122-559: Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator is a 2010 album from Squarepusher and his band Shobaleader One. This 2010s electronic album-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Squarepusher Thomas Russell Jenkinson , known professionally as Squarepusher , is an English electronic musician , record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ . His music spans several genres including drum and bass , IDM , acid techno , jazz fusion , and electroacoustic music . His recordings are often typified by
244-486: A .onion address accessible through the darknet browser Tor . In November 2014 James released a set of 21 tracks, Modular Trax , on the audio platform SoundCloud . The tracks were later removed. Over several months in 2015 James anonymously uploaded 230 demo tracks , some dating to the 1980s, to SoundCloud. He said he had released the demos to relieve his family of the pressure to release his archives after he dies. He has continued to occasionally release tracks on
366-454: A National Diploma in engineering. According to one lecturer, he often wore headphones during practical lessons and had a "kind of mystique about him ... I think some of the other students were a bit in awe of him." In the late 1980s, James became involved in the Cornish free party scene, putting on raves at "secret coves along the coast and behind sand dunes". The first party he DJed at
488-414: A Pitchfork list of the best albums of the 1990s, Eric Carr wrote that Richard D. James Album demonstrated "aggressive combinations of disparate electronic forms", with an "almost-brutal contrast between its elements" that has ensured its relevance. In 2003 NME named it the 55th greatest album of all time, and in 2009 Pitchfork named it the 40th greatest album of the 1990s. James garnered attention
610-662: A previously unreleased 1994 LP as Caustic Window. He returned later that year with the Aphex Twin album Syro on Warp, winning the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album . He has since released charting EPs including Cheetah (2016) and Collapse (2018). In 2023, he released the EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 . "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording . James
732-740: A "hugely influential electronic musician whose ambient washes of sound and freakishly twisted beats have gone on to inform artists of all genres." AllMusic 's John Bush wrote that "unlike most artists who emerged from the '90s techno scene, James established himself as a genuine personality, known for his cheeky grin and nightmare-inducing music videos as much as his groundbreaking albums and EPs," which helped to "expand his audience from ravers and critics to rock fans, with numerous non-electronic musicians citing him as an inspiration". In 2001 Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk cited Aphex Twin (particularly " Windowlicker ") as an influence on their 2001 album Discovery . Bangalter said he liked it because "it wasn't
854-520: A "pioneer of experimental techno " who has "constantly pushed the limits of what can be accomplished with electronic equipment , resulting in forward-thinking and emotionally engaging work that ranges from sublime, pastoral ambience to manic head-rush acid techno ". In a 1996 review, The Independent ' s Angela Lewis called him a "maverick of 1990s electronica [who] exemplifies the finest traditions of British pop mischief". According to Fact magazine, James has "carved out his own space in
976-638: A 1993 interview, he claimed to only sleep two to three hours per night. In the mid-1990s, James bought a disused bank in the Elephant & Castle area of London, where he claimed to live in a converted bank vault . He falsely claimed in a 2001 interview to have bought the steel structure in the centre of the Elephant Square roundabout, though this is in fact the Michael Faraday Memorial which houses an electricity substation for
1098-626: A 3D version of the cover, and makes the EP's songs playable in the app. On 19 August, James performed at Field Day and released another exclusive vinyl EP, London 19.08.2023 . NTS Radio released a 360-degree video recording of the set on 27 August. On 2 September, at a performance at Forwards Bristol, a cassette combining the Barcelona and London releases was released, Bristol 02.09.23 . On 18 June 2024, James announced an expanded edition of Selected Ambient Works Volume II would be released later in
1220-427: A Frankenstein-thing going on, ever since I was kid when I was playing around with electronics. I love the idea of the set-up having such a complex level of internal activity that it begins to resemble a living being." "My Red Hot Car" is his most well known piece. That and "Boneville Occident" were two of the earliest pieces from these sessions. The piece "Tommib" was so named after Squarepusher recalls that: "Aphex [Twin]
1342-484: A Michigan record store sold an exclusive Aphex Twin record comprising two tracks released on SoundCloud in 2015, entitled 3 Gerald Remix / 24 TSIM 2 . On 27 July, Aphex Twin opened an online store with expanded versions of previous albums and new tracks. On 29 July, at the Fuji Rock Festival , a tape limited to 500 copies was released. Aphex Twin released an EP, Collapse , on 14 September 2018. The EP
SECTION 10
#17327726712831464-489: A benefit concert for the Japanese Red Cross in the wake of the tsunami which devastated Japan on 11 March 2011. Of the general direction, he says: "I've reached guitar overload. I've started thinking about pure electronic music again. Something very melodic, very aggressive." He used a custom LED mask as part of the live presentation of this material. At the time, he made several appearances in festivals across
1586-661: A big club beat, but it also wasn't a laid back, quiet one". Artists including Steve Reich , Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit , Skrillex , Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park , Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante , Matty Healy of the 1975 , Kevin Parker of Tame Impala , and Nick Zammuto of the Books have expressed admiration for Aphex Twin or cited him as an influence. James influenced Radiohead 's transition to electronic music for their 2000 album Kid A . In 2013,
1708-511: A career in electronic music. The first full-length Aphex Twin album, Selected Ambient Works 85–92 , comprised material dating back to James's teen years. It was released in November 1992 by Apollo Records , a subsidiary of Belgian label R&S . John Bush of Allmusic would later describe the release as a watershed moment in ambient music. In a 2002 Rolling Stone record review Pat Blashill noted that Aphex Twin had "expanded way beyond
1830-580: A combination of complex drum programming , live instrumental playing, and digital signal processing . Since 1995, he has recorded for Warp Records as well as smaller labels, including Rephlex Records . He is the older brother of Ceephax Acid Crew (Andy Jenkinson). Tom Jenkinson grew up in Chelmsford , Essex. The first school he attended was affiliated with Chelmsford Cathedral , exposing him to organ music. He took an interest in this, as well as in music reproduction equipment. In 1986, Jenkinson went to
