I listened to DrukQs and it did weird things to me

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  • @iximusic
    @iximusic  Год назад +149

    For song & album requests and to support my channel and musical projects, please consider joining my Patreon (I can't monetize my videos): www.patreon.com/iximusic 🙌 You can also commission me to analyze your original music or do a piano cover. 🎹 And I teach private & group lessons, do film/video game scoring, and music transcriptions 🎶 TIPS: www.buymeacoffee.com/iximusic 💄
    Oh and if you're looking for the Avril 14th video here 'tis! ruclips.net/video/ULF7vp676jU/видео.html

    • @whollenbeck8
      @whollenbeck8 Год назад +7

      Re: the piano tracks - Richard (Aphex Twin) put cutlery between the piano strings to make that specific ting sound and his piano was midi-controlled. This album is such a treat showing extreme sides of the aural spectrum.

    • @terrencebucker
      @terrencebucker Год назад +4

      Someone might have mentioned-RD James is from Cornwall, a lot of the weird track names are Cornish.

    • @Metathronos
      @Metathronos Год назад +2

      maybe watch "rubber johnny" the video for Afx237 V.7 if you get the time. FPr some reason the song makes a lot more sense in that context

    • @DronesAreReady
      @DronesAreReady Год назад +2

      Loved this break down of this classic album. Made me go back and listen again since I haven't listened to it in maybe 10 years. Now I notice a lot of what you described in this video.
      Im wondering, would you maybe think of doing the same for one if Boards of Canada's albums in the future? Maybe 'Music has the Right to Children' or 'Geogaddi' ? Love to get your thoughts on their work.

    • @grunskm1
      @grunskm1 Год назад +3

      Other RDJ releases that deserve a listen (if not a review):
      The Tuss - Rushup Edge
      AFX - Analord 1-11

  • @JamesPetal
    @JamesPetal 7 месяцев назад +172

    Aphex Twin is from Cornwall and many of the titles are in the Cornish language or referencing Cornwall. St. Michael's Mount is an island in Cornwall. Jynweythek Ylow roughly translates to "Electronic Music Machine" Vordhosbn is "Noisy Boat" Strotha Tynhe is "Tight Squeeze" Gwely Mernans is "Death Bed" Avril 14th is referencing the Kernow (Cornish for Cornwall) festival which is on April 14th. Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagrow is something like "she's the one who spills the shit" or something
    Lornaderek are also his parents "Lorna & Derek" so this album can be seen as a homage to his childhood and formative years in Cornwall.

    • @nonesuchone
      @nonesuchone 2 месяца назад +7

      If “Eureka!” was a comment 🙌 thank you

    • @SteveJobs-qd7mk
      @SteveJobs-qd7mk 27 дней назад +2

      Wtf is VORDHOSBN

    • @tommykernow
      @tommykernow 4 дня назад +2

      Kernow bys viken

    • @johan_kolfild
      @johan_kolfild 3 дня назад

      what is gwarek????

    • @timkavna_art
      @timkavna_art 3 дня назад

      Cheers James, I’ve been listening to this albums for years and years and I didn’t know any of this. I had a feeling there was a lot of sentimental emotion behind the album, now I know the depth of it.

  • @HoShIfox19
    @HoShIfox19 Год назад +347

    Björk included this album in her top 10 albums of all time.

    • @randomhunter8593
      @randomhunter8593 10 месяцев назад +7

      I need to know the link of that!!!

    • @azteciandrumset7140
      @azteciandrumset7140 10 месяцев назад +12

      Thanks to you I discovered The Black Dog, whom were also on the list.

    • @iamtheaudiophile
      @iamtheaudiophile 9 месяцев назад +21

      cause its literally the best electronic album of all time

    • @Djdjipe
      @Djdjipe 8 месяцев назад

      okay? or what you want as a reaction

    • @PaulBenjaminJenkins
      @PaulBenjaminJenkins 7 месяцев назад +4

      High praise from one of the best popular avant garde artists of all time.

  • @the_trevoir
    @the_trevoir 6 месяцев назад +13

    Your level of musical knowledge combined with your childlike pure response to it is loveable.

  • @dorbid
    @dorbid Год назад +588

    Album is 21 years old and still sounds like the future. Great channel btw just stumbled across it ❤

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +38

      ha totally!

    • @tsumeristudio639
      @tsumeristudio639 Год назад +10

      Thanks for making me feel old!

    • @dorbid
      @dorbid Год назад +11

      @@tsumeristudio639 join the club buddy lol

    • @russianvoodoo
      @russianvoodoo Год назад +1

      Cheezus. I always thought it was release around 2011.

    • @antonyedgar3453
      @antonyedgar3453 Год назад +1

      21! Just had to check when come to daddy came out. That was such an awesome vid. Remember watching it on mtv followed by windowlicker. He was so surreal with his face on all the people and the music was just so intense. Some good memories

  • @ugonnacryguy9571
    @ugonnacryguy9571 Год назад +186

    this channel is such a hidden gem

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +25

      😊

    • @ugonnacryguy9571
      @ugonnacryguy9571 9 месяцев назад +2

      ​@@iximusic damn that was a year ago?! i enjoy coming back to this video every few months

  • @k.7214
    @k.7214 Год назад +194

    "If Jynweythek hasn't been in a film, I'd be surprised." It was used in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, along with the relatively ubiquitous Avril 14th.
    Great to spend time with that last track. The ending gives me goosebumps everytime.

    • @danielfeatherstone674
      @danielfeatherstone674 Год назад +6

      Goosebumps yes!. Those chords speak to me somehow. So visceral

    • @XoeMancha
      @XoeMancha 7 месяцев назад +2

      Jynweythek was in my headphones while I walked through Versaille, and when I later saw the film Marie Antoinette had used the track in a similar way I was just terribly delighted

  • @theblueoddity
    @theblueoddity Год назад +174

    Vordhosbn Is my fav track, it does weird things to me emotionally and i love it.

