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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 styles such as techno,
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 * ...
, and jungle. Journalists from publications including '' Mixmag'', '' The New York Times'', '' NME'', ''
Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
,'' '' Clash'' and '' The Guardian'' have called James one of the most influential or important artists in contemporary electronic music. Raised in Cornwall, James began DJing at free parties and clubs in the area in the late 1980s. His debut EP '' Analogue Bubblebath,'' released in 1991 on Mighty Force Records, brought James an early following; he began to perform across the UK and
continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
. James co-founded the independent label Rephlex Records the same year. His 1992 debut album '' Selected Ambient Works 85–92'', released by Belgian label Apollo, garnered wider critical and popular acclaim. That year, he also appeared on the influential Warp Records compilation '' Artificial Intelligence''. James signed to Warp in 1993 and subsequently released charting albums such as '' ...I Care Because You Do'' (1995) and '' Richard D. James Album'' (1996), as well as Top 40 singles such as " Come to Daddy" (1997) and " Windowlicker" (1999); the latter two were accompanied by music videos directed by
Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is a British video artist and music video director, best known for his music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and most notably Aphex Twin on videos for "Windowlicker" and " ...
and brought James significantly wider international attention. After releasing '' Drukqs'' in 2001 and completing his contract with Warp, James spent several years releasing music on his own Rephlex label, including the 2005 '' Analord'' EP series under his AFX alias and a pair of 2007 releases as the Tuss. In 2014, he made available a previously unreleased 1994 LP as Caustic Window. He returned later that year with the Aphex Twin album ''
Syro ''Syro'' () is the sixth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released on 19 September 2014 on Warp. It was James's first album under the Aphex Twin name since ''Drukqs'' (2001). Th ...
'' on Warp, winning the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. He has since released charting EPs including '' Cheetah'' (2016) and '' Collapse'' (2018).


Early life

James was born on 18 August 1971 in Limerick, Ireland, to
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
parents. He has said that he had a stillborn older brother also named Richard whose name he inherited. In a 1997 interview with '' Alternative Press'', James stated that this death occurred while his family had moved to Canada in 1968 for mining work; it led his mother to reuse the name because "she didn't want to accept the death of the child." James grew up in Cornwall, where he lived in Lanner while attending
Redruth School Redruth School is a secondary school in Redruth, Cornwall, England, for pupils aged 11 to 16. It was formed in 1976 by the merger of Redruth Grammar School and Tolgus Secondary School. The sports fields of the school are also used as a venue f ...
in
Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...
. James said he liked growing up there, "cut off from the city and the rest of the world". He became interested in making sounds before writing music, and as a child he played with the strings inside his family piano and disassembled tape equipment. According to James, at age 11 he produced sound on a Sinclair ZX81, a home computer with no sound hardware: "I played around with machine code and found some codes that retuned the TV signal so that it made this really weird noise when you turned the volume up." James states that he bought his first synthesizer at age 12 and after taking an interest in electronics would modify
analogue synthesisers An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of va ...
"and junk" to make noise. James began making music aged 14, partially as a refuge from the "bloody awful" Jesus and Mary Chain albums played by his sister. Cornwall had few record shops, but a thriving nightlife in which
acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...
was popular. James claimed to have been making music with similarities to
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 ...
and techno for years before hearing the genres, leading him to purchase every record he could find in the styles.
Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...
. ''Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture''. Soft Skull Press, 2012.
In his late teens, James began DJing at clubs and raves, and included his own tracks in his sets. He studied at Cornwall College from 1988 to 1990 and graduated with a National Diploma in engineering. According to one lecturer, he often wore headphones during practical lessons and had a "kind of mystique about him ... I think some of the other students were a bit in awe of him."