1952-511: A contract offered by Warp Records , which was partially instigated by Richard D. James , known professionally as Aphex Twin. Correspondence between James and Jenkinson sprung up after meeting at The George Robey. The resulting meeting led to Jenkinson's first hearing of the Hangable Auto Bulb EP which Richard had brought with him. But the meeting also facilitated James' initial selection of Jenkinson's tracks that went on to form
2074-498: A couple of years "catching up" on other genres outside techno and house . In 1997 James described himself as a fan of "old tape and avant-garde music" such as Stockhausen's " Song for the Youth " and the work of American composer Tod Dockstader . He also named works by Erik Satie , Drexciya , Ween , Serge Gainsbourg , and Les Baxter among his favorite albums. When James began programming faster, jungle -inspired breakbeats in
2196-531: A drummer: "I called Glenn [Max] at the South Bank and asked him if he knew any good drummers. He suggested Alex Thomas. I checked him out and he was amazing so we went for it." Squarepusher and Thomas went on to tour in November and December 2008, and then from April 2009 through the summer playing various festivals. This tour also saw Squarepusher develop the LED aspect to his show to the extent that on stage he had
2318-430: A few performances unannounced: He did organise two shows for an ephemeral organisation known as the "Squarepusher Ensemble" which amongst others featured Jamie Lidell on vocals, Mick Beck on saxophone and Squarepusher on bass. The idea of the group was to try to approximate some of the aesthetic of Music Is Rotted One Note and Budakhan Mindphone . The improvisation took place with no guidelines. In March 1999, with
2440-505: A lot of the things I'd done before". Some editions of the album came with an extra CD entitled "Vacuum Tracks". Squarepusher appeared at Glastonbury and Glade Festival in the summer of 2005. Then in November 2005 he toured the UK with Luke Vibert and Cassette Boy featuring dates in London, Norwich , Falmouth , Birmingham, Newcastle , Leeds and Glasgow amongst others. This tour marked
2562-450: A massive screen behind Alex's drum kit showing visual content triggered by his electric bass. Regarding this album being an abrupt stylistic departure from earlier releases Toms says that: "On an instinctive level, I just can't resist seeing what happens when you press certain buttons, and especially the ones that the grown-ups tell you not to press. And as I've said, to me it's all about the experiments." In April 2011, Squarepusher played at
SECTION 20
#17327726712832684-407: A means of developing compositional ideas. Some of James's early work was compared to Brian Eno 's ambient releases, but James claimed not to have heard Eno before he began recording. In a 1993 interview, Simon Reynolds noted that James had only recently explored avant-classical and left-field rock artists including Cage, Stockhausen, Eno, Steve Reich , Terry Riley , and Can , and had spent
2806-669: A new version of the unreleased Melodies from Mars . In September 2011 he performed a live tribute to the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki ; he performed his remix of Penderecki's " Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima " and a version of " Polymorphia ". The following month, he performed at the Paris Pitchfork Music Festival . In 2014 a test pressing of a 1994 album recorded under James's pseudonym Caustic Window appeared for sale on Discogs . The album
2928-605: A plane, and had rushed the album release to preempt an internet leak . In 2001 James also released a short EP, 2 Remixes By AFX , with remixes of songs by 808 State and DJ Pierre . It also had an untitled third track, consisting of a SSTV image with high-pitched sounds which can be decoded to a viewable image with appropriate software. In 2002 James was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male. In 2003 Warp released 26 Mixes for Cash , collecting many of James's remixes for other artists. In 2005 James released
3050-483: A precedent set by Frank Zappa , who Squarepusher claimed is "always hovering in the background" for him. The sleeve artwork was generated from a set of images taken by Squarepusher wandering about Chelmsford town centre. The front cover image is based on a view of the gasometers situated at Wharf Road, near where he lived as a teenager. The 8-bit graphics reflected Squarepusher's resurgence of interest in old video consoles and home computers at that time. This location
3172-757: A pure form of motivation when it's all on your own. But you have to wait until you're really bored and you've got nothing to do. That's when it comes out. That's when I reckon it gets good. —James in a 1997 interview with Perfect Sound Forever . James had no formal music training and is largely self-taught. Prior to becoming a producer , James spent his teens modifying analogue synthesisers and became "addicted to making noises," only later becoming "interested in listening to other people's stuff". James states that he spent his initial years "ignorant of music, apart from acid and techno, where I bought just about everything". He claimed to have been independently making music similar to acid and techno before encountering
3294-477: A range of styles, James used an image of his face for the cover, which became a motif on his later releases. He commissioned Western classical-music composer Philip Glass to create an orchestral version of the ...I Care Because You Do track "Icct Hedral", which appeared on the Donkey Rhubarb EP. In the same year, James released his Hangable Auto Bulb EP under the name AFX, which spearheaded
3416-529: A refuge from the "bloody awful" Jesus and Mary Chain albums played by his sister. Cornwall had few record shops, but a thriving nightlife in which acid house was popular. James claimed to have been making music with similarities to acid and techno for years before hearing the genres, leading him to purchase every record he could find in the styles. In his late teens, James began DJing at clubs and raves, and included his own tracks in his sets. He studied at Cornwall College from 1988 to 1990 and graduated with
3538-579: A regular DJ slot in 1989, playing alternate weeks at the Bowgie nightclub in Crantock . There he met Tom Middleton and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Impressed by James's music, Middleton played a tape James had given him to a free party organiser in Exeter , Mark Darby, who eventually convinced James to release a record on his fledgling record label Mighty Force Records . James was initially resistant, but while he
3660-439: A self-portrait painted by James, and that of Richard D. James Album has a close-up photograph. His face is superimposed on the bodies of other people in the music videos for " Come to Daddy " and " Windowlicker ". Near the end of the second track of the "Windowlicker" single (known as "Formula"), a photo of James's face is a steganogram which is revealed as a spectrogram . Another image of James and collaborator Tom Jenkinson
