You guys should listen to ATOM(tm). He is simply eons ahead of Aphex Twin Richard D James. More than 180 albums of pure electronic music, of so many forms, it makes Aphex sound like a primary school student. Also this cult worship nonsense is so lame - Aphex himself, like all us electronic music producer was influenced by the dominant culture and all the future predications of. It's very hard to find an Aphex Twin song as a jingle, but we find many examples of Daft Punk and Bjork being used to sell electric cars and ladies perfumes.
I've heard RDJ on the BBC recently and MTV2 a bunch back in the day. I remember he was even on the commercial for "music is my antidrug" which i found particularly amusing. His music is all over the place if you know it.@@AudioPervert1
I'm 52, been with RDJ/Aphex since the olden days and so glad there are young people along for the ride still. GIve my love to the WATMM homies; it's been a minute, but it was my home for many years back in the day
Aphex Twin like many artists is capable of transcending age groups I believe. Whilst scouring for footage for this documentary I came across videos of parents putting their crying babies to sleep by playing Rhubarb. I think the ability to do such a thing could be another documentary itself. But also a way for different age groups and groups to connect with one another and find connections. As everyone can understand music that doesn't contain lyrics!
I'm 46 and discovered him around the time of Surfing on Sine Waves (I think). I absolutely worshipped at the church of Aphex for many many years. His music has been as important an influence on me as any other artist I can name.
Thank you it makes me happy to hear that. I encourage anyone to jump at the opportunity to discuss their favourite topic or cover it in a project format should the opportunity arise in the educational environment, it was great fun to develop something I was interested in on school hours! :)
Informative documentary. Aphex Twin is a musical savant who defies categorization and convention, always reinventing himself and testing sonic limits. Maybe not a schooled musician, but a creative visionary and sound architect whose impact on music will reach far into the future.
musical savant who defies categorization and convention. For someone cult worshipping yes. Same big accolade were given to Pink Floyd or Van Halen. If you hear 100 albums by ATOM (tm) aka Senor Coconut - Aphex sounds like primary education (electronic music wise)
His sense of rhythm is incredible in particular. Richard's music immediately caught me because it reminds me of 90s SEGA video game soundtracks, or OSTs before 2002.
Yes I believe I found AFX when Digeridoo was released. I was huge into the early 90's trance scene in Orlando, FL. He came to Orlando to perform it was epic..... 22 years later I seen him LIVE in Houston in 2016. I ate some mushrooms, and when I was peeking, Bjork was dancing in the rain to his set. No lie true story. A tear dropped down my cheek. Unless it was rain. Couldn't tell the dimensions were colliding.
I was coming down from an acid trip (in the 90's) and watching MTV late night. They played Come To Daddy. I thought I was going to go to hell for watching it and liking it, as I was Catholic at the time. A few days later I bought that album, and the Richard D. James Album, and the following week I got I Care Because You Do, and Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2. I was the only kid in my very small town in Western Pennsylvania that was into Aphex. My closet friend at the time liked it too, but he wasn't into it enough to buy the albums. Another friend liked some of the songs, but wasn't interested enough... They just didn't seem to realize the genius and originality. It wasn't until I went to college in 1999 that I met other Aphex Twin fans.
Great work Finn! All of the interviews are interesting and I'm pleased to see younger generations are still inspired and moved by this music. Also good to se David Toop in there too. I interviewed him once many years ago and found him to be a true artist and a very generous hearted person.
Combining comments from those who were there at the outset with the appreciation of today's listeners, this does a great job of conveying why AFX remains the GOAT
It's weird how anything Aphex has done does not outdated. I was 13 in 1991 and heard his music first shortly after that on a rave, or something. There was a huge boom in electronic music in my country and he came here in 1994 with Björk, I think. I have always connected his Logo with a Boomerang somehow because of the Didgeridoo song, both in my mind Australian and also my friend played one, is white, had dreadlocks and went to Africa on as a volunteer when there were floods in Mozambique. So to me, this logo and anything APX has a good place in my mind. And I listen to Selected Ambient Works Vol 2 nearly every day, when I go to sleep, so there's that.
Aphex have really changed my perspective of electronic music forever. Going all the way back when I was 6 or 7, the first electronic track I have listened to was FC Kahuna Glitterball while playing Need for speed Underground. It was the first time I ever heard of electronic music. Later in the 2010s, I later found out about chemical brothers, the prodigy, crystal method, and deadmau5. And I thought that there was no one that can surpass their works. But that wasn't true. In 2016 or 2017, I found out about aphex twin. And my god have he changed me in more ways then one. Before i even found out about it, I first discovered aphex twin through 2 MUGEN Character called giygas. Who was made by the_none, and Dark Donald (mainly with the character portrait being Ronald Mcdonald making the RDJ face.) Another time I got a glimpse of aphex twin, was weirdly through a shrek YTP. With those movie footages being edited through comical means. And when I looked up come to daddy, I understand where they have got the reference from. It was the second time I have ever heard an appearance from aphex twin. (The really first one was in 2008 when i was watching the first blade movie. And on the intro, UT1-Dot was playing in the background) back to the current presence in the late 2010s, I was interested in his music. Wondering what else he haves. And here was the this one youtube video named Aphex twin field day 2017 live set. As a kid, I always have been tripping out heavily on window visualizers while playing music like Kars kale and rammstein. And let me tell you, weirdcore's visuals have tripped me the heck out. And listening to the bangers he have played is astounding. Now I found out that he also does some live sets as well like deadmau5 and chemical brothers, what else have I found out? Windowlicker, Lisbon acid, and a whioe discography of tracks that dates from the 1980s, all the way to the late 2010s. All of his music I have found is incredibly unique and trippy to his respective nature. In conclusion, to me at least, Richard have created music in another angle. Something that doesn't even follow the trends at all. And now as a music artist myself, I'm trying to replicate the style that he have made in my own image. Understanding that in my deep consciousness, there is these endless waves of noises that I can create and think of. Richard himself have inspired me to make electronic the way it is, futuristic and intellegent.