Career


1988–1991: Cornish free parties, Rephlex Records and first releases

In the late 1980s, James became involved in the Cornish free party scene, putting on raves at "secret coves along the coast and behind sand dunes". The first party he DJed at was in a barn in 1988. Parties were also known to take place at
Gwennap Pit Gwennap ( kw, Lannwenep (village), Pluw Wenep (parish)) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is about five miles (8 km) southeast of Redruth. Hamlets of Burncoose, Comford, Coombe, Crofthandy, Cusgarne, Fernsplatt, Frog ...
. They mainly attracted local youths and travellers, with entrance donations taken in cannabis. The tight-knit community would also put on nights at small clubs in towns around the county, including St. Ives, Porthtowan, and
St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...
. James would later refer to this scene as the "best he's ever been involved in". James started a regular DJ slot in 1989, playing alternate weeks at the Bowgie nightclub in Crantock. There he met Tom Middleton and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Impressed by James' music, Middleton played a tape James had given him to a free party organiser in
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, who eventually convinced James to release a record on his fledgling record label Mighty Force Records. James was initially resistant, but while he was
tripping Tripping may refer to: * Psychedelic experience * Tripping (ice hockey), a penalty infraction * Tripping (pipe), the act of running or pulling drill pipe into or out of a wellbore on a drilling rig * "Tripping" (song), a 2005 single by Robbie Wil ...
on
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 ...
backstage at a DJ gig, Darby and Middleton convinced him to release the record. Darby later said: "I think if he had not done that trip that night there may have never been any Aphex Twin." James has given a similar account: "...they made me sign the contract when I was off my face. I was tripping and they're waving this money and a pen at me. It's a bit clichéd but it's the way they got me to sign."Alt URL
/ref> Similarly impressed by James' music, Wilson-Claridge suggested they use some money he inherited to create a record label to release it. He and James founded Rephlex Records in 1991. James' first release was the 12" EP '' Analogue Bubblebath'', released on Mighty Force in September 1991. The EP made the playlist of
Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...
, an influential London radio station, giving it wide exposure in the dance music scene. In 2015, ''The Guardian'' called the release one of the key moments in the history of dance music. The record caught the ear of Renaat Vandepapeliere, the head of R&S Records, at that time one of the leading European
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 ...
labels. James visited him in Belgium, bringing with him a box full of cassettes of his music. From these cassettes they picked out tracks for two records, including James' first album ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92''. In 1992, as word of his 12" records spread, James started performing at London techno events like formative club Knowledge, held at the SW1 nightclub in London's Victoria, and the influential night Lost. In 1991 and 1992, James released three '' Analogue Bubblebath'' EPs, two EPs as Caustic Window, the '' Red'' EP as part of the Universal Indicator collective, along with the '' Digeridoo'' and '' Xylem Tube'' EPs on the R&S label. Although he moved to London to take an electronics course at Kingston Polytechnic, he admitted to David Toop that his electronics studies were slipping away as he pursued a career in electronic music.


1992–1994: ''Selected Ambient Works'' and early success

The first full-length Aphex Twin album, ''Selected Ambient Works 85–92'', comprised material dating back to James' teen years. It was released in November 1992 by Apollo Records, a subsidiary of Belgian label R&S. John Bush of Allmusic would later describe the release as a watershed moment in ambient music. In a 2002 '' Rolling Stone'' record review Pat Blashill noted that Aphex Twin had "expanded way beyond the
ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...
of
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
by fusing lush soundscapes with oceanic beats and bass lines," demonstrating that "techno could be more than druggy dance music". Writing for ''Pitchfork'' in 2002, David Pecoraro called it "among the most interesting music ever created with a keyboard and a computer". '' DJ Mag's'' Ben Murphy named it "a seminal record in the IDM, ambient and experimental canon". In 1992, James also released the EPs '' Digeridoo'' and '' Xylem Tube EP'' as Aphex Twin, the ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'' EP (an album of remixes of ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'' music) as Power-Pill, two of his four ''Joyrex'' EPs (''
Joyrex J4 EP ''Joyrex J4 EP'' is an EP by Richard D. James under the alias Caustic Window. The release is a 12 inch vinyl and has been pressed with both yellow and black labels. All tracks except "Pop Corn" were later re-released on the album ''Compilat ...
'' and ''
Joyrex J5 EP ''Joyrex J5 EP'' is an EP by Richard D. James under the alias Caustic Window. The release is a 12 inch vinyl. All tracks, except the untitled second track on side B, were later re-released on the album ''Compilation''. Track listing Side ...
'') as Caustic Window, and ''
Analogue Bubblebath 3 ''Analogue Bubblebath Vol 3'' is an EP by electronic musician Richard D. James, under the pseudonym of AFX, released in 1992 on Rephlex Records. It is the third release in the ''Analogue Bubblebath'' series, and his first release to use the AF ...
''. "Digeridoo" reached #55 on the UK Singles Chart, and was later described by ''Rolling Stone'' as foreshadowing
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 ...
. That year, he also appeared as the Dice Man on the Warp Records compilation '' Artificial Intelligence'' with the track "Polygon Window;" the compilation would help birth the genre later known as "
intelligent dance music Intelligent dance music (commonly abbreviated as IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intel ...
" and help launch the career of Aphex Twin alongside Autechre and Richie Hawtin. In 1993, there followed his first releases on Warp: ''
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 ...
'' (the second entry in the label's '' Artificial Intelligence'' series) and the EP '' Quoth'', as Polygon Window, and later in the year the " On" EP, which entered the top 40 on the UK charts. Rephlex also put out an EP by James under the alias Bradley Strider, ''
Bradley's Robot Bradley's Robot is an EP by Richard D. James under the alias Bradley Strider (referred to as Strider. B. on the label). The EP was pressed in 12" vinyl format and does not come in a picture sleeve, but rather is housed within a (folded) 92.4 x 1 ...
'', and two more Caustic Window records. James was part of several tours in 1993. He supported the Orb on several dates, and joined the "Midi Circus" tour at venues across the UK, co-headlining with
Orbital Orbital may refer to: Sciences Chemistry and physics * Atomic orbital * Molecular orbital * Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight * Orbit ** Earth orbit Medicine and physiology * Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone'' * Orbito ...
, the Orb and Drum Club. Later in the year, he was part of the NASA "See the Light" tour with Orbital,
Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
, and Vapourspace at venues across the United States. Warp released the second Aphex Twin album, '' Selected Ambient Works Volume II'', in 1994, which explored a more ambient sound, inspired by lucid dreams and James' experience of
synaesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who rep ...
. It reached number 11 in the UK charts, but was not particularly well received critically; critic Simon Reynolds later noted that "many in the Aphex cult were thrown for a loop" and that "Aphex aficionados remain divided". Other 1994 releases were a fourth ''Analogue Bubblebath,'' '' GAK'' (derived from early demos sent to Warp), 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 ...
'', a compilation album.