3782-505: A series of vinyl EPs under the AFX name, Analord , created entirely with analogue equipment. These were followed in 2006 by a compilation album of Analord tracks, Chosen Lords . In 2007 James released two records on Rephlex, Confederation Trough and Rushup Edge , under the alias the Tuss, Cornish slang for "erection". Media sources speculated about James's involvement, but his identity
Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-646: A source of "great breakbeats"), and Pink Floyd (for their psychedelic music ). Asked in 2011 about an artist he would like to work with, James named Kate Bush . Rephlex Records, which James co-owned with Grant Wilson-Claridge, coined the word "braindance" to describe Aphex Twin's music. According to the label: "Braindance is the genre that encompasses the best elements of all genres, e.g. traditional, classical , electronic music, popular, modern, industrial , ambient, hip-hop , electro , house, techno, breakbeat, hardcore , ragga , garage , drum and bass, etc." According to Pitchfork's Paul Cooper braindance "escaped
4026-429: A way that values for the available parameters would all vary as the piece progressed. Squarepusher relates that "Iambic 5 Poetry" is "apparently one of Björk 's favourite songs". This period also produced the "Maximum Priest" EP. "Our Underwater Torch" was partially inspired by a developing obsession he had for the sounds of water. He stated that this piece was obliquely inspired by the films Solaris and Stalker by
4148-667: A year before. I told him to come round and it totally blew his head off." Squarepusher started playing live again at this point: "I played all of this new stuff supporting Tortoise at the Shepherd's Bush Empire . I did a gig at The 100 Club and I had Chris [Cunningham] supporting me doing a DJ set." He played his first shows in America at this point, one of which was at the Coachella Festival. The plans to collaborate with Chris Cunningham were duly interrupted as well. In
4270-404: Is a British musician, record producer, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno , ambient and jungle . Journalists from publications including Mixmag , The New York Times , NME , Fact , Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential and important artists in contemporary electronic music. James
4392-514: Is a theme of his album covers, music videos and songs. James said it began as a response to techno producers who concealed their identities: I did it because the thing in techno you weren't supposed to do was to be recognised and stuff. The sort of unwritten rule was that you can't put your face on the sleeve. It has to be like a circuit board or something. Therefore I put my face on the sleeve. That's why I originally did it. But then I got carried away. The cover of ...I Care Because You Do features
4514-578: Is embedded (in SSTV format) with text in the third track of 2 Remixes by AFX , "Bonus High Frequency Sounds". James has recorded as AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, the Universal Indicator, Caustic Window, Smojphace , GAK , PBoD (Phonic Boy on Dope), Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Q-Chastic, Dice Man, the Tuss, Soit-P.P and user18081971. In a 1997 interview, he said: "There's really no big theory. It's just things that I feel right in doing at
4636-669: Is presented unedited as it was played on the night. The recording was released in 2009. Tom went on to sell out the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Cité de la Musique in Paris with his Solo Electric Bass shows. Both were recorded and featured the saxophonist Evan Parker. At the end of 2007, Squarepusher found himself at the close of the solo bass project. "I was still playing all the time every day. So it seemed logical to get recording again, but make it live playing-centred." He claims he
4758-435: Is taking risks and making experiments." "I was interested to see if I could develop a way of making music that was less destructive, because I was aware of how much I had brutalised myself living such an insane life over the last twelve years or so, how little I'd slept and so on. I started thinking again about doing more playing, more bass stuff again. It's always been hard to give my bass playing any kind of priority when all of
4880-560: The Feed Me Weird Things album, released on Rephlex Records in 1996. Jenkinson accepted a five-album record contract with Warp Records in December 1995. This led him to defer his studies at Chelsea Art College . Early in 1996, James completed the compilation process for Feed Me Weird Things , which was made from over 50 tracks that Jenkinson had given him on DAT , which were recorded from late 1994 to 1995. Around
5002-450: The Brit Award for Best British Video in 2000. In 2001 Aphex Twin released Drukqs , an experimental double album featuring abrasive, meticulous programming and computer-controlled piano influenced by Erik Satie and John Cage . It features the piano composition " Avril 14th ", which remains perhaps James' best known work. The album polarised reviewers. James told interviewers he had accidentally left an MP3 player with new tracks on
Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-529: The Budakhan Mindphone and "Maximum Priest" sessions wrapped up, he found himself in quite changed circumstances. He had made new friends in Sheffield and found himself a regular DJ and punter at various club nights around Sheffield. At this point he became quite skilled at tape editing. Another element that he was keen to bring back was the usage of sampled breakbeats . At this time, Squarepusher
5246-802: The King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford. One of his formative musical experiences came from seeing guitarist Guthrie Govan playing in the school's inter-house music competition. He developed a lasting friendship with Govan. Jenkinson joined his first band at 12, a Metallica -influenced thrash metal group consisting of several other pupils from the school. Over subsequent years Jenkinson played bass guitar in various local bands, playing numerous shows around East Anglia and London, and took part in some studio recordings. In 1991, Jenkinson became interested in house music , hardcore , acid house and techno . He cited hearing
5368-614: The Warp Records email list, linking to a download for a WAV file named "XY.wav". Plugging the WAV file into an oscilloscope and plotting the signal as an XY plot revealed the word "Dostrotime". Dostrotime was released on CD, LP, and digital download on 1 March 2024. The single "Wendorlan" was released to promote the album. Budakhan Mindphone Maximum Priest EP Richard D. James (musician) Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin ,
5490-482: The ambient music of Brian Eno by fusing lush soundscapes with oceanic beats and bass lines," demonstrating that "techno could be more than druggy dance music". Writing for Pitchfork in 2002, David Pecoraro called it "among the most interesting music ever created with a keyboard and a computer". DJ Mag 's Ben Murphy named it "a seminal record in the IDM, ambient and experimental canon". In 1992 James also released
