How Aphex Twin Made Selected Ambient Works 85-92

&gt; James likely also used the onboard sequencers on the Roland SH-101, while using CV and MIDI to keep different devices in sync.<p>&gt; These ambient pads were likely recorded with the Yamaha DX-100 or DX7, as these were the only polyphonic synths James mentioned owning at the time. He likely used the DX strings patches, as they have long attack and release times as well as mellow, sine-like oscillator sounds.<p>&gt; These were likely recorded on the Roland SH-101, a revered analog monophonic synth from 1982.<p>So is this all speculation of RDJ&#x27;s production methods or was this directly sourced based on what RDJ himself said?

This is one of my top 10 albums. &quot;Tha&quot; is one of my favorites.<p>Also of note, Selected Ambient Works Volume II. I used to mix ambient tapes from a variety of sources in the mid-90s, and this was always features somewhere. One good mix was Autechre&#x27;s _VLetrmx21_ over Aphex&#x27;s _Blur_. None of it is in sync, some of it&#x27;s dissonant, but it works.<p>I miss 90s Ambient and IDM. Em:t label of was a top one. There was a sound to all of it, and it probably had to do with 99% being produced with outboard gear straight to tape. Everything now seems to be so over-produced and &quot;perfect&quot;.

Xtal is one of the very few songs that I could not possibly imagine getting sick of, no matter how many times I hear it. It always seems to sound new, letting you notice different dimensions of it every time.

He used pretty standard pieces of gear, (Kroger MS-20, DX7) the difference is the obsessive amount of time he spent making music, and what he managed to get out of that gear. Weird, detuned moans, crazy skittering beats, all kinds of odd filter modulation and crazy stuff, and it all works well together.<p>Then he bought himself a Mac and made the Richard D James album, that was 1996(!)

The thing about Aphex Twin is you have to try to reproduce it to appreciate what&#x27;s involved I think. The sequence for Polynomial-C&#x27;s main alternating loop is suprisingly subtle, and I haven&#x27;t been able to get the rhythm quite right, and I think there&#x27;s a deeper reason why it&#x27;s not trivial. It&#x27;s not just bleep-blooping on some modular gear. They&#x27;re compositions.<p>I found this and posted it to HN a little while ago, and it goes more in depth about it. &quot;Techno Counterpoint - Tracking in the Music of Aphex Twin&quot; <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;disis.music.vt.edu&#x2F;eric&#x2F;LyonPapers&#x2F;AphexTwin&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;disis.music.vt.edu&#x2F;eric&#x2F;LyonPapers&#x2F;AphexTwin&#x2F;</a>

This was one of my favorites in the early 90&#x27;s, along with The Orb&#x27;s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and their single Blue Room, Tango N&#x27;Vectif by µ-ziq, early Plastikman releases on Plus 8 Records, and Loveless by My Bloody Valentine :)<p>Feeling pretty old, thought I just saw this same article just a couple years ago. Turns out several outlets did a similar article for the 25th anniversary of Selected Ambient Works, so that was actually 5 years ago:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.factmag.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;02&#x2F;12&#x2F;paul-white-aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.factmag.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;02&#x2F;12&#x2F;paul-white-aphex-twin-sel...</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thestudentplaylist.com&#x2F;aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thestudentplaylist.com&#x2F;aphex-twin-selected-ambie...</a>

Aphex Twin has been a large influence for tons of well-known artists today. There is just something special in how his songs convey different moods and feelings, with one of my favorites being Avril 14th, which reminds me of playing Minecraft as a young lad, although I think 180db_ [130] is my all-time favorite.

It’s never an album I like to listen to on repeat (compare with flavour of the day hyperpop album) but I come back to it every year or so and it blows me away.<p>Last time was recently, on a long transit ride through Toronto and it set the scene perfectly. I hesitate to say it’s a timeless piece of music (like a symphony) but it really does move me in the same ways.

If you like that selection of music, there&#x27;s a nice 1hr mix from 1994, from Hearts of Space: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;v4.hos.com&#x2F;programs&#x2F;details&#x2F;356" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;v4.hos.com&#x2F;programs&#x2F;details&#x2F;356</a> (track list info)<p>You can also listen to it here through your browser if you don&#x27;t have an account: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mixcloud.com&#x2F;deepspace5&#x2F;aphex-twin-hearts-of-space-0356-public-broadcasting&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mixcloud.com&#x2F;deepspace5&#x2F;aphex-twin-hearts-of-spa...</a><p>It really is timeless, relaxing music.

Christ, this an impressive album... I revisit it every few years and it continues to blow me away. Shottkey 7th Path. Holy smokes.

The first time I heard this album was in a videogame called grand theft auto 4.<p>I dislike normal music but this game had a radio channel called &quot;the journey&quot;. Still listen to it regularly at the gym.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;CkqFGYr0hC4" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;CkqFGYr0hC4</a>

This is awesome. It reminds me of what they do on the podcast &quot;Song Exploder.&quot; In that podcast, the host rarely talks, and instead all you&#x27;re left with is the artist, and their explanations of where the stems for their songs came from, along with clips of those stems.

Everyone seemed to be influenced by AFX in the 90s? Or at least it was the in thing Todo, make ambient techno. Digging through the back catalog of techno artist you seem to find LOTS of 90s ambient &#x2F; IDMish techno that are beautiful pieces of music. Speedy J&#x27;s ginger and gspot albums and Luke Slater&#x27;s the 7th plain albums come to mind for 90s ambient but now they are playing mind bending techno.

If you like that style of early warp IDM :)<p>Cassilda and Carcosa - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;open.spotify.com&#x2F;album&#x2F;5k8cHnULoBPJ7hlKWYchZG" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;open.spotify.com&#x2F;album&#x2F;5k8cHnULoBPJ7hlKWYchZG</a><p>RX-101 - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;open.spotify.com&#x2F;artist&#x2F;1nxxFDcQjl85Vn3PSZs651" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;open.spotify.com&#x2F;artist&#x2F;1nxxFDcQjl85Vn3PSZs651</a>

On [µ-Ziq Mix] was always one of my favorites. Girl Boy (£18 Snarerush Mix) is also pretty quintessential Aphex, IMO.

not to say i am anywhere on the same level as aphex twin, but all you really need to capture the SAW85-92 sound is some cheap analog gear and a cheap multi track recorder, ive recorded tons of stuff that way that has the same vibe

Anyone else find the music of Apex Twin not appealing? Like in comparison with for example, Daft Punk, what makes some people consider Aphex Twin as interesting music?