Not to obsess (any more than is seemly on the IDM list) but the thing that
distinguishes his sound between now and the late 90s/early 2000s phase is
his obsessive commitment to physical synths and hardware sequencing. For a
lot of artists, the hardware fetish is just that -- they make music you
could bang out with the factory instruments in Ableton Live, and there's
nothing about its hardware origins that's distinctive.
This T69 collapse is the opposite of that. It's pretty difficult to do this
on hardware sequencer, and the things that define sound are unique -- like
the old digital drum machine individual sounds run through oddball vintage
gates and compressors. The main kick sound on T69 collapse is an 80s ROM
sample (I think from RX5) that's gated and compressed so it's super short
and punchy. It's the only way it can be programmed so intricately and
still cut through the mix.
Then in the reprise section (where the 4 bar chord loop comes back) the
kick switches -- it sounds more like a Roland TR707 kick, but filtered to
knock down some of it's harsh attack.
This is the work of a person who dreams of drum machines when he sleeps.
On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 9:58 AM kent williams <chaircrusher@gmail.com> wrote:
quoted 25 lines My impression of "T69 Collapse" on a couple of listens -- I'm always drawn
> My impression of "T69 Collapse" on a couple of listens -- I'm always drawn
> back to how Aphex Twin is essentially making folk music. The main theme
> of the track is a simple 4 bar loop of major and minor chords. Then
> there's an interlude with microtonal synths (i.e. a bit sour & weird) and a
> reprise of the main chord progression. Throughout there's a lot of
> obsessively programmed drums.
>
> With the exception of a bit of sort-of digital vocoder-ish sound, he's
> still obsessed with using hardware. I definitely hear a lot of Yamaha RX5,
> though I'm sure he sequenced it with his Cirklons. His obsession with
> never repeating a drum pattern is nothing short of autistic.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 9:45 AM kent williams <chaircrusher@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> If you have epilepsy, don't watch, you can stream it on Bleep.com or
>> Spotify: https://aphextwin.lnk.to/T69-Collapse
>>
>> https://youtu.be/SqayDnQ2wmw
>>
>> Can't believe I'm first to post this here.
>>
>