Richard D. James Album

Aphex Twin

I still find it hard to believe this record came out in 1996. I know the technology was there. I know there were aggressive and wild forms of electronic dance music before and around the time this album was released. However, Aphex Twin's eponymous album feels far removed from that. Despite what the cover may insinuate, the sound textures are actually quaint, soft, and soothing; building off the ambient work James has done prior. What brings this album into truly unique territory is the drum pairings. Taking influences from drum and bass, James meticulously assembles these frenetic, skittering, glitchy beats to create a really interesting juxtaposition against his warm and lush synth timbres. It is such an interesting marriage, one that I have not heard anyone else be able to emulate; at least to my knowledge.

James is an incredibly prolific artist who makes music in all sorts of styles under many different pseudonyms. And with releases in the catalogue like Selected Ambient Works or Drukqs (a music dump to circumvent a potential leak), one could fairly assume that the Richard D. James Album is just another collection of whatever James had ready to go at the time. But that's certainly not the case. This album has a noticeable sonic template and a fairly consistent vibe, making this ten track, thirty-three minute experience a satisfying and complete listen. What's better is that each song has a life, a story of its own even under these sonic constraints.

4 is such an incredible introduction to this record. There's an initial shock when you hear those fast and intricate drums, although the warm bass and violin quickly lull you into a comforting state. The violin is actually amateurishly performed by James, capturing one coherent note at a time; sampled and manipulated on his Macintosh with such competence that you never would have guessed James performed it in the first place. There's also a sense of wonder and curiosity instilled in the track with the witchy synth lead and also an element of destruction and rebirth due to the song's cyclical nature. The drums will occasionally stumble over themselves before sucking everything in and restarting again. The following track, Cornish Acid, has a much different tone. The drums are still glitchy - although less intricate - and the harmonic content is filled out by an airy synth pad that is very eerie as well as another unusual synth that performs all these random bleeps and bloops. I get the sense I am walking through a mad scientist's lab pondering at all the cybernetic oddities strewn about.

Peek 824545201 and Carn Marth both take you on a journey through various perplexing scenes. The former has this rusty, metallic tinge with all the buzzing, resonant synths, and the latter has this submerged expedition quality with some of the crazy modulation effects and radio static. The drum patterns on both of these tracks can get pretty unstable; James tinkering to the point where all sense of rhythm is lost. This is even more so the case for Girl/Boy Song (NLS Mix) which is essentially an insane percussive freakout underscored by heavenly plucked strings and glockenspiel. If there is one track that drives home the album's harmonic and rhythmic dichotomy, it's this one. On the other side of the percussive spectrum, we have a tune like Fingerbib which features the least intricate patterns, yet the percussion still has a very digital edge to it. The tone of the drums are a little on the dull side, but the attack is so sharp that there is a little bit of clip distortion at the trigger. The track is filled out with a few synth loops that don't really seem to lock into each other, but still manage to create a pleasing experience; like the musical equivalent of a kaleidoscope.

To Cure a Weakling Child over the years has grown to become one of my absolute favourites. I love the rattling and shaking percussion. The melodies are elementary, but lovely, and James' vocal snippets, modulated to sound like a robotic child, are very attention grabbing. If there was conscious effort to tie all these elements to a theme of innocence and adolescence, then mission accomplished. At one point, there is even a thrilling drum breakdown that again displays James' intricate programming and high attention to detail. It's truly a spectacular track.

The Richard D. James Album is a one-of-a-kind, classic, absolutely essential electronic record. The combination of aggressive, hyper-digital percussion, and soothing ambient soundscapes is so interesting. An unlikely marriage that resulted in some real boundary pushing, head expanding stuff. On top of that, each song is a giant world of its own and each instrumental element is working in service to make that world more vivid and tangible. It really is a testament to how amazing of a producer and sound artist James is. If you are in the market for something that breaks the expectation of what electronic dance music can be, then I would suggest you start here.