5612-467: The "Bubble and Squeak" EPs. At this time, Jenkinson was becoming obsessed with bringing a "dark psychedelia" to drum and bass (which would eventually reach its zenith with Go Plastic from 2001). During this period Jenkinson also made a remix for Ninja Tune 's DJ Food , which featured on the EP "Refried Food". The remix led Ninja Tune to offer Jenkinson a record contract, which along with an offer from Belgium's R&S records he declined in favor of
5734-497: The 1960s, principally realising his compositions by tape editing. Alongside this Squarepusher was becoming interested in the work of 20th Century composers such as Stockhausen and Ligeti , specifically their electronic and electroacoustic works. After Budakhan Mindphone was completed in May 1998, Squarepusher went to South East Asia for two months, and on this trip acquired a selection of Gamelan instruments. He stated that he
5856-480: The 1990s which informed his subsequent album, Be Up a Hello . Squarepusher was also influenced by the death of Chris Marshall, his childhood friend to whom he dedicated the album. Featuring a return to his acidic drum and bass roots the album was released on 31 January 2020. "Vortrack", "Vortrack" (Fracture Remix), and "Nervelevers" were released in the weeks leading up to the album's release. On January 21, 2024, Squarepusher sent out an email to his subscribers on
5978-467: The 8-bit computer influence right into the foreground. The piece was the first to be recorded of the set and was originally commissioned to be used in a computer game, but Squarepusher decided it was too important to hand over to somebody else's project. The track immediately became a favourite at live performances and was still making appearances as an encore in Tom's run of live shows in 2013. "The Body Builder"
6100-457: The DR660 drum machine running through a spring reverb, that Squarepusher found at a jumble sale. Using the same equipment from the sessions that produced the majority of Feed Me Weird Things , Squarepusher now set about working on the material for his first album for Warp , Hard Normal Daddy . His broad conception for this record was "to push away from the jazz influence that was being felt at
6222-544: The DSP algorithmic approach with the live instrumentation based approach of Music Is Rotted One Note was now at the forefront of his mind. His studio set-up at that time incorporated all of the equipment he had amassed so far. Parts of certain tracks on Ultravisitor and four entire pieces were recorded at shows in the UK and the US in summer of 2003. As such, Squarepusher says "The start of Ultravisitor features ambient sound from
SECTION 50
#17327726712836344-514: The Day for Night festival, his first American appearance in eight years. A 12-inch vinyl was sold exclusively at the festival, containing two 10-minute tracks, entitled Houston, TX 12.17.16 [Day For Night] . On 3 June 2017 James performed at the Field Day festival and released a limited edition EP, London 03.06.17 . The performance was livestreamed on NTS Radio 's Youtube channel. On 19 June 2017
6466-480: The Dice Man on the Warp Records compilation Artificial Intelligence with the track "Polygon Window;" the compilation would help birth the genre later known as " intelligent dance music " and help launch the career of Aphex Twin alongside Autechre and Richie Hawtin . In 1993 he put out his first releases on Warp: Surfing on Sine Waves (the second entry in the label's Artificial Intelligence series) and
6588-530: The EP Quoth , as Polygon Window. Later in the year he released the " On " EP, which entered the top 40 on the UK charts. Rephlex also put out an EP by James under the alias Bradley Strider, Bradley's Robot , and two more Caustic Window records. James was part of several tours in 1993. He supported the Orb on several dates, and joined the "Midi Circus" tour at venues across the UK, co-headlining with Orbital ,
6710-601: The EPs Digeridoo and Xylem Tube EP as Aphex Twin, the Pac-Man EP (an album of remixes of Pac-Man music) as Power-Pill, two of his four Joyrex EPs ( Joyrex J4 EP and Joyrex J5 EP ) as Caustic Window, and Analogue Bubblebath 3 . "Digeridoo" reached #55 on the UK Singles Chart , and was later described by Rolling Stone as foreshadowing drum and bass . That year, he also appeared as
6832-628: The Orb and Drum Club . Later in the year, he was part of the NASA "See the Light" tour with Orbital, Moby , and Vapourspace at venues across the United States. Warp released the second Aphex Twin album, Selected Ambient Works Volume II , in March 1994. It explored a more ambient sound, inspired by lucid dreams and James's experience of synaesthesia . It reached number 11 in the UK charts, but
6954-618: The Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke , said Aphex Twin was his biggest influence: "He burns a heavy shadow ... Aphex opened up another world that didn't involve my fucking electric guitar ... I hated the Britpop thing and what was happening in America, but Aphex was totally beautiful, and he's kind of my age too." In 2002, asked if he would tour with Radiohead, James said "I wouldn't play with them since I don't like them". However, he said in 2011 that his dislike of Radiohead had been exaggerated by
7076-490: The Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky . The organ in this piece is triggered directly from an electric bass. "Decathlon Oxide" carried on the ideas initiated in "Fly Street" and "Varkatope" from Budakhan Mindphone and features a Gamelan gong. The record also contains remixes by Luke Vibert , Autechre and Matthew Yee-King . Very few live shows happened around this time, although Squarepusher claims he did in fact do quite
7198-556: The Summer and Autumn of 2005. The track "Hello Meow" was filmed at Koko in November 2005 and was edited into a promotional video for Hello Everything in 2006. "Planetarium" samples a particular variant of the Amen breakbeat which came from "a dodgy bootleg 12" from 1991 called Rave Masters Volume One . Regarding the overall process of making Hello Everything , he states "There never really were any Hello Everything sessions, unlike
7320-408: The Summer of 2001, Warp cut a one-sided promo of the track "Do You Know Squarepusher". After a brief during the latter half of 2001, he set up the studio at his new residence. Around this time, he started to work with computer-based synthesis and signal processing . The cover version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" has a particular story to it: "It was around this time that Rob Mitchell at Warp died. I
7442-664: The TV signal so that it made this really weird noise when you turned the volume up." However, Fact Magazine reported in 2017 that this contest story is dubious, and likely based on a program published in Your Computer Magazine 1982, for which the author (G. N. Owen) was paid £6 (equivalent to £27 in 2023). James states that he bought his first synthesizer at age 12 and after taking an interest in electronics would modify analogue synthesisers "and junk" to make noise. James began making music aged 14, partially as
SECTION 60
#17327726712837564-468: The Troxy, and headlining The White stage at Fuji Rocks Festival, Japan. The EP was made using software that Squarepusher programmed by himself. In 2016, Squarepusher once again took his Shobaleader One band on the road, and is continuing to tour the project. He also wrote a suite of short organ pieces which were performed by James McVinnie as part of 2016 national tour "The Secret Life of Organs" celebrating
