History Music / AphexTwin

--->I wish the milkman would deliver my milk in the morning,\\
I wish the milkman would deliver my milk when I'm yawning,\\

* BrutalHonesty: Subverted; ''26 Mixes for Cash'' '''sounds''' like this with [[MoneyDearBoy its title]], but in actuality ([[WordOfGod as explained by Richard on his SoundCloud]]) the title is based on Richard exchanging [=DATs=] for cash rather than with cards, so that record companies wouldn't know his bank account information.

** At age 11, Richard tinkered around with a Sinclair [=ZX81=] computer and wound up writing a program that caused it to produce sound, ''[[SugarWiki/GeniusProgramming even though they lack sound hardware.]]'' He even won 50 pounds for it. However, he didn't gain his skills as a musician until later on, as the GAK demos prove.

** In an interview, he said that his five year old son had downloaded music software from the Pirate Bay and put some songs he made on Bandcamp. Some of those tracks, namely, "The Best Track", "Rock Up", "Jiper", and "Up in the Rocks", would wind up appearing in the Soundcloud dump, being tagged as songs made by "AFX Jnr" (AFX Junior).
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Assumed, due to some of the anecdotes he's told.

** The one and only lyric in the track "Cock/ver10" from ''Drukqs'', "COME ON YOU CUNT LET'S HAVE SOME APHEX ACID", is screamed in the middle of the track. It was also a phrase used in promotion for the album.

* CrossReferencedTitles: "Blue Calx" on ''SAW Volume II'', "Yellow Calx" on ''Richard D. James Album'', "Green Calx" on ''SAW 85-92'', and "4 Red Calx" from his Soundcloud tracks.

* DroneOfDread: ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' alternates between what most people think of when they hear the words "ambient music" and this trope. A good example of this trope in play on the album is "Stone in Focus", which actually combines the two categories.

** "[Equation]" notably ends with a strange noise; when run through a logarithmic spectrogram, it reveals that the sound is [[http://www.bastwood.com/?page_id=10 a spectrograph of Richard's face]][[note]]Scroll down to see[[/note]].

* EpicRocking: Richard ''loves'' this trope.
** The entirety of ''SAW 85-92'' except for "I", which is justified since it's an ambient interlude. The longest track is "Tha" at just over 9 minutes.

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: On ''Richard D. James Album'', "Cornish Acid" ends with the same monotone hum that begins "Peek 824545201", and in turn the next track "Fingerbib" also contains the same hum although it's fragmented and practically inaudible without headphones.

** The cover art for the single is a woman in a bikini with large breasts, but then you look up at the face and it's Richard's superimposed over where her face should be.

* AscendedFanon: While most of the tracks on Selected Ambient Works Volume II have no official title, Many fans refer to the second track as “Radiator.” Some music streaming services have used this title for the track as opposed to the typical “#2” listing.

* DeconReconSwitch: Subverted by "Windowlicker" The video starts out with an OverlyLongGag satirizing rap videos of the era, in which two foul-mouthed men in a Mazda repeatedly try and fail to pick up a pair of chicks. This culminates in an exaggerated reconstruction starring Richard himself, stepping out of a giant limousine and surrounding himself with beautiful dancing women... [[FanDisservice except they've all got his face, barring one whose face is even uglier.]]

* DeconReconSwitch: As a satirical jab at the rap videos that were coming out at the time, the "Windowlicker" video starts by deconstructing one such video with two foul-mouthed young men coming across two women that they try to woo. In any other rap video, they'd probably score them with ease. In this video, they get repeatedly shot down, which is when Richard comes in with a ridiculously exaggerated reconstruction, with the women that accompany him [[ItsAllAboutMe all bearing his face]].

While James is known in some ways as a TropeMaker for ambient techno thanks to the aforementioned ''SAW 85-92'', his material is very diverse, ranging between pure {{ambient}} (''SAW Vol. II''), sad and beautiful {{Lonely Piano Piece}}s (most of them on ''Drukqs''), ear-splitting drum 'n' bass (''...I Care Because You Do'', the ''Come to Daddy'' EP some songs in ''Drukqs''), acid techno (his early AFX/Caustic Window material, plus the ''Analord'' 12" series) and his trademark combination of upbeat melodies with complicated beats (''Music/RichardDJamesAlbum'', ''Drukqs''). His 2014 album ''Music/{{Syro}}'' (his first full-length release in 13 years!) falls somewhere in between the last two styles, respectively.