    • @TinWhisker
      @TinWhisker Год назад +12

      A panic attack interpreted as music.

    • @alanwheeldon2789
      @alanwheeldon2789 Год назад

      slow version of Vordhosbn is right nice too, brings out all the detail ruclips.net/video/xJhdGDB8rU4/видео.html

    • @molochz
      @molochz 8 месяцев назад +5

      @@TinWhisker It's not though.
      It's pure relaxation. You're listening to it wrong.

    • @TinWhisker
      @TinWhisker 8 месяцев назад +6

      @@molochzInterpretation of art is a personal view and probably a matter of taste too.
      Therefore I'm comfortable listening to it "wrong". (Plus there's hundreds of relaxing tracks of his to vibe to) :3

    • @paranoidcomet
      @paranoidcomet 8 месяцев назад +5

      Vordhosbn got me into Aphex Twin, such a great track.

  • @NotIfICU1st_
    @NotIfICU1st_ Год назад +352

    Love that someone dares to risk releasing music like this in the world. It gives me faith that there might be others that would appreciate my weirdest ideas that I thought I made only for myself.

    • @bsbx
      @bsbx Год назад +9

      richard didn't intend to release this music in the first place though.

    • @KNURKonesur
      @KNURKonesur Год назад +2

      He was contractually obligated to release a set amout of albums I think?

    • @bsbx
      @bsbx Год назад +1

      ​ @KNUR Konesur prior to the release of drukqs, he left his iPod containing a bunch of unreleased music, including those on the album. being afraid of it getting "leaked", he decided to get the quick move and release the album as soon as possible. at that time, richard was "done" with releasing new music, iirc

    • @meowmyr
      @meowmyr Год назад +33

      @@bsbx im pretty sure that was one of richards interview trolls

    • @SlyHikari03
      @SlyHikari03 Год назад

      Same

  • @Widderic
    @Widderic Год назад +224

    The ending to Saint Michaels Mount is insane, sends chills down my spine every listen. He cuts off gates in 16ths then 32nds, then 64ths. I like your analogy of the car window being open as cars drive pass when a synth pad with long decay is playing. He definitely takes you on a ride with that track, you have no choice but to keep up with the BPM and it is DRAINING.

    • @gorgeousrantsofwrestling5158
      @gorgeousrantsofwrestling5158 Год назад +14

      That's a God tier track, I love it so much.

    • @7p7m7
      @7p7m7 Год назад +5

      i love that window feeling so much

    • @hawk2million
      @hawk2million Год назад +4

      Yup, it's absolutely nuts with a good pair of headphones. Enough to make you see double!

    • @sanfordcurtis8242
      @sanfordcurtis8242 Год назад +1

      The ending sounds like when you open the windows driving on a motorway.

    • @metalfacemartinez
      @metalfacemartinez Год назад

      Sounds good slightly slowed too ruclips.net/video/0c_9XvrZnEs/видео.html

  • @nemogfr7029
    @nemogfr7029 Год назад +230

    My favorite album from Aphex Twin, those prepared piano pieces are so magical, he's such a great composer and artist

  • @jmdoe5822
    @jmdoe5822 Год назад +177

    The comment about Nannou 2 - "two people saying goodbye" - is spot on. Nannou was his French / French Canadian girlfriend, who appeared on the Windowlicker EP as both a vocalist and a muse, but I think they must have split up around the DrukQs time period.
    It's interesting to compare this track to Aisatsana on Syro, which is named after his current Russian wife. That piece has a similar spacing to it. He has performed it live using a prep piano suspended on wires. As the instrument plays, it swings back and forth creating a Doppler effect, which I imagine is part of the reason for the gaps - to let the sound resonate between swings. It maybe that Nannou 2 was also intended to be performed this way.

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +42

      that sounds so cool.

    • @chopperdave3868
      @chopperdave3868 Год назад +18

      Nannou 2 and Aisatsana are painfully beautiful tracks.

  • @jermaineconcern1539
    @jermaineconcern1539 Год назад +18

    “Very complex drum and bass but it had like a tonal element” - an accurate description of 2000s IDM

  • @jon1979roma
    @jon1979roma Год назад +165

    When I went to Italy in the summer of 93 I bought Selected Ambient Works 85-92, from that moment on, my musical life changed.
    I brought it back home to Chicago, all of my friends freaked out. That album was on repeat for like the next 3 years.

    • @FerryFalco
      @FerryFalco Год назад +4

      "...and we are the dreamers of dreams"

    • @chopperdave3868
      @chopperdave3868 Год назад +3

      Richard D. James changed my life with music, too.

    • @gapenisbruzas
      @gapenisbruzas Год назад

      Hi Jon! I loved 2 mixes I had by Chicago DJs. Dj 3D and Snuggles. Did you listen to them back in Chicago in the 90s?

    • @poiewhfopiewhf
      @poiewhfopiewhf Год назад +1

      i'm sorry you went to italy

    • @gapenisbruzas
      @gapenisbruzas Год назад +2

      @@poiewhfopiewhf I'm sorry you went to Italy? What does that mean? What a bizarre response.

  • @Dakcha
    @Dakcha Год назад +101

    Aphex Twin is my favorite artist for many reasons but mainly because he covers the widest scope of music and emotions of anyone I know. From the ambient to the chaotic, he’s the one artist I can come back to year after year and still fall in love with music all over again.