Funny people saying RDJ’s music opened them to other artists, while also saying it sounds unique. The way people engage with his music is actually way more mysterious
I only knew about Orbital and The Future Sounds of London before I discovered Aphex. Those two bands might have helped prepare my mind for Aphex Twin. But I think being a fan of Tool, NIN, Manson, are what really made me able to understand his sound, because my intro to AT was the Come To Daddy video late one night on MTV... When I first heard NIN as a teen, I didn't even hear it as music, because I only heard live shows my cousin had on VHS, and the sound was horrible... But I was intrigued enough to get my older brother's NIN (The downward spiral) out and listen... I finally really heard the beats and sounds and my brain understood it as music instead of a wall of sound that I heard on that VHS... Before all of this I only listened to the Classic Rock music my parents played in the car... So NIN was key for preparing my ears for Come To Daddy....
I have an original FACE magazine copy of the exact interview, I may do a video on the March 1993 issue as a whole anyway as it's very interesting! Finding the interview online originally is what got me interested in contacting Professor Toop to learn more.
The way I got into Aphex Twin: Reading the John Cage wikipedia article in about 2012 which mentioned Richard. Then I wandered over to mp3panda and got Chosen Lords. Been hooked ever since.
I remember buying "Analogue Bubblebath" and all his early records when they came out, me and the bloke in the record store were freaked out by how different they sounded.
Great work mate, really enjoyed this. Aphex Twin has always been part of my regular music listening and influencing what I do for the last 30 years. Legend
Remember first hearing Aphex on John Peel’s show. Then became kinda obsessed with his music… it felt like it was from another world. 30 years on I still frequently listen to Surfing on sine waves, RDJ and SAW 85-92
Having grown up on rock/pop and classical, the electronic music of the mid-90s really hit me like an alien music type. It did not have verses or choruses, it would sometimes be just 5 minutes of drums which changed pattern every repetition, and considered a sweeping filter or a subtle change in timbre a major musical event. It didn't have melody, harmony, song structure or recognisable instruments on which to hang a frame of reference. I used to listen to the late night shows on Radio 1 and heard these trance tracks, and I'd sit there in my childhood bedroom enraptured, and sonically taken to a completely alien landscape. In 1999 when I went to music college, I was introduced to the music of Autechre, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. The music college I was at had a strong focus on Modernist, jazz and world, contemporary and post-modern music, so my foray into the music of Warp records seemedto fit right in with that experimental element, and I'd listen to Aphex Twin along with Charles Ives, Bjork, Charlie Parker, Talking Heads, Miles Davis, and so much more. Now I am dipping my toe into the world of making synth music and I'm appreciating all those artists once again from the perspective of someone who not only listens, but also writes music in the genre. There's so much artistry at play, and these enduring electronic artists are such masters of their craft. Fave Aphex Twin album: Drukqs.
Been a huge fan since s Catching 'on' on MTV chill out zone, seen him numerous times over the years but one my favourite sets was phoenix festival 96, he played onstage in a Wendy House with his friends dressed up as the teddy's from donkey rhubarb... Absolute musical icon of mine for sure, good to hear he still reaches out to new listeners
great video-essay. Thanks for revealing the topic of aphex twin personality. Keep up what you doing, this is absolutely extraordinary well-made content. Thank again !
The RUclips algorithm works in mysterious ways. In fact it was a stroke of luck that Trash Theory made a great documentary about Windowlicker 2 days prior to the release of this video so the 26th-28th of August 2022 was essentially an Aphex weekend! :)
Richard was probably not aware of how deep that statement was, that electronic music is not meant to be talked about. That sentence alone is a documentary in itself, quite simply
To me the whole point of music is to convey things that can't be captured by language, so talking about it, for the most part, seems redundant. I find most people talk about it as a means to bolster their social standing.
Absolutely, aphex twin is deep without even trying be deep. He is not pseudo-intellectual , he doesn’t use shallow boring concepts and words in his music which would diminish the depth and beauty of his music, that’s why he’s timeless and what he does is high art. I think Aphex Twin is the best musician we’ve encountered since the end of Mozart/Beethoven/Wagner era.
@@vrilmaxxed Agreed. So many music snobs have been sleeping on Aphex because it's "electronic" music but I truly believe he's one of the most brilliant composers of the past century. His work will be studied for centuries to come and he'll be held in the same regards as the great orchestral composers that came before.
First track I heard from Aphex Twin was WindowLicker. I had so many mixed feelings about it because on one side its atmosphere was so appealing but the on the other side this atmosphere would be disrupted by the weird sound effects and samples that destroy the melodic nature of the track. I heard it so many times for the months that followed and ultimately went down the Aphex Twin rabbit hole. I really like the UK sound of the 90's. KLF, Underworld, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin... it just has a different feel to it.
I grew up in an Aboriginal community four hours south from Arnhem Land, the big rock pictured on the boomerang ep . Then i moved to Melbourne and worked in night clubs during my 20's. I remember the film clip for come to daddy was only played after midnight when i was about 12. Used to give me nightmares. Then Windowlicker came out when i started getting high and it was the best experience i can remember.
awesome documentary, came up randomly on my feed, i saw aphex twin at field day and it was amazing, i was completely off my face, but the ending was mentally draining and it was like a punch in the face. Exactly what I wanted i guess lmfao.... also want to say that he had an impact on pop culture but i feel like tiktok has just skyrocketed everything to do with him
The RUclips algorithm is simply finding Aphex Twin's most loyal troops I'd say. And thank you for sharing your story about your live viewing to! I've spoken to a guy who was at Richard's Glastonbury set where he played from the infamous Wendy House on stage. Unfortunately footage of these shows don't usually exist since portable cameras weren't as widely available in the 90s so it's interesting to hear it from the people who witnessed it themselves!
My first Aphex Twin experience was On playing late at night on MTV when all the trash music was reduced to a still quite heavy minimum. My favorite song is the newest Blackbox Life Recorder 21f. The best album is Syro measured by my own rating of songs divided by number of songs total. The best series is of course Analord.