7686-594: The UK and in continental Europe. Early that year Jenkinson made the acquaintance of Talvin Singh who offered him a slot at his club night "Anokha" held at the Blue Note Club in Hoxton Square , London. Jenkinson and Singh went on to play together on several occasions during this period, including improvised sessions at the end of the night at Anokha, one of which featured guitarist Guthrie Govan, and also at
7808-427: The United States and internet message boards . James responded to the IDM term in a 1997 interview: I just think it's really funny to have terms like that. It's basically saying, "this is intelligent and everything else is stupid." It's really nasty to everyone else's music. (laughs) It makes me laugh, things like that. I don't use names. I just say that I like something or I don't. James's face, grinning or distorted,
7930-596: The account. On 23 January 2015 James released Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 , created with robotic instruments including the Disklavier , a computer-controlled player piano . On 8 July 2016 he released the Cheetah EP, backed by a music video for "CIRKLON3 [Колхозная mix]", the first official music video for an Aphex Twin track in 17 years. On 17 December, James performed in Houston , Texas at
8052-401: The best album of the 1990s. James has made "wild and essentially unverifiable claims" about his personal life in interviews, including the claim that he inherited the name of a dead older brother. He has described himself as "just some irritating, lying, ginger kid from Cornwall who should have been locked up in some youth detention centre. I just managed to escape and blag it into music." In
8174-576: The capabilities of the most advanced musicians. Following the success of the first piece of music, entitled "Sad Robot Goes Funny", Squarepusher went on to compose four more pieces for the robots, which comprise the EP Music for Robots , released on April 7 (8 April in North America) 2014. On 20 April 2015, a new LP entitled Damogen Furies was released. Reviewers commented that it is "less funky but more clearly structured" than past work. All
8296-424: The city and the rest of the world". He became interested in making sounds before writing music, and as a child he played with the strings inside his family piano and disassembled tape equipment. In a 2001 interview James said that at age 11 he won £50 in a competition for producing sound on a Sinclair ZX81 , a home computer with no sound hardware: "I played around with machine code and found some codes that retuned
8418-477: The county's great organs as the first 'synthesisers' invented centuries before their electronic counterparts. In 2018, he provided the ambient soundtrack for CBeebies hour long wind-down programme Daydreams , narrated by Olivia Colman . The same year, Jenkinson broke his wrist in Norway and was forced to temporarily stop playing guitar. The incident caused him to re-explore instruments he had previously played in
8540-618: The dance music scene. In 2015 The Guardian called the release one of the key moments in the history of dance music. The record caught the ear of Renaat Vandepapeliere, the head of R&S Records , at that time one of the leading European rave labels. James visited him in Belgium, bringing a box full of cassettes of his music. From these cassettes they picked out tracks for two records, including James's first album Selected Ambient Works 85-92 . In 1992, as word of his 12" records spread, James started performing at London techno events like
8662-436: The first Big Chill Festival in 1996. Shortly after the release of Feed Me Weird Things came "Port Rhombus" which was Jenkinson's (by now known as Squarepusher) first release on Warp Records. The title track was initially a remix of a track by Ken Ishii, commissioned by R&S Records in Belgium. However, the remix was rejected on the basis of it having insufficient similarity to Ishii's piece. "Significant Others" used
8784-447: The first occasion when he had appeared in concert using live visuals. At the time of the release of Hello Everything , Squarepusher appeared on the BBC 's Culture Show and was interviewed by Lauren Laverne , and also performed a short version of what was to become one of the pieces on Solo Electric Bass . It also became apparent that one of the reasons for him being requested to appear
8906-773: The first to contain a portrait of Squarepusher. He toured with the London Sinfonietta , performing the piece "Tundra 4" live. After the Sinfonietta tour, he toured America and Japan. He states that at this point he had no immediate plans to make a record and that it seemed entirely possible that he would not make another. Nevertheless, some pieces were made in this period. A series of acid tracks were made, some of which were used in Tom's appearance at Warp's 20th anniversary in Sheffield 2009. "Welcome To Europe" and "The Modern Bass Guitar" were also made in this period using
9028-468: The following year after the release of his charting Come to Daddy EP. The title track was conceived as a death metal parody. Accompanied with a successful music video directed by Chris Cunningham , James became disenchanted by its success: "This little idea that I had, which was a joke, turned into something huge. It wasn't right at all." It was followed by " Windowlicker ", a charting single promoted with another Cunningham music video, nominated for
9150-807: The formative club Knowledge, held at the SW1 nightclub in London's Victoria , and the influential night Lost. Through 1991 and 1992 James released three Analogue Bubblebath EPs, two EPs as Caustic Window, the Red EP as part of the Universal Indicator collective, along with the Digeridoo and Xylem Tube EPs on the R&;S label. Although he moved to London to take an electronics course at Kingston Polytechnic , he admitted to David Toop that his electronics studies were slipping away as he pursued
9272-1052: The history of electronic music " across several genres, with his unique melodies being "the reason he's talked about as not just an electronic innovator but as the sphere's definitive artist". In 2014 review in the Financial Times , Ludovic Hunter-Tilney described James as a "musical maverick" noted for "yoking different elements together in unpredictable formulations" and blending "hard beats and uncanny tones; difficult abstraction and populist melodies". Music publications have described James variously as "the Mozart of" both techno and ambient . Writing in The Guardian in 2001 Paul Lester identified James's lineage as "electronic greats" including Karlheinz Stockhausen , John Cage , Kraftwerk , Brian Eno , and Derrick May . I could just lock myself away for days and get inspired by myself. That's my favorite way to do it. It's more like
9394-441: The intro which comes from Montreal ." He states that " Ultravisitor seems like a big argument to me. In fact I've always liked that idea, that the way you structure albums and songs is that one element raises questions about other elements. That feels interesting to me, but Ultravisitor seems to do that to the extent that it risks being completely incoherent. But that is also the fun of it. I am fond of it." The sleeve artwork,
