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new aphex album = pile of poo
 

analogue bubblebath from england on 2002-01-24 16:11 [#00074464]



Having followed Mr James' work from the start, I have to say
the new album's a pile of wank.
Same old, same old, same old, it's aphex on autopilot.
He may own a tank and a nuclear submarine, but i'm not
scared.
Dick, your album's shite.
I care, but you obviously don't.


 

Rob.E. from London on 2002-01-24 16:33 [#00074468]



It's perfectly ok to feel that way...}:>


 

jand from Essex on 2002-01-24 16:34 [#00074469]



It's a grower...I seem to be listening to very little else
for the last few weeks...

Get yourself some decent phones or speakers and you'll
perpahs hear the sheer detail of so many of the tracks...


 

m i f f from c y m r u on 2002-01-24 16:34 [#00074470]



i wish i had a tank...


 

/-T|K|R-\ from the start on 2002-01-24 16:34 [#00074471]



i understand what he means but that's what he's always done
so you really can't blame him, but that's what makes him
great at what he does,
hope this helps


 

ken from ken on 2002-01-24 16:49 [#00074475]



i couldn't get into the album at all-until i put all the
hardcore stuff on one minidisc, and all the ambient piano on
another-then i sequenced it so it had more of a flow-thats
my problem with the'authentic' druks-it just sounds thrown
together as an album. i know what you mean though-it really
has disappointed A LOT of hardcore afx fans.


 

titsworth_courier from washington, dc on 2002-01-24 18:57 [#00074512]



hardcore afx fans are like hip-hop fans: they hate change.
it's kind of ironic tho cos both afx and hip-hop producers
are always innovating.


 

MO 2 on 2002-01-24 19:06 [#00074514]



tittyworth, I couldn't agree with you more.


 

JOB on 2002-01-24 19:12 [#00074517]



yeah like what do you expect, u want another rdj album or
icbyd? Oviously his music is going to change with the times
and personally i think it has gone for the better. To call
drukqs a pile of poo doesnt make sence to me. U must have
crappy headphones or something, theres so much debth to each
song, everytime i listen to the album i hear something new.


 

|REFLEX| from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 2002-01-24 19:41 [#00074530]



In my opinion, the newest album is completly boring! The old
stuff, the harder stuff is amazing still to this day. But
his new one!? Damnit, I was SOOOO exited to have AFX come
out with something new, and then I heard it was a double CD!
I almost died with anticipation, but then I hear the CD
after I buy it and argh! It was nothing of what I expected,
total waste.


 

aphex_tibs from south east uk on 2002-01-24 20:21 [#00074544]



I think the piano tracks are a nice alternative to the
aggressive 1000 bpm's of the other tracks


 

Ophecks from Nova Scotia on 2002-01-24 20:24 [#00074546]



I think it's his best... this Drukqs argument is never
ending, I'm afraid...

It isn't revolutionary, and he didn't put much effort into
it, but I LOVE pianos, and I LOVE all the shit he jams into
the hard tracks. Still hearing new things, to this day...


 

aphex_tibs from south east uk on 2002-01-24 20:25 [#00074548]



I think the piano tracks are a nice alternative to the
aggressive 1000 bpm's of the other tracks


 

corngrower from Iowa on 2002-01-24 20:28 [#00074549]



I think it's a little harsh to call it a 'pile of poo', put
to each his own. I think that if it would have just been a
single lp organized a little better and leaving out some
tracks, it would have been better, or at least would have
gone over better with some people. Still a great rdj
release as far as Im concerned.


 

jand from Essex on 2002-01-24 20:59 [#00074554]



tits_worth: I know the syndrome, tho I'm pretty hardcore AFX
fan from the early days and its exactly the CHANGE that
keeps me interested after all this time...there's very few
other current artists that can achive this....Theres nothing
I like less than an "artist" who stagants & churns out more
of the same....

which it's tricky to accuse RDJ of?...

Evolution of sound is what I love and RDJ is doing a good
good job...