While James is known in some ways as a TropeMaker for ambient techno thanks to the aforementioned ''SAW 85-92'', his material is very diverse, ranging between pure {{ambient}} (''SAW Vol. II''), sad and beautiful {{Lonely Piano Piece}}s (most of them on ''Drukqs''), ear-splitting drum 'n' bass (''...I Care Because You Do'', some songs in ''Drukqs''), acid techno (his early AFX/Caustic Window material, plus the ''Analord'' 12" series) and his trademark combination of upbeat melodies with complicated beats (''Music/RichardDJamesAlbum'', ''Drukqs''). His 2014 album ''Music/{{Syro}}'' (his first full-length release in 13 years!) falls somewhere in between the last two styles, respectively.

James started making music at the age of 11 by tinkering with one of his home computers, and hasn't looked back since. After some years of false starts, his first album ''[[Music/SelectedAmbientWorks8592 Selected Ambient Works 85-92]]'' was released on 1992 (a year after he started Rephlex Records) to overwhelming critical praise, setting him on the path to widespread recognition. Retrospective consensus deemed the album's success a watershed moment for the transition of electronic music to the mainstream, and the album itself an effective blueprint for the whole [[InsistentTerminology braindance]][[note]]More colloquially referred to as "intelligent dance music" or "IDM"; James prefers the "braindance" label since he thinks "intelligent dance music" comes off as elitist[[/note]] movement.

As of 2017, Richard has put up a [[https://aphextwin.warp.net personal Bleep store]] with which he aims to rerelease all of his past discography on Warp, including various bonus tracks within the albums in the process.

James is highly known and respected for his innovations in the world of {{electronic music}} and for the sheer volume and versatility of his output, to the point where he's often regarded as one of the most influential artists of the umbrella genre's modern era, if not ''the'' most. His experimentation with sounds and visuals has built a [[MindScrew surreal]] style that is truly his own, and his individual persona -- eccentric and {{reclusive|Artist}}, with any information about his personal life muddled up with lies he tells ForTheLulz -- is arguably [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} just as weird]].

He started making music at the age of 11 by tinkering with one of his home computers, and hasn't looked back ever since. After some years of false starts, his first album ''[[Music/SelectedAmbientWorks8592 Selected Ambient Works 85-92]]'' was released on 1992 (a year after Richard started Rephlex Records) to overwhelming critical praise, setting James on the path to fame. In retrospect, most everyone has deemed the album's success a watershed moment for the transition of electronic music to the mainstream, and the album itself an effective blueprint for the whole [[InsistentTerminology braindance]][[note]]More colloquially referred to as "intelligent dance music" or "IDM"; James prefers the "braindance" label since he thinks "intelligent dance music" comes off as elitist[[/note]] movement.

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), better known as Aphex Twin ([[IHaveManyNames amongst other stage names]]), is an Irish-born English electronic musician, as well as the founder of the now-defunct Rephlex Records label. He was raised and spent much of his career based in Cornwall, England but currently resides in Glasgow.

*** When a representative for the band The Lemonheads came to his house one morning asking for the remix he was commissioned to do, he went to his studio, ripped a random song which was irrelevant to the song he was requested to do, and gave it to him for in exchange for thousands of dollars. Supposedly, this was due to Aphex completely forgetting about the remix he was commissioned to do, but apparently, he didn't demand money. [note]Though it would appear the track got rejected anyway, since The Lemonheads never released an Aphex Twin remix.[/note]

*** Oddly enough, when there was a snafu regarding Music/TheLonelyIsland sampling "Avril 14th" for "Iran (So Far Away)", he didn't mind and was "cool" about the whole thing. His label, however, wasn't.
*** He once criticized the description of his music as "Intelligent Dance Music", as it implied everyone else's music was stupid, before joking it was "really nasty".

** He used his face as a contrast to the norm of techno musicians being [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen faceless]]. ({{Lampshaded}} during an interview where James admitted that he overdid it.)

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent:
** ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92'' [[NonindicativeName is not an ambient album]]; only one track ("i") can be seen as fitting under that genre. ''Volume II'', however, is an ambient album.
** "Goon Gumpas" and "Logon Rock Witch" (both off of ''Richard D. James Album'') sound like they've been ripped straight out of cartoons.
** "Girl/Boy Song" is based around an orchestral melody.
** His contributions to ''Music/TheDownwardSpiral''[='=]s remix album ''Further Down the Spiral'' were the only tracks that weren't actually remixed; Richard made them from scratch without even hearing the original album, and says that he never wants to listen to the original anyway.
** "Aphex Airlines" was a venture into, of all genres, ''noise''.