“on” is a great track!/I like the 2nd track off the new ep “in a room7 F760”/I love Syro it’s like a SAW3 tbh/I love “boxing day”/“w32DEADCODE.A” off Analord
I discovered "Windowlicker" is high school and was immediately hooked. RDJ immeasurably influenced my life. He's our JS Bach. His genius can't be overstated. It's scary.
Yup. The algorithm IS sending all us old tragic afx obsessive bastards your way. Second significant documentary about Rich uploaded last week. Decent ones at that! lol. Birthday presents perhaps…? I assume you’re aware of the Trash Theory one. It was very well put together too. You managed to secure some awesome interviews for it. I know a few people who know some of them actually. Not unusual in the afx community to be a few degrees away from a few people. Especially for us 90’s alumni. I’ve been lucky enough to see him three times. First in 97 Big Day Out Gold Cost CTD/RDJ Album era. He played the Heliosphan Live mix from the Soundcloud dump at that set. So I was ecstatic when he dumped that one. Second time was Big Day Out again doing a dual set with Vibert in 03. Third was Future Music Festival Brisbane’12. Wish I had the tech we have now for the first two. Especially the one with Vibert. So I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity of capturing the ‘12 set. I’ll link it below. We got a few Syro sneak peaks. Again, great job on the video. Thanks:) ruclips.net/video/N6BS9Owd_Vg/видео.html
I think it's frankly amazing to see the turn out that this video has had so far indeed especially seeing how far around the world it's reached! A lot of it can be attributed to word of mouth since the Aphex community is so tight knit but also the video being pushed via the algorithm by Trash Theory's video. Funny enough I've been subscribed to him for two years as I had originally watched his Prodigy video and I see him as an inspiration. So when I got the news that his Aphex video released last Saturday me and my friends all put our heads together collectively and came to the conclusion that this would essentially make an Aphex content weekend so the algorithm would continue to push anything related to it! Also happy belated birthday! I'm sure this mass of Aphex content must've been a big birthday surprise for you! And also thank you for sharing your live gig stories to! I think it's frankly astounding how many people listened to him and continue to, during the making of this I got to talk to a few people who live locally to me about their time seeing him at Glastonbury and also my media studies teacher who I was completely unaware that she was a fan of his (particularly the RDJ album). Besides providing a new video for everyone it's also allowed me to make new friends and taught me a lot about this community and how large it actually is! Thank you again for your time. - Finn 7\
@@FinnBourchier thanks for the belated birthday wishes, my birthday was on the 3rd August, however, I was actually referring to Richard’s… It’s great community. It spans three generations now. Goes to show how far ahead of his time he’s always been. I used to try and convert disciples back when I was younger and arrogant enough to try and force him onto anyone I came in contact with. I just wanted to share the love. To let people get affected by his music the way I had. Because he literally changed my life forever the moment I heard his music. I was too naive back then to understand that the polarising nature of some music is because it challenges the status quo. It’s not supposed to be loved by everyone. Some people don’t like to be challenged by music. But Richard’s music never challenged me. It changed me. Instantly. It challenged where I thought the limitations of music lay. It opened up music for me. But those who are challenged by it, man, they fkn HATE it. lol. But the balance has shifted now. The world is finally catching up. I’ve realised I was preaching to the wrong people all those years ago. They were were only babies, or not even born yet. And I never had to preach the word of afx acid. Because his music has and will always speak for itself. Just more people understand what it’s saying now. And, I can honestly say, the afx community is the only community I know of that is getting far more welcoming and less toxic the older it gets and the more younger generations discover him and become a part of it. It’s always been tight knit, but it was also extremely toxic and problematic at times. People are very passionate about it. That kind of element is inevitable in communities whose members possess such passion. And it’s still an element to this day. But it used to be far worse. And again, I think we were just waiting for you guys to catch up as brothers and sisters in arms and now, I’m happy to say, the positive and loving members outweigh the negative toxic gatekeepers. They’re kinda loud when they pop up screaming their vitriol, but we’re all too busy sharing the love now to pay them any mind… And as a final note, on that side of the community, they kinda thrived when he was on hiatus. And I’m certain most of them thought they were acting the way they assumed Richard would. And one of the things that brought out the gatekeepers more than anything was noobs. And they were relentless. But Richard was never like them. He was socially awkward around anyone but his close knit circle. He appreciated the fans but hated the toxic and pedestal placing elements. And he didn’t know how to deal with it. One of the main reasons he lay low for so long. But when he came back. After the WATMM Caustic Window crowd funding, he felt the love. And he’s loved back ever since. More than We ever could’ve dreamed he could. He put the gatekeepers in their place. And I’m so happy for him now. When you see the size of his crowds at his headline sets, and you see that crowd filled with people in their teens to those in their 50’s and 60’s, all with the same look of sheer absolute joy beaming on their faces, you know it’s not just the drugs. They’d be just as ecstatic without the substances. And he deserves it. His legacy will only ever strengthen more as the years pass. And as for those of us who couldn’t understand why more people couldn’t grasp the sheer genius and brilliance of his material, well, we fkn new it all along. Validation is a beautiful thing…;)
@@FinnBourchier and man, the Trash Theory video probably boosted your video’s recommendations, but only a little. Any content about Rich filters through to us. But we share the decent content. A lot. While the majority of us aren’t toxic, we are ALL sticklers for accuracy and quality and we scrutinise EVERYTHING. And bro, your video more than stands up to scrutiny. Your view count has only just begun to grow.
If you have never heard of David Toop you do now! An incredible guy who has written so many books about music that is out there on the edge of sound space ❤❤❤
Been a fan of RDJ since 1994 For the most part, I only like his 90's output....my favorite era being everything up to and including I Care Because You Do.
Richard is indeed the Beethoven of modern world. I remember that I was a HipHop fan when I first listend to Alberto Balsalm, a terrific song from a more terrific album. It immediately changed my music taste. Ever since I have been listening to his masterpieces and yet, I can't predict this genius master of Electronic . He indeed is the GOAT🐐.
i remember the first time i stumbled upon aphex twin was when itunes started podcasts. so like 2004 or 2005 maybe. I found 1 called Voltron Clan that was very IDM heavy and heard Cock/ver10 for the first time. Damn... i can't believe that was 20 years ago now.
