Just as many people here I’m a big fan of Richard James but theres one thing I never got.
In the track Mookid there’s this intense feeling of serenity, which I love, but around 50 seconds in the song, when the beat kicks in again, there is this AWEFULL (in my ears) bitcrush on the percussion.
I thought it might have been because I ripped the CD in 192kbps but after listening to the track off the CD itself it became clear that its really recorded that way.
Am I the only one that hates that sound? It kinda ruins the track for me, its all I can listen to.
(It’s also a little bit in Avril 14th (not the keys that are moved, but a real… fluther sound) but not as clear as in Mookid)
It’s caused by double-tracking on the drum beat. The other ‘bit-crushing’ sound you can hear are the deliberate artefacts caused by improper use of a noise reduction algorithm. but that happens to the beat before that reprise.
Kind of funny you even dare to throw with words such as overrated to an artist as Richard D. James. I mean - Lady Gaga (replace by any random pop/rnb kid that is constantly on tv and radio if you want) is overrated…AFX isn’t.
Being overrated is when everyone - really every single person on this planet - knows you and you kinda suck ass in whatever it is you create.
Aphex Twin’s music still amazes me and leaves me guessing WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED. And not even ‘just’ from a listener’s point of view, the things he does with sound… phew…! Insane.
Not saying everything he put out is genious. Far from it even. But the things he did that ARE breathtaking (in my humble opinion) are breathtaking on a whole new level. In my most humblest of opinions… when you compare Aphex Twin as a producer with anything else, you’d have to compare him to all artists that have walked the globe. How many artists can say that? Oh, and then there’s personal taste, obviously I think NiN are overrated, for example… and Boards of Canada…
Still, Jonas has a point… Aphex Twin still has to survive the test of time, which I think is one of the most objective judges to our disposal.
Yeah, of course it is all relative if you want to compare him to lady gaga or pop music in general lol.
I often read a bunch of rehashed superlatives from journalists or fanboys about him being a genius / modern day Mozart . Like the Mozart-comparison is a good thing, Mozart made some awful Bourgeois / cheesy music , again IMO
I like most of Aphex music and wishes he releases more of his jungly stuff.
Oh, also: to anyone who is a fan of Aphex but is not yet an elitist snobby bastard, you should check out AFX, The Tuss, and Wisp. And Aaron Funk’s Last Step albums. And maybe Jega. Okay, bye.
That’s nonsense. Making music for yourself and your friends is as serious as it gets! Besides, why the hell would you build a synthesizer and realize complex recording setups if you don’t take it seriously?
What you mean is that Aphex doesn’t take his LISTENERS seriously. There’s a VITAL difference.
I dont think Richard James is overrated. Some of his records/songs are really awesome, for example vordhodbn.
Its not about how difficult is to program that in your sequencer (and some of his songs are really dificult), is about music. And apart from being really good, is very prolific.
Richard James isn’t overrated, it’s just that the standards people use to evaluate any piece of art in today’s world are of such nature that some artists will be conceived as highly original and profilic by default, whatever their expressive means consist of. The main critieria is that it needs to deviate enough from the conventional standards to be worthy of consideration. And originality in regard to deviation is an artform in itself.
However. In general, the key to understanding peoples’ esthetical value judgements is to decode and expose their philosophical premises.
Often, but not always, the standard (in countless variations) that will get exposed – if you try it on a certain type of people who’re into post-modern abstract art – is this premise:
“It’s great coz I don’t get it! And nobody else does either! It’s outside the realm of sense!”
The secret twist that won’t get exposed is this sub-premise:
“I don’t get it. And, please don’t make me get it! It would then make sense!”
I don’t think Richard James himself is creating his music from that perspective (i.e. I believe he has a passion for what he does, and that anything he does musically makes a lot of sense to him, personally) and I tend to like his work because it seems authentic to me – not like some commercial garbage we see today. But still, some people I have met who refer to Aphex Twin (without being real fans of his music) seem to have a problem with stuff that is integrated – any stuff. It’s almost as if they seek to disintegrate music into random bits of noise as an end in itself.
Well said! He simply has too many pieces of music that move me considerably. Not his more conventional work (wait is any of it?), but his more off the wall recordings. Not just because they are unique, they just work. I don’t want to sound like some kind of Richard D James fanboy, but I think he deserves every bit of props awarded to him.
I don’t care if he is a turd. I listen to his music. I could care less about his personal life.
[quote=“Transcender, post:19, topic:26578”]
Richard James isn’t overrated, it’s just that the standards people use to evaluate any piece of art in today’s world are of such nature that some artists will be conceived as highly original and profilic by default, whatever their expressive means consist of. The main critieria is that it needs to deviate enough from the conventional standards to be worthy of consideration. And originality in regard to deviation is an artform in itself.
I think NiN are overrated, for example… and Boards of Canada…