  • @natalieshark
    @natalieshark Год назад +87

    Back around the time this album came out, I was delivering pizzas. This and Björk’s Vespertine became my wintery driving music. This album will forever remind me of the snow falling on my windscreen and dark evenings with streetlights above. It’s as close to a comfort album as you can get.
    One of the things I liked about your review is how you picked up on the way in which Aphex Twin will surprise you with his changes, and how often they come just as you start to desire them. I’ve noticed time and time again that there will be moments where I zone out on a more repetitive section and the moment I notice or my attention starts to drift, he does something different.
    It was really cool to watch someone else discover this album for the first time. It certainly left an impression on me. There are few albums that have challenged me or broadened my imagination more than this one.

    • @1sheep23
      @1sheep23 Год назад +1

      Yeah it kinda sounds wintery

    • @AllCloudsAreBunnies
      @AllCloudsAreBunnies Год назад +1

      Vespertine always reminds me of the cold, too. It’s such a melancholic beautiful album

  • @Demention94
    @Demention94 Год назад +118

    That weird dissociative nostalgic feeling you expressed is what he does so well with his music. Like walking though another lifetime...

    • @damianroberts4330
      @damianroberts4330 Год назад +10

      Yes, bits like Flim and Vordhosben and Xtal certainly have that nostalgia the first time I heard them.

    • @retnuHDJ
      @retnuHDJ Год назад +6

      The best way I've heard that described is feeling homesick of a home you never had.

  • @RustinChole
    @RustinChole Год назад +89

    Mt Saint Michel is one of the best compositions of any artist over the last 23 years.
    It still sounds like the future today. That end sequence - sounds like sunshine breaking through a slated fence as you drive along side it
    Thanks for giving attention to this masterpiece. I don’t think it often gets the praise it deserves. Critics PANNED it when it came out, I remember reading mouth agape “if it had been cut back to a 6 song EP it could be great.”😳🤷🏻‍♂️

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +24

      love that visual, albeit the most violent sunshine breaking through a slated fence you could ever experience 😆

    • @emrebaskocak
      @emrebaskocak Год назад +4

      First time I heard that song I was walking. When it got to the end I had to find a place to sit down because I got lightheaded and I was about to throw up. Not saying I don't like it, I LOVE it, but I just can't listen to it without getting a claustrophobic "get me out of here" feeling. It's the first time music has done that to me. I can't listen to it a lot because of how I physically feel and it kinda makes me nervous about getting a seizure or something

    • @RustinChole
      @RustinChole Год назад +1

      @@iximusic I don’t get the violent vibes. Not at the end, the synth pads may be my favorite ever, they’re lush, and resonate JUST right, and really that, his sped up voice singing “hello,” (incidentally the only track that features him singing unlike come to daddy and Windowlicker which featured vocals from James prominently) and what are pretty soft, bouncy drum pads are all you’re hearing, he’s just chopping them into snippets that get shorter and shorter.
      So, not violent. But fast. Bright. A speed you recognize as fast and intense but you accept without fear.
      Leaving out the production, which there could be a whole video done about, the composition is truly as great as any great track from any genre or era.
      It’s so depressing to me that he intentionally left this kind of composition and “future beat” work behind, because and I quote, “wrestling with the editing software it takes to make those fine details is just too long a process, and too frustrating.” I mean. I get it. But dude, suck it up you’re a genius. Burn a candle late into the night. His post Drukqs stuff is pretty elementary in song composition comparison. Tho I still enjoy it.
      But back in that era from the RDJ album through to Drukqs, he was like Mozart or Beethoven or something, every musician and music nerd was at once absolutely excited about each release, while only expecting not to have any idea what to expect.
      Miss that version of Aphex Twin. When every album it was like he invented a new genre of music.

    • @FelixvonMontfort
      @FelixvonMontfort 6 месяцев назад +2

      My favorite song on this album. It's like everything disolves at the end.

    • @SMc-in5bc
      @SMc-in5bc Месяц назад +1

      100% agree

  • @Edward-cp5ri
    @Edward-cp5ri Год назад +34

    I personally don’t believe RDJ’s story about Druqks’ creation, lol. He never tells the truth and Druqks comes across as his most personal, purposeful album. The aesthetical shifts on the album may seem nonsensical back in the era of Kid A but in the age of A.G. Cook and Oneohtrix Point Never you can see the logic of the album: Dense, aggressive, and incredible pieces of drill and bass surrounded by oases of prepared piano, ambient pieces, and found sound. The feeling of listening to the album is like stepping into his personal space, and he’s showing you that “Yes, I may have made Windowlicker and Come to Daddy, but this is what I care about. This is what I’m proud of most. Now listen to Mt St Michel + St Micheals Mount and try not to die from it.”

    • @JamesPetal
      @JamesPetal 7 месяцев назад +3

      Well if you dig into the titles of the tracks its obvious it's a a very personal album. The titles are mostly in Cornish and/or referencing things in Cornwall, where he was born and raised. Lornaderek are also his parents names Lorna & Derek so I see this album as being about his childhood and formative years in Cornwall and memories thereof and possibly about his identity as a Cornish man. Maybe he just did it for the sake of it, who knows. Avril 14th is the date of the Kernow festival in Cornwall though so something must of happened at the festival to inspire such a beautiful piece of music, maybe a first kiss?

    • @cyrilrueg
      @cyrilrueg 2 месяца назад

      What is the story?

    • @paullooney3650
      @paullooney3650 Месяц назад +2

      So glad to see someone say this, I don't believe him for a second lmao. Whether intended or not, this album has such an intensely personal energy to it

  • @tweeleaf
    @tweeleaf Год назад +136

    it’s even crazier that RDJ made this entire album with tracker software, which is a type of DAW from the late 80’s, but somehow sounds like the future.

