''Richard D. James Album'' is the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous fourth studio album by British

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician Richard D. James, under 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 ...

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 ...

. In the United Kingdom, the album was released on 4 November 1996 through

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 ...

. In the United States, it was released on 28 January 1997 by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

, with the '' Girl/Boy'' EP included as bonus tracks. A reissue on

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 m ...

was released on 18 September 2012. ''Richard D. James Album'' was composed by James on his

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

computer, and took longer to complete than his previous efforts. The album features faster

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

s and intricate

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

which draw influence from

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

and

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 ...

, combined with lush string arrangements, unstable

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

s, and slow

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 * ...

melodies reminiscent of James' earlier work, as well as

modulated In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...

vocals by James. ''Richard D. James Album'' was less successful in the United Kingdom than James' two previous albums ''

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 ...

'' (1994) and '' ...I Care Because You Do'' (1995). However, the album still charted in the UK, peaking at number 62 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 ...

for one week. It also peaked at number 20 in the US

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

list, becoming James' first to do so. The album received acclaim from music critics, and ''

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 ...

'' listed it as the 20th best album of the year.

Background and production

In 1995, Richard James released the two ''

Hangable Auto Bulb ''Hangable Auto Bulb'' is a series of two 1995 EPs by electronic musician Richard D. James, under his alias AFX. The two were re-released by Warp Records as a single album on 31 October 2005. They marked James's first foray into rapid drill 'n' ...

'' EPs under his AFX moniker, experimenting with exaggerated rhythms inspired by

in a style that came to be called "

drill 'n' bass Drill 'n' bass is a subgenre of drum and bass which developed in the mid-1990s as IDM artists began experimenting with elements of breakbeat, jungle, and drum and bass music. Artists utilized powerful audio software programs and deployed frenzie ...

". In the following year, James released the Aphex Twin EP '' Girl/Boy''. This faster style of

was inspired by James' friend

Luke Vibert Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...

, who recorded in this style as Plug. James stated that while he worked with triplets and complicated beats in the past, that Vibert "got me into doing it a faster pace. He gave me the spark to do it faster, but now I'm trying to take it to all extremes". James also noted the influence of his friend Tom Jenkinson (aka Squarepusher). He had said Jenkinson and Vibert were the "only two people around who are usicallyconsistent enough for me". James has stated that most of the album was composed on his

computer and that the album took longer to create than any of his previous albums. Describing his approach to drum programming, he stated that "sometimes I just hit the keyboard in a way I'd like the rhythm of the tracks to sound. Then I'll spend four hours moving all the notes where I want them to go." Some tracks on the album include James' vocals

on a computer; in "To Cure a Weakling Child", James manipulated his voice to sound like a child giving a lecture about arms and legs. For the orchestral arrangements on the album, James bought a violin at a

car boot sale Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'. Some scientific ...

. He taught himself to play a note from the instrument by placing it on a table, playing a note and sampling it for the album. Two of the tracks, "Fingerbib" and "Logan Rock Witch", had previously been intended for another album James had been working on around the same period, entitled ''

Melodies from Mars ''Melodies from Mars'' is a collection of unreleased tracks by Richard David James, better known under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. Although James did not admit authorship until 2014, it was known to fans as an unofficial Aphex Twin album because a ...

'', which remains officially unreleased. The cover art for ''Richard D. James Album'' is credited to both James and Johnny Clayton. Clayton did not accept credit for the album's cover, stating that he taught James how to use

Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...

and "he started playing around with his own self-image. That's what led to that cover."

Composition

''Richard D. James Album'' is a work of

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

that has been characterised as James's "swan dive into

and drill'n'bass" by ''Vice'', and labeled as a work of IDM by ''Pitchfork'', working with jungle,

and

acid techno Acid techno, sometimes known generally as "acid", is a genre of techno that was derived from acid house and developed in Europe in the late 1980s to early 1990s. It saw younger artists apply the "squelching" synthesizer sound of Chicago acid hou ...

in some tracks. ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' noted that ' at makes ''Richard D. James Album'' stand out among James’ previous works is the synthesis of delicate, symphonic sounds and hard, jackhammering beats," noting that the album consolidated his 1995 entry into the short-lived drill 'n' bass subgenre. James has claimed the influence of jungle music came from "any of the drum 'n' bass and breakbeat artists" and that he has "always been into nicking other things ..and making something different". ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' noted the album heavily relies on

, sampling, and "other digital intricacies that would've been otherwise unthinkable without computers". It also features lush string arrangements and simple keyboard textures built over

quadruple time Duple metre (or Am. duple meter, also known as duple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 2 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 2 and multiples (simple) or 6 and multiples (compound) in the upper figure of the tim ...

breakbeats and unstable

s. Steve Taylor found the record Aphex Twin's "most terrifying" one, with "weird stop-start beats,

white noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...

and tough melodies." John Bush of

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 ...

noted that the album continued James's "forays into

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

-jungle and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

," noting that the album was "more extreme than virtually all jungle being made at the time", with beats layered over slower melodies that characterised James' earlier ambient works. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' opined that the album was one of the "aggressive combinations of disparate electronic forms", with "almost-brutal contrast between its elements". ''

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 ...