9516-401: The latter two were accompanied by music videos directed by Chris Cunningham and brought James wider international attention. After releasing Drukqs in 2001 and completing his contract with Warp, James spent several years releasing music on his own Rephlex label, including the 2005 Analord EP series under his AFX alias and a pair of 2007 releases as the Tuss. In 2014 he made available
9638-476: The mayhem is happening in the studio." So Tom chose to switch all of his attention to bass and to shut down the studio. "Glenn Max, curator at the South Bank , was really encouraging and offered me a nice gig in the Queen Elizabeth Hall to showcase it." Tom went on to spend every day playing the solo pieces, re-writing them and practising them: "It became a lifestyle in the end and that was what I wanted. Tom also says that "I've never been entirely comfortable with
9760-418: The mid-1990s, he named friends and fellow musicians Luke Vibert and Tom Jenkinson as influences. In a 2014 interview, James said of jungle that "I still think it's the ultimate genre, really, because the people making it weren't musicians," and noted that "for years, I could listen to jungle and nick things from them, but they didn't know I existed." Along with Vibert and Jenkinson, James helped to spearhead
9882-761: The mind/body binary opposition of electronic music" while retaining its club roots. James's music has often been characterised as an example of the " intelligent dance music " that began in the 1990s. IDM is mentioned on the home page of the Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) mailing list at Hyperreal.org about the music of Aphex Twin and the Artificial Intelligence Series released by Warp Records . The series features James's recordings as Polygon Window and early productions from artists including Autechre , Black Dog, Richie Hawtin 's FUSE project and Speedy J . The term spread to
10004-429: The press and that he had contacted Yorke to explain this. In 2005 Alarm Will Sound released Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin , featuring acoustic arrangements of James's electronic tracks. The London Sinfonietta performed arrangements of Aphex Twin songs in 2006. Animator David Firth sampled Aphex Twin in his animated series Salad Fingers . In 2012 Fact named Selected Ambient Works 85–92
10126-476: The recordings on 'Damogen Furies' were done in one take and were born out of Squarepusher's development of his own software, which was designed for a spontaneous, streamlined, efficient way of performing live and, in turn, making the record. All this makes for Damogen Furies being an ideal work to hear in concert, as genuinely live electronic music, with the capacity for change a primary objective. The release of this saw him performing at his largest-ever London show at
10248-511: The release of the Burning'n Tree album, which was a compilation of Tom's Spymania releases. The set includes three pieces that were recorded in late 1995 during the Feed Me Weird Things sessions that were not originally released on Spymania. Squarepusher started considering new ideas about how to put music together. At this time James introduced Squarepusher to the music of Tod Dockstader , an American composer who had worked extensively in
10370-524: The remainder of 2002 working on software patches and recorded many pieces in that period that were to feature in his show at Warp's 20th anniversary party in Sheffield in 2009. 2003 saw two of Squarepusher's pieces being performed by the London Sinfonietta as part of the South Bank's Ether Festival: "It was an interesting idea. They chose "Port Rhombus" and "The Tide". He claims the idea that had been initiated with "Mutilation Colony", namely to combine
10492-736: The same software system that Squarepusher had designed when he made Ultravisitor . The synth bassline in "The Modern Bass Guitar" was triggered from an electric bass using the midi bass system. January 2005 saw the re-establishment of the studio at Tom's residence in Essex . The pieces "Theme From Sprite", "Bubble Life", "Vacuum Garden", "Circlewave 2" and "Orient Orange" were all made in early 2005. All of these tracks are based on live drumming tracks, which Squarepusher had planned out quite meticulously beforehand, in contrast to similarly realised tracks on Music Is Rotted One Note . "Hello Meow", "Planetarium", "Rotate Electrolyte" and "Plotinus" were made over
10614-591: The same time James and Jenkinson recorded two tracks together, one of which was subsequently edited by Jenkinson and released as "Freeman Hardy & Willis Acid" on the We Are Reasonable People compilation album in 1998. Jenkinson's contribution to the other track was reinterpreted and released as "Happy Little Wilberforce" on the Alt. Frequencies compilation released on Worm Interface in 1996. 1996 saw Jenkinson starting to be offered performances both in
10736-478: The sets were released on 15 September and 26 December 2019 on Youtube. Speculations of James's return started after a mysterious website featuring the Aphex Twin logo inside of the word "London" was discovered by fans. Its title alluded to 19 August 2023, the same day that the Field Day festival takes place on in London, teasing a possible performance. His return was confirmed on 24 January 2023, when Aphex Twin
10858-611: The short-lived drill 'n' bass style, which exaggerated elements of drum and bass , on his Hangable Auto Bulb EP (1995). Acknowledging another influence, James's Rephlex label released Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop , a compilation of music recorded by the pioneers of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop . In 2019 he described Kraftwerk as a major influence. Although he said he disliked " rock and roll ", he appreciates Led Zeppelin (as
10980-500: The short-lived drill 'n' bass style. Richard D. James Album , James's fourth studio album as Aphex Twin, was released on Warp in 1996. It features software synthesisers and unconventional rhythms. Will Hermes of Spin discussed James's use of jungle elements, writing that "by applying junglist strategies to his own obsessive sound creation - his gorgeous weirdo palette of modernist strings, whirring crib toys, and agitated machines - he remakes drum'n'bass in his own image". In
11102-415: The styles, and subsequently became enthusiastic about them. He has cited 808 State 's 1988 debut album Newbuild as a major early inspiration. In a 1993 interview, James identified voluntary sleep deprivation as an influence on his productions at that time. He also claimed to have recorded over one thousand unreleased tracks. He later said he experienced synaesthesia and utilised lucid dreaming as
11224-570: The time and I really don't know why. I select songs for certain [names] and I just do it. I don't know what it means." In 2001 he commented on the speculation connected to many anonymous electronic artists: "A lot of people think everything electronic is mine. I get credited for so many things, it's incredible. I'm practically everyone, I reckon—everyone and nobody." Writing in The Guardian in 2001 journalist Paul Lester described James as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music". Rolling Stone described James as