    • @rzezniqq
      @rzezniqq Год назад +33

      Funny how my friend and I were discussing how it was made thinking that no computer could run it as a session with a bunch of VST instruments. There was simply no processing power to run something this complex with stand alone instruments. It turned out to be a sound module for a tracker which in a nutshell is a sample triggering sequence. My mind was blown.

    • @gapenisbruzas
      @gapenisbruzas Год назад +14

      Venetian Snares aka Aaron Funk has been known to use Renoise which is a very sophisticated tracker. I started composing with a tracker in the early 90s on the Amiga ❤

    • @bharatmehra206
      @bharatmehra206 Год назад +1

      @@rzezniqq what is the module called? is the tracker PlayerPro?

    • @valithrian
      @valithrian 9 месяцев назад

      yes aphex uses playerpro, there's an video of vordhosbn on it@@bharatmehra206

    • @Agostoic
      @Agostoic 6 месяцев назад +1

      The 80's are the future ;)

  • @Kaosad69
    @Kaosad69 Год назад +85

    Vorhosbn is still the best piece of electronic music ever made.

    • @thomasdecorail8825
      @thomasdecorail8825 Год назад +10

      That's not true. It's another track of his, "XMAS_EVET10" ;)

    • @Hasuo2001
      @Hasuo2001 Год назад +16

      Ziggomatic 17,Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount, Cock/ver 10 are better.

    • @pyramidpusher3388
      @pyramidpusher3388 Год назад +4

      @@Hasuo2001 TRUE

    • @adamsmith307
      @adamsmith307 Год назад +2

      Er, no

    • @malvitt
      @malvitt Год назад +1

      What about Meltphace 6

  • @michaelkayser4194
    @michaelkayser4194 Год назад +106

    Vordhosbn is I think an example of Aphex Twin attempting to make a "girl/boy song" -- of course he has one of those that's actually called that. The backstory as I understand it is that Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher) once told Aphex Twin that all songs are either "girl songs" or "boy songs," and Aphex Twin took it as a challenge to make songs that could count as both, featuring both tender beauty and... pummeling chaos? Anyways Vordhosbn here has some lovely glissandos and skittery percussion but it also builds up to this gorgeous, frightening, insane whirlwind of discordant sirens and granular beats, that then ducks away to leave a kind of moody coda in its wake. Both lovely and chaotic. Nice combination.

    • @ozarkecologies
      @ozarkecologies Год назад +4

      St. Michaels Mount is the same way!

    • @MM-vs2et
      @MM-vs2et Год назад +2

      @@ozarkecologies In fact all of them are. Ziggomatic, Cymru Beats, Taking Control. They're all just chaotic percussion, and melodic synths blended together.

  • @boterhammetpindakaashagelslag
    @boterhammetpindakaashagelslag Год назад +49

    Have been an Aphex Twin fan for 25 years now.
    I love it when people are able to put the complexity of his music into words.
    Very well done and nice video overall.
    You got yourself a new subsciber. Keep it up.

    • @Cyrax89721
      @Cyrax89721 Год назад +2

      Calling aspects of his music a "Brain Scratch" is a new favorite of mine.

    • @dittagecoeco2738
      @dittagecoeco2738 7 месяцев назад

      Same here.

  • @yutaka_too_much
    @yutaka_too_much 6 месяцев назад +4

    Last time my mom took me to Japan to see family, back in 2001, I listened to this album over and over and over again, everyday.
    My mom's family is in rural middle of nowhere with not much to do, so this album really kept me company.
    This album changed my entire view and approach on music and art in general.
    My entire perspective on reality.
    This is my first time tuning into your channel, and I'm already a huge fan!!
    Subscribed

  • @stefanpanea5236
    @stefanpanea5236 Год назад +22

    being obsessed with Aphex Twin for more than 2 decades, this video made me feel very good and i put on the vinyl once again for a deeper listening

  • @partsmob8663
    @partsmob8663 Год назад +25

    I really appreciate the way you've edited this, highlighting moments that caught your attention. It's super fun seeing what different people engage with in each track, as there's so much going on. And thank you for including Nanou2 in its entirety :)

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +6

      Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

  • @tbablue
    @tbablue Год назад +7

    Loved your intelligent reaction. Subbed.

  • @xbenci
    @xbenci Год назад +20

    this is the most intricate, dense and unnecessarily complex album I've ever heard. and I love every single second of it. one of the best electronic albums of all time for sure

  • @jamolotl
    @jamolotl Год назад +18

    I remember hearing this on good headphones when I was about 16 in the early 2000s. It utterly blew my mind and started an obsession with ambient and experimental electronica. I really think it's one of the most incredible albums ever made.

  • @def0rm0
    @def0rm0 Год назад +58

    Used to listen to this album all the time in highschool. During study hall, on the bus, lunch.. I have ADHD and his music oddly kept me calm. Like all my thoughts faded because my mind wanted to concentrate on all the sounds, tempos, changes, etc...

    • @DrDeepstack
      @DrDeepstack Год назад

      Interesting

    • @archaelia
      @archaelia Год назад +1

      Yo I know this is a bit late to reply to but, I have ADHD and coveted this album growing up for the same reasons!! He helped me to discover the power of music on the mindbody+soul thing. Special place in my heart and brain for Richard's works here. Everyone seems to have such a storied past with this album. I love it

    • @vagataria
      @vagataria Год назад

      ⁠same here! It helped me focus, emptied my head and relaxed me in someway

    • @poiewhfopiewhf
      @poiewhfopiewhf Год назад

      same

  • @selwyn-lloydmcpherson2814
    @selwyn-lloydmcpherson2814 Год назад +11

    I really appreciated the amount of care and consideration you put into this, it's one of my favorite albums and you did it absolute justice!

