Aphex Twin Aphex Twin interview French magazine Tsugi n°47 December 2011

[Kanakori]

TSUGI: What does it bother you so much in interviews that you rarely accept to do them, or only by mail?

AFX: It takes me time. Time i could use dreaming about new things.

 

TSUGI: In a recent interview you said you hated your public. What do you mean by that?

AFX: I was joking.

 

TSUGI: By reading that interview, you seem detached and uninterested by your surroundings. Is it your real state of mind/mood?

AFX: I'd love it.

 

TSUGI: Whats does it interest you nowdays? By what do you feel concerned?

AFX: Everything interests me, to many things. I just began studiyng bug communication.

 

TSUGI: You just celebrated 40 years old. How do you come by that symbolic stage?

AFX: I feel like having 22 years old.

 

TSUGI: The music world evolves very quickly. A majority of the young public doesn't know you or sees you as a mysterious myth. By being this discreet, don't you fear you'll be completely forgotten?

AFX: Ahah, nice try.

 

TSUGI: Don't you fear that your next disc becomes the like of "Guns N' Roses Chinese democracy" of eletronic music?

AFX: Fortunately i have never heard about it. Your job is cruel.

 

TSUGI: From what do you live nowdays, since you're not releasing new records and are touring less?

AFX: I could live with nothing if i felt like it.

 

TSUGI: Since 2009 we see you more and more on stage, why?

AFX: I love mixing/DJing.

 

TSUGI: What do you feel on stage?

AFX: Some good vibes.

 

TSUGI: What is your most important motivation, money or the art above everything?

AFX: I'm interested by the money, but in the end i always need to do something that is good/not bad. If you're not creative you'll collapse/bury yourself.

 

TSUGI: How do yours latest productions sound?

AFX: Amazingly well.

 

TSUGI: When do you expect to be releasing a new album?

AFX: Soon..... or not.

[Kanakori]

You are welcome!!!

[rekosn]

thanks Kanakori!

there are questions left out, hope I understood well what brian said above, that I achieved the translation hehe

thanks anyway

[Kanakori]

The other questions are from an older interview

[beerwolf]

Richard is very clever in how he conjours up a mystical personality, where in reality he really isn't that interesting. He shrouds himself in lies and myths to blow up his aura but when it boils down to it most interviews seem to be him mumbling on about his mates, I am sure if you bumped into him in the pub he would be a just a quirky character you could have a passing conversation with.

 

Of course when he turns his machines on he becomes a different entity alltogether.

 

I know for a fact if I met him it would be a very awkward moment, I am not sure if I would choose to meet him tbh. I prefer his music to speak to me. Still love him though.

[ZoeB]

I am sure if you bumped into him in the pub he would be a just a quirky character you could have a passing conversation with.

 

Yes, I'm sure this is true of most people, even if they've built up silly myths about themselves in order to better sell their products. Such is being self employed. :)

[beerwolf]

Fact is I like quirky characters, and always get on with them instantly. But I would know who he was and I'd just run off in the other direction, despite me being a solid 15 stone savage lol. Maybe I could do part-time work and be a Rephlex roadie?

 

It's almost Christmas! Happy days!

[ZoeB]

Fact is I like quirky characters, and always get on with them instantly.

 

Me too, I'm actually looking forward to meeting a particularly interesting person next week. So-called "normal" people seem kinda dull to me, if truth be told, and I get on much better with eccentric genius types and the like.

 

Happy days!

 

Happy days! ^.^

[delet...]

Yeah normals are a pain. They really don't inhabit the same planet. Well i guess no one does, but at least you can build a bridge over to another non-normals brainspace. Where as with normals you need to speak in their special code of reflected social norms and herdish semaphore.

 

You are welcome!!!

 

Thanksyou ;-]

 

It wasn't as bad as all the smarmy knew what it said people were saying it was. Just a quick Q&A with some odd questions mixed through. Maybe having already been prepped, i wasn't as shocked as i should have been. heh.

[rstark]

normal people listen to bad music

[psn]

Normal schmormal.

