To put this into perspective, this is the mainstream today -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmZlUdXVpHA
But sure, let's do struggle sessions after listening to Aphex Twin... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-----Original Message-----
From: kent williams <chaircrusher@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2023 7:05 AM
Cc: do id <idm@hyperreal.org>
Subject: Re: Aphex Twin Black Box Life Recorder
I could go through the whole litany of his assholishness - threatening women with violent rape on bulletin boards in the 1990s "as a laugh,"
his divorces, yadda yadda.
I know people who know him, and my impression is that he's at turns a complete gentleman and a complete ass. It's best JUST to listen to the music.
I love the work of Richard Wagner too, despite him being an antisemitic dog-kicker. In both cases I think they're neurodivergent weirdos who weren't properly socialized.
On Fri, Jul 28, 2023 at 8:56 AM Rjyan Kidwell <cexwell@gmail.com> wrote:
quoted 53 lines Toxic sexist awot now?
>
> Toxic sexist awot now?
> What'd our mad Dicky boy say
>
> On Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 9:43 AM kent williams <chaircrusher@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> It's so weird to still be buying new Aphex Twin music, but I can't help it.
>>
>> It's important to realize that if he's working in the studio, he's
>> not being a toxic sexist conspiracy theory crank. The more music he
>> releases, and the less he speaks in public, the better.
>>
>> Oh, you want to know what I think of the music? It's more of his
>> obsessive drum programming and melancholy chord sequences. "Blackbox
>> Life Recorder 21f" at the beginning has a weird scraping sound that
>> if I'm not mistaken is a filtered version of the chair squeak from
>> Alberto Balsam.
>>
>> It isn't as elaborate a harmonic composition as Alberto Balsam, but
>> it is a catchy beat with that vaguely sad harmonic lushness.
>>
>> zin2 test5 sounds like a continuation of Life recorder, with a
>> similar chord progression, but the beat is more persistent, really a
>> 140bpm breakbeat, but hand made (as opposed to sampled and chopped),
>> sounding like he might be back programming his 30 year old Roland R8.
>>
>> "in a room7 F760" is more weepy chords and subtle acid bass with
>> beats. It's odd that he's essentially made a 160bpm breakbeat track,
>> with the shape of a Drum & Bass tune, but with a vibe that's miles
>> away. There's a whole aesthetic world in the choice of swing
>> strength. He's gone past the customary 5% swing of house music, into
>> something that actually recalls the swinginess of 1960s cocktail jazz.
>> His touch is light, in contrast with the bombast and drama that drive
>> the top drum and bass tracks.
>>
>> "Blackbox Life Recorder 22 (Parallax Mix)" really only shares drum
>> sounds and swing quantization strength with the first version.
>> Imagine an ambient piece from SAW II being disrupted by a deeply
>> swung
>> TR606 beat.
>>
>> Overall impression: I really enjoy these tunes, but its clear that
>> whatever rabbit holes Aphex Twin has been down in the last 30 years,
>> he's still fixated on the sounds and vibes he constructed in the
>> early 90s. This isn't a bad thing, but you can no longer expect
>> anything shockingly new from him. Instead, he's focused on refining
>> and extending that legacy.
>>
>> If you want the new new you can look elsewhere, but if you want to
>> be both lulled and disturbed by familiar things made strange again,
>> this is a great release.
>>
>> https://bleep.com/aphex-twin--blackbox-life-recorder-21f