*** When a representative for the band The Lemonheads came to his house one morning asking for the remix he was commissioned to do, he went to his studio, ripped a random song which was irrelevant to the song he was requested to do, and gave it to him for in exchange for thousands of dollars. Supposedly, this was due to Aphex completely forgetting about the remix he was commissioned to do, but apparently, he didn't demand money.

* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: It's bad enough that he has songs called things like "Cunt", "Death Fuck" and "Come On You Slags", not to mention things like "Backdoor.Spybooter.A" and ""[=PWSteal.Bancos.Q=]". But it's taken UpToEleven with titles like "Kladfvgbung Micshk", "[=Beskhu3epnm=]", and "s950tx16wasr10". Not forgetting the one that's a complex mathematical equation.

* WordPureeTitle: While his titling was unusual before ("Hedphelym", "Logan Rock Witch", "Schottkey 7th Path" etc), ''Syro'' took this UpToEleven and beyond, bringing us such pronunciative nightmares as "Syro u473t8+e (Piezoluminescence Mix)", "[=S950tx16wasr10=] (Earth Portal Mix)", "[=CIRCLONT6A=] (Syrobonkus Mix)" and "Fz pseudotimestretch+e+3".

+Music/SergeGainsbourg, Music/BrianEno, Music/ErikSatie, 808 State, Music/{{Squarepusher}}, Luke Vibert, Vince Clarke, Music/{{Ween}}, Music/{{Kraftwerk}}

+Music/{{Radiohead}}, Music/{{Bjork}}, Music/DaftPunk, Creator/DavidFirth, Music/{{Kasabian}}, Music/FlyingLotus, Music/{{Skrillex}}, Music/LinkinPark

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), better known as Aphex Twin ([[IHaveManyNames amongst other stage names]]), is an Irish-born electronic artist and founder of the now-defunct Rephlex Records label. He was raised and spent much of his career based in Cornwall, England but currently resides in Glasgow.

James is highly known and respected for his innovations in the world of {{electronic music}} and for the sheer volume and versatility of his output, to the point where he's often regarded as one of if not ''the'' most influential artist of the umbrella genre's modern era. His experimentation with sounds and/or visuals has built a [[MindScrew surreal]] style that is truly his own, and his individual persona -- eccentric and {{reclusive|Artist}}, with any information about his personal life muddled up with lies he tells ForTheLulz -- is arguably [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} just as weird]].

While James is known in some ways as a TropeMaker for ambient techno thanks to the aforementioned ''SAW 85-92'', his material is very diverse, ranging between pure {{ambient}} (''SAW Vol. II''), sad and beautiful {{Lonely Piano Piece}}s (most of them on ''Drukqs''), ear-splitting drum 'n' bass (''...I Care Because You Do'', some songs in ''Drukqs''), acid techno (his early AFX/Caustic Window material, plus the ''Analord'' 12" series) and his trademark combination of upbeat melodies with complicated beats (''Music/RichardDJamesAlbum'', ''Drukqs''). His 2014 album ''Music/{{Syro}}'' (his first full-length release in 13 years!) falls somewhere in-between the last two styles, respectively.

* AudienceSurrogate: The chihuahua in ''Rubber Johnny'' (a short film created by Creator/ChrisCunningham and scored by Richard) acts as this, with shots of him subtly being used as reaction shots to Johnny's antics so as to get the audience to empathize with the situation.

** "Come To Daddy". Its lyrics are "I want your soul/I will eat your soul", with a part where the song title is repeated over and over again...

* CameraAbuse: ''Rubber Johnny'' contains several moments where Johnny graphically smashes his face into the screen as if it was made from glass.
* CarefulWithThatAxe: One of the most famous parts of "Come to Daddy, Pappy Mix" is a horrific, anguished 34-second scream (actually composed of four screams following each other in quick succession) near the end of the song [[FridgeHorror that is presumably from Richard himself]].

** Rubber Johnny once he starts smacking repeatedly against the screen and his face distorts into an inhuman mess of randomly arranged body parts.

** The original 30-second commercial form of ''Rubber Johnny'' has a lot of this due to the lack of explanation for the visuals. The regular short film version also has some, mainly with the relatively uneventful beginning and ending. The ending is especially creepier due to the use of the '"Drukqs'' track "[=Gwarek2=]" over the credits.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JAt6jpBmHHM#t=225s Windowlicker video]] has two: the conversation between the two guys, and eventually the two girls...which goes on for nearly FOUR MINUTES; and Richard's limo.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZGIrNf71Q Monkey Drummer]]", a music video made by Creator/ChrisCunningham for the song "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michael's Mount".

