Stone in Focus

[zazen]

I guess I've seen this track mentioned here and there but I'd never quite clocked that it's not part of the SAW II CD, was only on the vinyl. So I'd never properly looked it up. Hence its only today, nearly 30 years after I first bought Selected Ambient Works Volume 2 on CD that I actually heard the track. Its really beautiful.

(The youtube comments here are actually worth reading, its like a shrine or place of meditation)

Track officially available for the last few years as digital on the Aphex Twin warp store - track 19

[Alcofribas]

ha! i'm literally listening to this very youtube looping in the background this morning

truly sublime

[tbf]

WAT

I'd give my left testicle to listen to this for the first time again






maybe not that much

but yeh
this was actually one of the first ones I ever heard from him. def takes me to a very different place

Edited December 15, 2023 by tbf

[usagi]

>>> THE STONE IN FOCUS SUBFORUM IS HERE <<<

(as per Mellow U's sig)

[Friendly Stranger]

I play this off YouTube on the regular. It’s a next level track and the vid, strangely, compliments it well. Puts my mind at ease on the most challenging of days. 

[YEK]

Did they not have room for it on the cd?

Great but not as good as rhubarb (yummm…rhubarb)

[cloud capture]

here's the 2hr version, same cool monke.  Sometimes I'm in a mood and I'll blast this and play along on the drums til I come down.

 

[J3FF3R00]

I’m surprised that there isn’t already a thread about this song. One of my favorites of his, by far. I think I came upon it a bit late, as well, but still probably 15-20 years ago. Such a perfect tune. 
I own one physical release of this, on this bad boy…

 

[usagi]

20 minutes ago, J3FF3R00 said:

I’m surprised that there isn’t already a thread about this song.

wtf! 

4 hours ago, usagi said:

>>> THE STONE IN FOCUS SUBFORUM IS HERE <<<

(as per Mellow U's sig)

 

[J3FF3R00]

7 hours ago, usagi said:

wtf! 

 

Don’t RTR me bro!

I was pretty sure I posted in a thread about SIF in the past AND actually searched “stone in focus” (with and without quotes) before posting but the only result was the thread we are currently posting in. 

The search function is gaslighting me left and right these days.

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by J3FF3R00

[beerwolf]

There's definitely a Stone In Focus thread. Somewhere.

[usagi]

[Berk]

I love how that 'pad' doesn't sound like a synth, very organic

 

I think and old/former friend of mine mentioned the sort of intelligent look on the monkey's face some time ago, yeah it's there and definitely fits with this track

Edited December 15, 2023 by Berk

[atypic]

I understand that it doesn't fit on the CD (although I would have booted something off to make it fit), but I'm bigmad that it's not on the Bandcamp release where there are no size limitations.  I consider that a moral offense.

[Key]

I would have booted off White Blur 2 to make way for Stone In Focus on the CD. It might risk unbalancing the record, smoothing away its paranoid edges, but the track is just too damn good to be a curio.

[Friendly Stranger]

10 hours ago, J3FF3R00 said:

I’m surprised that there isn’t already a thread about this song. One of my favorites of his, by far. I think I came upon it a bit late, as well, but still probably 15-20 years ago. Such a perfect tune. 
I own one physical release of this, on this bad boy…

 

Holy shit!

[droid]

First time I heard it was early 1995 on that same compilation, having already rinsed the CD version of SAW II.

[Joyrex]

Richard really needs to release all the SAW II outtakes... I imagine there are quite a few that didn't make the cut but are still amazing tracks from that era.

[atypic]

3 hours ago, Joyrex said:

Richard really needs to release all the SAW II outtakes... I imagine there are quite a few that didn't make the cut but are still amazing tracks from that era.

He put quite a few on his soundcloud; I'm guessing it covered all or at least most of what was left off.

[Key]

The ones specifically tagged as SAWII Unfinished tracks were Stabbing Interview, Road Shimmer and Chopped F Beginning. Th1 [slo] is up as a bonus outtake on the aphexstore, and we can assume Red Calx is also one.

As for the others I would speculate the likes of Off Key [bicycle wheel], Lush Ambulance, [water], [taut], ssnb, Just Fall Asleep, Slothscrape, funnel, sline were all probably produced around this time and have a similar mood and sound palate to SAWII. Maybe a few others as well.

[beerwolf]

The old thread is locked and archived (last post October 2017) and titled I Could Listen To Stone In Focus Forever

[kirm]

On 12/15/2023 at 5:10 PM, atypic said:

I understand that it doesn't fit on the CD (although I would have booted something off to make it fit), but I'm bigmad that it's not on the Bandcamp release where there are no size limitations.  I consider that a moral offense.

It's on the afx store version. (Edit -Just realised the OP already said this )

https://aphextwin.warp.net/release/68148-aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-volume-ii

But yeah agree it should have been on the cd to start with, one of his best. Though sneaking such an awesome track onto the vinyl only, is very much a classic afx move.

Edited December 17, 2023 by kirm

[hayhook]

On 12/16/2023 at 1:57 PM, Key said:

The ones specifically tagged as SAWII Unfinished tracks were Stabbing Interview, Road Shimmer and Chopped F Beginning. Th1 [slo] is up as a bonus outtake on the aphexstore, and we can assume Red Calx is also one.

There was a theory at the time that "On (28 Mix)" was a reference to it being "track 28" from SAWII

see also: "33 Saw II Un Stabbing Interview" and "35 Saw II Un Road Shimmer F"

 

anyway my personal "digital listening" copy of SAWII is the

full aphexstore 26 tracks, plus:

Analogue Bubblebath 3 (from Trance Europe Express)

On (28 Mix)

Quino-Phec (from Surfing on Sine Waves)

4 Red Calx[slo]

and the three tracks from the soundcloud dump that were designated as SAWII outtakes...

33 Saw II Un Stabbing Interview

9 Un Chopped F Beginning [SawII Un]

35 Saw II Un Road Shimmer F

Edited December 17, 2023 by hayhook

[hayhook]

33 songs. 3 hours and 33 minutes…

 

[YEK]

7 hours ago, hayhook said:

There was a theory at the time that "On (28 Mix)" was a reference to it being "track 28" from SAWII

see also: "33 Saw II Un Stabbing Interview" and "35 Saw II Un Road Shimmer F"

 

anyway my personal "digital listening" copy of SAWII is the

full aphexstore 26 tracks, plus:

Analogue Bubblebath 3 (from Trance Europe Express)

On (28 Mix)

Quino-Phec (from Surfing on Sine Waves)

4 Red Calx[slo]

and the three tracks from the soundcloud dump that were designated as SAWII outtakes...

33 Saw II Un Stabbing Interview

9 Un Chopped F Beginning [SawII Un]

35 Saw II Un Road Shimmer F

thanks!