11346-544: The time to a more soundtrack-type of sound". According to Squarepusher, he was listening to—amongst other things—early Lalo Schifrin and the "Deathwish" soundtrack by Herbie Hancock around this time. However, the album also contains some abrupt diversions into quite different musical territory, evidenced in what Squarepusher calls the "Industrial Psychedelia" of "Chin Hippy" and "Rustic Raver". Squarepusher's electric bass work becomes apparent on this record. He states that he
11468-451: The track "LFO" by LFO as an early influence. In August 1993, Jenkinson recorded a piece named "O'Brien"; with his friend, Hardy Finn, he raised enough money to release it with additional material on a vinyl 12". Jenkinson and his friends took the copies of the record to various local record shops but found reactions disappointing. By 1995 he was playing live sets, including a performance at Eurobeat 2000 at Turnmills in 1995, and "O'Brien"
11590-640: The very same piece being played at a show in L.A. and the outro features ambient sound from a gig at the Leadmill in Sheffield . "Menelec" features an introduction from a show in Nottingham and the outro comes from Toronto I think. The start of "Steinbolt" was recorded in L.A. and the lots of Tetra-Sync including the live electric bass was recorded at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, apart from
11712-489: The way they got me to sign." Similarly impressed by James's music, Wilson-Claridge suggested they use some money he inherited to create a record label to release it. He and James founded Rephlex Records in 1991. James's first release was the 12" EP Analogue Bubblebath , released on Mighty Force in September 1991. The EP made the playlist of Kiss FM , an influential London radio station, giving it wide exposure in
11834-478: The whole virtuoso thing. They are so many dangers associated with it. It's odd because it's so effortless for me to play that I end up falling into that virtuoso camp by default. But if that's where I am, I'm going to make some trouble in there. So I started to play around with the pieces in a way, playing them too fast. Sort of trying to make it a bit more punk and messy rather than like a spotless article of refinement." The solo bass recording from Cité de la Musique
11956-693: The world including his first show in Brazil and during the Sónar Festival in Barcelona in June. On 13 February 2014, an EP entitled Music for Robots was announced, a collaborative project composed by him and performed by the three robots that comprise the Z-Machines. Squarepusher first started working with the team of Japanese roboticists behind the Z-Machines in 2013, who had commissioned him to write music for robots that were capable of playing beyond
12078-666: The year. The re-issue was confirmed to be releasing on digital, triple CD, 4xLP standard and box set editions and double cassette formats. This re-issue included two bonus tracks, " th1 [evnslower] " and "Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev", as well as the 19th track being released on all formats. The tracks were gradually released onto streaming platforms, with "#19" releasing on the day of the announcement, "th1 [evnslower]" releasing on 4 September 2024 and "Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev" being released on 2 October 2024. Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Expanded Edition) officially released on 4 October 2024. Writing for AllMusic , John Bush describes James as
12200-399: Was tripping on acid backstage at a DJ gig, Darby and Middleton convinced him to release the record. Darby later said: "I think if he had not done that trip that night there may have never been any Aphex Twin." James has given a similar account: "...they made me sign the contract when I was off my face. I was tripping and they're waving this money and a pen at me. It's a bit clichéd but it's
12322-415: Was "still battling with the influence of (Jaco) Pastorius ." He wanted to "make the styles interrogate each other, such that one track would question the premises of another and vice versa. As such I suppose it might indicate tentativeness, but in my mind at the time I liked the idea of bringing musical assumptions into question by smashing stylistically divergent elements into each other". In this he follows
12444-419: Was Tom's favourite of the set. This exemplifies a more abstract take on the 8-bit aesthetic, with sounds constructed to deliberately resemble computer game sound effects. "Come on My Selector" has become one of Squarepusher's most well-known tracks, partly due to it having a video by director Chris Cunningham . Doing the video led Squarepusher to develop a friendship with Chris Cunningham. This period also saw
12566-404: Was also revisiting a lot of the mid-1990s drum and bass that had so inspired his early releases. He describes the set-up for Go Plastic as follows: "It was the next stage in the "liquid effects processing" idea. "To me it was all about trying to make it sound totally liquid and psychedelic , like liquid LSD . Not evil though, "evil" music just sounds daft and theatrical to me. I've always had
12688-510: Was announced as a headliner for the festival. Over the next few weeks, several other performances were announced for Europe. At a performance at Sónar on 16 June, an exclusive 12-inch vinyl was released entitled Barcelona 16.06.23 . During this festival, large QR code displays with Aphex Twin branding were spotted. This, coupled with posters found in Los Angeles, led to the discovery of an augmented reality app named YXBoZXh0d2lu. It
12810-749: Was announced on 5 August in a garbled press release written in broken English and visually distorted with the same Aphex Twin 3D graphic found in London, Turin and Hollywood. A promotional video for the Collapse EP was to be broadcast on Adult Swim , but was cancelled after failing the Harding test . It was made available online instead, and the video for "T69 Collapse" was uploaded to YouTube. During James' September 2019 tour two 12-inch records were released at performances at Printworks , London, and Warehouse Project , Manchester, entitled "London" and "Manchester" on James' warp.net site. Official recordings of
12932-774: Was born on 18 August 1971 in Limerick , Ireland, to Welsh parents. He has said that he had a stillborn older brother also named Richard whose name he inherited . In a 1997 interview James stated that this death occurred while his family had moved to Canada in 1968 for his father's mining work; it led his mother to reuse the name because "she didn't want to accept the death of the child." James grew up in Cornwall , where he lived in Lanner while attending Redruth School in Redruth . James said he liked growing up there, "cut off from
13054-399: Was created to tease James' upcoming EP. On 21 June James announced the EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 , which was released on 28 July. After the release of the EP, the app was updated again. Using the app to scan the front cover, inner sleeves, trifold insert and vinyl label of Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 reveals a variety of artwork and visuals, such as