  • @tim_brooks
    @tim_brooks Год назад +27

    what a great record. and an insanely huge catalog he has to dive into!

  • @brianm22
    @brianm22 Год назад +5

    Hearing you speak, makes me realize how little I know about electronic music and just music in general. I’ve been listening to Aphex twin for 20 years, and never realized some of this music could be put to words. Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge.

  • @dillberrystew6205
    @dillberrystew6205 Год назад +40

    Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount is the most insane piece of electronic music ever produced in my opinion.

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +13

      yes that one will require so many more listens but I loved it!

    • @aiexhibit
      @aiexhibit Год назад

      ​@@iximusic You will want to check out ruclips.net/video/n0mWmHEfVDI/видео.html produced by Chris Cunningham. In fact check out all the videos Chris produced with Richard they are all amazing.

    • @toximan2008
      @toximan2008 Год назад +1

      and for 2001, no less... knowing aphex, he probably had that track done for years before it came out on drukqs.

  • @arasharfa
    @arasharfa 8 месяцев назад +4

    I can't live without this album. it's the soundtrack of my life.

  • @bobthepoppop
    @bobthepoppop Год назад +22

    1:19:08
    You played it for me by request during one of your livestreams (right before you went to the NIN show). One of my all-time favs. I felt badly because in the stream I said it'd probably be too easy for you/boring, but then you said it was played in some kind of off-key or something, and it was more challenging than I realized. It was fun to watch you play with it though. Glad you got to experience this album because that's exactly what it is. I've always viewed it as a chaotic drug trip and then Nanou2 being the morning after when everything is said and done and life is peaceful again.

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +1

      ah I think I remember now!

    • @coasterking9536
      @coasterking9536 Год назад +3

      Wait, Bobs here!? Love your videos!

  • @educostanzo
    @educostanzo Год назад +45

    I once had a job where I was allowed to hear music all the time, it didn't interfere with the tasks. This was my go to album when I knew it would be a rough day (it helps that it's 1:40 hour long). The chilling out vs amping up aspect of this album is the perfect combination, the sense of organized chaos it's so effective and beautiful to me. The textures, the timbres, the hidden melodies, gosh, I might be crazy, but I really think the music in this album has an inherent, organic beauty to it. It tickles my brain in the best possible way.

  • @TinWhisker
    @TinWhisker Год назад +32

    You probably had this mentioned a few dozen times, so apologies. But for anyone else who cares: the track naming is a mix between Welsh, Cornish and English.
    I.e. Gwely Mernans is "Death Bed" - Gwely being Welsh for 'bed' and Mernans being Cornish for 'death'.
    Kesson Dalef is "Hold it Consistent" - Kesson is Cornish for 'Consistent' and Dale'f is Welsh for 'Hold it'.
    Richard in my opinion, has a way of designing many tracks in a way that deliberately feels inaccessible/misplaced in the first part - yet once you get through, that same beginning suddenly makes sense.

    • @TinWhisker
      @TinWhisker Год назад +8

      As a complete aside, Richard stated 'DrukQs' isn't related to 'drugs'.
      'Druk' is Welsh for 'print' - given its computer controlled, maybe the albums 'English' title was 'Print Queues' all along!

    • @mistakenot...4012
      @mistakenot...4012 Год назад

      And on that note ‘cymru’ is Welsh for wales and pronounced cumree.

    • @mistakenot...4012
      @mistakenot...4012 Год назад +1

      But druk being Welsh for print? Not sure where you get that from when there’s no k in Welsh.

  • @ronpudding9598
    @ronpudding9598 Год назад +78

    This album was my introduction to the music of Richard D. James, and the first time I listened to it I didn’t even know what to think because I had never heard anything like it before. It sounded so surreal and otherworldly. It’s my favorite record of his.
    It’s a very divisive one, some critics really panned it. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts!

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +16

      I read some criticism on it, but it was all in comparison to his earlier work which I haven't heard.

    • @321gillespie
      @321gillespie Год назад +5

      @@iximusic Richard D. James Album next please! :⁠-⁠D

    • @night_speed
      @night_speed Год назад +12

      I love this album but it's definitely an intense one to start with. Most people start with either The Richard D James Album or Selected Ambient Works 85-92. I don't think I would have liked Drukqs as much if it was my introduction to Aphex Twin. It was the first album of his i had actually anticipated coming out. I'm definitely glad I was familiar with his body of work up until this came out. I also think that if it weren't for this album I would never have gotten into Venetian Snares. On a side note I've been a fan of Aphex Twin and RDJs music for about 25 years, in fact ever since I heard the track At the Heart of it All on Nine Inch Nails Further Down the Spiral in 1995. Somewhere in that time I developed a pretty serious heroin addiction and after 12 years finally got clean and sober. A few months after I got out of rehab for the second time I went to my first sober concert and it happened to be Aphex Twin in Brooklyn, NY. I never thought I'd ever have the opportunity to see him live and i never thought I'd be so happy to be clean and sober except for Nine Inch Nails on The Fragility 2.0 tour it's the best show I've ever been to hands down. I'd been to so many shows and literally couldn't tell you if they were any good or not because I was nodding off most of the time. I stood in the front row of Meat Beat Manifesto and missed 90% of the show because I was high and drooling on myself so it was a big deal for me to finally get to see Aphex Twin and actually experience it. And that show proved to me that I can still go out and have an amazing time without having to flood my brain with opiates and dopamine. I will be 5 years clean on the 28th of this month.

    • @JiggyGnorrus
      @JiggyGnorrus Год назад

      What about the Richard d James album? My favorite, but I love em all

    • @Bobbias
      @Bobbias Год назад +3

      @@night_speed damn man, congrats on getting and staying clean!

