Ableton Forum

http://pitchfork.com/news/56459-aphex-t ... anye-more/

Question: Does anyone here still care?!

While I love his album Collected Ambient Works 2, at least since the whole unimaginative nine album Analord wankery, I seriously soured on him. To the point of being mildly interested, instead of really excited.

What are your thoughts?!

TomViolenz wrote:http://pitchfork.com/news/56459-aphex-t ... anye-more/

Question: Does anyone here still care?!

While I love his album Collected Ambient Works 2, at least since the whole unimaginative nine album Analord wankery, I seriously soured on him. To the point of being mildly interested, instead of really excited.

What are your thoughts?!

I think 'ol Ricky James knocked one out of the park with Ambient Works II - a true groundbreaker. I was astonished when I first heard Shiny Metal Rods, and to ponder the tools he had at the time to pull off that type of sonic mayhem is really astounding compared to all of the crap we have today - on our laptops to boot. IMO though, everything he's released since has been complete pap (Windowlicker, 26 Mixes for Cash, etc.). I'll pass on this one whilst I await something more deserving of my cash....like next Marky Mark release for example.

Well, the screaming silence in this thread, answers my question on how highly anticipated his new album is here




My favorite track on Ambient works II is Cliffs.
The way he hypnotizes us with just one short snippet of a vocal sample

I had also wondered what kind of hardware samplers he must have used at the time and how to achieve this effect. But even though I would trivially know nowadays how to reproduce that, it's one thing to know the techniques and another to use them so beautifully.

That's actually what I find so confusing about his later works (mostly the Analord stuff). He had proven to have such variability in his sounds with such limited tools and such sensibility in how to apply them. And then he gets years later a huge modular synth with all bells and wistles and then he produces some 30 odd tracks that sound ALL the same. And not just between tracks, but also within a track. There is no varying intensity in these tracks.
It's like he had set up the modular once, had programed some simple patterns on the step sequencer, turned on record and then recorded all 9 albums in one fell swoop by twisting this knob, and then maybe that one, and oh, that one I hadn't turned yet.....
If he had been a no name and had loaded that up on Soundcloud, no one would have noticed him among the usual stuff there.

Hope it literally blows my mind and I collapse dead from it.

/fingers crossed

I actually liked Analord

neverming

TomViolenz wrote:Well, the screaming silence in this thread, answers my question on how highly anticipated his new album is here




My favorite track on Ambient works II is Cliffs.
The way he hypnotizes us with just one short snippet of a vocal sample

I had also wondered what kind of hardware samplers he must have used at the time and how to achieve this effect. But even though I would trivially know nowadays how to reproduce that, it's one thing to know the techniques and another to use them so beautifully.

That's actually what I find so confusing about his later works (mostly the Analord stuff). He had proven to have such variability in his sounds with such limited tools and such sensibility in how to apply them. And then he gets years later a huge modular synth with all bells and wistles and then he produces some 30 odd tracks that sound ALL the same. And not just between tracks, but also within a track. There is no varying intensity in these tracks.
It's like he had set up the modular once, had programed some simple patterns on the step sequencer, turned on record and then recorded all 9 albums in one fell swoop by twisting this knob, and then maybe that one, and oh, that one I hadn't turned yet.....
If he had been a no name and had loaded that up on Soundcloud, no one would have noticed him among the usual stuff there.

I recall reading somewhere waaay back in the day that one of the keys to those Ambient Works efforts was James' uncanny ability to cobble together unusual combinations of household items, appliances and other sundry weird shit which could produce tones and sounds which he then sampled. The guy was definitely a master and pioneer at cranking out hypnotic droning soundbeds.

“I’m a serial killer for sounds,” he tells Fader. “I collect sounds from other records so I have to know where they come from and how they’re made. I bought every old sampler in existence and bought all the sample libraries. Like a serial killer, basically. I’ve gone through all of the sounds and worked out where everyone got all their sounds from.”

YOU DON'T HAVE MY WINEGLASS SYNTH, RDJ!!!!

re:dream wrote:I actually liked Analord

No reason for shame!

But, I'd like to know, if you don't care about the things I criticized, or if you think they don't apply.

JoshG567 wrote:

“I’m a serial killer for sounds,” he tells Fader. “I collect sounds from other records so I have to know where they come from and how they’re made. I bought every old sampler in existence and bought all the sample libraries. Like a serial killer, basically. I’ve gone through all of the sounds and worked out where everyone got all their sounds from.”

YOU DON'T HAVE MY WINEGLASS SYNTH, RDJ!!!!

Wow, that makes it clear! Nowadays every noob who collects any loop and sample collection there is, is just doing what Aphex Twin did
Who knew....?!


But really, what a weird thing to say for him

minipops 67 is up on Warp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUAJ8KL ... zJJRuuhC_Q

Very enjoyable, I think

I wasn't expecting much but I also find this to be quite enjoyable.

Still a bit weird for me in places, but definitely some of his most accessible stuff in a long while. I never really got most of his stuff I'll admit, interesting the amount of work that must have went into it, but not my thing. This has me a bit more intrigued though.

Treshell wrote:minipops 67 is up on Warp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUAJ8KL ... zJJRuuhC_Q

Great anyone, but us in Germany again, can listen to this youtube link

Funny, according to the poll so far, you all self identify as hipsters