13176-429: Was fed up with the unprocessed sound of the bass that was tied up in the concept of the solo bass material, so he started experimenting with new DSP algorithms specifically for the bass. Also he had become a fan of the band Lightning Bolt over the last few years and was inspired to develop an electric bass sound with "absolutely face-ripping distortion." When Squarepusher came to tour this album, he decided he would need
13298-453: Was finished at the end of 2006, Tom exhausted his interest in making electronic music: "At that point, I'd been working on electronic music in some shape or form for around fifteen years and without hardly any breaks. As I've said, one of my problems is that once I've established that an idea is in some way valid, that's generally enough for me. I'm just acutely aware of how limited time is and I think I'd rather spend it doing what I do best which
13420-416: Was finishing off the track. He asked what I was up to and I said something like "I've got 31 bars left to write on this track I'm doing." He just started laughing and said he never thought of music like that. I suppose it does sound a bit strange and clinical." After the sessions were completed in December 2000, he rang Steve Beckett to play him the record: "We hadn't talked since he left Sheffield more than
13542-453: Was frequenting a Manchester-based club night called "Schizm". It was run by friends of Sean Booth and Rob Brown from Autechre who themselves had played there on occasion. Early 2000 saw Squarepusher consider "radical tactics". He states it became clear that it was high time return to sequencers and leave behind the live-playing approach, which he had adopted since late 1997. Around this time, he started seeing more of Chris Cunningham . He
13664-455: Was helping me edit a track for Vic Acid and he named the project 'Tommib' and I always remembered that for some reason." Squarepusher claims that "My Fucking Sound" was written specifically with Chris Cunningham in mind: "We had talked a lot in that period about working together, loads of ideas were flying around. That track was intended for Chris to use, and that project was called "Spectral Musicians." He recalls that "Aphex [Twin] rang up when I
13786-423: Was in a barn in 1988. Parties were also known to take place at Gwennap Pit . They mainly attracted local youths and travellers , with entrance donations taken in cannabis . The tight-knit community would also put on nights at small clubs in towns around the county, including St. Ives , Porthtowan , and St Austell . James would later refer to this scene as the "best he's ever been involved in". James started
13908-450: Was keen to carry on with the method of making music he had developed making the "abstract jazz" elements of Music Is Rotted One Note . Given that the "abstract jazz/musique concrète" idea had in Tom's view been proven by Music Is Rotted One Note . He decided to switch focus slightly and approach the following phase with a less rigorous aesthetic in mind. This is the first record where Squarepusher started using effects processors in such
14030-706: Was not confirmed until 2014. In 2009 Rephlex Records released digital versions (in the FLAC file format) of the 11 Analord EPs. Each of them (except for Analord 10) had bonus tracks, totalling 81 minutes of new music between them all. Richard later disbanded Rephlex Records, removing the website entirely. This same year, James began working with the visual artist Weirdcore for graphics for his live shows, debuting at Bloc Festival in Minehead. Weirdcore has continued to work with James on live graphics and music videos. In 2010 James said he had completed six new albums, including
14152-471: Was not particularly well received critically; critic Simon Reynolds later noted that "many in the Aphex cult were thrown for a loop" and that "Aphex aficionados remain divided". Other 1994 releases were a fourth Analogue Bubblebath, GAK (derived from early demos sent to Warp), and Classics , a compilation album. For his charting 1995 album ...I Care Because You Do , composed between 1990 and 1994 in
14274-445: Was once intended for sale on James's label Rephlex, but went unreleased. With the consent of James and Rephlex, fans organised a Kickstarter campaign to purchase the record and distribute copies. Syro , the first album released under the Aphex Twin name since Drukqs in 2001, was released through Warp on 23 September 2014. It was marketed by a teaser campaign including graffiti, a blimp flown over London, and an announcement made via
14396-646: Was part of his setlist. In late 1994, Jenkinson began pursuing his fascination for integrating breakbeats into electronic music . The first recordings using Jenkinson's new setup were released on the Spymania label. Two EPs, Conumber and Alroy Road Tracks , were released under the pseudonym "The Duke of Harringay". Jenkinson began receiving invitations from clubs to play regular sets, including The Sir George Robey in Finsbury Park . He then placed two songs on Worm Interface releases, "Dragon Disc 2" and
14518-807: Was raised in Cornwall and began DJing at free parties and clubs around the South West in the late 1980s. His debut EP Analogue Bubblebath , released in 1991 on Mighty Force Records , brought James an early following; he began to perform across the UK and continental Europe . James co-founded the independent label Rephlex Records the same year. His 1992 debut album Selected Ambient Works 85–92 , released by Belgian label Apollo , garnered wider critical and popular acclaim. James signed to Warp in late 1992 and subsequently released charting albums such as ...I Care Because You Do (1995) and Richard D. James Album (1996), as well as Top 40 singles such as " Come to Daddy " (1997) and " Windowlicker " (1999);
14640-542: Was really fond of Rob. The last evening I spent with him was in Sheffield and he had been playing me some music by Joy Division . I decided to record that song as a memorial to him, but at the same time I really didn't want to try and divert attention from the tragedy of his death to my record, that would have been repulsive. So I kept the story to myself'. Also included in this set is an edited recording of Tom's appearance at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan in Summer 2001. He spent
14762-595: Was subsequently used in some of the press shots in the Hello Everything promotional campaign. In January 1997, Squarepusher moved to a flat on Albion Road in Stoke Newington , London. This particular residence was shown in the Jockey Slut "All Back to Mine" article from that year, and it was also where Squarepusher's appearance in the "xxx" documentary was filmed. "Journey To Reedham" brings
14884-611: Was that Andre 3000 , who was also appearing on the show, had expressed such admiration for Tom's work that he would like to work with him. He also appeared at the John Peel tribute event at the Electric Ballroom in Camden around the time of the release of the record. Late 2006 saw him generate the material that was eventually to be issued in 2009 as Numbers Lucent . After the material that went to comprise Numbers Lucent
#282717