  • @positronalpha
    @positronalpha 4 дня назад +1

    Kudos for taking on this one. So much going on to pick apart. That smile during Vordhosbn as the beat kicks in sums it up pretty well - Richard's beats are just supremely satisfying.

    • @positronalpha
      @positronalpha 4 дня назад

      If you haven't taken on Selected Ambient Works volume 2 yet, now is a good time - it was just reissued in an expanded edition.

  • @alb_reuel
    @alb_reuel Год назад +5

    great video. i was always overwhelmed by the density of this album and your video was an incredible overview of it. thank you.

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад

      overwhelming is a good word for it 😅

  • @catlvr-kg9ol
    @catlvr-kg9ol Год назад +9

    Love hearing a pianist analyze Richard’s work! ❤

    • @fanculo619
      @fanculo619 8 месяцев назад

      Richard is my lord and savior

  • @carlkellner1310
    @carlkellner1310 Год назад +7

    I really love seeing your appreciation of this album. It's one of those desert island records for me - listening to this record for the first time 15 years ago unlocked something in me, some weird kind of freedom/fearlessness/melancholy/cruelty/tenderness that I still haven't quite recovered from.

  • @plunderclat221
    @plunderclat221 Год назад +13

    Who'd have thought that watching people listening to aphex twin would become one of my favourite things to do besides listening to aphex twin! I think that Richard's music regardless of what it sounds like, excites our pattern-loving regions of the brain. Its like he knows how to communicate to that exact part of our brain...

    • @iwouldprefernotto4381
      @iwouldprefernotto4381 Год назад

      Perfectly put. Amid all the experimentation and sonic jokes, there's some truly sublime melodies in Aphex Twin's work - but even the more chaotic or intense sequences make a very particularly part of your brain fizz and twinkle.

  • @ianchandler2359
    @ianchandler2359 Год назад +5

    I think you nailed Aphex twins entire catalogue in one phrase “organised chaos"

  • @C-Llama
    @C-Llama 6 месяцев назад +3

    I've watched a lot of other music reactions and it's really refreshing to see someone who's both a musician that can appreciate what they're listening to musically, and someone who actually has interesting things to say about the feeling of each track other than "woah that's crazy" or "hah I like this one."

  • @majormajormajortom
    @majormajormajortom Год назад +4

    YES. Aphex Twin content is surprisingly lacking on this website, and it's about time that is rectified.

  • @explodingmonad4535
    @explodingmonad4535 Год назад +14

    Some songs is like going through a gallery and you meet an evolving sound sculpture. A premise and a developing punchline.

  • @kdiggedydawg
    @kdiggedydawg Год назад +13

    Now THIS I am interested to hear!
    Richard's music is always either or: you don't understand it or find it to just be noise, or it just clicks and is amazing, mind bending and beautiful.
    Very excited to hear your thoughts on it!

  • @vincentrose9114
    @vincentrose9114 Год назад +3

    Some of the piano pieces on this record make me tear up. The answering machine message from his parents also gets me feeling misty. This is a wonderfully strange and beautiful album.

  • @lorenzosala9289
    @lorenzosala9289 Год назад +11

    I listened to this album for the first time when I was 16. It totally changed my views on electronic music.

  • @iwokeupthismorning2
    @iwokeupthismorning2 День назад +1

    Great choice of artist/album to talk about. Never new exactly how he recorded the prepared piano stuff but to me it sounds like a real piano, prepared and controlled by midi. It sounds metronomic. Phenomenal this album!

  • @n.b.lovespencer8589
    @n.b.lovespencer8589 Год назад +5

    Thank you so much for reviewing this. I’ve been waiting so long for someone to find such appreciation in this album with such great insight. This has been my top album of all time since I heard it in 2004

  • @321gillespie
    @321gillespie Год назад +10

    As a long time Aphex fan, it's fascinating to get another's reactions to this one. Thanks, ixi. Great critique! :⁠-⁠)
    If it's helpful, RDJ often uses/samples audio from self made field recordings.

  • @batatereluelimusic
    @batatereluelimusic Год назад +5

    Love your energy and the introspection you bring to these tracks

  • @silaseaton8966
    @silaseaton8966 8 месяцев назад +2

    Wonderful content! It is also worth noting that some of these tracks work together in an intricate and challenging DJ puzzle.

  • @q3dqopb
    @q3dqopb Год назад +5

    This video is so entertaining! This is one of my favorite albums of Aphex Twin. Seeing a professional musician, a professional pianist react to it is so much fun, whether she likes a particular track or not. I like how sincere she is describing her perception of the tracks, and I like watching her facial expressions during the key moments that I remember by heart. Such a great idea, and such a great implementation!

  • @i24p71
    @i24p71 19 дней назад +1

    Vordhosbn is my favorite composition, so emotional, complicated, beautiful.

  • @arasharfa
    @arasharfa 8 месяцев назад +2

    I love your outlook on music and your way of describing his music is capturing everything i love to think about when i hear it.

  • @yeeoo5772
    @yeeoo5772 Год назад +2

    RICHARD D JAMES WOMAN COUNTERPART!!! Very lovely and the descriptions of each song was PERFECT! So happy

  • @shakimbush8827
    @shakimbush8827 Год назад +3

    This was an awesome review/reaction. A lot of people will listen to the music of electronic artists and go on and on about how far afoul it falls of standard musical conventions and composition. You’re a friend from far away as far as I’m concerned if you can enjoy stuff like this with such an open heart.

  • @ronaldfarber589
    @ronaldfarber589 Год назад +14

    So refreshing to see someone unpretentiously breakdown why the aphex twin is so good, great to see a music lover discover and enjoy this for the first time! 😊 P.S. you might enjoy "Squarepusher -Hello Everything" if you loved this!

