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To prepare for this review I listened to all 25 tracks of SAW2 in one sitting. And what an amazing experience it was, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed some tracks after not hearing them properly for a while. I'd advise it to anyone, give SAW2 your full, undivided attention. This was my first album by Richard D. James. I wanted to buy it after hearing some of the tracks on the comedy series Jam, which uses a lot of good ambient music. This was in 2006, and that is how I was introduced to Aphex Twin, and IDM music in general. This is easily one of the most powerful albums I have ever heard. It ranges vastly from peaceful, tranquilizing lullabies to highly disturbing recordings from the depths of hell. Here is my review of the 25 tracks, I'll be including the colours I see since I, too, have synaesthesia. [cliffs] Mood: Peaceful, relaxing. Colours: Pink/purple and brown, with black voices. A wonderful opener to this vast album, we are treated to a medley of strange, distorted voices. It's quite hard to describe, since they sound very real yet very different from ordinary speech. The track develops with sublime, oriental melodies. The high point of the track is when it collapses at 4:57, into a series of almost silent, perfectly tranquil tunes. [radiator] Mood: Claustrophobic, unnerving. Colours: Strong red, with black circles and white wisps. We're moving into spooky territory now, with the continuous plodding of an evil tune. You feel trapped. You become connected to this strange place. Half way through, everything becomes ominously still. You pause, anticipating something very frightening. This is a wonderful, vivid track. |
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[rhubarb] Mood: Very relaxing, a feeling of loss. Colours: Green, green/yellow, with black undertones. This is one of the most relaxing tracks I will ever hear. A simply perfect sound is producing melodies that can send one into sheer bliss. Later in the track, if you're still awake, you hear the most beautiful harmony of two different new melodies. I cannot describe just how insanely beautiful this is. Aphex Twin is a genius. [hankie] Mood: Energetic, very scary. Colours: Brown, white and black textures. And now for something completely different. This is a major shift from the previous track, replacing relaxing ambient vibes with something out of a horror show. There are undertones of madness and insanity amongst the terrifying, Arabian strings. It has a very tense, overwhelming feel to it. [grass] Mood: Calm, eerie, unsettling. Colours: Black, purple and white. This is a lot more calm and downtempo than the previous track, like the eye in the middle of the storm. It's a different flavour of scariness, with haunting undertones and very eerie moans and cries. This is what you would hear in your head while walking down a medieval prison, feeling the sorrows and entrapment of all the prisoners as you walk by. [mould] Mood: Calm, humble. Colours: Black smudges with a green/yellow background. This is a very beautiful track made out of a simple melody carried by a strange, wonderful sound. Not much happens in terms of musical development, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless. [ropes] Mood: Spooky. Colours: Red and pink, with hints of black. This is quite a strange track. It's very relaxing and peaceful, yet it carries a sense of fear and discordance. Those eight notes hypnotise you with their repetition. And on top of that, the track is full of extra little melodies to keep things interesting. Wonderful stuff. |
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[blur] Mood: Calm, ominous. Colours: Light green/blue, with black beats. I find this track to be very, very relaxing. It's not just the catchy, yet relaxing beats, but the many different things going on in the background. There are lots of subtle little melodies going on amongst the rest of the noises, it's like a recording from an alien landscape. With so much to hear, you can never get bored. [weathered stone] Mood: Playful, laid back. Colours: Blue and light blue, with some white noises. This track is more percussion based than many of the other tracks on SAW2. And oh, what a catchy track it is! It has a real groove to it, with layers of beats and strange noises set to a series of playful, if not slightly unnerving melodies. It's as if there's a lot of mischief going on, it has that kind of sense of humour that Richard brings to his work. [tree] Mood: Dark. Colours: Black with vague hints of white. It was only recently when I realized how much I loved this track. It manages to do two quite different things very well: send you into a state of pure relaxation, and haunt you with feelings of fear and anxiety. Not many musicians can do this. As the track progresses, the feelings become more and more deeply entwined with you, as noises from the very depths of darkness engulf your soul. You feel childlike fear as you have never known it before, while at the same time feeling too relaxed to do anything about it. You can only continue, and hope that the light will come soon. |
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[domino] Mood: Playful, lightly spooky. Colours: Pink, red and white. Throughout this track, a complex melody endlessly repeats itself. It bounces up and down with a cheeky grin on its face, taking you through a riveting journey that moves through some strange places. It carries a hypnotic feeling of mystery. I had an experience with this track when I left my CD player on while I was asleep, and when this track came on, I remember hearing it in my dream and thinking that it was a very annoying melody, and I wanted it to end. Strange, because I've never really thought this is real life. [white blur 1] Mood: Eerie. Colours: Golden yellow twinkles. This track sounds like it's taken right out of a lucid dream. And the really spooky thing about it is that he seems to have reproduced it perfectly in his studio, a testament to the true talent of Richard D. James. It reminds me of the moments in the restored version of the 1937 film Lost Horizon where the footage couldn't be found and the visuals are replaced with seemingly random images, giving a jarring, unsettling effect. Blue Calx Mood: Tranquil. Colours: Blue with white circles. Ah, Blue Calx. Easily one of the most relaxing, most beautiful tracks on the album. A simple rhythm is put in place to help you keep track of the time. The most exquisite noise you could imagine, like a light, watery explosion, is repeated four times over and over. The second repetition is accompanied by another, even more exquisite noise. And with ambient vibes taking you to higher and higher places of relaxation, it all adds up to one of Richard D. James' greatest tracks. |