1995–2000: ''...I Care Because You Do'', ''Richard D. James Album'' and ''Come to Daddy''

For his charting 1995 album '' ...I Care Because You Do,'' composed between 1990 and 1994 in a range of styles, James used an image of his face for the cover, which became a
motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...
on his later releases. He commissioned Western classical-music 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 ...
to create an orchestral version of the ''...I Care Because You Do'' track "Icct Hedral", which appeared on the '' Donkey Rhubarb'' EP. In the same year, James released his '' Hangable Auto Bulb'' EP under the name AFX, which spearheaded the short-lived drill 'n' bass style. '' Richard D. James Album'', James' fourth studio album as Aphex Twin, was released on Warp in 1996. It features software synthesisers and unconventional rhythms. Will Hermes of ''
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 ...
'' discussed James' use of jungle elements, writing that "by applying junglist strategies to his own obsessive sound creation - his gorgeous weirdo palette of modernist strings, whirring crib toys, and agitated machines - he remakes drum'n'bass in his own image". In a ''Pitchfork'' list of the best albums of the 1990s, Eric Carr wrote that ''Richard D. James Album'' demonstrated "aggressive combinations of disparate electronic forms", with an "almost-brutal contrast between its elements" that has ensured its relevance. In 2003, ''NME'' named it the 55th greatest album of all time, and in 2009 ''Pitchfork'' named it the 40th greatest album of the 1990s. James garnered attention the following year after the release of his charting '' Come to Daddy'' EP. The title track was conceived as a
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
parody. Accompanied with a successful music video directed by
Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is a British video artist and music video director, best known for his music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and most notably Aphex Twin on videos for "Windowlicker" and " ...
, James became disenchanted by its success: "This little idea that I had, which was a joke, turned into something huge. It wasn't right at all." It was followed by " Windowlicker", a charting single promoted with another Cunningham music video, nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Video in 2000.


