album has been described as "occupying a middle-ground between Philip Glass and the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

." ''

'' wrote that the album "showed up

trip-hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos ...

laziness", while ''Dummy Mag'' described James as taking trip hop and "refashioning hevoguish genre in his own image". ''

'' wrote that "By adding layers of soft, warm synthesizer chords over skull-grinding electronic percussion, James creates sounds that are simultaneously comforting and scary." In 2003, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' summarized the album as "a shotgun wedding of analogue

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

and ambient porridge." ''Rolling Stone'' stated in 2004 that the increasingly active drum backing on the album was inspired by the presence of

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

music in the United Kingdom.

Release

''...I Care Because You Do'' was released on 24 April 1995. It was released on vinyl, compact disc and cassette. It charted for two weeks in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 24 on the

. ''I Care Because You Do'' was re-issued on vinyl by the record label 1972 on 18 September 2012. Warp also re-issued the album in vinyl with a download card on 8 October 2012. In 2017, the album was re-released in digital format with eight bonus tracks. The cover artwork is a

painted by James. It was the first of several Aphex Twin releases to feature an image of his grinning face on the cover. Following the album's release, composer Philip Glass contributed an orchestral arrangement to "Icct Hedral" that was included on the 1995 EP '' Donkey Rhubarb''.

Reception

'' Select'' ranked the album at 42 on its "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list; saying ''I Care Because You Do'' was James's best since ''

Surfing on Sine Waves ''Surfing on Sine Waves'' is a studio album by Polygon Window, a pseudonym for the English electronic music producer Richard D. James, better known by the alias Aphex Twin. It was originally released on 11 January 1993 by Warp. It is the second ...

'' and his "most coherent one to date", additionally stating that James had the ability to "make the avant-garde sound pop" and that he "delivers complex contemporary

systems music Systems music is music with sound continua which evolve gradually, often over very long periods of time. Historically, the American minimalists Steve Reich, La Monte Young and Philip Glass are considered the principal proponents of this composit ...

in the most deliciously simple forms". ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' gave a positive review, surmising that "As ever, his palette of sound is astonishing, his arrangements effective and deliberate". ''Rolling Stone'' described the album as "

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

for a generation raised on

sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

s", stating that James was "making some of the most engaging and important music of our time." ''

'' praised the album and called it superior to ''

'', writing that it "reintroduces tension, more beats per minute, and sonic grime into his music" and additionally noting that it "creates sounds that are simultaneously comforting and scary – a fitting metaphor for the contemporary clash of technology and the humans befuddled by it." ''

'' also stated that album was superior to ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' as it "cut the middle of echnos kitchen-sink aesthetic without sacrificing melody coherence or rhythm". ''Spin'' also described it as "a real album with its own gestalt," in which capacity it bested the "truly great" James albums ''

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. The ...

'' (1992) and ''

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

'' (1995). ''Select'' later placed the album at 42nd place on their list of the best albums of 1995, referring to the album as "leftfield, sound pop brilliance". In a retrospective of James' work in ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'',

Sasha Frere-Jones Alexander Roger Wallace "Sasha" Frere-Jones (né Jones; born 1967) is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for ''Pretty Decorating'', '' ego trip'', ''Hit It And Quit It'', ''Mean'', ''Slant'', ''The New York Post'', ''T ...

found that the album's newer tracks were its best ones. Justin Boreta from the group

The Glitch Mob The Glitch Mob is an American electronic music trio from Los Angeles, California. It consists of edIT (Edward Ma), Boreta (Justin Boreta) and Ooah (Josh Mayer). Chris Martins of ''LA Weekly'' noted that they "have undoubtedly found the largest a ...

publicly revisited the album in 2015, praising it for "the juxtaposition between heavy darkness and gentle depth". ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' described it as "a perfect bridge between James' implementation of

experimental techno An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

and glossy ambient." In 2017, ''

'' ranked it the 13th best IDM album of all time.

Track listing

Each track on ''I Care Because You Do'' is annotated with the year of its recording.

Personnel

The album credits only state that "Everything by Richard D. James. Self portrait painted by me. Design help from John."

Charts

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I Care Because You Do Aphex Twin albums 1995 albums Warp (record label) albums Sire Records albums Elektra Records albums