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[parallel stripes] Mood: Ecstacy. Colours: Grainy, fuzzy pink and white. Unlike [rhubarb], which seems to get all the love it deserves, I find that this track is severely underrated. It's definitely up there with [rhubarb], Blue Calx and [stone in focus] as a champion of relaxing ambient music. That gentle analogue hum is simply heavenly. All the way through the track, I feel the essence of pure bliss as I float through an alien landscape with a chorus of harmonic singing. [shiny metal rods] Mood: Upbeat, energetic. Colours: Orange and yellow shapes, like tangled wires and bars. One of the more upbeat tracks on SAW2, this track has some real groove. There's electricity in the atmosphere here, it has the power of a tropical rainstorm, and it combines it with a mash of tingling, sparky beats. To be honest, I don't listen to it very often, but when I rediscover it, I don't regret it. [grey stripe] Mood: Eerie, desolate. Colours: Grey background, white shapes ranging from rough to smooth. Wow. Either this is a direct live recording of an alien planet, or it's a perfect recreation of the noises in one of Richard's lucid dreams. This is a really great exhibition of surreal noises, from eerie breezes, to marine life wailing, to the violent hisses of one of nature's mistakes. The ending is amazing, displaying an analogue synth strobing and detuning into hell. [z twig] Mood: Happy, mellow. Colours: Smooth golden yellow circles. Who could possibly say anything bad about this track? Absolute perfection. This really shows Richard's talent for crafting the happiest, most wonderful melodies known to man. Every little note is simply beautiful, and the fact that, somehow, they are building up into this amazing work of art just blows me away every time. |
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[windowsill] Mood: Tribal, menacing. Colours: Dark red with black undertones. When I first got this album, this track was an early favourite. I don't know, I guess I just loved the tribal atmosphere it gives off, the main melody proves to be very effective for something so simple. From the very beginning, a sense of panic and anxiety touch your soul. You are dragged into a world of danger as all the drums of the jungle dance around you. There are some really catchy beats in there, and it all adds up to a great track, even if it isn't strictly ambient. [stone in focus] Mood: Dark, tranquil. Colours: Grainy black. And now for one of the most beautiful, relaxing and simple tracks ever created. This track is built almost entirely on three notes (High C, #C, #A) repeating over and over, with some gentle tapping in the far background. Somehow, the result of this track is vastly greater than the sum of its minimalist parts. Every note takes my breath away. It's hypnotic. It's relaxing. It's disturbing. It's beautiful. It's the perfect track to play on a loop and fall asleep to. This track is the king of ambience. [hexagon] Mood: Everything is OK. Colours: An orange background with golden shines here and there. I adore this track. It's like lying down at a beach, watching vibrant, alien skies and getting warmed up by a burning, alien sun. It's full of exquisite melodies, and each one is an important part of this masterpiece of relaxation. Every second fills me with content, and as I listen to this for six minutes, all my troubles seem to disappear. Simply wonderful. |
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[lichen] Mood: Deeply sad. Colours: White balms. Originally, I didn't like this track very much. Not that I ever considered it to be poorly made, or ineffective. It does its job very well, but that's precisely it. I've always found [lichen] to feel incredibly sad, to the point where it just feels like too much. I remember back in 2006 when I had depression, and I found that listening to tracks like [cliffs] and [rhubarb] helped a little. So, one day, I listened to [lichen]. Big mistake. The sheer melancholy of this track amplified my sadness, and I broke down in tears. It's one of the very few tracks that has ever managed to make me cry. But this is exactly what makes this track truly great. Music is supposed to make you feel, not just feel good, and this track certainly makes me feel. [spots] Mood: Eerie, claustrophobic. Colours: Black smoke. I consider this to be one of the lesser tracks on SAW2. But that's not to say it's not a great track. It feels very atmospheric, as if there are a lot of gases and substances in the air. You can just make out creepy voices edging their way into the track from each direction. It all adds up to a well-produced feeling of claustrophobia. But still, it can feel slightly dry at times, and there aren't many changes overall. Perhaps the album would improve if this track was replaced with the compilation track "Analogue Bubblebath 3", which basically achieves the same effect but in a better way. [tassels] Mood: A panic attack. Colours: Clouds of circles in different shades of yellow. This track is simply marvelous. A very effective feeling of claustrophobia is produced by the squashy, distorted dissolving of a delicious analogue synth. The sound is haunting, even disturbing, but at the same time it manages to relax you, and hypnotise you in typical SAW2 fashion. There are moments when another synth appears on top, and it feels like the track is literally scorching, getting really hot. Basically, the atmosphere is amazing. |