2001–2009: ''Drukqs'', ''Analord'' and the Tuss

In 2001 Aphex Twin released '' Drukqs'', an experimental double album featuring abrasive, meticulous programming and computer-controlled piano influenced by
Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...
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 ...
. It features the piano composition " Avril 14th", which remains perhaps James's best known work. The album polarised reviewers. James told interviewers he had accidentally left an MP3 player with new tracks on a plane, and had rushed the album release to preempt an internet leak. In 2001, James also released a short EP, ''
2 Remixes By AFX 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 styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publication ...
'', with remixes of songs by
808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...
and DJ Pierre. It also had an untitled third track, consisting of a SSTV image with high-pitched sounds which can be decoded to a viewable image with appropriate software. In 2002, James was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male. In 2003, Warp released ''
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 ...
'', collecting many of James's remixes for other artists. In 2005, James released a series of vinyl EPs under the AFX name, '' Analord'', created entirely with analogue equipment. These were followed in 2006 by a compilation album of ''Analord'' tracks, '' Chosen Lords.'' In 2007, James released two records on Rephlex, ''
Confederation Trough ''Confederation Trough'' is the EP debut of Richard D. James's alias, The Tuss, credited to faux name Brian Tregaskin. Released in April 2007, it mixes techno and acid, and was followed by ''Rushup Edge Rushup Edge is a ridge in the Derbysh ...
'' and '' Rushup Edge'', under the alias the Tuss, Cornish slang for "erection". Media sources speculated about James's involvement, but his identity was not confirmed until 2014. In 2009 Rephlex Records released digital versions (in the FLAC file format) of the 11 Analord EPs. Each of them (except for Analord 10) had bonus tracks, totalling 81 minutes of new music between them all. Richard later disbanded Rephlex Records, removing the website entirely. In 2010, James said he had completed six new albums, including a new version of the unreleased ''
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 ...
''. In September 2011, he performed a live tribute to the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki; he performed his remix of Penderecki's " Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" and a version of " Polymorphia". The following month, he performed at the Paris Pitchfork Music Festival.


2014–present: ''Caustic Window'', ''Syro'', and return as Aphex Twin

In 2014, a test pressing of a 1994 album recorded under James's pseudonym Caustic Window appeared for sale on Discogs. The album was once intended for sale on James's label Rephlex, but went unreleased. With the consent of James and Rephlex, fans organised a
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign to purchase the record and distribute copies. ''Syro'', the first album released under the Aphex Twin name since ''Drukqs'' in 2001, was released by Warp on 23 September 2014. It was marketed by a teaser campaign including graffiti, a blimp flown over London, and an announcement made via a .onion address accessible through the darknet browser Tor. In November 2014, James released a set of 21 tracks, ''Modular Trax'', on the audio platform SoundCloud. The tracks were later removed. Over several months in 2015, James anonymously uploaded 230 demo tracks, some dating to the 1980s, to SoundCloud. He said he had released the
demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...
to relieve his family of the pressure to release his archives after he dies. He has continued to occasionally release tracks on the account. On 23 January 2015, James released '' Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2'', created with robotic instruments including the Disklavier, a computer-controlled player piano. On 8 July 2016, he released the '' Cheetah'' EP, backed by a music video for "CIRKLON3 олхозная mix, the first official music video for an Aphex Twin track in 17 years. On 17 December, James performed in Houston, Texas at the Day for Night festival, his first American appearance in eight years. An untitled 12-inch vinyl was sold exclusively at the festival, containing two 10-minute tracks. On 3 June 2017, James performed at the Field Day festival and released a limited edition EP, '' London 03.06.17''. On 19 June 2017, a Michigan record store sold an exclusive Aphex Twin record comprising two tracks released on SoundCloud in 2015. On 27 July, Aphex Twin opened an online store with expanded versions of previous albums and new tracks. Aphex Twin released an EP, '' Collapse'', on 14 September 2018. The EP was announced on 5 August in a garbled press release written in broken English and visually distorted with the same Aphex Twin 3D graphic found in London, Turin and Hollywood. A promotional video for the ''Collapse'' EP was to be broadcast on
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swimand often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
, but was cancelled after failing the Harding test. It was made available online instead, and the video for "T69 Collapse" was uploaded to YouTube.