 

titsworth_courier from washington, dc on 2002-01-24 21:09 [#00074559]



agreed, RDJ always does right with that. and you know what?
i'm sick of people pretending or tricking themselves into
thinking drukqs isn't anything new and prefacing their
praise with "it's nothing
original/revolutionary/special/unique but..." fuck y'all,
the tracks on drukqs ARE original. i mean firstly they're
very unique in the afx catalogue. how many complex bangers
like the ones on drukqs can you find on the other releases?
none. none with as much rhythmic precision and intricacies.
he has honed his skills with rhythm and ferocity to an
entirely new level. and how much of SAW85-92 or SAW2 sounds
like the short tracks on drukqs? none of it. the stuff on
drukqs sounds organic (tho the trick is that they're all or
mostly triggered by laptop!) in a way unlike anything he's
put out before. it sounds more like danny elfman and erik
satie than "classic (not Classics) aphex twin". this is all
original stuff. there have been very few pieces of music
since the early ages that have created new genres of music.
SAW2 arguably did that with its brand of mind numbing
ambient. but everything else afx has done has just been
improving on (and in turn spurring evolution and revolution
within) existing styles of music. so stop hating on drukqs
because it's his finest update of music yet, and he hasn't
even begun dishing out his latest vision (rephlex release
2002?.


 

surrounded by demons from neverneverland on 2002-01-24 21:21 [#00074563]



I don't know, maybe it is because I'm more used to listening
to rock/pop-albums rather than electronic music, but I don't
find the way the tracks are arranged illogical at all. I
love the fact that there are so many contrasts in this
album. Especially the #1 disc is almost perfect. (esp. the
first 10 tracks, as Gwarek 2 is the only druqks-song that I
still don't like). To me it feels much more like an "album"
than SAW 85-92 or ICBYD for instance. I don't believe that
keeping all songs in the same sort of mood is the only way
to make an album something more than just a collection of
songs. It's just a wonderful trip... all the way from
jynweythek to nanou2.

If all the calm and all the noisy songs would have been
seperated between disc #1 and #2... that would have been
boring i think


 

Quoth from Lincoln on 2002-01-24 21:49 [#00074566]



I love Drukqs. jesus... I get bored with listening to
Bucephalus Bouncing Ball. Bah. DRUKQS in my humble opinion
is RDJ's finest work that is quite different from his older
stuff.


 

|REFLEX| from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 2002-01-24 21:49 [#00074567]



Drukqs may be new and shows a newer style for him, but
really that doesnt impress me any. I enjoyed his Analogue
days far better than these new ones. Caustis Window, AB1,
AB3, AB2 even, 5 not so much, Polygon Window, Quoth... all
those are amazing, complexity comes in different shapes and
sizes. Sure Drukqs is cool, but I was very dissapointed with
it. Ill always enjoy his old stuff more.


 

Quoth from Lincoln on 2002-01-24 21:51 [#00074568]



that's nice.


 

The_Funkmaster from Newfoundland, Canada on 2002-01-24 21:51 [#00074569]



I like Drukqs... but I don't seem to listen to it much... so
in that sense it's definately not his best...


 

The_Funkmaster from Newfoundland, Canada on 2002-01-24 21:54 [#00074570]



in my opinion that is...


 

The Happy Slanderer on 2002-01-24 22:02 [#00074573]



Never make an album that rhymes with "sucks."


 

Spud from Susanville, CA on 2002-01-24 22:10 [#00074578]



Whoever thinks Drukqs sucks, you are the pile of poo, not
the album itself.


 

Jarworski from Wales on 2002-01-24 22:12 [#00074580]



I think it's good. The soft tracks are alright, the hard
tracks are great. The production makes his older hard stuff
sound pretty lame in comparison. And... yeah


 

Xanatos from NYC on 2002-01-24 22:13 [#00074582]



People who haven't listened to drukqs much usually say it
sucks. Even if you don't like it, how can you possibly say
"Same old, same old"? Have you even played it straight
through once?


 

The_Funkmaster from Newfoundland, Canada on 2002-01-24 22:14 [#00074583]



yeah, it's definately dense music, and very very
sophisticated, but to me, that doesn't make it a great
album... just because something is super complicated
sounding, it's not necessarily an amazing album... like I
said though, I like the album, it's just not my favorite...


 

jand from Essex on 2002-01-24 22:31 [#00074592]



I recall a guy I used to to know who I played the various
AXF stuff...He haden't RDJ onwards....(whne RDJ went for
that DnB style andbeyond...)...

I kinda to explain that beats can go beyond 4x4 and AFX's
kinda-broken rhythms are alike to Jazz when as it broke away
from bebop & waltz etc... very similar reaction from the
audience as well to start with.....the rest is History

It's like Jungle rewired my brain...I can now appriciate the
sheer speed & slowness & timbre& atmostphere & emotion
together without one constany tripping over the other......