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[white blur 2] Mood: Drowsy, spaced out. Colours: Black background with smooth, orange and yellow shapes. You know, I think this track is very underrated. It's a challenging track, with its sheer length and repetition, but it can be very rewarding once you get into it. This track strongly feels like sleep deprivation. Like if you stay awake for a long amount of time, you feel all woozy and drowsy. Your perception of reality begins to change shape. This is the perfect track to accompany this state of mind, and I've used it to great effect. [matchsticks] Mood: Grand, expansive. Colours: A blur of light blue and white. As the album draws to a close, we are left with an epic finale. It starts off simple enough, with ominous taps and strings to set the mood. Over time, these strings build a tense atmosphere, revealing a new, secret alien world. You see hot, sandy deserts, skies of strange colours, and great, expansive monuments. The track has an eastern feel to it. It climbs higher and higher, with a feeling of importance, of grandeur. The track, and the album, ends rather suddenly, with the remains of the ambient vibe quietly fading out. So ends one of the greatest, strangest, most moving journeys one could possibly undertake in the field of music. I hope you have enjoyed reading my review. Now all that's left is the rather challenging task of rating the 25 tracks in order, from best to worst: [rhubarb] Blue Calx [parallel stripes] [lichen] [hexagon] [cliffs] [stone in focus] [z twig] [grass] [white blur 2] [tree] [hankie] [ropes] [blur] [windowsill] [radiator] [matchsticks] [tassels] [weathered stone] [domino] [grey stripe] [mould] [shiny metal rods] [white blur 1] [spots] |
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and who will ever read all that?) i think it is that kind of music...you know, personal? where everyone sees his own stuff |
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I read bits and pieces Madonna, not the whole thing yes its a superb album just listened to CD02 about a month ago-ish. |
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i still listen to selections of these when going to sleep has been a while since i had it all in one seating though |
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its really music that enhances synesthesia. |
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cancer |
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sounds like a good album. i'll have to check it out |
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When is it released and who's it by? |
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It was released in 1994 by Aphex Twin, aka Richard D. James. It's a bloody good album, but prepare to be surprised. |
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Cool, never heard of it. Thanks. I notice this is number 2. Does that mean there is a number 1? |
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lol, yeah yeah yeah get off his nuts you know there is a #1 and a #3 wont happen any time soon :( |
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do you mean v3? |
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did he make this or is it fan made? |
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Ever since I was a young boy, I've enjoyed watching people dance. He knows this all too well.. |
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Unfortunately for you all, the review was actually voodoo. By scrolling down, the magic switch was activated, and by skimming- as stated in the actual review- you all agreed to the curse. Nice job, budz and budzettez--- you'ze all cursed! YOU ALL NOW HAVE APHEX FACES!!! FEEL YOUR SMILE!!!!! FuuUUUUuUUuUUuUuuUu |
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Voodoo+ |
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awesome video |
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this is sarcasm right? |
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read the post right below his post [#02377606] dave's been here almost as long as we have i think he has a clue |
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You fools, there's about 100 Selected Ambient Works, my favourite ones are 85 to 92. |
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AHAHAHA |
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I was going to make that joke and now I'm not happy you've beaten me. Great minds think alike eh? hmmm |
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Sorry, that was in response to your "I notice this is number 2. Does that mean there is a number 1?"... I guess we're riffing off of each other with IDM-themed bon mots. |
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this new fangled sarcasm thingie you guys seem to be making use of is a bit hard to follow though, be careful, |
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Type it up in beautiful code |
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B===D ~~~ |
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today's special: rhubarb and thunderstorms |
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grass + huge thunder |
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there's no worst or best track imo, today i hate a track that once made my day.. that's not the point |
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i skipped weathered stone for instance |
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ambient sucks... |
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saw II is the only album i have played + 1000 times. Words would spoil it. |
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play both brown records backwards together and you get some great lyrics |
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