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Richard D James
 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 08:52 [#00712780]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



what is it that attracks so many people?... why is he so
far ahead of the rest?... I mean, this days I am having
autechre only listening days... I love autechre, many times
I think I prefer autechre to richard... but thats not the
point, what I am trying to say is:

why is he so much more attractive as a phenomenon than the
others?.
many could have diferent ideas about who is better: him, ae,
[]pusher, orbital, fsol, the orb, boc, plaid, uziq.... but
nobody can deny the fact that he is the one that has caused
more fan attraction, more websites, I mean if autechre were
in second place or even tied in music skills, they are still
far away in websites dedicated, or articles written, or
influence made towards other musicians.

maybe I am wrong, but what do you think?
_________________________________
2nd thought:
_________________________________
he is not much older than me... I was born in 1975 and he
was born in 1971 (me thinks)... but look at him and look at
me... how did he do so many things in such little time

in 1991 he did the analogue bubblebath 1... that woul be
like 1995 for me (same age as him in 1991)... well in 1995 I
was just a young architecture student in his 2nd year of
college... but I had done nothing, but look at what he´s
done since then... I have almost done nothing...

man... ma I spoiling my time?... I must change.



 

offline Frag from New Jersey (United States) on 2003-05-24 08:53 [#00712784]
Points: 1024 Status: Lurker



I had a dream last night that I talked on AIM with him. it
was interesting.


 

offline rockenjohnny from champagne socialism (Australia) on 2003-05-24 08:54 [#00712786]
Points: 7983 Status: Lurker



oh he just made it thru to commercial telly

thats all, i think :)



 

offline S M Pennyworth from East Timor on 2003-05-24 08:54 [#00712787]
Points: 2196 Status: Lurker



good pr


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 08:54 [#00712788]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



dont get me wrong... I am not saying that popularity means
being better

but why is he more popular?


 

offline pachi from yo momma (United States) on 2003-05-24 08:55 [#00712790]
Points: 8984 Status: Lurker | Followup to nacmat: #00712780



no worries nacho

there's no reason to believe he's any better than you. we
all are experts at different things.

besides, what does he know about architecture?

;)


 

offline diablo on 2003-05-24 08:57 [#00712796]
Points: 3242 Status: Lurker



No, I think his sheer volume of work and the consistency of
quality is what makes him ahead of the rest... plus he's
been doing it a loooong time.


 

offline Ophecks from Nova Scotia (Canada) on 2003-05-24 08:57 [#00712797]
Points: 19190 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



HIS FACE.

He puts it EVERYWHERE. You know him because you know his
face... it may contribute to his legendary status. Even
people that don't know him might know the ''RDJ face'', or
at least be intrigued by that and the his Windowlicker/Drukq
mutant people.

And yet despite everyone knowing what he looks like, he's
such an enigam anyway... a master of the media game,
methinks.


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 08:59 [#00712802]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



he's an legend!
i remember i read in an interview with one of our domestic
dj's and journalist asked him what will he produce in the
future; he replied i cant discover anything that RDJ didnt
discover already!

i got AB4 yesterday - i only heard elephant song before, but
the second track totally blew me...it happened every time
with every new (to me) release i heard by him...he really is
a genius...

and another thing...its enough to tell he's amazing if you
see him live (whether djing or doing live stuff), he's just
better than all the other acts (could be just me tho)...

he's totally devoted to music, doing the stuff he likes and
there's no way people or media can overlook what he's doing


 

offline Ophecks from Nova Scotia (Canada) on 2003-05-24 09:00 [#00712803]
Points: 19190 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



FUCK

''enigam'' = ENIGMA

A Man of Mythtery


 

offline diablo on 2003-05-24 09:01 [#00712804]
Points: 3242 Status: Lurker



The work by Cunnigham and Des. Republic obviously helps
create the "enigma" image... but before all that there was
still SAW 1 and Polygon Window, On etc etc... pure quality.