Musical style and influences

Writing for AllMusic John Bush describes James as a "pioneer of experimental techno" who has "constantly pushed the limits of what can be accomplished with electronic equipment, resulting in forward-thinking and emotionally engaging work that ranges from sublime,
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
ambience to manic head-rush
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 a 1996 review, '' The Independent's'' Angela Lewis called him a "maverick of 1990s
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 ...
hoexemplifies the finest traditions of British pop mischief". According to ''Fact'' magazine, James has "carved out his own space in the history of electronic music" across several genres, with his unique melodies being "the reason he's talked about as not just an electronic innovator but as the sphere's definitive artist". In 2014 review in the '' Financial Times'', Ludovic Hunter-Tilney described James as a "musical maverick" noted for "yoking different elements together in unpredictable formulations" and blending "hard beats and uncanny tones; difficult abstraction and populist melodies". Music publications have described James variously as "''the
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
of''" both techno and ambient. Writing in ''The Guardian'' in 2001, Paul Lester identified James's lineage as "electronic greats" including Karlheinz Stockhausen,
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 ...
,
Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
,
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, and Derrick May. James had no formal
music training Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...
and is largely self-taught. Prior to becoming a
producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
, James spent his teens modifying analogue synthesisers and became "addicted to making noises," only later becoming "interested in listening to other people's stuff". James states that he spent his initial years "ignorant of music, apart from acid and techno, where I bought just about everything". He claimed to have been independently making music similar to acid and techno before encountering the styles, and subsequently became enthusiastic about them. He has cited
808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...
's 1988 debut album '' Newbuild'' as a major early inspiration. In a 1993 interview, James identified voluntary
sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary ...
as an influence on his productions at that time. He also claimed to have recorded over one thousand unreleased tracks. He later said he experienced
synaesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who rep ...
and utilised lucid dreaming as a means of developing compositional ideas. Some of James's early work was compared to
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
's ambient releases, but James claimed not to have heard Eno before he began recording. In a 1993 interview,
Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...
noted that James had only recently explored avant-classical and left-field rock artists including Cage, Stockhausen, Eno,
Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
, Terry Riley, and
Can Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * C ...
, and had spent a couple of years "catching up" on other genres outside techno and house. In 1997, James described himself as a fan of "old
tape Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive *Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...
and avant-garde music" such as Stockhausen's " Song for the Youth" and the work of American composer Tod Dockstader. He also named works by
Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...
, Drexciya, Ween,
Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...
, and Les Baxter among his favorite albums. When James began programming faster, jungle-inspired breakbeats in the mid-1990s, he named friends and fellow musicians Luke Vibert and Tom Jenkinson as influences. In a 2014 interview, James said of jungle that "I still think it's the ultimate genre, really, because the people making it weren't musicians," and noted that "for years, I could listen to jungle and nick things from them, but they didn't know I existed." Along with Vibert and Jenkinson, James helped to spearhead the short-lived drill 'n' bass style, which exaggerated elements 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 ...
, on his '' Hangable Auto Bulb'' EP (1995). Acknowledging another influence, James's Rephlex label released ''
Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop ''Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'' is a 2003 limited edition 4X10" vinyl compilation collecting and re-ordering the compilations ''BBC Radiophonic Music'' and ''The Radiophonic Workshop'', including the bonus tracks from their 2002 CD re ...
'', a compilation of music recorded by the pioneers of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. In 2019, he described Kraftwerk as a major influence. Although he said he disliked "rock and roll", he appreciates Led Zeppelin (as a source of "great breakbeats"), and
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
(for their
psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...
). Asked in 2011 about an artist he would like to work with, James named Kate Bush. Rephlex Records, which James co-owned with Grant Wilson-Claridge, coined the word "braindance" to describe Aphex Twin's music. According to the label: "Braindance is the genre that encompasses the best elements of all genres, e.g. traditional, classical, electronic music, popular, modern, industrial, ambient, hip-hop, electro, house, techno, breakbeat, hardcore, ragga, garage, drum and bass, etc." According to ''Pitchfork's'' Paul Cooper braindance "escaped the mind/body binary opposition of electronic music" while retaining its club roots. James' music has often been characterised as an example of the "
intelligent dance music Intelligent dance music (commonly abbreviated as IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intel ...
" that began in the 1990s. IDM is mentioned on the home page of the Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) mailing list at Hyperreal.org about the music of Aphex Twin and the Artificial Intelligence Series released by Warp Records. The series features James' recordings as Polygon Window and early productions from artists including Autechre, Black Dog, Richie Hawtin's FUSE project and Speedy J. The term spread to the United States and internet message boards. James responded to the IDM term in a 1997 interview:


