Aphex Twin Guardian article about 'The Tuss'

[awepittance]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/music/s...2087326,00.html

 

they also mention the myspace page Q & A

 

Dancing in the dark

 

 

Aphex Twin's Richard D James is up to his old tricks, says Louis Pattison

 

Saturday May 26, 2007

The Guardian

 

Altogether now: who is Brian Tregaskin? Oh, OK, it's never going to be an "I'm Spartacus", but the identity behind this unassuming name is currently causing a whole lot of conjecture in the mistier corners of the internet. Here are the facts as we've been told them: Brian Tregaskin is a member - perhaps the only member - of the Tuss, a pastoral-themed electronica outfit from deepest Devon. The Tuss have released one solitary EP, Confederation Trough - three tracks of enjoyable pumping acid techno and squelchy analogue synthesiser, packaged in a sleeve practically featureless, but for a rather nice picture of a ram standing on a windswept moor. Oh, and a bit of Googling brings up an Urban Dictionary entry that suggests a "tuss" is Cornish slang for the erect male genitalia.

 

Article continues

The thing is, Brian Tregaskin almost certainly doesn't exist. Rather, wicked whispers suggest the Tuss is actually the creation of one Richard D James, aka the Aphex Twin - the multimillion-selling electronica prodigy who lives in a converted bank, claims he can "see" music and once appeared on the cover of NME with his grimacing Cornish face grafted onto the body of a buxom, bikini-clad woman. It's far from the first time his fanboys have leapt upon the work of an anonymous producer as evidence of the master at work from the shadows. Indeed, given that James is an interview-shy enigma with a raft of elaborate pseudonyms (Polygon Window, AFX, the Dice Man) and an array of bizarre apocryphal tales to his name - in the 1990s, he won a £5,000 commission to remix the Lemonheads, but forgot and handed the motorcycle courier a gabba track with no trace of the original song - it's rather par for the course.

 

But there are a few telltale signs. The Tuss lands on Rephlex, the so-called "Braindance" label co-founded by Aphex back in 1991. Circumstantial? Closer inspection suggests the Tuss's music is published by Chrysalis - not the sort of company who have their finger on the pulse of the Cornish techno underground, but the publishers for a certain Richard D James. One Tuss track, Devon, meanwhile, has been traced back to a live Aphex set in 2005. And in a degree of attention to detail mostly conducted behind closed doors before the advent of the internet, some keen-eared fans have identified the farty squelch of one particular synthesiser as the GX1 - a gigantic modular synthesiser so rare only a few exist. And you know who has one, right? Right. Seriously, it's like The Da Vinci Code for techno nutters.

 

Not afraid to get our hands dirty, the Guide decided to join the hunt. Acting all naïve-like, we approached the Tuss's PR guy to see if Brian was doing any interviews. Sure enough, the answer came back that young Bri wasn't doing any press. Funny that. There is, however, a helpful Q&A up there on his MySpace profile: "Q: Are you Richard D James? A: No!" Straight to the point. But we smell a rat. A smirking, ginger rat. The Tuss' debut album is out in June. It's good to have him back.

[gl0tch]

It seems this may directly implicate the myspace page with some type of involvement in this release.

[o00o]

the guardian reads watmm :angry:

[Guest Caustic]

Alright,who here is from the Guardian?

 

I'm looking at you,Weetabix.

[Guest Fenix Funk]

Heh, i was quite chuffed when i saw that little article in the paper.

 

Probably isn't RDJ IMO, but i'm not so sure as to bet against it.

[Solo Strike]

WATMM as 'misty corner' - official

[awepittance]

so im thinking that the Tuss is a super group now, and possible all of the tracks including the rushup edge leak & the myspace ones are really the Tuss.

I doubt a newspaper with the research staff like the Guardian would mention the myspace page had they not had some inside information confirming its authentic y.

 

edit: Brian doesn't seem to happy about this article, check out his blog

[Guest Dr. Elemeno von Hat X: PhD]

about all significant in that is the Chrysalis label connection

[Josso]

Lol, I can picture the guardian reading WATMM

[awepittance]

either the guardian knows something we dont (that rdj is for certain the tuss) or they are extremely irresponsible journalists and have seriously undercut the efforts of a Brian Tregaskin.

 

edit: look at what the guardian calls 'synthacon'

 

One Tuss track, Devon, meanwhile, has been traced back to a live Aphex set in 2005.

 

so whats the real name Synthacon or Devon? If its Devon does that mean the Rushup edge leak has fake titles? And if it has fake titles, it makes me wonder how much of it is authentic

[o00o]

i dont think they have more info than anybody else and they just take the devon title cause they would not refer to a pirate download

[awepittance]

i dont think they have more info than anybody else and they just take the devon title cause they would not refer to a pirate download

 

but this makes me think they contacted the Tuss PR people and they referred them to myspace, thoughts?

[Guest ۞ Syntheme ۞]

so we have proof (if ever any was needed) that the myspace *is* official.

[o00o]

if you are just a bit into aphex then you have been told that tuss might be aphex in the meantime and that there is a myspace page

 

its not anykind of secret

[Aphex_Squarepusher_Twin]

Rhââââ!!!

 

The Tuss is Brian Tregaskin!!!

 

 

:devil:

[awepittance]

if you are just a bit into aphex then you have been told that tuss might be aphex in the meantime and that there is a myspace page

 

its not anykind of secret

 

but they say he's from devon, call the song devon and referred to the Tuss' PR people who referred them to myspace

[GORDO]

oh my god STOP

[amnesia]

i dont give a shit to be honest now, it was phun for a while but all I know is I am enjoying some new music and look forward to this all being over.....

 

Why is the Guardian called The Guardian do they protect people who read their paper?

[GORDO]

yes you're right but watmm is useless now.

[Bubba69]

what a terrible article. shitty research too.

[Guest Caustic]

Ever notice how they always use the same aliases in the exact same order?

 

(Polygon Window,AFX,The Diceman)

[Guest ۞ Syntheme ۞]

what a terrible article. shitty research too.

 

 

don't diss the grauniad!!!

[awepittance]

Ever notice how they always use the same aliases in the exact same order?

 

(Polygon Window,AFX,The Diceman)

 

yes lol probably a copy and past job of generations passed

[Guest Lindrum Larry Cocopipe]

the guardian is fake

[Guest Caustic]

the guardian is fake

Guardianation Trough EP