Aphex Twin aphex twin, warez king?

[ZoeB]

I don't think Aphex Twin of Phrozen Crew fame is Richard D. James, kinda the same way Blade Runner of Phrozen Crew fame isn't Harrison Ford. It was 1993, and if you were a teenager into that kind of music, it makes perfect sense that you'd like Aphex Twin's work and take his moniker on as your own. That and he apparently lived in South Africa.

 

"Supposedly, he was born in a mental institution, and he sleeps only one hour a night." ;) Let's not get carried away building a myth, it detracts from making great music...

[WaxenPith]

 

"Supposedly, he was born in a mental institution, and he sleeps only one hour a night." ;) Let's not get carried away building a myth, it detracts from making great music...

 

Do you know about Tyler Durden?

[marf]

the important point is Aphex thinks like a hacker. Not like a musician. The rephlex ethos sucks.

[skotosa]

Once upon a time a brillant italian dude borrowed a modem from a friend...he didn't know it had to be configured and he entered the cyberspace for the fist time at the amazing speed of 200 bps. He got in touch with his first virtual community: a Bullettin Board System in Milano . At the request to insert a nickname, he was listening to "Analogue Bubblebath" by the great musician Aphex Twin and so filled the questionary with alias: Aphex and password: Twin.

What a great fantasy, uh?!?!? :-) Now, each time I get into IRC someone asks me if I really am Aphex Twin or if I like him.

I WANT TO CHANGE ALIAS!! ;) Now I'm known everywhere as Aphex and I'm gonna keep this nick for the rest of my life (sorry for ya, I'm quite young!! ;). My principal hobby is music.

I dont't know music: can't read or write it! But I listen to it in huge quantities and I try to play electronic music without knowing it. I played in midi format for more than one year without getting any satisfaction. Then I discovered the modules and I begun with Scream Tracker. Now I use Fast Tracker 2.04 or Scream Tracker 3.21 and sometimes the Digi Tracker... depending on what I have to play.

My favourite kind of music is ambient, but I also love jungle, trance, progressive, hardcore, chillout, space... (even if my past is made of indie rock and guitar pop) P.S. Eheheh, I must tell you...my password isn't more "TWIN"! 8-)

 

 

It even has a picture of the dude. It isn't aphex twin.

http://web.archive.org/web/19990202131052/http://sdc.wtm.tudelft.nl/skyjump-team/

[kinski]

What ZoeB says, + check out the descriptions in the instrument list in some of the .xm's. Email addresses, country domains etc etc.

 

i dont think anyone truly believed this to be afx

AND BESIDES, if i were afx i would post bullshit in my xm files too just to confuse people

 

so there you go.

[ZoeB]

the important point is Aphex thinks like a hacker. Not like a musician.

 

I'm not sure they need to be mutually exclusive, but yes, he definitely thinks like someone who's worked out for himself what sounds good, as opposed to someone with extensive training in long-established techniques. As my partner (and presumably others before her) have pointed out, the most important thing to learn is how to learn. Being able to acquire new skills easily due to genuine enthusiasm and hard work is much more important than how long you stayed in school, for instance.

 

The rephlex ethos sucks.

 

Care to elaborate? They have a dire website, no real sense of branding or even packaging that I can see, and they seem to flat out refuse to release Analogue Bubblebath 5, Melodies From Mars or even a digital download of Confederation Trough EP... but if you ignore what appears to be a business's complete disregard for trying to sell and market products in a way that would make people more likely to want and buy them, they seem all right, and I've certainly bought a few releases from them... So it's pretty standard fare for a cottage industry type company, it seems.

[marf]

Grant and Rich are of the mindset that you make music for yourself and only release music to make money so you don't have to have a shitty job. I understand this. I don't really care if the rest of rephlex decides to never release music to the public. Aphex hiding his music from the world is a real shame, but i sound like a fan boy. so ill stop

[sneaksta303]

"Rephlex America Tour"

 

[ZoeB]

Grant and Rich are of the mindset that you make music for yourself and only release music to make money so you don't have to have a shitty job. I understand this. I don't really care if the rest of rephlex decides to never release music to the public. Aphex hiding his music from the world is a real shame, but i sound like a fan boy. so ill stop

 

Ah, yes, I can see why they'd have that mindset, and why anyone who likes his music would object to it! I guess I'll check out this Dave Monolith release, it sounds suitably Tussy to bridge the gap between now and the next AFX album...