 

offline pachi from yo momma (United States) on 2003-05-24 09:01 [#00712805]
Points: 8984 Status: Lurker | Followup to tolstoyed: #00712802



he's totally devoted to music, doing the stuff he likes
and
there's no way people or media can overlook what he's doing


that's what's most important; doing what pleases you.


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 09:05 [#00712806]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



nice posts here indeed... I didnt know really what I wanted
to talk about exactly, I just felt that I had to give some
thought on Richard as a person, as a musician and as social
phenomenon.

I agree about him being a master of the media game (thanks
ophecks)... but why arent autechre masters in that too? the
face thing is important maybe...in fact its like an Icon,
but I dont think that can mean such a diference, not when we
are talking also about a huge duo such as AE, they have done
tones of genious music too, even more solid than
richard...but even so, he seems to be much more respected,
feared and admired


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 09:09 [#00712812]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



richards music has more variety than autechre's...
and also, i dont think media takes autechre's music too
seriously - they never made any tracks that would suit wider
audience tho (like aphex did with saw1 or windowlicker...)
+ from what i've read their live shows are nothing like the
rdj is doing (i cant confirm that tho, as i never saw them
live...)


 

offline corticalstim from Canada on 2003-05-24 09:12 [#00712815]
Points: 3885 Status: Regular | Followup to nacmat: #00712806



i think it also has a lot to do with how accessible
richard's music is to the average person - it is a lot
easier for a typical person that listens to dance and rave
music - to go into a record store and pick up saw85-92 and
enjoy it - but if that same person went and picked up LP5 -
they probably couldnt stand it - aphex is the pop of orginal
electronic music and i think thats what makes him so popular
- that plus the huge amounts of publicity behind him


 

offline corticalstim from Canada on 2003-05-24 09:12 [#00712817]
Points: 3885 Status: Regular | Followup to tolstoyed: #00712812



ugh - i took too long to type :P


 

offline diablo on 2003-05-24 09:13 [#00712819]
Points: 3242 Status: Lurker



Face it, Aphex Twin is better than all the other so called
"idm" acts put together


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 09:15 [#00712822]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to tolstoyed: #00712812



i see your point

anyway I dont want this to get into an ae vs aphex thread

I just gave ae as an example of similar artists in quality
or long and solid career... whatever... I know that some of
us may not like autechre so much, or in the case of uziq or
the pusher or anyother example...
about music quality we can just move leaded by our music
taste... but there is something we all must agree on, and it
is the fact of richard being the king of the idm popularity.
which is difficult, cos idm fans usually look for the
unknown artist, the non popular ones... we dont like feeling
fans of a popular band... we like to feel like an elite
(someitmes not always)... but even so we all take richard as
the king


 

offline uzim on 2003-05-24 09:18 [#00712825]
Points: 17716 Status: Lurker



his face (album covers), his logo and name (i got attracted
by his name first before hearing anything by him, already
the name "aphex twin" sounds so good and the logo is great
too), his personality, his legendary tank and laziness...
and seems to be capable to do anything he wants
electronicmusically, he can do so much different things
(Autechre isn't as much varied as him, BoC is miles and
miles and miles away, only Squarepusher could reach but
still). and, well, for 7\ vs. Ae, 7\ is easier to get into.
(but in record stores, you can find approximately as much Ae
than 7\...)


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 09:18 [#00712826]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



another thing i have noticed...
richard had more tracks that were stuck in my mind - or that
did impression the first time i've heard them (come to
daddy, ventolin, windowlicker,...), that never was the case
with autechre...i listened to them even before i was into
aphex but it was just one of the many electronic acts for
me...nothing exceptional, non of the track were stuck in my
head...i think this also has to do with people that dont
follow electronica and their perception of autechre and RDJ


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 09:21 [#00712828]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator | Followup to nacmat: #00712822



i completely agree with what you're saying...except for this
part:
"which is difficult, cos idm fans usually look for the
unknown artist, the non popular ones... we dont like feeling

fans of a popular band... we like to feel like an elite "

its always down to MUSIC for me (no matter how popular one
is)


 

offline diablo on 2003-05-24 09:21 [#00712829]
Points: 3242 Status: Lurker



Atmosphere, humour, darkness, lightness, melody,
micro-programming, poppy crossover, originality, production
values, obscure aliases, track titles, videos, artwork...
the lot!


