Aphex Twin Aphex Twin mythology

[ZoeB]

Making music for richard is probably analagous to the way normal people come home and read lots of books...

 

Isn't that about par for the course for musicians? I imagine there are some out there in it for potential fame/fortune/ladies, but I would hope most of them do it because they like making music.

 

Thanks, I was about to ask "isn't that the same for everyone here?"

 

I could see him doing a whole bunch of abrasive tracks around 1994 featuring a high-pitched background whine, & then only releasing Ventolin.

 

Thankfully. :)

[YEK]

i think vibert alluded to the fact that richard write tracks very fast. quick at programming a drum machine, quick to keep what works.

[chassis]

I write all my tracks very quickly. Im not saying that anything I write is anyway near as good as Aphex. But some people write fast and some people write slow.

 

Having said that Ive never assumed that any of Richards tracks were written quickly. I dont know where you hear this from?

[Ragnar]

oh yeah there was also the quote where supposedly he doesn't care too much about his tracks after they're done and just moves on to something else. That could be a lie but it might've helped bring the whole mythology about, makes it sound like he produces tracks like most people take a shit (and forget about it afterwards)

[Guest Masonic Boom]

Not caring about a track after it's finished is not quite the same as not caring about it/not working hard on it while it's being written.

 

In fact, entire art movements (dada anyone?) have been founded on the principle that it's the creative *process*, not the artefact, that is the important bit.

[xy_politics]

I reckon some of his early stuff could well have been recorded on the fly on a simple four/eight track and done in an hour or something

I reckon most if not all of it is. Loop sequencing, live mixing. Maybe not an hour, but a day tops. And these (everything up until 1995) are his most highly rated records too. Maybe that was something he bore in mind when doing Analord.

 

but not so much these days as you have to put the effort in to stand out above the crowd

Nah, you don't, you just have to be good.

[Key]

i think vibert alluded to the fact that richard write tracks very fast. quick at programming a drum machine, quick to keep what works.

 

Yeah he said that he knocked out Isoprophlex in a couple of hours one night. It probably began to take longer as the process and tracks themselves got increasing more complicated as the 90s went on.

[Guest iamabe]

Making music for richard is probably analagous to the way normal people come home and read lots of books...

 

Isn't that about par for the course for musicians? I imagine there are some out there in it for potential fame/fortune/ladies, but I would hope most of them do it because they like making music.

 

Thanks, I was about to ask "isn't that the same for everyone here?"

 

Maybe I'm different than most here. I love making music but it takes a lot of energy out of me. It's definitely not the kind of thing I come home and do daily, even though I wish I could do that. I'm sure there are lots of rdj types here who eat, sleep and breathe production but it's a lot more challenge than fun for me these days.

 

I wasn't implying that most musicians are in it for fame, etc. obviously not. I just imagine that richard pours even more of his time into music making than the typical musician and doesn't consider it work, but I might be taking the average musician for granted.

 

Still you have to admit, knowing that the (massive) released afx catalogue is just the tip of the iceberg of the amount of time he's spent making music makes it seem like the man literally just wakes up, works in the studio for 12 hours, poops, works some more, then sleeps for 2 hours. 6 days a week.

 

The vibert info that he programs quickly and decides what to keep fast is pretty interesting.

 

It would be cool/inspiring to watch the man sequence the drums for something like vordhosbn. <-- understatement

[xy_politics]

i think vibert alluded to the fact that richard write tracks very fast. quick at programming a drum machine, quick to keep what works.

Yeah he said that he knocked out Isoprophlex in a couple of hours one night. It probably began to take longer as the process and tracks themselves got increasing more complicated as the 90s went on.

I'd guess that there was a big change made to RDJ's setup and working methods when he did the Spotlight remix and then Hangable Auto Bulb. Before this pretty much everything to me sounds very "live", as in sequenced on MPC/Atari, mixed live with occasional straightforward master editing. Then, flush with dough after "I Care" and SAW2, he invested in a big multitrack hard disk audio editing computer system which immediately changed the sound of his records a lot. It would have been a much more time-intensive process to edit audio in those ways, so to say he could do a finished track in an hour would only really apply to pre-spotlight stuff, I would think. And Analord of course.

[Guest iamabe]

exactly what is "finished a track in an hour" anyway? So much time is spent creating patches, setting up fx/routing, and writing / sequencing material. is the one hour track just the live recording of existing patterns into a full arrangement? I mean, for him "finished a track in an hour" could be an hour jam using stuff he's already written, or it could be him creating patterns from scratch and sequencing AND recording them all to multitrack in a short time, like an evening.

[Cryptowen]

^It's doable. I've made tracks from scratch in an hour that actually sound like tracks (as opposed to a bunch of loops). The trick is to not worry about the outcome. Sometimes they'll sound like crap you've done a dozen times before, but other times you'll hit upon a sweet spot. If you're trying to make some sort of epic masterpiece it will take longer. Maybe that's part of the reason Drukqs took so long...

[Guest hahathhat]

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into business savvy.

 

http://www.space-age-bachelor.com/features/99/aphex.htm

[marf]

luke vibert said in an interview that Richard would spend four months making a snare sample.

[Guest hahathhat]

The mystery lies in his ability to turn a "can't be bothered' attitude into a four-month snare sample.

http://www.space-age-bachelor.com/features/99/aphex.htm

[Silent Member]

luke vibert said in an interview that Richard farts out beats while he sleeps.

[Guest hahathhat]

if luke vibert said richard jumps off bridges, would you?

[splesh]

if luke vibert said richard jumps off bridges, would you?

I would say "Luke Vibert says Richard jumps off bridges".

[Guest Billov]

 

so he doesnt consider making his music to be "work" even though he obviously spends loads of time in his studio. He said he never gets haircuts because he is lazy.

 

I agree here.

I really admire people that make a living out of their passions. It's not really easy, due to the course of life and opportunities one has, but it must be the true happiness. Richard is lucky to be able to do this.

 

He is also lucky to be able to release a few decent tracks, and watch the cash roll in while he fapps off to his unreleased tracks that he deems only listenable by his own ears.

[Guest parles]

well he always speaks as though it's as easy as anything. I remember in the BBC piece "We Love Aphex Twin" someone interviewed said he maybe the song Analogue Bubblebath in three hours, which sounds very believable, but Aphex himself has said he tends to work more slowly these days I think. also, does anyone have any ideas as to how we would get all the interviews conducted for that piece?

[ghOsty]

I'm sure some of his early stuff was made very quickly, as it is more loop based... It's possible he comes up with melodies very easily, but I'm sure he spends a lot more than 5 minutes on his drum programing. I imagine as simple and minimal as the piano pieces in Drukqs are, they also took a lot of thought, that album IMO also contains some of his most intricate programming by far.

[Guest Al5x]

I'm sure some of his early stuff was made very quickly, as it is more loop based... It's possible he comes up with melodies very easily, but I'm sure he spends a lot more than 5 minutes on his drum programing. I imagine as simple and minimal as the piano pieces in Drukqs are, they also took a lot of thought, that album IMO also contains some of his most intricate programming by far.

lol,

I love how you say IMO has if anyone on this forum is going to contest you on that.

[Guest hahathhat]

i have pants 110k