Image and pseudonyms

James's face, grinning or distorted, is a theme of his album covers, music videos and songs. James said it began as a response to techno producers who concealed their identities: The cover of '' ...I Care Because You Do'' features a self-portrait painted by James, and that of '' Richard D. James Album'' has a close-up photograph. His face is superimposed on the bodies of other people in the music videos for " Come to Daddy" and " Windowlicker". Near the end of the second track of the "Windowlicker" single (known as "Equation"), a photo of James's face is a steganogram which is revealed as a spectrogram. Another image of James and collaborator Tom Jenkinson is embedded (in SSTV format) with text in the third track of ''2 Remixes by AFX'', "Bonus High Frequency Sounds". James has recorded as AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, the Universal Indicator, Caustic Window, Smojphace, GAK, PBoD (Phonic Boy on Dope), Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Q-Chastic, Dice Man, the Tuss, Soit-P.P and user18081971. In a 1997 interview, he said: "There's really no big theory. It's just things that I feel right in doing at the time and I really don't know why. I select songs for certain amesand I just do it. I don't know what it means." In 2001, he commented on the speculation connected to many anonymous electronic artists: "A lot of people think everything electronic is mine. I get credited for so many things, it's incredible. I'm practically everyone, I reckon—everyone and nobody."


Influence and legacy

Writing in '' The Guardian'' in 2001, journalist Paul Lester described James as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music". '' Rolling Stone'' described James as a "hugely influential electronic musician whose ambient washes of sound and freakishly twisted beats have gone on to inform artists of all genres." AllMusic's John Bush wrote that "unlike most artists who emerged from the '90s techno scene, James established himself as a genuine personality, known for his cheeky grin and nightmare-inducing music videos as much as his groundbreaking albums and EPs," which helped to "expand his audience from ravers and critics to rock fans, with numerous non-electronic musicians citing him as an inspiration". In 2001, Thomas Bangalter of
Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
cited Aphex Twin (particularly " Windowlicker") as an influence on their 2001 album '' Discovery''. Bangalter said he liked it because "It wasn't a big club beat, but it also wasn't a laid back, quiet one". Artists including Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones,
Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
, Wes Borland of
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...
, Skrillex, Mike Shinoda of
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, and Nick Zammuto of
the Books ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
have expressed admiration for Aphex Twin or cited him as an influence. James influenced
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
's transition to electronic music for their 2000 album '' Kid A''. In 2013, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke named Aphex Twin as his biggest influence, saying: "He burns a heavy shadow ... Aphex opened up another world that didn't involve my fucking electric guitar ... I hated the Britpop thing and what was happening in America, but Aphex was totally beautiful, and he's kind of my age too." In 2002, asked if he would tour with Radiohead, James said "I wouldn't play with them since I don't like them". However, James said in 2011 that his dislike of Radiohead had been exaggerated by the press and that he had contacted Yorke by e-mail to explain this. In 2005, Alarm Will Sound released '' Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin'', featuring acoustic arrangements of James's electronic tracks. The London Sinfonietta performed arrangements of Aphex Twin songs in 2006. Animator
David Firth David Firth may refer to: * David Firth (actor), English actor and writer * David Firth (animator), creator of the British animated web series ''Salad Fingers'' * David Firth (statistician), British statistician See also * David Frith David E ...
sampled Aphex Twin in his work. In 2012, ''
Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
'' named ''Selected Ambient Works 85–92'' the best album of the 1990s.


Personal life

James has made "wild and essentially unverifiable claims" about his personal life in interviews, including the claim that he inherited the name of a dead older brother. He has described himself as "just some irritating, lying, ginger kid from Cornwall who should have been locked up in some youth detention centre. I just managed to escape and blag it into music." In a 1993 interview, he claimed to only sleep two to three hours per night. In the mid-1990s, James bought a disused bank in the Elephant & Castle area of London, where he claimed to live in a converted bank vault. He falsely claimed in a 2001 interview to have bought the steel structure in the centre of the
Elephant Square Elephant Square is a public space in Elephant and Castle, London. The square was created by Transport for London (TfL) as part of work to reconfigure the local road layout. By removing the road on the east side of the area's northern roundabout ...
roundabout, though this is in fact the Michael Faraday Memorial which houses an electricity substation for the London Underground. In the 1990s, James bought a 1950s armoured car, complete with a working machine gun, which he claimed to drive around Cornwall in lieu of a car. In a 2010 interview with ''
Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
'', James said he is living in Scotland after relocating from London. , he lives in Scotland with his two sons from his first marriage and his second wife, Anastasia, a Russian art student. His sister
Julie James Julie James MS (born February 1958) is a Welsh Labour politician, serving as Minister for Climate Change since 2021. James has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Swansea West since 2011. She served as Minister for Housing and Local Go ...
is a Welsh Labour politician who was appointed the Welsh Minister for Climate Change in 2021.