[Adamovich]

casual people listen to bad music

 

fixed

[chim]

Yeah normals are a pain. They really don't inhabit the same planet. Well i guess no one does, but at least you can build a bridge over to another non-normals brainspace. Where as with normals you need to speak in their special code of reflected social norms and herdish semaphore.

 

Sure is elitist/butthurt aspie in here. :sup:

[goDel]

Good to know the world is devided into the normal and the non-normals. Which political party belongs to the non-normals, btw?

[Guest Babar]

What does bother you in interviews and lead you not to speak to the press, or only by email ?

It takes a lot of time. Time that I could spend on dreaming new things.

 

In a recent interview with a spanish newspaper, you said you hate the public. What do you mean ?

I was joking

 

Upon reading this interview, you seem detached and uninterested. Is that really how you feel ?

I wished.

 

What does interest you nowadays ?What do you feel concerned with ?

Everything interests me. Too many things. I've just gotten into studying insect communication.

 

You've just turned 40. How did you went through this symbolic step ?

I feel like I'm 22.

 

The world of music is evolving quickly. A good share of the young public do not know you or see you as a myth. Aren't you afraid being so discreet will make people forget about you ?

Ahaha, well tried.

 

Aren't you afraid you next disc ends up, like Gun N' Roses, the Chinese Democracy of electronic music?

Hopefully, I never heard about it. Your job is cruel !

 

What do you live on, now that you don't realize discs anymore and tour less ?

I can live on fuck nothing if I fancy it.

 

Since 2009, we get to see you more and more on stage. Why ?

I love to mix.

 

What do you feel on stage ?

Good vibes.

 

Is your main drive money or do you place art higher than anything else.

I'm interested in money, but eventually i have to put out something that's not too bad. If it's not creative, you collapse.

 

How does your music sound these days ?

Awesome.

 

When do you plan on releasing a new album.

Soon … Or not.

 

Recently, you stated you had divorced. How is that possible ?

Haha, I'm not even married.

 

In the 90s, you said you bought a tank. Do you still have it ? What model is it ? What do you do with it ?

It's still working !

 

Do you steel work with Chris Cunningham ? What are your projects ?

Nothing has been planned for now, but I would be surprised if we don't get involved into something again.

 

I heard you hate Radiohead. Yet you recently played live with Jonny Greenwood. Did you change your mind ?

I didn't play with him but at the same festival at Warclow, Poland. They make music for good reasons, and that's the best thing we can hope for each other.

 

What do you listen to these days ?

The rumbling of my coffee maker. Oh and Zavoloka.

 

Back in the days, you said composing music was like a diary. Later, you said it was like a mechanical and automatic process. Where does the truth stand between intimacy and mechanization ?

Wow, cool, a french question. I'm not certain to understand.

 

Do you feel like you still have something to say, musically speaking?

Hey, i've not even started to pull out all i have to say.

 

How do you explain the frequent pseudonym changes during your career ? Pleasure of losing audience, a genuine need to explore different perspectives, or just the impulse of a moment ?

A name generator.

 

Do you still work at Rephlex, your label ?

Not so much.

 

How do you judge your first works, like Selected Ambient Works or Didgeridoo ?

I tried to reproduce them, and I just couldn't do it. I tried one last time, with the same setup and still couldn't manage to do it. I thought it was easy, but fuck, it's not !

 

If you could come back at some moment in your career, what part of your music would you change and why ?

Nice question, i'm dreaming of doing this everyday. Nothing is never achieved, recording just gives the illusion perfection is possible, but in reality, one hour, one day, one week later you have a different mood, you wouldn't have done things the same way. Recordings are snapshots of the mood and personality of the artist at a give point in his life. My ultimate fantasy would be to watch for each track, a video showing how it has been made while controlling the camera's position. We could go back in time one day before the recording, follow the producer in charge of the recording … And we could go into the track to modify it and observe how a single change in one track can cascade mofications throughout a whole discography or even the history of music.

 

According to you, which artists on the market walked on your steps while you were away ?

(no answer)

 

Many clues lead to think you are at the source of the Tuss EP. Why didn't you tell it ? Why do you still keep this information secret today ?

It's an extraordinary psychological experiment from which I learnt a lot about humans.

 

If you had to follow someone else's career, would it be that of JD Salinger, disappearing after a great success, or that of Kraftwerk, vanishing then coming back 10 years later to tour like a rockstar ?