Excellent docu about The Man RDJ. What a legend. He makes music and sounds that have their own original atmos & identity yet the worlds of his music seem to be linked. My first experience was hearing SAW 85 - 92 and from then on I was buying and playing anything he released. I think On was the first 12" I bought. First time I saw him was at VFM in Hackney, London around October '94. I had taken some Heavy strong acid and I remember he came on and the dancefloor went nuts. I remember the dancefloor turning into a floor of yellow and black checkers. I couldnt see in front of me it was sooo strong. The Man is a frickin' genius. Also what David was saying at the beginning about having dreams when he was young about strange instruments making weird alien noises, I had a similar experience when I was 6 or 7. Little Chinese men with the pony tails in bone cages and I was one of those men but I digress - True Originality. Deffo and Deffo ;) and Xtal always makes me cry x
the logo artist, Paul Nicholson, sounds like me back then, I was a skater, read and blown away by all of William Gibson's books. Except I was in So Cali... actually still do both
When I first heard about Aphex Twin; he was a New Age Traveller Cyber Punk who lived in a bunker. He was a hero for obscure hackers. Super talented, freethinking individual; quite rare now.
This was great. Some friends and I had a production company basically the entire 90's. We had a few clubs over that time, and threw relatively frequent raves. While RDJ IS great, he's not quite as original as the younger fans think. There's definitely a reason his music is talked about more now. It's good. He was quite the entertainer, in his own way. But there were at least several other acts making quite similar music. Similar style beats. A couple of them definitely before RDJ was doing it. Like the logo artist was trying to say, they were simply products of their time. They weren't trying to make the early 90's, end of the century aesthetic. They were living in it, and luckily for us, recorded it. Plus.. acid.............
I'm looking at my wall of records here.. About 12' x 8'. Mostly electronic music from that era. Over 90% acts no one has ever heard of since then. But, a lot of it is just as original as aphex twin. And he was certainly listening to these tracks. He didn't create his style, in a bubble. (I just have to point that out.. I see an incredible number of videos attributing entire styles to single artists lately, or going on and on about how could they possibly create that sound all on their own in that time way back then, and it's simply not true at all. )
I wish aphex twin and electronic music in general was alot more bigger in my country. Guess i'll have to accept that my musical preferences are alot more niche/esoteric & obscure for most casual fans or listeners of music
One of the original "Home recording" pioneers is R. Stevie Moore, starting in the late 60s. I recorded some little bits in the mid 80s, sadly I never had the focus AT and Moore, had, and never did mush with it. Since about 13 years ago, I've been messing about on computer. But have never done anything ground breaking. Just scratching an itch to make electronic music since the early 80s. Great video !
@@i_want_my_shuggah It was definitely a few years before computer music software became more widely used. I definitely want to get back into some hardware instruments
![Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]](/img/1.gif)
Please feel free to leave questions in the comments below including for anyone who participated in the documentary!
Why’d you open with Gangnam Style?
You guys should listen to ATOM(tm). He is simply eons ahead of Aphex Twin Richard D James. More than 180 albums of pure electronic music, of so many forms, it makes Aphex sound
like a primary school student. Also this cult worship nonsense is so lame - Aphex himself, like all us electronic music producer was influenced by the dominant culture and all the future predications of. It's very hard to find an Aphex Twin song as a jingle, but we find many examples of Daft Punk and Bjork being used to sell electric cars and ladies perfumes.
@@AudioPervert1 is ATOM(tm) you?
@@AudioPervert1 Hi Richard 👋
I've heard RDJ on the BBC recently and MTV2 a bunch back in the day. I remember he was even on the commercial for "music is my antidrug" which i found particularly amusing. His music is all over the place if you know it.@@AudioPervert1
I'm 52, been with RDJ/Aphex since the olden days and so glad there are young people along for the ride still. GIve my love to the WATMM homies; it's been a minute, but it was my home for many years back in the day
Aphex Twin like many artists is capable of transcending age groups I believe. Whilst scouring for footage for this documentary I came across videos of parents putting their crying babies to sleep by playing Rhubarb. I think the ability to do such a thing could be another documentary itself. But also a way for different age groups and groups to connect with one another and find connections. As everyone can understand music that doesn't contain lyrics!
I'm 46 and discovered him around the time of Surfing on Sine Waves (I think). I absolutely worshipped at the church of Aphex for many many years. His music has been as important an influence on me as any other artist I can name.
The olden days - the golden years of trance
I'm 60, and have appreciated Aphex from the beginning 🤩
I'm 60 as well. I dj'd on the same bill as him late 90's.ll unfortunately he was going thru an unlistenable phase so his set was ear burning hahahaha.
Hearing Bjork call RDJ "The King" made my heart grow three sizes.
ouch that sounds painful
Brilliant that you chose to make this, your work is very much appreciated.
Thank you it makes me happy to hear that. I encourage anyone to jump at the opportunity to discuss their favourite topic or cover it in a project format should the opportunity arise in the educational environment, it was great fun to develop something I was interested in on school hours! :)
The guy who made the logo is genius. One of the cleanest logos ever made.
TDR are goats
@@datAero that they are but they didn't design the aphex logo.
@@ichbinfist.6924 ur right !
true but be is a blabbermouth
Timeless
Informative documentary. Aphex Twin is a musical savant who defies categorization and convention, always reinventing himself and testing sonic limits. Maybe not a schooled musician, but a creative visionary and sound architect whose impact on music will reach far into the future.
musical savant who defies categorization and convention. For someone cult worshipping yes. Same big accolade were given to Pink Floyd or Van Halen.
If you hear 100 albums by ATOM (tm) aka Senor Coconut - Aphex sounds like primary education (electronic music wise)
@@AudioPervert1 what are you talking about
U can be sure he's not only schooled he can school others.
His sense of rhythm is incredible in particular. Richard's music immediately caught me because it reminds me of 90s SEGA video game soundtracks, or OSTs before 2002.
@@AudioPervert1O.K. virgin.
I'm way too old to have missed all this. My 1st intro to Aphex Twin was David Firth's Milkman vid some years back...