Awards

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MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
, Best Special Effects , rowspan="4", " Come to Daddy" , , - , rowspan=2, D&AD Awards , Pop Promo Video with a budget over £40,000 , , style="background:#FFBF00", Yellow Pencil , - , Direction , style="background:#FFBF00", Yellow Pencil , - , rowspan="2", MTV Europe Music Awards , rowspan=2", Best Video , , - , rowspan="3", 1999 , " Windowlicker" , , - ,
Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria). ...
, Digital Music , rowspan=2, Himself , , - ,
Online Music Awards Online Music Awards was a UK-based awards ceremony for unsigned musicians which initially took place in 2011, and again in 2012. The awards were intended to take place annually with nominees, voting and winners announcements taking place on the On ...
, Best Electronic Fansite , , - , rowspan="5", 2000 , Brit Awards , Best British Video , rowspan="4", " Windowlicker" , , - , rowspan=2, D&AD Awards , Direction , style="background:#FFBF00", Yellow Pencil , - , Editing , style="background:#FFBF00", Yellow Pencil , - , rowspan="3", NME Awards , Single of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Best Dance Act , rowspan="3", Himself , , - , rowspan="3", 2002 , , - , Brit Awards , British Male Solo Artist , , - , Shortlist Music Prize , Album of the Year , '' Drukqs'' , , - , 2005 , Antville Music Video Awards , Best Video , "
Rubber Johnny ''Rubber Johnny'' is a 2005 British experimental film, experimental short film/music video written, directed, and produced by Chris Cunningham. Plot The film, entirely presented in infrared vision, begins with an out-of-focus closeup of Johnn ...
" , , - , rowspan=3, 2014 , rowspan=3, Rober Awards Music Poll , Best Male Artist , rowspan=3, Himself , , - , Comeback of the Year , , - , Best Electronica , , - , rowspan="7", 2015 ,
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, Best Dance/Electronica Album , rowspan="6", ''
Syro ''Syro'' () is the sixth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released on 19 September 2014 on Warp. It was James's first album under the Aphex Twin name since ''Drukqs'' (2001). Th ...
'' , , - , International Dance Music Awards , Best Full Length Studio Recording , , - ,
IMPALA Awards The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus ''Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by German ...
, Album of the Year , , - , Mercury Prize , rowspan="2", Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="3", A2IM Libera Awards , , - , Creative Packaging Award , , - , Marketing Genius , ''Syro'' album release campaign , , - , 2016 , Brit Awards , British Male Solo Artist , Himself , , - , rowspan="5", 2018 , Rober Awards Music Poll , Best EP , rowspan=2, '' Collapse'' , , - , Best Art Vinyl , Best Art Vinyl , , - , rowspan="3", UK Video Music Awards , Best Dance Video , rowspan="4", "T69 Collapse" , , - , Best Visual Effects in a Video , , - , Best Animation in a Video , , - , rowspan=4, 2019 , Classic Pop Reader Awards , Video of the Year , , - , Brit Awards , British Male Solo Artist , Himself , , - , rowspan=2, A2IM Libera Awards , Marketing Genius , '' Collapse'' , , - , Video of the Year , "T69 Collapse" ,


Discography

Studio albums as Aphex Twin * '' Selected Ambient Works 85–92'' (1992) * '' Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' (1994) * '' ...I Care Because You Do'' (1995) * '' Richard D. James Album'' (1996) * '' Drukqs'' (2001) * ''
Syro ''Syro'' () is the sixth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released on 19 September 2014 on Warp. It was James's first album under the Aphex Twin name since ''Drukqs'' (2001). Th ...
'' (2014)


See also

* List of ambient music artists


Notes


References


External links


Aphex Twin
at Warp Records * * * SoundCloud page
Aphex Twin
{{Authority control 1971 births Living people Ambient musicians Braindance musicians British electronic musicians British techno musicians Intelligent dance musicians British experimental musicians English record producers People from Lanner, Cornwall Rhythm King artists Sire Records artists Warp (record label) artists Tracker musicians TVT Records artists People educated at Cornwall College Grammy Award winners for dance and electronic music Alumni of Kingston University Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Musicians from Cornwall