Drukqs is truly a modern masterpiece.

[Scarb0]

 

Drukqs also was my first RDJ Album ive listened to, about 2,5 years ago I'd say. Before that I only knew a few tracks, the first one I've heard was "4".

I started listening to it during exam weeks and since im always listening to music while studying i was playing it on repeat. it immediately fascinated me and I was literally stopping studying and looked up every few minutes because my mind was blown by how awesome this new music i discovered was. I can't deny that i didn't like some of the piano tracks or Gwarek at first, but the more I got to know the album the more everything made sense and every single song and his placement got increasingly important to me with every listen. And being a huge "world's end girlfriend" fan ( you guys MUST check out this guy) ive always been into strange music.

 

What i liked the most about this album is that i consistently found new amazing moments and parts in songs i didn't really pay attention to at the last listen. MSM and cockver are examplees for that. And finally after at least 30 or 40 listens i noticed that Ziggomatic 17 is one of the best pieces of music i had heard in my entire life, im pretty sure it will be my fav song forever... the only other song i was equally obsessed with is "scarbo" by maurice ravel :D

 

I also find it very hard to believe that this album supposedly is just a random accumulation of songs put out because he lost his usb-stick. Maybe im interpreting too much into the album, but the track order (for example the transition from avril into MSM) is one of the most important aspects of the album. I dont want to go into every track into detail, but the transition from afx237 v7 and its insanely cool ending into ziggomatic wich sums up the whole album by combining all the different styles in one giant masterpiece, starting of with the weird drum-pattern that keeps showing up through the piece ( for example in the background at 5:05 ), and the abstract, weird synths at 6:05 (at one day i think i listened to that part about 100 times) wich don't seem to have any melody or anything but still sound so good, and of course the incredible final part that dissolves all the hectic into pure beauty starting at 7:27 are the perfect happy ending for the album for me, beskhu3epnm and nannou2 are like a coda I'd say - that doesn't make them less important in any way tho.

Yeah I don't know, I probably couldn't explain to anyone why i like drukqs better than in example rushup edge, icbyd the soundcloud stuff or syro or any of the other epic releases, but somehow drukqs seems to be written just for me, the music ive been waiting for all my life. although that sounds horribly cheesy :p

I don't want to promote myself or anything but if you've read this far and you share the love for ziggo you might be interested in the piano-cover of ziggomatic i did, just pm me and i will send you the link :)

that's such a nice post, i kinda feel the same about drukqs

 

edit: and i think you can post the link here

 

Thanks ivan, i wasn't quite sure how posting own stuff in an aphex twin thread would be received, thats why I did not put in the link at first.

Yeah, hope you guys enjoy my piano transcription of the ending of ziggomatic:

[Uros]

Nice Scarb0! I like it.

[Leonod33]

I seem to remember seeing that same Ziggo transcription vid posted in the comments of one of the Soundcloud tracks, and commenting that it was ace. It is!

 

Drukqs wasn't my 1st Aphex record, that goes to RDJ album, via a knowledgeable cousin, at a pretty young age. Windowlicker and Come to Daddy cemented my love for him, being a teenage metalhead for the most part, and then I went and bought SAW2. Life changing stuff, and the only time a store worker has ever told me "good choice" when buying.

 

By the time Drukqs came out, I had to have it. I hadn't read up on it, no expectations other than expecting to love it. And I did, but in stages. For a long time some of the best tracks went over my head, but I was pulled in by things like Kesson Dalef and Strotha Tynhe, them and others used to (and still do for the most part) give me the most vivid memories of my childhood and past, it was almost hypnotic, never had music before that could actually seem to tune my brain to look so clearly at the past.

 

Anyway, I knew it was great, but somehow it took a few years of listening to actually take in some of the songs. Vordhosbn, Mt Saint Michel, Cock Ver 10...I can't imagine ever not seeing how great tracks like those were, but once they did eventually sink in it was renewed love (I think if anything is to blame, it is that I've been able to listen on a better sound system as time goes by).