  • @Fabian_drop02
    @Fabian_drop02 Год назад +5

    My very favorite album of all time. I bought it the day it was released. I listened to both disks back to back and on repeat that whole weekend while tripping face🤯.....it changed the way I understand music. 👍😎👍

  • @grandaddy0807
    @grandaddy0807 Год назад +2

    I really enjoyed this video. Been a massive Aphex fan for 20 years. Cool to see a professional reaction/breakdown. Cool channel

  • @friendprices4511
    @friendprices4511 Год назад +4

    I got this album the day it came out, and still never get tired of it. It's a perfect album. Your reactions are priceless, keep em coming.

  • @r.davidsen
    @r.davidsen День назад +2

    Never listened to this album before, although I've heard some of his music. Reminds me of Autechre. However, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed listening to the album more while listening to your experience at the same time. I don't think I'd listen to it without your musings. If they make a Director's edit, so to speak, with an added commentary, then yours is mandatory.

  • @PowerStreak
    @PowerStreak Год назад +7

    I bought this album on release when I was 17 and it was truly mindblowing. It's up there with Chu Ishikawa's scores for the Tetsuo movies in terms of redefining what music could be for me.

    • @Gibusnipu
      @Gibusnipu 2 месяца назад

      Feeling the same, especially a big fan of the first tetsuo film and it's soundtrack

  • @damianroberts4330
    @damianroberts4330 Год назад +2

    Your commentary and descriptions are poetically accurate of Mr. James' entire discography!

  • @HominidInterneticus
    @HominidInterneticus Год назад +5

    I haven't listened to aphex in a very long time. It's going to be fun rediscovering it through your ears. Looking forward to this

  • @Esrom_music
    @Esrom_music 2 месяца назад +1

    his whole musical journey began with prepared piano, so it was wonderful to hear him really embrace it on this record

  • @erroristic
    @erroristic Год назад +6

    I love seeing people hearing druqs for the first time, that album was and is mindblowing. And yes, he does a lot of thinking about tonalities, especialy those of micro variety. He is a master of musical dissonace reaching far beyond western harmonies.

  • @zebrapringlez3141
    @zebrapringlez3141 Месяц назад +1

    Incredible video. I loved seeing your reactions to these songs for the first time and I really enjoyed what you had to say about it.

  • @itachi999987
    @itachi999987 Год назад +3

    That's why Richard called it "Braindance"

  • @kelpkelp5252
    @kelpkelp5252 Год назад +2

    Thanks for spending the time with this album. Have loved it since release.

  • @rickrukkus
    @rickrukkus Год назад +3

    Fav album of all time. Glad to see you enjoying this classic. love these reaction vids going into depth about the music subbed!🤘🏻

  • @McOwenWilson
    @McOwenWilson Год назад +3

    Aphex Twin is my number one and this was an absolute joy.

  • @pedro.arroyo
    @pedro.arroyo Год назад +5

    Great overview as always. I recommend doing Squarepusher next. =)

  • @Swisspastel80
    @Swisspastel80 Год назад +4

    Just imagine being a teenager and hearing this? Hard to express how world changing for us

  • @allanpage
    @allanpage Год назад +4

    I love seeing people listen to aphex for the first time. Thank you for this. Just craziness. He's amazing.

  • @cyberghost_01
    @cyberghost_01 2 месяца назад +2

    Im crying for the immortal beauty of this album

  • @johnnytacos5529
    @johnnytacos5529 Год назад +77

    This is so great, but I gotta ask. What musical path takes you to Venetian Snares without ever driving past Aphex Twin's house? It's blowing my mind. It's like being really into tiki bar rock but not knowing Jimmy Buffet. I'm fascinated!

    • @iximusic
      @iximusic  Год назад +34

      I was recommended Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works Vol II and I wasn't feeling it so I never explored further. glad I finally did!

    • @xn4pl
      @xn4pl Год назад +11

      I was introduced to this type of music through Xanopticon and Igorrr, only looking for similar stuff later I found about Aphex Twin and Venetian Snares. So there's definitely a lot of ways to get into this stuff.

    • @KNURKonesur
      @KNURKonesur Год назад +27

      Don't think we can talk about parking in Venetian Snares' and Aphex Twin's garages without stopping by for tea at Squarepusher's along the way?

    • @kohhna
      @kohhna Год назад +1

      @@xn4pl Hard Core! I like it.

    • @josef2012
      @josef2012 Год назад +1

      Great question.

  • @dillipphunbar7924
    @dillipphunbar7924 Год назад +36

    Strotha Tynhe - To Squeeze To Tighten. Gwely Mernans - Deathbed. Gwarek - Arch. Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagrow - She Shed A Flood Of Tears. Kesson Dalef - Harmonious Voice (lef means voice but dalef has no meaning, so this is only a rough translation)

    • @multiz0rak
      @multiz0rak Год назад +3

      i was sure tynhe is tiny 🤭

    • @te9591
      @te9591 Год назад

      Is it Scottish?

    • @Floam27
      @Floam27 Год назад +4

      @@te9591 cornish

    • @te9591
      @te9591 Год назад +3

      @@Floam27 yeah, i can hear the gaelic breath wotk when i try to pronounce the words.

    • @simonjenkins2744
      @simonjenkins2744 Год назад +1

      @@te9591 No Gaelic in Cornish. Cornish is a Brythonic language.