 

evolume from seattle wa usa on 2002-01-24 22:36 [#00074595]



i admit that i wasn't in love with the album straight away
but i now think that it could become my favorite afx. one
thing that really stood out on this album was his arranging
(spelling?) skills. his songs are brilliantly arranged.
anyone who has listened to much beethoven or tchaikovski
(spelling?) knows what i'm talking about.


 

kryocera3 from Dallas,Texas (Plano) on 2002-01-24 23:12 [#00074601]



If you dont appreciate the power and genuis of drukQs, than
you arent a true Aphex Twin fan and don't have much musical
intelligence. DrukQs is by far his most advanced work.



 

kryocera3 from Dallas,Texas (Plano) on 2002-01-24 23:22 [#00074604]



It is one thing to listen to "good sounding" easy to groove
to or whatever music, like most crappy djs and so called idm
or drum and bass stuff, but I guarrantee that after
listening to most of that stuff, when you return to listen
to drukQs everything else is just plan dull. There is only
a small handfull of electronic artist that capture true
originality and creativity. Personally, I think Aphex Twin
and his lastest work drukQs claims the crown out of the
bunch.


 

jand from Essex on 2002-01-24 23:32 [#00074608]



I do like the various emotions each track has within it...I
find myself considering all sorts of feelings behind the
tracks...it's all about listeing without prejous; you'll see
that RDJ as put some evry emotions in each...& try not to
cocntrate on"How did he do that?". I was once a musician and
real techy stuff/gear/sounds was my side but linking
emotion to that is the hardest...

I know, as many of you are musicians, it's far too easy to
listen out for the "How? The fuck" bits...but try...



 

PostModernVancouver from Vancouverrr on 2002-01-24 23:45 [#00074610]



Tower/Pulse
APHEX TWIN
Drukqs ( Warp/London-Sire )

As electronic music, from big beat to IDM to trance, gets
absorbed by the entertainment industry, its integrity is
often sacrificed, while hacks like Moby create electronic
wallpaper best suited to retailers intent on cornering a
youthful demographic. Purchases of "electronica lifestyle"
CDs at Pottery Barn and Starbucks figure into corporate
fiscal year reports, not far behind those beloved jazz and
pop lifestyle CDs.

Thankfully, the inventive U.K. programmers who founded
electronica on the vinyl shards of Detroit house and
futuristic German pop have never stopped pursuing their
muse. Surpassing themselves at an amazing clip, with
inventive pioneers rising in the underground ranks, artists
such as Kreidler, Kid 606, Squarepusher and Wagon Christ
have continued to forage and forge a renegade vision in this
overly commercial/conservative era.

Richard James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, the most ingenious
programmer since Stockhausen cut his first tape loop, is
also the most inscrutable artist of the electronica sect.
James made his initial impact in the U.S. with 1994's
Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2, a double CD of minimal
ambient music made of warped-string sounds and ominous synth
drones that was simply, eerily beautiful. Fast forward to
1999's Windowlicker EP and James had evolved to snarling
drum 'n' bass, manic break-beat explosions, ripping hardcore
and frenzied acid experimentation, all bearing his trademark
piss-take humor and mournful melodicism. Make no mistake,
James is the genius of the genre, refusing to suffer fools
whether recording cartoon songs about the "milkman's wife's
tits" or creating computer software for his favorite
pastime, video games. James has said that he only continues
to make music for his friends and for the money, but Drukqs
shows his laptop still burning with bright ideas.

Another double CD, Drukqs doesn't necessarily break new
ground, but it is more streamlined and traditionally musical
than earlier records. Purists may long for more extremism, a
la "Come to Daddy," but Drukqs is Aphex Twin at his most
concise, coherent and satisfying. It's all here: organic
beauty, alien war symphonies, butt-boring drum 'n' bass,
exploding psychologies of splayed beats and ghostly
melodies, and of course, demonically funny word gags of
fabulously anal British wit.

It doesn't matter where you drop the needle: "Vordhosbn" is
all flexo-acid beats and scary synth coos coupled with
fart-bombs and elderly cries of loneliness. "Avril 14th" is
two minutes of a child's pristine piano sonata, as tuneful
as a Satie Gymnopede. "Mt. Saint Michel Mix+St. Michaels
Mount" begins as whizzing drum 'n' bass, but is soon
infiltrated by a halo of twinkling tones, hand drums and
emergency sirens; it's like seeing angels right before our
vehicle crashes. "Hy a Scullyas Lyf a Dhagrow" (Welsh?)
sounds like a folk zither piece; "54 Cymru Beats" is
happy-scratch acid more Wagon Christ than Aphex; "Penty
Harmonium" creates a virtual pony ride; "Taking Control"
waxes philosophic with acid frivolity, drunken Syndrums and
murky vocals. Hey, Richard, keep it up and come back soon.
The Drukqs really do work.