Thank you for comparing me to such artists. I see what want to convey, but it's a big mistake to let this kind of ideas worm their way into what you're doing… I look at things on the long run, like after my death. The way humans perceive time is just a way to see the world. Actually, we are born and die at the moment, there is no time. Present, the moment you die, there is no order, it's just a way to look at things. IT JUST ALL IS. [sic].

[MAXIMUS MISCHIEF]

It's an extraordinary psychological experiment from which I learnt a lot about humans.

 

hes troon LOL

[ZoeB]

So-called "normal" people seem kinda dull to me, if truth be told, and I get on much better with eccentric genius types and the like.

 

Sure is elitist/butthurt aspie in here. :sup:

 

Good to know the world is devided into the normal and the non-normals. Which political party belongs to the non-normals, btw?

 

Sorry, I get kinda ratty this time of year for personal reasons, doubly so if I'm spending a few days with someone who watches TV like it's a hobby, regardless of how nice that person is. I should really work on that. It's a good thing I brought my laptop with me -- if I couldn't make music for more than a day or two, I'd go crazy. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess I'm not the only one here with an unshakeable compulsion for creativity. It's quite useful if you want to make something worthwhile, but far less useful if you want to make friends and be a nice person. We all make choices.

 

OK, I'll stop digging a hole now. Sorry.

[goDel]

If you're in a tough spot and you like to dig holes, Minecraft is where it is! You can endlessly dig holes and put your creativity into building stuff. With blocks. On a computer. Watch out for creepers though!

[ZoeB]

If you're in a tough spot and you like to dig holes, Minecraft is where it is! You can endlessly dig holes and put your creativity into building stuff. With blocks. On a computer. Watch out for creepers though!

 

I've heard good things about Minecraft from many people, and the composer for the project, C418, pretty consistently beats me on Bandcamp's charts! Alas, I really don't have the time to spend playing games. I've only played one game this month, and even then it's only because I'm writing the score to it. (In all fairness, it is a good game though, so I'm not exactly complaining!)

[chim]

Nothing is never achieved, recording just gives the illusion perfection is possible, but in reality, one hour, one day, one week later you have a different mood, you wouldn't have done things the same way. Recordings are snapshots of the mood and personality of the artist at a give point in his life.

 

This was actually a really good answer.

[rekosn]

thanks Babar!

[goDel]

If you're in a tough spot and you like to dig holes, Minecraft is where it is! You can endlessly dig holes and put your creativity into building stuff. With blocks. On a computer. Watch out for creepers though!

 

I've heard good things about Minecraft from many people, and the composer for the project, C418, pretty consistently beats me on Bandcamp's charts! Alas, I really don't have the time to spend playing games. I've only played one game this month, and even then it's only because I'm writing the score to it. (In all fairness, it is a good game though, so I'm not exactly complaining!)

 

Hmm that's odd. I know many women. And all they do is playing games all the time! It's their oxygen it seems. Mind you, these are different kinds of games. Computers aren't involved and they like to make my mind full of f*ck. Metaphorically speaking.

[delet...]

Yeah normals are a pain. They really don't inhabit the same planet. Well i guess no one does, but at least you can build a bridge over to another non-normals brainspace. Where as with normals you need to speak in their special code of reflected social norms and herdish semaphore.

 

Sure is elitist/butthurt aspie in here. :sup:

 

typical normal response.

 

;-p

[chim]

Yeah normals are a pain. They really don't inhabit the same planet. Well i guess no one does, but at least you can build a bridge over to another non-normals brainspace. Where as with normals you need to speak in their special code of reflected social norms and herdish semaphore.

 

Sure is elitist/butthurt aspie in here. :sup:

 

typical normal response.

 

;-p

 

Haha

 

I'm soo not normal, but I don't think the answer is to distance yourself further. It's enticing but will only end up in obstacles for yourself. It's better to define oneself as a flexible individual and react according to what the situation requires. Then, one might even imagine oneself to be normal.. if only for a short while.

 

With that said, I have a lot of love for you based solely on what you said.

[delet...]

merry chrissymas

 

-posted more, but this seemed best-