'' commented that tracks such as "Girl/Boy Song", "Yellow Calx", and "Peek 824545201" were "loosely based on jungle". ''

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 ...

'' linked the album's use of vocals, both sung and sampled, its cover artwork and title, stating that "''Richard D. James'' might be the first

LP that not only gropes for narrative but also aspired to an abstract sort of

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

Release

In the United Kingdom, ''Richard D. James Album'' was released by

on 4 November 1996. The album charted on the

in the week ending 16 November 1996 for one week, where it peaked at number 62. In the UK, it was less successful than his two previous albums. The American version included the '' Girl/Boy EP'' as bonus tracks. It was released on 28 January 1997 by

. The album was released on compact disc,

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

and

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

; early copies of the album were distributed with a plastic sachet containing James' hair. Along with '' ...I Care Because You Do'' (1995), ''Richard D. James Album'' was reissued on vinyl on 18 September 2012 by record label 1972. Warp announced their own re-issue of the album on 180-gram vinyl for 8 October 2012.

Critical reception

In the United Kingdom, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave the album a positive review, stating that "The intuitive sense of melody

ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Oklah ...

has been striving so hard to suppress over the last few years has come to the fore too, and the result is the most magical pop record of the year: the year in question being AD 2001". In North America, ''

'' gave the album an 8.4 out of ten rating, stating that "The ''Richard D. James Album'' is 43.5 minutes of pure electronic genius" and "just when your brain starts to comprehend a rhythmic pattern, the beat shifts, turns left and crushes your torso under the steering wheel." ''

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 ...

'' gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting that "Aphex Twin coaxes great emotional resonance from his machines" and combines "jolting beats, pristine melodic fragments and random noises into elegant – if at times unnerving – futuristic pop". However, he also commented that "not all of ''Richard D. James'' goes down easy". Marc Widenbaum of ''The Pulse'' called the album, "quite simply, the strongest

art-pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's ...

record to appear since

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

's '' Mr. Heartbreak''", defined by a "series of lovely tunes atop a decisive, rhythmically fascinating girding of rapid-fire, turn-on-a-dime percussion." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' awarded the album an A−, calling it James' "quirkiest, most personal work" and said that "4" and "Girl/Boy Song" revealed "a new warmth and wistfulness." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' gave the album a negative review, referring to the music as "sloppy offhand", "a noisy mess" and sounding "like a private joke". ''

'' placed the album at number 20 on their list of the best albums of 1996. ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'' also listed the album among their top 50 albums of the year for 1996. In 2003, ''Pitchfork'' listed their top albums of the 1990s, with ''Richard D. James Album'' ranking at 40. ''Pitchfork'' stated that ''RDJ'' is not "easily dated by tstechnology", and doesn't "sound stale compared to modern variations." ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' placed the album at number 91 on their list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s, describing it as "more fascinated by textures than almost any other electronic album ever crafted". In 2015, ''

'' placed the album at number 71 on their list of the best albums of the past 30 years. In the same year, ''

'' listed ''Richard D. James Album'' on their list of Essential Richard D. James albums. The review opined that the album was "not necessarily a release that you immediately fall in love with", but that it was "endlessly rewarding". ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' named it among "the most influential electronica albums of the past 20 years." The album was placed in numerous end-of-decade lists. According to

Acclaimed Music Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...

, a site which uses statistics to numerically represent reception among critics, ''Richard D. James Album'' is the 766th most celebrated album of all time, as of 2017. It is also James' second most acclaimed album, behind ''

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). In 2019, ''

Reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...

'' called the album "perhaps the best-known IDM release of all time" and a "highwater mark" for the genre.

Usage in media

Songs from the album were used on several different television

ads" \n\nads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is an initiative from IAB Technology Laboratory. It specifies a text file that companies can host on their web servers, listing the other companies authorized to sell their products or services. This is de ...

. "To Cure a Weakling Child" was used in a high-profile UK TV advertising campaign for mobile phone company

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. The song "4" was used in a US government anti-drug advertisement spot, as well as an advertisement in the United States for the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

. "Girl/Boy Song" was used in a

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

commercial.

Track listing

All tracks are credited as being written and produced by "Me" (Richard D. James).

Personnel

Credits from the back cover of the album. * Aphex Twin (credited as "Me") – writer, producer, sleeve * Johnny Clayton – sleeve

Charts

Sales

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 albums Aphex Twin Aphex Twin albums Drum and bass albums Jungle music albums Art pop albums Sire Records albums Warp (record label) albums