 

Look on the bright side, at least an AFX drought gives us all the impetus to make even more of our own music. Scratch your own itch, and all that.

[delet...]

They've had years to scratch that itch and all we got was the occasional good acid.

[ZoeB]

They've had years to scratch that itch and all we got was the occasional good acid.

 

Hence my frequent request of "less talk, more music making!" It's something you have to constantly practice with an eye (or rather, ear) to improving your skillset. Talking of which, I'm going to spend the next few days composing a Melodies From Mars style album, then after my holiday break I'll get back to making more serious and original music. But I for one want to hear more MFM style music, even if that means I have to make it myself. So do! :D

[AAAAh]

It doesn't suprise me that aphex was a hacker.

Did you know for example that Moby was a l33t counter strike player back in the day. 50 cent is a massive stargate fan and eminem spends most of his time playing dwarven fortress.

[marf]

They've had years to scratch that itch and all we got was the occasional good acid.

 

Hence my frequent request of "less talk, more music making!" It's something you have to constantly practice with an eye (or rather, ear) to improving your skillset. Talking of which, I'm going to spend the next few days composing a Melodies From Mars style album, then after my holiday break I'll get back to making more serious and original music. But I for one want to hear more MFM style music, even if that means I have to make it myself. So do! :D

 

No one ever gets close. that's really my point. Lots of people have tried to sound like the Beatles, but they never do

[ZoeB]

No one ever gets close. that's really my point. Lots of people have tried to sound like the Beatles, but they never do

 

I realise this is a subjective opinion, but think Jidomatix has gotten pretty close to that Tuss sound, and I'd put Bochum Welt's Kissing a Robot Goodbye right up there with ...I Care Because You Do. Monolith is probably quite similar and just as good sounding too, but I haven't really checked him out yet, and it sounds like people are saying the same kind of thing about Steinvord, who I haven't heard at all yet. Plus, you know, you can make original music too, and as long as it's good, that's even better than trying to sound like someone else! I think what makes RDJ's music so good isn't just how it sounds (most of my favourite tracks of his are pretty badly produced, although I can't tell if that's a bad, neutral or good thing), but the fact he's pushed music so far in all these different directions. It shouldn't be that hard for other people to follow the paths he's created and make something half way between his work and more accessible mainstream popular music, for instance, that sounds better to most people. Or to go off on one of his branches even further than he's done, just as he took the works of Brian Eno and Larry Heard and put his own idiosyncratic spin on them. The hard part is being original. Then again, I can't see any similarities between RDJ's music and Radiohead's Kid A, which everyone else seems to think rips off his style, so maybe I'm missing something important. As far as people on this board go, I think most just need to spend less time talking about music and more time making it, and they could achieve a similar level. Although it's important to remember to be original at least occasionally. If you're not trying out new things, you become old. Aim for where the thing's going to be, not where it is.

[kinski]

As far as people on this board go, I think most just need to spend less time talking about music and more time making it, and they could achieve a similar level. Although it's important to remember to be original at least occasionally. If you're not trying out new things, you become old. Aim for where the thing's going to be, not where it is.

 

this is like the worst advice ever. there so many musicians out there that if anything people should stop making music and let it breath a little. everyone makes music these days. there are bazillions of albums out every months. and noone listens to them because everyone is too busy making tunes. ridiculous times we live in, really.

[ZoeB]

As far as people on this board go, I think most just need to spend less time talking about music and more time making it, and they could achieve a similar level. Although it's important to remember to be original at least occasionally. If you're not trying out new things, you become old. Aim for where the thing's going to be, not where it is.

 

this is like the worst advice ever. there so many musicians out there that if anything people should stop making music and let it breath a little. everyone makes music these days. there are bazillions of albums out every months. and noone listens to them because everyone is too busy making tunes. ridiculous times we live in, really.