 

I thought I'd finished "learning" Drukqs a while ago, but then, out of the blue, my brain finally cottoned on to the real majesty of Ziggomatic v17. It's taken literally years to really appreciate it, but I can firmly say that at present it is my favourite track, not just of Aphex Twin, but ever. To me Drukqs is a masterpiece, it's taken me on a long journey and I'm still loving it.

 

Drukqs gush over, it'd be easy to write another 20 paragraphs of lovin' but it's mostly just "Wooo! It's quite good innit!!!!"

[phudoshin]

I'm still not feeling drukqs after all these years.... too digital or something (the beat tracks).....

 

When he drops the tracks in a set i enjoy them, but album-wise... not much

[Scarb0]

I seem to remember seeing that same Ziggo transcription vid posted in the comments of one of the Soundcloud tracks, and commenting that it was ace. It is!

 

Drukqs wasn't my 1st Aphex record, that goes to RDJ album, via a knowledgeable cousin, at a pretty young age. Windowlicker and Come to Daddy cemented my love for him, being a teenage metalhead for the most part, and then I went and bought SAW2. Life changing stuff, and the only time a store worker has ever told me "good choice" when buying.

 

By the time Drukqs came out, I had to have it. I hadn't read up on it, no expectations other than expecting to love it. And I did, but in stages. For a long time some of the best tracks went over my head, but I was pulled in by things like Kesson Dalef and Strotha Tynhe, them and others used to (and still do for the most part) give me the most vivid memories of my childhood and past, it was almost hypnotic, never had music before that could actually seem to tune my brain to look so clearly at the past.

 

Anyway, I knew it was great, but somehow it took a few years of listening to actually take in some of the songs. Vordhosbn, Mt Saint Michel, Cock Ver 10...I can't imagine ever not seeing how great tracks like those were, but once they did eventually sink in it was renewed love (I think if anything is to blame, it is that I've been able to listen on a better sound system as time goes by).

 

I thought I'd finished "learning" Drukqs a while ago, but then, out of the blue, my brain finally cottoned on to the real majesty of Ziggomatic v17. It's taken literally years to really appreciate it, but I can firmly say that at present it is my favourite track, not just of Aphex Twin, but ever. To me Drukqs is a masterpiece, it's taken me on a long journey and I'm still loving it.

 

Drukqs gush over, it'd be easy to write another 20 paragraphs of lovin' but it's mostly just "Wooo! It's quite good innit!!!!"

yeah, i also remember you answering to my post :D thanks, glad you like it. for me omgyjya switch is one of those songs, i always liked it and everything, but then suddendly, out of the blue, a few weeks or months ago i finally could really appreciate it and make sense of it. i also agree on your last sentence, i too feel like i could write a whole book about what im feeling when im listening to drukqs, but in the end it's hard to put in words, as you said. that's what makes it so special i guess, music in general. it's impossible to explain that to someone who just isn't into this kind of experimental electronica music, you can't really say "look at this melody!" or "look at that rythm, thats why i like this song!", it's the whole package that makes it so special. sometimes you don't even really hear a proper note (that you could reconstruct on a piano for example) for minutes, but still its just amazing. yeah, as you said, hard to properly talk about it :D

[jules]

i swear warp's never gonna repress drukqs/saw2/any autechre albums... they're more interested in repressing flying lotus as much as possible it seems

for real. isn't any aphex or ae just a guaranteed sell out of vinyl? why would you not do it?

 

blerp

[Brisbot]

I'm sure they have FlyLo vs Aphex charts in their office ;)

[Guest progben]

Drukqs, along with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, are the only double-albums in existence that I'd consider to be entirely flawless. Of course, I haven't actually listened to every double-album in existence, but I've sure listened to a lot. Although many of them are incredible pieces of work, these are the only two I'd class as perfect from start to finish. Even The Wall loses track and starts to go a bit Walt Disneyish towards the end.