Yes I believe I found AFX when Digeridoo was released. I was huge into the early 90's trance scene in Orlando, FL. He came to Orlando to perform it was epic..... 22 years later I seen him LIVE in Houston in 2016. I ate some mushrooms, and when I was peeking, Bjork was dancing in the rain to his set. No lie true story. A tear dropped down my cheek. Unless it was rain. Couldn't tell the dimensions were colliding.
im jealous 😂 i hope i get to see aphex and bjork in my lifetime before they pass the face of the earth❤
what an experience that must've been. so much synchronicity, and wonder. I hope you were dancing!
I love Richard so much. He's made more of an impact on me than most other things I've encountered in life.
I was coming down from an acid trip (in the 90's) and watching MTV late night. They played Come To Daddy. I thought I was going to go to hell for watching it and liking it, as I was Catholic at the time. A few days later I bought that album, and the Richard D. James Album, and the following week I got I Care Because You Do, and Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2. I was the only kid in my very small town in Western Pennsylvania that was into Aphex. My closet friend at the time liked it too, but he wasn't into it enough to buy the albums. Another friend liked some of the songs, but wasn't interested enough... They just didn't seem to realize the genius and originality. It wasn't until I went to college in 1999 that I met other Aphex Twin fans.
this comment is so awesome
still don’t know a lot of people that know or like afx/only when I’m at the record store does maybe like 1 person know hahaha
Did your friend come out the closet?
this my fav doc and i have yet to watch it.
Aphex twin influence on electronic music is similar to the shift from Bach to Debussy.
?there were a lot of important composers inbetween bach 1700s and Debussy 1900s
Great work Finn! All of the interviews are interesting and I'm pleased to see younger generations are still inspired and moved by this music. Also good to se David Toop in there too. I interviewed him once many years ago and found him to be a true artist and a very generous hearted person.
Listening to people much younger than me speak so enthusiastically about Aphex Twin is fantastic
i like you for making this. uniting nerds doesn’t go unnoticed on my end 🤝
Thank you so much! It means alot especially coming from someone who I used to watch alot! Hope you enjoyed the video :)
❤
so happy i got to be a part of this wonderful project :)
Thank you again Milly! :)
This deserves a million views.
But let’s keep it just between us for the time being.✌️
Combining comments from those who were there at the outset with the appreciation of today's listeners, this does a great job of conveying why AFX remains the GOAT
It's weird how anything Aphex has done does not outdated. I was 13 in 1991 and heard his music first shortly after that on a rave, or something. There was a huge boom in electronic music in my country and he came here in 1994 with Björk, I think. I have always connected his Logo with a Boomerang somehow because of the Didgeridoo song, both in my mind Australian and also my friend played one, is white, had dreadlocks and went to Africa on as a volunteer when there were floods in Mozambique. So to me, this logo and anything APX has a good place in my mind. And I listen to Selected Ambient Works Vol 2 nearly every day, when I go to sleep, so there's that.
Aphex have really changed my perspective of electronic music forever. Going all the way back when I was 6 or 7, the first electronic track I have listened to was FC Kahuna Glitterball while playing Need for speed Underground. It was the first time I ever heard of electronic music. Later in the 2010s, I later found out about chemical brothers, the prodigy, crystal method, and deadmau5. And I thought that there was no one that can surpass their works. But that wasn't true. In 2016 or 2017, I found out about aphex twin. And my god have he changed me in more ways then one. Before i even found out about it, I first discovered aphex twin through 2 MUGEN Character called giygas. Who was made by the_none, and Dark Donald (mainly with the character portrait being Ronald Mcdonald making the RDJ face.) Another time I got a glimpse of aphex twin, was weirdly through a shrek YTP. With those movie footages being edited through comical means. And when I looked up come to daddy, I understand where they have got the reference from. It was the second time I have ever heard an appearance from aphex twin. (The really first one was in 2008 when i was watching the first blade movie. And on the intro, UT1-Dot was playing in the background) back to the current presence in the late 2010s, I was interested in his music. Wondering what else he haves. And here was the this one youtube video named Aphex twin field day 2017 live set. As a kid, I always have been tripping out heavily on window visualizers while playing music like Kars kale and rammstein. And let me tell you, weirdcore's visuals have tripped me the heck out. And listening to the bangers he have played is astounding. Now I found out that he also does some live sets as well like deadmau5 and chemical brothers, what else have I found out? Windowlicker, Lisbon acid, and a whioe discography of tracks that dates from the 1980s, all the way to the late 2010s. All of his music I have found is incredibly unique and trippy to his respective nature. In conclusion, to me at least, Richard have created music in another angle. Something that doesn't even follow the trends at all. And now as a music artist myself, I'm trying to replicate the style that he have made in my own image. Understanding that in my deep consciousness, there is these endless waves of noises that I can create and think of. Richard himself have inspired me to make electronic the way it is, futuristic and intellegent.
Funny people saying RDJ’s music opened them to other artists, while also saying it sounds unique. The way people engage with his music is actually way more mysterious
If people like his music, they like his music. It ain’t deep, they just like the sound of it innit
@@JONNYTUBSTER i'm innit to win it
I only knew about Orbital and The Future Sounds of London before I discovered Aphex. Those two bands might have helped prepare my mind for Aphex Twin. But I think being a fan of Tool, NIN, Manson, are what really made me able to understand his sound, because my intro to AT was the Come To Daddy video late one night on MTV... When I first heard NIN as a teen, I didn't even hear it as music, because I only heard live shows my cousin had on VHS, and the sound was horrible... But I was intrigued enough to get my older brother's NIN (The downward spiral) out and listen... I finally really heard the beats and sounds and my brain understood it as music instead of a wall of sound that I heard on that VHS... Before all of this I only listened to the Classic Rock music my parents played in the car... So NIN was key for preparing my ears for Come To Daddy....
Great work, Finn. Thank you so much. Aphex forever. 7\
Thank you very much Finn for letting me on this substantial project! I’m honoured mate! Aphex the goat and keep up the brilliant work!