 

Fair enough, let me clarify my point a little: people should make music more (spend more time actively involved in the music making process), but shouldn't necessarily make more music than they currently are. I'm not saying people should increase their output and hammer out as many tracks as possible, discarding them as early as possible, like empty shells from a machine gun primarily concerned with hitting things vaguely near its target. I'm saying people should spend more time analysing music they love, actually working out what they like about it so much and why it works so well, rather than merely listening to it. I'm saying they should spend more time refining each song before they release it, the way Leonardo da Vinci spent years meticulously adding the occasional brushstroke to the Mona Lisa long after it should arguably have been considered finished. OK, so maybe people shouldn't be that obsessive over their work, but you should stand by what you release. You should be proud to have you name next to your music. You should always be able to say "at the time I made this, it was the absolute best I could make it."

 

So I still think people should spend more time making music, although I'd agree with you that they should release less output, spending more time on each song.

 

Unless you're upset about the amount of high quality music currently being produced, now that music distribution is being democratised. In which case, I think that having more choice and a great amount of products to choose from even in a very specific niche area is a wonderful thing, and more than worth the "problem" of having too much in existence to possibly be able to check it all out. I'm not in some club where the goal is to listen to every album in the world once. I can sleep safely at night knowing there is more wonderful music in existance than I have waking hours in which to hear it. I'm content to merely have so many treasured albums to choose from, buy, and embrace as part of the soundtrack to my life.

 

But listening to other people's music is never as satisfying as listening to your own, once you've reached that level.

[Cryptowen]

But listening to other people's music is never as satisfying as listening to your own, once you've reached that level.

trufax

Unless you're one of those overly self-critical types or not taking it seriously or something. It doesn't matter if there's ten bajillion amateur electronic music albums released every day & no one will ever hear yours. You aren't making it for the other people, right?

[ZoeB]

You aren't making it for the other people, right?

 

I find it important to have that mindset, even when I am making music for other people. I hear it's all too easy to try to please the person commissioning a given work, which can get in the way of the normal experimental process, even though they're hiring you because of your ability to experiment and think laterally. So I make it a point to try out weird things, and if it's on someone else's time, to reassure them first that with each batch of refinements, you'll try out a few vastly different things, and they won't like most of them, but it'll be worth it for those few which they really do like.

 

Kind of like when performers on stage sometimes pretend that the crowd isn't there. :) The last thing you want to do is try to not offend anybody. That way blandness lies, and no one's going to hire you to make bland output. At least, I'd hope they wouldn't!

[kinski]

As far as people on this board go, I think most just need to spend less time talking about music and more time making it, and they could achieve a similar level. Although it's important to remember to be original at least occasionally. If you're not trying out new things, you become old. Aim for where the thing's going to be, not where it is.

 

this is like the worst advice ever. there so many musicians out there that if anything people should stop making music and let it breath a little. everyone makes music these days. there are bazillions of albums out every months. and noone listens to them because everyone is too busy making tunes. ridiculous times we live in, really.

 

Fair enough, let me clarify my point a little: people should make music more (spend more time actively involved in the music making process), but shouldn't necessarily make more music than they currently are. I'm not saying people should increase their output and hammer out as many tracks as possible, discarding them as early as possible, like empty shells from a machine gun primarily concerned with hitting things vaguely near its target. I'm saying people should spend more time analysing music they love, actually working out what they like about it so much and why it works so well, rather than merely listening to it. I'm saying they should spend more time refining each song before they release it, the way Leonardo da Vinci spent years meticulously adding the occasional brushstroke to the Mona Lisa long after it should arguably have been considered finished. OK, so maybe people shouldn't be that obsessive over their work, but you should stand by what you release. You should be proud to have you name next to your music. You should always be able to say "at the time I made this, it was the absolute best I could make it."

 

So I still think people should spend more time making music, although I'd agree with you that they should release less output, spending more time on each song.