By Ken Micallef

Aphex Twin
Drukqs?
Warp/Sire


-----------------------------------------------------------
---------------------

So the reviews are out and they're all over the board on
this one. So let's address the points of the current reviews
of Drukqs? Yes, Richard D. James made the decision not to
release any further material after his last record, yet has
now wrapped up his contract with Warp with the release of
Drukqs. It's a 30-track disc that may not break any new
ground for the artist and the album is an ever bizarre and
tough set of tracks that bounces from his familiar cut-up
drill -n-bass to the classically structured and borderline
new age sounding tracks. The emotional roller coaster it
leads you down can be downright scary and it may let down
those that are expecting something fresh but realistically,
how long can an artist continue to break new ground? Why
must he keep us on our toes forever?

In the larger scope of music, electronic and beyond, Aphex
Twin can still be considered cutting edge and sound unlike
anything you've experienced before and it's really up to the
new breed of artists to carry his torch and add to his
sound. This criteria is one way to judge this album but if
you can put that aside, you'll find Drukqs is a wicked
release full of his trademark insanity and complex
programming that truly combines the best of his past
releases. The extreme amount detail given to the rapid fire
editing is astounding and the melancholic piano and
accordion work is downright beautiful. Don't go into it
expecting something new and instead consider it as a fine
example of everything that Aphex Twin has thankfully created
for us in the past. Perhaps this should be his perfect final
album? -JH



 

Loogie from UK on 2002-01-24 23:49 [#00074611]



I downloaded it 2 months before it was released, and
remember thinking hmm I hope it's a fake.
It's not bad really but those piano bits just do nothing for
me, remind me of my sister practicing for grade one.
That bell track though... awesome!

Ended buying it though, just to keep the collection
complete.


 

The_Funkmaster from Newfoundland, Canada on 2002-01-25 01:48 [#00074629]



see that's stupid... just because you don't like something
that is considered to be pure genious, doesn't mean that
you're stupid... it's just a differing of tastes...


 

|REFLEX| from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 2002-01-25 06:53 [#00074738]



Whoever said that you have no smarts because you dont like
Drukqs is not too bright, thats sorta... pushing your
opinion on everyone else, ofcourse I dont take it, but I
mean come on, sure its complex, but like someone else said
that doesnt mean you need to like it more.


 

Bogus on 2002-01-25 07:29 [#00074741]



So the only real reason why you are putting an album out now
is because you wanted to officially release as many tracks
as possible before they get
around unofficially?

RDJ: Yeah, pretty much. It’s kind of like an mp3 album
really. I don’t reckon that many people will do it, but
the way I listen to music now is that I buy a CD, put it on
the computer and just take the tracks I want anyway.
I’d hope that people would to the same with this
CD.




 

Bogus on 2002-01-25 07:39 [#00074742]



Do the tracks on the album sound new to you?

RDJ: Not really. A lot of them are quite old-style
sound-ing, I reckon. I’ve done loads of tracks which are
really new in style and which don’t sound like any-thing
else but I didn’t want to release those tracks. What I
found is that if you release something that’s really new
ideas then everyone just copies that very
quickly and then it becomes very old, whereas if you make
things in an old style then you know how it’s going to
age. I’ve made tracks before which are really fresh and
then loads of people
copy it and that just ruins it.

One thing one could always rely on when a new Aphex Twin
album came out, was that you were going to be surprised. At
least that was the case
until „Richard D James“. If you’ve heard the 12“
"Hangable Autobulb“ before you would have got a pretty
good idea for the sound of „Richard D. James“. With
„Drukqs“ it mostly seems to be more of the same.


RDJ: In some ways that’s true. But they are not really the
same as before. Style-wise they are the same but not
depth-wise. I haven’t done something in so much detail
before. There‘ about a hundred times more details than in
older ones.
There’s maybe only one track, number seven
(„Bbydhyonchord“), that
is slightly different, different kind of beat or what-ever.
And I’ve done loads of stuff like that and I just don’t
want to release it.