Thank you again Jonny! I'm glad we met through this project!😼
thx for talking to these people and putting this together.
the interview with david toop is a great read for anyone interested.
I have an original FACE magazine copy of the exact interview, I may do a video on the March 1993 issue as a whole anyway as it's very interesting! Finding the interview online originally is what got me interested in contacting Professor Toop to learn more.
Only 88K views???? I am sure this documentary will go viral at some point and you will get the million views you deserve ❤
Excellent documentary, thank you Finn.
No problem, thank you for your kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
Appreciate the doc. As a viewer I kind of wish the interviews were edited a bit more too the juicy bits
The way I got into Aphex Twin: Reading the John Cage wikipedia article in about 2012 which mentioned Richard. Then I wandered over to mp3panda and got Chosen Lords. Been hooked ever since.
I actually saw Aphex play at Knowledge.... would of been sometime in 93
I remember buying "Analogue Bubblebath" and all his early records when they came out, me and the bloke in the record store were freaked out by how different they sounded.
so cool mate, this deserves so many more views ngl
Great work mate, really enjoyed this. Aphex Twin has always been part of my regular music listening and influencing what I do for the last 30 years. Legend
Thanks for posting this. He is a Jerry Garcia or Townes Van Zandt level artist. No one does what they do.
Remember first hearing Aphex on John Peel’s show. Then became kinda obsessed with his music… it felt like it was from another world. 30 years on I still frequently listen to Surfing on sine waves, RDJ and SAW 85-92
Having grown up on rock/pop and classical, the electronic music of the mid-90s really hit me like an alien music type. It did not have verses or choruses, it would sometimes be just 5 minutes of drums which changed pattern every repetition, and considered a sweeping filter or a subtle change in timbre a major musical event.
It didn't have melody, harmony, song structure or recognisable instruments on which to hang a frame of reference.
I used to listen to the late night shows on Radio 1 and heard these trance tracks, and I'd sit there in my childhood bedroom enraptured, and sonically taken to a completely alien landscape.
In 1999 when I went to music college, I was introduced to the music of Autechre, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. The music college I was at had a strong focus on Modernist, jazz and world, contemporary and post-modern music, so my foray into the music of Warp records seemedto fit right in with that experimental element, and I'd listen to Aphex Twin along with Charles Ives, Bjork, Charlie Parker, Talking Heads, Miles Davis, and so much more.
Now I am dipping my toe into the world of making synth music and I'm appreciating all those artists once again from the perspective of someone who not only listens, but also writes music in the genre. There's so much artistry at play, and these enduring electronic artists are such masters of their craft.
Fave Aphex Twin album: Drukqs.
5:58 - Dramatization: Camera slides on the Tesco logo... LMAO, 🤣🤣
😂😂😂😂
I was gonna say that the reason why I knew about Aphex twin, was a half life mod called "Afraid of Monsters' same dev who made Cry of Fear.
Italic Eyeball was my first. I still love it, 32 years later...and everything else he's done.
Been a huge fan since s
Catching 'on' on MTV chill out zone, seen him numerous times over the years but one my favourite sets was phoenix festival 96, he played onstage in a Wendy House with his friends dressed up as the teddy's from donkey rhubarb... Absolute musical icon of mine for sure, good to hear he still reaches out to new listeners
really well made doc this! some great insights and interviews in this.
great video-essay. Thanks for revealing the topic of aphex twin personality. Keep up what you doing, this is absolutely extraordinary well-made content. Thank again !
I think the logo is somewhat enigmatic like the music so in that sense it's beautiful. Sort of like a handprint unique to the individual. Timeless..
I feel very fortunate to have grown up listening to aphex twin and watch him become the most influential musician most people have never heard of.
Amazing documentary! Thank you for this!
awesome, I loved hearing these interviews from the people themselves
Thank you a lot for the documentary !!
No problem, thank you for watching it!😁
Thanks for this docu! ❤️🔥 7\
i'm over here watching this completely unaware that it was uploaded 12hrs ago. great doc, thank you for this ⚡️🎛⚡️
I was literally thinking about watching an Aphex twin documentary 3 days ago. My wish came true when I saw this on my recommended
The RUclips algorithm works in mysterious ways. In fact it was a stroke of luck that Trash Theory made a great documentary about Windowlicker 2 days prior to the release of this video so the 26th-28th of August 2022 was essentially an Aphex weekend! :)
@@johngddr5288 You manifested it and Richard answered 7\
Richard was probably not aware of how deep that statement was, that electronic music is not meant to be talked about. That sentence alone is a documentary in itself, quite simply
To me the whole point of music is to convey things that can't be captured by language, so talking about it, for the most part, seems redundant. I find most people talk about it as a means to bolster their social standing.
Absolutely, aphex twin is deep without even trying be deep. He is not pseudo-intellectual , he doesn’t use shallow boring concepts and words in his music which would diminish the depth and beauty of his music, that’s why he’s timeless and what he does is high art. I think Aphex Twin is the best musician we’ve encountered since the end of Mozart/Beethoven/Wagner era.
@@vrilmaxxed Agreed. So many music snobs have been sleeping on Aphex because it's "electronic" music but I truly believe he's one of the most brilliant composers of the past century. His work will be studied for centuries to come and he'll be held in the same regards as the great orchestral composers that came before.
@@vrilmaxxedno point of comparison between that.
People really feel superior (disconnected) these days! 😂
This is amazing! thank you for sharing :)
First track I heard from Aphex Twin was WindowLicker. I had so many mixed feelings about it because on one side its atmosphere was so appealing but the on the other side this atmosphere would be disrupted by the weird sound effects and samples that destroy the melodic nature of the track. I heard it so many times for the months that followed and ultimately went down the Aphex Twin rabbit hole. I really like the UK sound of the 90's. KLF, Underworld, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin... it just has a different feel to it.
this was really well put documentary!! rlly enjoyed it :)
I grew up in an Aboriginal community four hours south from Arnhem Land, the big rock pictured on the boomerang ep .