 

Unless you're upset about the amount of high quality music currently being produced, now that music distribution is being democratised. In which case, I think that having more choice and a great amount of products to choose from even in a very specific niche area is a wonderful thing, and more than worth the "problem" of having too much in existence to possibly be able to check it all out. I'm not in some club where the goal is to listen to every album in the world once. I can sleep safely at night knowing there is more wonderful music in existance than I have waking hours in which to hear it. I'm content to merely have so many treasured albums to choose from, buy, and embrace as part of the soundtrack to my life.

 

But listening to other people's music is never as satisfying as listening to your own, once you've reached that level.

 

ha, fair enough.

 

im just kinda offended by the amount of musicians these days. everyone can take a loop of mbv's feedback, phase it for 60 minutes and call it an album. as you said, people should really put more thought into what they do.

 

maybe im just bitter, though,

[ZoeB]

ha, fair enough.

 

im just kinda offended by the amount of musicians these days. everyone can take a loop of mbv's feedback, phase it for 60 minutes and call it an album. as you said, people should really put more thought into what they do.

 

maybe im just bitter, though,

 

Yay, it sounds like we're in agreement after all then! :D Don't worry about people starting out making bad music that barely qualifies as such. That's how everyone starts out. The only difference these days is that people share these early embryonic noodlings with the whole world rather than sending them off to a record label and getting a polite rejection letter while the rest of the world remains oblivious to them until they reach that threshold that gets them past the A&R gatekeepers. It makes me cringe too when people say things like "listen to this, it's my first ever attempt at writing a piece of music!" It's kind of nice for that gestating period be a private thing, until you've got your ten thousand hours' worth of practice in and your music's finally ready to share with the world. But you shouldn't let it depress you or anything. Be safe in the knowledge that very few will put in the lasting effort required to get very good at what they do, if it's important to you to be in a small group, or better yet, don't have the time to notice them because you're too busy going off and doing your own awesome thing. I'm actually quite excited that there might be more successful musicians now than there were before, because I like good music and always welcome the competition, but a lot of people aren't willing to put in all that effort, so I wouldn't worry too much about losing your edge. Put in the effort to make your music the best it can be, and seek out your own niche, and you'll find there's enough room for all of us. :)

[brian trageskin]

I'm saying people should spend more time analysing music they love, actually working out what they like about it so much and why it works so well, rather than merely listening to it. I'm saying they should spend more time refining each song before they release it, the way Leonardo da Vinci spent years meticulously adding the occasional brushstroke to the Mona Lisa long after it should arguably have been considered finished. OK, so maybe people shouldn't be that obsessive over their work, but you should stand by what you release. You should be proud to have you name next to your music. You should always be able to say "at the time I made this, it was the absolute best I could make it."

 

i think the exact same thing

 

[marf]

my first attempts at making music were pretty fucking great actually. but Im good at music, so. If you have skill its the technical stuff that gets refined. Learning the tools better. I think if you have good taste it will show early on

[ZoeB]

my first attempts at making music were pretty fucking great actually.

 

Really? I thought my first few hundred songs were pretty interesting and experimental, albeit badly produced, but now that I've managed to dig them out of the archives, I've discovered that most of them are actually just plain bad all round. If you really have managed to make good music before putting in ten thousand hours of practice, I'd love to hear more details.

[kinski]

my first attempts at making music were pretty fucking great actually.

 

Really? I thought my first few hundred songs were pretty interesting and experimental, albeit badly produced, but now that I've managed to dig them out of the archives, I've discovered that most of them are actually just plain bad all round. If you really have managed to make good music before putting in ten thousand hours of practice, I'd love to hear more details.

 

beginner's luck perhaps,

[marf]

I haven't made music in a while. A long while. Before i did i definitely thought about it a lot. did my research. took music leasons all through childhood. (master of none). I got a laptop with soundfont hardware (showing my age). I made sounds from scratch in cool edit. Made some tracks for an event and they were very good. Yes, technically they could have been better. I was only using soundfonts. The technical side you can always improve. but you can get lost for years doing that. (i have). but I think i have a pretty good ear (tatste). When people say hundreds of tracks I don't know how they do it. Thats a lot of tracks. Albums and albums worth of music. but i guess "track" can mean a lot of things