  • @bokehintheussr5033
    @bokehintheussr5033 2 дня назад +1

    I haven't listened to DrukQs much for decades, but hearing it reminds me of listening to the album on my headphones during a coach journey up the Dolomite mountains while on a family holiday in Italy when I was about 15. I'd listened to the album before but didn't really get it until listening to it on that coach trip, surrounded by that amazing scenery. There was a kind of resonance between the music and the winding roads and tunnels, the oncoming traffic, the mountains, the scattered villages in the valleys, the spikey layers of foggy cloud. It sent me into a weird kind of trancey day dream state.

  • @icywhiterocks
    @icywhiterocks Год назад +3

    I've been listening to this album for 15 years, the roller coaster ride he takes you on is what keeps it so entertaining. His very fast pace songs are my favorite, just glad he brings you back down with some soft calming sounds before dropping you off a cliff again. Great review, good take on Richard D James.

  • @pariah206
    @pariah206 Год назад +4

    I am loving this reaction. It's so bittersweet that you've never heard this album before but I love seeing your initial reactions and totally vibing to how you digest it. Love love love it. Truly transcendental music though. Sounds like a literal trip though hahaha probably why it's titled drukQs

  • @chrishandy9644
    @chrishandy9644 Месяц назад +1

    The greatest reaction video I have seen. So thorough and honest. I love this album and for me it is up there with the most important albums of all time!

  • @r3p3ntiv3
    @r3p3ntiv3 Год назад +3

    At the heart of it all from furthur down the spiral is so mesmerizing and moving. I'm sure you've heard it. I love the sound of Trent and Richard's style combined. Thanks for the awesome video! You have an instant subscribe from me. Your taste in music is gnarly. Rock on!

  • @BadSoviet
    @BadSoviet Год назад +2

    Listening to you describe these songs is so insightful and beautiful. I really enjoyed this.

  • @grunskm1
    @grunskm1 Год назад +10

    This is a fantastic video and I love your style of review. There are a couple places in the album where I find the resonance between tracks really moving. The transition between Lornaderek, and QKThr, for example, puts a lump in my throat every time. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the chordal relationships (or lack thereof) between tracks like these.

    • @bababuoy5247
      @bababuoy5247 Год назад +3

      The transition between Lornaderek and QKThr is always so tough to listen to when I’m going through the album. It is probably up there as one of the most touching, emotional pieces of music I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. It produces a deep nostalgic sadness that I just can’t describe, I’m glad someone else noticed this part in the album it is really intriguing to me.

    • @fiish8996
      @fiish8996 Год назад

      I totally agree I think the transitions are super important. Honestly most albums I listen to start to finish like a movie, it just a different experience imo

    • @hollidaykedik8647
      @hollidaykedik8647 6 дней назад

      @@bababuoy5247 Hard agree! I feel like it is essential that Lornaderek and QKThr play together with no interruption. After Lornaderek finished and ixi stopped to talk about it I could hear the opening notes of QKThr and I started getting teary eyed!

  • @nicolehafner8616
    @nicolehafner8616 2 месяца назад +1

    This is one of my favorite videos on youtube. Great job thank you. 💓 Aphex Twin has been one of my absolute favorites since I was at least eleven. I’m twentysix now, saw him live in my hometown last summer. He has this mark, not only on our hearts 😄 but on his sound. He can be very very different, from himself, all over the place but yet, the most concistent; music, person, and feeeling. Big up ✌️

  • @clemensbecker1708
    @clemensbecker1708 Год назад +3

    hi there! many thanks for this video, been looking forward to something like this, somebody listening to an aphextwin album for the first time. its nice to see someone be so positive about their experience! regarding aphex twin "covers": you should most definetly check out "alarm will sound performs aphex twin". many songs from dukqs are on it. it's a blast! all the best and keep it up!

  • @williambryan8341
    @williambryan8341 5 месяцев назад +1

    Wow....this was a treat! Your musical mind is open in the best of ways. I've been an Aphex Twin fan for so long that I've fallen in and out of love with many of his pieces over the years. I do consistently come back to his style because I find something reassuring inside of his controlled chaos style of artistry.
    He's known for his reclusiveness but I got to see him headline the 'Day for Night' festival in 2017 on my 40th birthday and that was a memory I'll never forget.

  • @darkalman
    @darkalman Год назад +3

    Been listing to this album all evening now... THANKS! >.>

  • @JibberJabJones
    @JibberJabJones Год назад +1

    this is fun! i've had 20 years with aphex twin, and it's nice to see someone obviously very musical and sensitive come to stuff i already know and love. and without any hamminess or silly youtube exaggeration, too. just a bright human being having a listen with an open heart.

  • @micro8670
    @micro8670 Год назад +4

    I could never live without Aphex Twin

  • @tomelliott73
    @tomelliott73 Год назад +2

    Masterpiece and it was really fun watching you experience it for the first time

  • @CaseyB
    @CaseyB Год назад +4

    It’s awesome to hear you articulate these songs in ways I’ve only thought of since it was released but could never put into words.
    I don’t know if anyone else has commented this, but you need to watch “Rubber Johnny.” It’s the exceedingly disturbing official video for Afx237 v.7.

    • @calskuthorpe7406
      @calskuthorpe7406 Год назад +1

      Finally, after much scrolling I've found someone mentioning it! 😄👍

  • @egoxploit
    @egoxploit Год назад +2

    the track vordhosbn....when the bass tonal thing kicks in always gets my hairs stand of pleasure.

  • @fhqwgads5000
    @fhqwgads5000 Год назад +4

    Between Vordhosbn and Mt St Michel I stand in awe of how many sequences/tracks/patterns one of his longer songs require. Truly engineering songs.

  • @bromstead
    @bromstead 5 месяцев назад +1

    this album was one of my first ventures into experimental music back when i was a teenager, im so glad someone with a background in music covered the project in its entirety and picked it apart :D i love how you approached the material and the observations you made, you certainly influenced how i analyze music now