 

Joe from North Pole on 2002-01-25 08:13 [#00074743]



I like most of the tracks on Druqks if I listen to them
individually BUT I do not like the layout/mix of the album.
Alot of the songs don't flow together IMO.


 

Xanatos from NYC on 2002-01-25 08:29 [#00074744]



"RDJ: Yeah, pretty much. It’s kind of like an mp3 album
really. I don’t reckon that many people will do it, but
the way I listen to music now is that I buy a CD, put it on
the computer and just take the tracks I want anyway. I’d
hope that people would to the same with this CD.
"
Dude, that's misquoted, that's not what RDJ said. He was
not saying that he hoped people would take a few tracks and
put them on their computer...he was saying he hoped people
would burn the cds into one in a track arrangement that they
liked. Unless I'm mistaken, that above is a quote made of
chopped up things RDJ said, and it wasn't in response to
that question either. Show me where you found that
interview.

When he said he burned the mp3s, he was saying that because
he buys tons of CDs on amazon.com and then records the mp3s
and returns the cds. You would think he wouldn't need to do
that, but anyway, I'm pretty sure that quote is B.S.


 

ArchRival on 2002-01-25 09:03 [#00074751]



"hardcore afx fans are like hip-hop fans: they hate change.
it's kind of ironic tho cos both afx and hip-hop producers
are always innovating."

Totally agree with that! Drukqs is amazing.



 

Bogus on 2002-01-25 09:12 [#00074753]



xanatos that's not misquoted at all and don't be dumb... cus
extracting the tracks you like from drukqs to your pc...
implies the possibility of burning a cd of the tracks you
like from druqks. the point is that he did not intend for
drukqs to be listened in one stand... is just a collection
of tracks do what you want with them.

and the amazon thing was said on aother question and it
doesn't even have any relevance on the point made.


 

ken from ken on 2002-01-25 09:17 [#00074756]



drukqs is stunning.


 

m on 2002-01-25 09:31 [#00074762]



it's not really that complex/intricate. this album didn't
have much of a big impact on me, otto von schirach 8000 bc
is far more wicked just for one example.


 

grinningcat on 2002-01-25 11:16 [#00074793]



i think the biggest problem with druqs is no one can make
their damn mind up about it!!

wen i bought it i thought it was wicked, then i bought the
rest of his stuff and thought it was a little stale, but now
again listening to it, it is in fact wicked!!

i think he did it on purpose to confuse and perplex his
fans, the sick f*ck!


 

Ytrewder Showons from Far from the truth on 2002-01-25 15:03 [#00074841]



Pile of poo? Thats a question each and one ask all to
ofthen. But just the simpel fact, that you asked it in the
first place is an answer. May not be the answer you were
looking for. If you have made up youre mind, you have walked
away from the truth.

Drukqs are good.In which way? Acid flipp reality. Acid?
Reality? All and non.


 

grinningcat on 2002-01-25 17:51 [#00074888]



hey that sounds like mr.RDJ...


 

Papa Byrd from Perth on 2002-01-25 18:17 [#00074891]



Dont be too hasty with your opinions people!!
Druks is just a beautiful refinement of what Richard has
learnt. To say it is a pile of poo to me seems that you must
not have listened to it with an open mind.
(forget his previuos work, heck...forget any other music in
the world, just turn off the lights, put on the headphones
and listen carefully to the Drukqs.)
This album really contains some breathtaking music.


 

Papa Byrd from Perth on 2002-01-25 18:18 [#00074892]



Dont be too hasty with your opinions people!!
Druks is just a beautiful refinement of what Richard has
learnt. To say it is a pile of poo to me seems that you must
not have listened to it with an open mind.
(forget his previuos work, heck...forget any other music in
the world, just turn off the lights, put on the headphones
and listen carefully to the Drukqs.)
This album really contains some breathtaking music.


 

Echelon from The capitalist pig country formerly known as the U.S on 2002-01-25 19:02 [#00074906]



Aphex twin's new album is a Big PILE OF SHIT!!.... that is
if all you enjoy is avant-garde and hardcore, RDJ has
definetaly toned-down a bit, but I believe that was his
intent, he didn't make Drukqs to impress critics or fans, he
made it as part of a record deal, so naturally it's going to
be more light. I personally believe such a fusion between
his wild drill n' bass style, with some very beautiful piano
lines is wonderful because it shows that all his music does
not have to be deep dark, and complicated, just fun, well
that's my 2 cents, just let it grow on you.



 


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