Mark Stevens wrote:
quoted 7 lines I can appreciate its novelty value, but I'm afraid the track's just> I can appreciate its novelty value, but I'm afraid the track's just
> indicative of the Twin's declining standards these days. Play his
> full-length albums back-to-back. Can you honestly say that the likes
> of 'I Care' and 'RDJ' are better albums than 'SAW 85-92' and 'Surfing
> on Sine Waves'? I certainly couldn't. As much as 'I Care' and 'RDJ'
> have some excellent tracks, the chaff to wheat ratio is just too high
> for my liking.
I actually prefer the more recent output; it's more adventurous IMHO (an
overused acronym but some people need to be reminded of this). It's
funny - one of the things I like about his work starting with the
'Reedone' remix or HAB I is that the structure of his tunes has become
increasingly more fractured. A lot of people deemed the "noodling" on
HAB I as pisstake, but I found it to be a welcome change of pace from
tunes that cycle the same 2-bar loop over and over; even most tracks on
"I care..." ave very much based on repetition although some tweaking of
effects/EQ on some sounds provides some variety. This 'fractured'
structure technique was an obvious Luke Vibert influence (not that
either of them are the first to create tracks in such a fashion) - but
it brings much more of a 'narrative' sense to a track as opposed to
using beats in a more 'ambient' sense as exemplified by Autechre/Gescom
material. I think this is also why a lot of people like the Plug LP and
not the EPs - the latter are much more 'fractured', whereas the tracks
on the album are more refined and cohesive.
quoted 5 lines As far as I'm concerned, the last decent Aphex Twin track was 'On'.> As far as I'm concerned, the last decent Aphex Twin track was 'On'.
> Since then it's been a case of Emperor Aphex's New Clothes -- the
> techno equivalent of Terry Pratchett, churning out endless, dull
> rehashes of former glories, in full knowledge that the devoted fans
> are going to lap it up regardless.
Hmmm...actually, I'd be of the opinion that he's changing his costume so
frequently as to almost lose his audience. I really don't think he's
rehashing old material - does the most recent LP sound anything like SAW
I (with perhaps the exception of the harmonies on 'Yellow Calx')?
Back to the structure issue, does anyone else think that this
'fractured' quality of some releases is a good development for
electronica, or is it just pissing around?
GD