Then i moved to Melbourne and worked in night clubs during my 20's. I remember the film clip for come to daddy was only played after midnight when i was about 12. Used to give me nightmares. Then Windowlicker came out when i started getting high and it was the best experience i can remember.
awesome documentary, came up randomly on my feed, i saw aphex twin at field day and it was amazing, i was completely off my face, but the ending was mentally draining and it was like a punch in the face. Exactly what I wanted i guess lmfao....
also want to say that he had an impact on pop culture but i feel like tiktok has just skyrocketed everything to do with him
The RUclips algorithm is simply finding Aphex Twin's most loyal troops I'd say. And thank you for sharing your story about your live viewing to! I've spoken to a guy who was at Richard's Glastonbury set where he played from the infamous Wendy House on stage. Unfortunately footage of these shows don't usually exist since portable cameras weren't as widely available in the 90s so it's interesting to hear it from the people who witnessed it themselves!
this deserves way more views wth, great, thank you
1st heard his music 30 years ago, must have been MTV late at night, fan ever since.
especially loved the speech of Paul, very informative tho, thank you very much!
profound subject, big task you've got there.
My first Aphex Twin experience was On playing late at night on MTV when all the trash music was reduced to a still quite heavy minimum. My favorite song is the newest Blackbox Life Recorder 21f. The best album is Syro measured by my own rating of songs divided by number of songs total. The best series is of course Analord.
“on” is a great track!/I like the 2nd track off the new ep “in a room7 F760”/I love Syro it’s like a SAW3 tbh/I love “boxing day”/“w32DEADCODE.A” off Analord
Do you like 'Rushup edge' by the Tuss? One of my absolute faves
These guys calling them songs....it's tracks!
That SoundCloud dump was a thing of magic, tsim24 is one of his best.
I discovered "Windowlicker" is high school and was immediately hooked. RDJ immeasurably influenced my life. He's our JS Bach. His genius can't be overstated. It's scary.
Yup. The algorithm IS sending all us old tragic afx obsessive bastards your way. Second significant documentary about Rich uploaded last week. Decent ones at that! lol. Birthday presents perhaps…? I assume you’re aware of the Trash Theory one. It was very well put together too. You managed to secure some awesome interviews for it. I know a few people who know some of them actually. Not unusual in the afx community to be a few degrees away from a few people. Especially for us 90’s alumni.
I’ve been lucky enough to see him three times. First in 97 Big Day Out Gold Cost CTD/RDJ Album era. He played the Heliosphan Live mix from the Soundcloud dump at that set. So I was ecstatic when he dumped that one. Second time was Big Day Out again doing a dual set with Vibert in 03. Third was Future Music Festival Brisbane’12. Wish I had the tech we have now for the first two. Especially the one with Vibert. So I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity of capturing the ‘12 set. I’ll link it below. We got a few Syro sneak peaks. Again, great job on the video. Thanks:)
ruclips.net/video/N6BS9Owd_Vg/видео.html
I think it's frankly amazing to see the turn out that this video has had so far indeed especially seeing how far around the world it's reached! A lot of it can be attributed to word of mouth since the Aphex community is so tight knit but also the video being pushed via the algorithm by Trash Theory's video. Funny enough I've been subscribed to him for two years as I had originally watched his Prodigy video and I see him as an inspiration. So when I got the news that his Aphex video released last Saturday me and my friends all put our heads together collectively and came to the conclusion that this would essentially make an Aphex content weekend so the algorithm would continue to push anything related to it!
Also happy belated birthday! I'm sure this mass of Aphex content must've been a big birthday surprise for you!
And also thank you for sharing your live gig stories to! I think it's frankly astounding how many people listened to him and continue to, during the making of this I got to talk to a few people who live locally to me about their time seeing him at Glastonbury and also my media studies teacher who I was completely unaware that she was a fan of his (particularly the RDJ album). Besides providing a new video for everyone it's also allowed me to make new friends and taught me a lot about this community and how large it actually is!
Thank you again for your time. - Finn 7\
@@FinnBourchier thanks for the belated birthday wishes, my birthday was on the 3rd August, however, I was actually referring to Richard’s…
It’s great community. It spans three generations now. Goes to show how far ahead of his time he’s always been. I used to try and convert disciples back when I was younger and arrogant enough to try and force him onto anyone I came in contact with. I just wanted to share the love. To let people get affected by his music the way I had. Because he literally changed my life forever the moment I heard his music. I was too naive back then to understand that the polarising nature of some music is because it challenges the status quo. It’s not supposed to be loved by everyone. Some people don’t like to be challenged by music. But Richard’s music never challenged me. It changed me. Instantly. It challenged where I thought the limitations of music lay. It opened up music for me. But those who are challenged by it, man, they fkn HATE it. lol. But the balance has shifted now. The world is finally catching up. I’ve realised I was preaching to the wrong people all those years ago. They were were only babies, or not even born yet. And I never had to preach the word of afx acid. Because his music has and will always speak for itself. Just more people understand what it’s saying now.
And, I can honestly say, the afx community is the only community I know of that is getting far more welcoming and less toxic the older it gets and the more younger generations discover him and become a part of it. It’s always been tight knit, but it was also extremely toxic and problematic at times. People are very passionate about it. That kind of element is inevitable in communities whose members possess such passion. And it’s still an element to this day. But it used to be far worse. And again, I think we were just waiting for you guys to catch up as brothers and sisters in arms and now, I’m happy to say, the positive and loving members outweigh the negative toxic gatekeepers. They’re kinda loud when they pop up screaming their vitriol, but we’re all too busy sharing the love now to pay them any mind…
And as a final note, on that side of the community, they kinda thrived when he was on hiatus. And I’m certain most of them thought they were acting the way they assumed Richard would. And one of the things that brought out the gatekeepers more than anything was noobs. And they were relentless. But Richard was never like them. He was socially awkward around anyone but his close knit circle. He appreciated the fans but hated the toxic and pedestal placing elements. And he didn’t know how to deal with it. One of the main reasons he lay low for so long. But when he came back. After the WATMM Caustic Window crowd funding, he felt the love. And he’s loved back ever since. More than We ever could’ve dreamed he could. He put the gatekeepers in their place. And I’m so happy for him now. When you see the size of his crowds at his headline sets, and you see that crowd filled with people in their teens to those in their 50’s and 60’s, all with the same look of sheer absolute joy beaming on their faces, you know it’s not just the drugs. They’d be just as ecstatic without the substances. And he deserves it. His legacy will only ever strengthen more as the years pass.