 

offline Morgoth from Stella-town (Belgium) on 2003-05-24 09:21 [#00712830]
Points: 1264 Status: Regular



It has got some to do with being accessible. and also with
media attention. Reading interviews, with him talking about
his vehicle and so on, you just want to know more about this
"freak" (not negatively meant).

And maybe: which other artist has done so much in such short
notice?

Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that he has
done stuff under different names? Ae have Gescom, but
that's totally different music and not only them.

I don't know actually, just guessing.


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 09:25 [#00712834]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to tolstoyed: #00712828



I know but note that I wrote at the end: (sometimes, not
always)

I care about music, and not popularity (as bad or as
good)... if not I wouldnt love the beatles

but in some way we search for something diferent, something
that surprises us.... and things that are already popular
can hardly surprise

maybe this is the point:
even though he is popular, richard still surprises us... he
is still inventing the future for us


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 09:26 [#00712835]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



"maybe this is the point:
even though he is popular, richard still surprises us... he

is still inventing the future for us "

this is an excellent point!!


 

offline KEYFUMBLER from DUBLIN (Ireland) on 2003-05-24 09:37 [#00712849]
Points: 5696 Status: Lurker



i met him 3 times at ATP and the guy is as normal as the
rest of us on the surface....... overall he´s got a
combination of talent and "nothings ever gonna stop me doing
exactly what i want " attitude. While the rest us plod
along, unsure of our skills, behaviour with others and all
that, RDJ seems to just be 100 percent fucking sure of
himself all the time withouit being an arrogant cunt. We can
all do it but trip ourselves over with silly little
obstacles.

Clever marketing helps too


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 09:44 [#00712862]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



"the guy is as normal"
"nothings ever gonna stop me doing
exactly what i want " attitude"

thats why we love him!!!


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 12:00 [#00713028]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to tolstoyed: #00712862



I never went to a live set
I never heard him talking in any interview
I haven really read many interviews

so I cant really have any aproach to him as a person

but even so, I am totally caught by his magic


 

offline weatheredstoner from same shit babes. (United States) on 2003-05-24 12:02 [#00713029]
Points: 12585 Status: Lurker



The reason RDJ is popular is because he is more than one
person. ;)

Seriously that whole dead-brother thing is working out for
him, he's got the hookup in the spirtual realms as well as
the physical realm.


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 12:12 [#00713047]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



its interesting how he has involved his family... who knows
what rob´s parent´s names are?

we are all much more informed about richard´s life than
anyother


 

offline DirtyPriest from Copenhagen (Denmark) on 2003-05-24 12:23 [#00713053]
Points: 5499 Status: Lurker



I think Chris cunninghams videos has a lot to do with it.

Before that he was strictly underground...

But theres also a little magic involved, ill admit it. Hes
charismatic, the devil!


 

offline rzezniq from gorzow (Poland) on 2003-05-24 12:27 [#00713055]
Points: 954 Status: Regular



i think it`s because his music i so unique. he is the best
composer ever, so orginal, so briliant. i think he is mental
about music makeing he lives with that. thats why people
love him.


 

offline surrounded from it won't be hard anymore to li on 2003-05-24 12:50 [#00713073]
Points: 3787 Status: Regular



It's an interesting question. And the anwser is probably a
combination of many things. The songs Come To Daddy &
Windowlicker definitly got him ALOT of attention from the
public (50% because of the music and 50% because of the
videos).
+ He always shows his face (i only know what the guys behind
autechre, boc, plaid, squarepusher etc look like because of
their pictures on the internet. They never put their faces
on their albumsleeves). But richard really brings his
personality in the music. There are all these crazy
stories/myths about him that get people intruiged and they
want to go listen to him (he drives a tank, he lives in an
old bank, he once played with sandpaper on a turntable, he
forgot to remix a song and just gave away a track of his
own... etc etc... we all know the stories. I think they
really make people want to hear the music. The music itself
isn't much more accesible i think. For the media he's
probably also fun to write about (more fun than any other
idm-artists... we know nothing about them besides the music.
But with richard we know about his dead brother, we know how
his parents are called (and what they sound like :-p)... the
media just write more about him --> so more people read
about him


 

offline phiz from Liverpool (United Kingdom) on 2003-05-24 12:56 [#00713080]
Points: 2622 Status: Lurker



i think he attracts the same ammount of listeners as a lot
of contempory artists, or on the fringe at least, because
well, he's good, end of.