 

Richard nailed absolutely everything on this. Not only is it impressive from a technical standpoint with the intense drum programming and whatnot, but the melodies are fucking gorgeous and all the ambient pieces are drenched with atmosphere. Would love to hear some more Drukqs outtakes/sketches uploaded onto Soundcloud, or even better, a Drukqs 2?

 

I had this exact same conversation with a friend the other day and came to the same conclusion. My picks were, as you say, Mellon Collie and Drukqs. I guess you could slot SAWII in there (but I do think it makes its point in less than it's running time).

 

Needless to say I've forgotten some, but there's definitely only a handful I'd consider to be consistently good and worthy of two discs

[Kennylogg Bubblebath]

 

Drukqs, along with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, are the only double-albums in existence that I'd consider to be entirely flawless. Of course, I haven't actually listened to every double-album in existence, but I've sure listened to a lot. Although many of them are incredible pieces of work, these are the only two I'd class as perfect from start to finish. Even The Wall loses track and starts to go a bit Walt Disneyish towards the end.

 

Richard nailed absolutely everything on this. Not only is it impressive from a technical standpoint with the intense drum programming and whatnot, but the melodies are fucking gorgeous and all the ambient pieces are drenched with atmosphere. Would love to hear some more Drukqs outtakes/sketches uploaded onto Soundcloud, or even better, a Drukqs 2?

 

I had this exact same conversation with a friend the other day and came to the same conclusion. My picks were, as you say, Mellon Collie and Drukqs. I guess you could slot SAWII in there (but I do think it makes its point in less than it's running time).

 

Needless to say I've forgotten some, but there's definitely only a handful I'd consider to be consistently good and worthy of two discs

 

 

SAW2 is great. Some of my all-time favourite RDJ tracks are on that record, but like you say, there's a hell of a lot more to be said with Drukqs + MC. I'd definitely consider both of those albums to be Richard's and SP's magnum opuses, respectively.

[Mag]

 

i swear warp's never gonna repress drukqs/saw2/any autechre albums... they're more interested in repressing flying lotus as much as possible it seems

 

never say never! icbyd and rdj album got represses recently. come to daddy is in print too recently i think or was recentlyish.

autechre chiastic slide got a repress but nothing else.

 

i am CRAVING drukqs on vinyl btw. syro and tuss and all that crazy ass shit sounds amazing on record and really brings the music to life. i think i would cry listening to drukqs on vinyl (lol) and warp are holding me back from fulfilling this slobbery tear filled fantasy (lol).

 

seriously. drukqs repress. pls!!

 

 

agreed. they have repressed saw 1 not so long ago, if i remember, and RDJ+ICBYD albums, which i bought. It was a good deal. But repressnig SAW2 or specially druqks (which got negative media and press) was kinda risky for label, cause each release is 3xLP or 4xLP, high prices and all.

 

now, when afek released siro, got grammy and attention, they actually can do it, i think. I hope. I would love druqks on vinyl so fucking much

 

werp pls

 

also i would beg for tuss repress, the prices are insane now, but...i think wont ever happen

Edited February 11, 2015 by Mag

[juiceciuj]

drukqs is amazing. haven't given it a proper listen in ages tho but had it pumping out of my rokits while viewing that kid's mt st michael vid. what a fuckin' rekkerd

[petina]

nah saw1 isn't their business to repress, that's r&s and they do a pretty good job of keeping it in print these days

[Guest bitroast]

nah saw1 isn't their business to repress, that's r&s and they do a pretty good job of keeping it in print these days

 

yeah i got the recentish apollo remaster(?) repress for saw1 and holy shit it sounds amazing.

[Guest bitroast]

 

nah saw1 isn't their business to repress, that's r&s and they do a pretty good job of keeping it in print these days

 

yeah i got the recentish apollo remaster(?) repress for saw1 and holy shit it sounds amazing.