And as for those of us who couldn’t understand why more people couldn’t grasp the sheer genius and brilliance of his material, well, we fkn new it all along.
Validation is a beautiful thing…;)
@@FinnBourchier and man, the Trash Theory video probably boosted your video’s recommendations, but only a little. Any content about Rich filters through to us. But we share the decent content. A lot. While the majority of us aren’t toxic, we are ALL sticklers for accuracy and quality and we scrutinise EVERYTHING. And bro, your video more than stands up to scrutiny. Your view count has only just begun to grow.
If you have never heard of David Toop you do now!
An incredible guy who has written so many books about music that is out there on the edge of sound space ❤❤❤
Been a fan of RDJ since 1994 For the most part, I only like his 90's output....my favorite era being everything up to and including I Care Because You Do.
You're limiting yourself mate.
Acrid avid jam man i love it great choice for background music
Richard is indeed the Beethoven of modern world.
I remember that I was a HipHop fan when I first listend to Alberto Balsalm, a terrific song from a more terrific album.
It immediately changed my music taste. Ever since I have been listening to his masterpieces and yet, I can't predict this genius master of Electronic . He indeed is the GOAT🐐.
This was GREAT, thank you 🙂
i remember the first time i stumbled upon aphex twin was when itunes started podcasts. so like 2004 or 2005 maybe. I found 1 called Voltron Clan that was very IDM heavy and heard Cock/ver10 for the first time. Damn... i can't believe that was 20 years ago now.
Excellent docu about The Man RDJ. What a legend. He makes music and sounds that have their own original atmos & identity yet the worlds of his music seem to be linked. My first experience was hearing SAW 85 - 92 and from then on I was buying and playing anything he released. I think On was the first 12" I bought. First time I saw him was at VFM in Hackney, London around October '94. I had taken some Heavy strong acid and I remember he came on and the dancefloor went nuts. I remember the dancefloor turning into a floor of yellow and black checkers. I couldnt see in front of me it was sooo strong. The Man is a frickin' genius. Also what David was saying at the beginning about having dreams when he was young about strange instruments making weird alien noises, I had a similar experience when I was 6 or 7. Little Chinese men with the pony tails in bone cages and I was one of those men but I digress - True Originality. Deffo and Deffo ;) and Xtal always makes me cry x
the logo artist, Paul Nicholson, sounds like me back then, I was a skater, read and blown away by all of William Gibson's books. Except I was in So Cali... actually still do both
AFX is life.
When I first heard about Aphex Twin; he was a New Age Traveller Cyber Punk who lived in a bunker. He was a hero for obscure hackers. Super talented, freethinking individual; quite rare now.
He's my biggest influence and I'm lucky to have grown old in the same era he did
Amazing documentary great work
amazing work!! also very inspiring:)
'...I Care Because You Do' is his best
Hard nostalgia recalling my teen yrs (way back in the 90s) getting someone in my car and just weirding them tf out with some A.T.
When you said 3 decade career.... blimey did that make me feel old.
This was great. Some friends and I had a production company basically the entire 90's. We had a few clubs over that time, and threw relatively frequent raves. While RDJ IS great, he's not quite as original as the younger fans think. There's definitely a reason his music is talked about more now. It's good. He was quite the entertainer, in his own way. But there were at least several other acts making quite similar music. Similar style beats. A couple of them definitely before RDJ was doing it. Like the logo artist was trying to say, they were simply products of their time. They weren't trying to make the early 90's, end of the century aesthetic. They were living in it, and luckily for us, recorded it. Plus.. acid.............
I'm looking at my wall of records here.. About 12' x 8'. Mostly electronic music from that era. Over 90% acts no one has ever heard of since then. But, a lot of it is just as original as aphex twin. And he was certainly listening to these tracks. He didn't create his style, in a bubble. (I just have to point that out.. I see an incredible number of videos attributing entire styles to single artists lately, or going on and on about how could they possibly create that sound all on their own in that time way back then, and it's simply not true at all. )
no way jonnys first impression of aphex twin was through cod zombies, thats iconic af
I never knew the sample "we are the music makers" was Gene Wilder. Probably should watch the film. Anyway, good to see RDJ content endures.
Really well made video. Thank you for this
I'm sure Richard was a gifted child. Way superior IQ wise from ppl his age.
Great documentary. 👏 Appreciate the vital history!
HE IS LEGEND
love what she says at 46:36. was thinking very similar things as the previous clip ended.
lmfao the tesco story is very rdj
Im sure that Tesco may become a pilgrimage spot
Great documentary!
Nothing but love for aphextwin❤❤❤❤
Tuned out after
absolutely lovely m8
Incredible work
I wish aphex twin and electronic music in general was alot more bigger in my country. Guess i'll have to accept that my musical preferences are alot more niche/esoteric & obscure for most casual fans or listeners of music
One of the original "Home recording" pioneers is R. Stevie Moore, starting in the late 60s. I recorded some little bits in the mid 80s, sadly I never had the focus AT and Moore, had, and never did mush with it. Since about 13 years ago, I've been messing about on computer. But have never done anything ground breaking. Just scratching an itch to make electronic music since the early 80s. Great video !
Damn... How old are you?
You are one of the O.G's
@@i_want_my_shuggah Thanks, I'm not an original for home recording, sadly. I'm 57 in March
@@AbstractCatsMedia sadly (in terms of production), but in terms of living that; experiencing that I barely think you were not there.
@@i_want_my_shuggah It was definitely a few years before computer music software became more widely used. I definitely want to get back into some hardware instruments
@@AbstractCatsMediawish you success with that. Try to enjoy it if you have the opportunity!
I like to put aphex twin on with an anime. I first heard him on the PI soundtrack
All these years I’ve been reading the song title “Flim” as film. As in camera film or something
heard that many times
Fantastic mate
Thank you! :)
YES.
thank you