 

offline jamesa from United Kingdom on 2003-05-24 13:03 [#00713084]
Points: 1080 Status: Lurker



music making just comes extremely naturally to him - as a
man with no formal training.

designing synths and modifying them etc is a rare thing.

i had a dream he worked in the cafe in eastenders last night
and thought how nice it was that i'd be able to see more of
him

extraordinary!!


 

offline ijonspeches from 109P/Swift-Tuttle on 2003-05-24 16:57 [#00713391]
Points: 7846 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



to point 1.: Variety, Excellence, Personality,

to point 2.: Dedication



 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 17:07 [#00713393]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator



i think him being eccentric is only a cover for the
media/promotion...because afterall he seems to be a totally
normal guy-a nice and friendly person...



 

offline ijonspeches from 109P/Swift-Tuttle on 2003-05-24 17:14 [#00713395]
Points: 7846 Status: Lurker | Followup to tolstoyed: #00713393 | Show recordbag



thats also the impression i got,
he must have had a lot of fun with the media so far.
thats a good way to deal with the media anyway, you keep
them somehow distant from yourself.


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 17:17 [#00713398]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator | Followup to ijonspeches: #00713395



hmm, you can always beat up the journalist if media bothers
you - that will distract other journalists...

but yeah, i toatlly agree with you!


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 19:04 [#00713431]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



what other electronica artist cause so much attraction? such
a mith?


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2003-05-24 19:10 [#00713433]
Points: 14294 Status: Lurker



That's myth, sir, not mith.
Thankyou.


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 19:26 [#00713436]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to mappatazee: #00713433



lol... sorry you are right....


 

offline tolstoyed from the ocean on 2003-05-24 19:35 [#00713438]
Points: 50073 Status: Moderator | Followup to nacmat: #00713431



i think DJ SPOOKY could be one


 

offline joakimlinden from Skövde (Sweden) on 2003-05-24 19:42 [#00713439]
Points: 462 Status: Regular



I have to comment too...

The reason I got interested in him was his unsurpassed (at
least in that field of music) sense of harmonies and the way
he almost never use sampled loops but sounds created by
himself.

I mean the harmonies in tracks like "Alberto Balsam" and
"Flim", melodies that takes out all kinds of emotions from
inside me - thats what I like about him and I have yet to
hear another artist that can craft such deceptively simple
sounding harmonies.


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-05-24 19:44 [#00713440]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular



some of Richards friends work in english media, the person
that did the cartoon in mixmag is his friend, it's a bit of
fun, helped by a lot of journalists trying to get paid.

You're a journalist, you need to write a page of crap about
something, why not promote your friend?


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 19:47 [#00713442]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to joakimlinden: #00713439



I think thats very important to understand aphex impact...
his skill with melody, harmony and emotiviness

he has travelled across thousands of music landscapes and
melodies and shapes... but always wiht an uncomparable
harmony sense


 

offline S M Pennyworth from East Timor on 2003-05-24 20:17 [#00713469]
Points: 2196 Status: Lurker



aphex happened to be at the right place at the right time


 

offline weatheredstoner from same shit babes. (United States) on 2003-05-24 20:20 [#00713472]
Points: 12585 Status: Lurker | Followup to S M Pennyworth: #00713469



well... someone had to be.


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-05-24 20:21 [#00713475]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular | Followup to weatheredstoner: #00713472



why?


 

offline nacmat on 2003-05-24 20:22 [#00713477]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to S M Pennyworth: #00713469



he´s been in the right place at the right moment in the
last 13 years? in the last 50 or so diferent releases?


 


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