 

 

actually, the one i have is the 2013 apollo one, which doesn't specify "Remastered" like the 2006 one. h mm

[Amen Warrior]

I too would love a drukqs repress. And with rephlex gone, who is going to repress analords and tuss in 10 years?! I have about half the analords but I was a student back then...ran out of money, and also didn't really take care of my records back then so the analords I have are fucked :(

[petina]

*still has fingers crossed for a warp reissue of his rephlex material incl tuss*

[Guest progben]

I was thinking about the title 'DrukQs' today because I've always struggled with it being about 'drug use' or whatever - doesn't really seem to match the depth of the music.

 

So I split the phrase into 'druk' and 'qs' and found that:

 

'druk' is derived from the old Scottish 'drukna' which means 'drowning' and q.s. (in medicine) = quantom sotis, or 'the amount which is needed'.

 

So we end up with 'the amount which is needed to drown'. I'm not saying that this is the meaning of the title, but the sheer weight of the music, mixed with the journey between cornwall and france conjured by the mont + mount track really feels appropriate to me.

[marf]

i think its just word art. it looks cool.

[Guest progben]

I like it cause it's baiting the interpretations (much like Syro with its naming thread on here). I've always found drukqs to be quite nautical though which is why I like that one ^.

[Ivan Ooze]

I was thinking about the title 'DrukQs' today because I've always struggled with it being about 'drug use' or whatever - doesn't really seem to match the depth of the music.

 

So I split the phrase into 'druk' and 'qs' and found that:

 

'druk' is derived from the old Scottish 'drukna' which means 'drowning' and q.s. (in medicine) = quantom sotis, or 'the amount which is needed'.

 

So we end up with 'the amount which is needed to drown'. I'm not saying that this is the meaning of the title, but the sheer weight of the music, mixed with the journey between cornwall and france conjured by the mont + mount track really feels appropriate to me.

i'm pretty sure it's drug use. i listend 2 it a few times on shrooms and let me tell you it fits the depth if the tracks perfectly. the atmosphere, the terror and beauty, the confusion and emotions your are going through. i can still feel it when i hear the album again.

[beerwolf]

I need to do shrooms and listen back to most of my record collection. Mainly I'd like to listen to Autechre LP5 and Surfing on Sine Waves on shrooms from my electronic era. Not sure about Drukqs or something like Geogaddi, as they got some dark vibes going on, and I don't need to latch onto anything dark as I've been sent spinning once into the shrooom abyssss. And that's a place I don't wish to go again. I'd rather swim across a shark infested channel of water than go there.

 

Drukqs is his best album though. The fulll Aphexian spectrum is realized here.

Edited February 13, 2015 by beerwolf

[sun drugs]

yeah would love repress of this, every other LP seems to have been done that is on warps end.

 

If they did a pre-order for 500 represses they would sell the fuck out and people would complain 100% without a doubt.

they could do a 1000 + no probs. There is no way they would have lost the plates or whatever either, by 2001 warp were no amateurs. gimme blerp.

 

Fuck if they could get licence to repress the rephlex stuff... my god, maybe wait till after the broadcast stuff cause im gonna be poor like after those boc represses, i had to go sober for 3 weeks. maybe thats whats next

[zlemflolia]

Thanks ivan, i wasn't quite sure how posting own stuff in an aphex twin thread would be received, thats why I did not put in the link at first.

Yeah, hope you guys enjoy my piano transcription of the ending of ziggomatic:

 

This is amazing, nice job

[FLUXLINKAGES]

 

Thanks ivan, i wasn't quite sure how posting own stuff in an aphex twin thread would be received, thats why I did not put in the link at first.

Yeah, hope you guys enjoy my piano transcription of the ending of ziggomatic:

 

This is amazing, nice job

 

yes! bravo!

[Jaspmf]

Drukqs = best album of all time as far as I'm concerned. Nothing is even 1/10th as amazing.

 

Reckon the meh reviews were because most of the world just wasn't ready.

 

So the way I see it RDJ just said "fuck y'all, I'll be back in like 15 years and see if you get it then". And by now he's taken the nth level to another dimension.

 

Probably he just decided on a 10 year delay between when he makes an album and when he actually releases it bahaah. That way we sheep can actually wrap half a head around it

Edited February 19, 2015 by Jaspmf