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: He unexpectedly fits into this scale. While "Windowlicker" is a soft 4, "Come To Daddy" is a solid 10-borderline 11. "Ventolin" is at least an [[UpToEleven 11]]. If it didn't have a real beat, it'd be [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale off the scale]].

* YouMakeMeSic: The back of the ''Richard D. James Album'' has a tracklist written in Richard's own handwriting. Said handwriting is oddly piss-poor (unlike the more comprehensible one on ''...I Care Because You Do'') and crams words together, rendering some parts difficult to read. It's caused some annoyingly persistent misspellings of song titles, especially "Logan Rock Witch" (frequently mistaken for "Logon Rock Witch") and "Carn Marth" (frequently mistaken for "Corn Mouth").

* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: There has been speculation over whether ''[=drukQs=]'' is pronounced as "drugs" or "drug use" ("drug-Qs"). Richard has claimed that [[ShrugOfGod he wasn't really thinking of anything]] when he named the album.

-->''COME ON YOU CUNT, LET'S HAVE SOME APHEX ACID!''

* WordPureeTitle: While his titling was unusual before ("Hedphelym", "Logon Rock Witch", "Schottkey 7th Path" etc), ''Syro'' took this UpToEleven and beyond, bringing us such pronunciative nightmares as "Syro u473t8+e (Piezoluminescence Mix)", "[=S950tx16wasr10=] (Earth Portal Mix)", "[=CIRCLONT6A=] (Syrobonkus Mix)" and "Fz pseudotimestretch+e+3".

He started making music at the age of 11 by tinkering with one of his home computers, and hasn't looked back ever since. After some years of false starts, his first album ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92'' was released on February 12, 1992 (a year after Richard started Rephlex Records) to overwhelming critical praise, setting James on the path to fame. In retrospect, most everyone has deemed the album's success a watershed moment for the transition of electronic music to the mainstream, and the album itself an effective blueprint for the whole [[InsistentTerminology braindance]][[note]]More colloquially referred to as "intelligent dance music" or "IDM"; James prefers the "braindance" label since he thinks "intelligent dance music" comes off as elitist[[/note]] movement.

* ''[[Music/Selected AmbientWorksEightyFiveToNinetyTwo Selected Ambient Works 85-92]]'' (1992)

* ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92'' (1992)

* CarefulWithThatAxe: One of the most famous parts of "Come to Daddy, Pappy Mix" is a horrific, anguished 34-second scream (actually composed of four screams following each other in quick succession) near the end of the song [[NightmareFuel that is presumably from Richard himself]].

James is highly known and respected for his innovations in the world of {{electronic music}} and for the sheer versatility of his output, to the point where he's often regarded as one of if not ''the'' most influential artist of the umbrella genre's modern era. His experimentation with sounds and/or visuals has built a [[MindScrew surreal]] style that is truly his own, and his individual persona -- eccentric and {{reclusive|Artist}}, with any information about his personal life muddled up with lies he tells ForTheLulz -- is arguably [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} just as weird]].

He started making music at the age of 11 by tinkering with one of his home computers and hasn't looked back ever since. After some years of false starts, his first album ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92'' was released on February 12, 1992 (a year after Richard started Rephlex Records) to overwhelming critical praise, setting James on the path to fame and serving as a near-unanimously-deemed watershed moment for the genre's success, as well as establishing a blueprint for the whole [[InsistentTerminology braindance]][[note]]More colloquially referred to as "intelligent dance music" or "IDM"; James prefers the "braindance" label since he thinks "intelligent dance music" comes off as elitist[[/note]] movement.

While he is known in some ways as a TropeMaker for ambient techno thanks to the aforementioned ''SAW 85-92'', his material is very diverse, ranging between pure ambiance (''SAW Vol. II''), sad and beautiful {{Lonely Piano Piece}}s (most of them on ''Drukqs''), ear-splitting drum 'n' bass (''...I Care Because You Do'', some songs in ''Drukqs''), acid techno (his early AFX/Caustic Window material, plus the ''Analord'' 12" series) and his trademark combination of upbeat melodies with complicated beats (''Music/RichardDJamesAlbum'', ''Drukqs''). His 2014 album ''Music/{{Syro}}'' (his first full-length release in 13 years!) falls somewhere in-between the last two styles, respectively.

* TeenGenius: He was already producing music at age 12. ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92'' was recorded during those years, which means he was making his first album at the ripe old age of 13.

* IHaveManyNames: Aphex Twin, AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, DJ Smojphace, GAK, Martin Tressider, Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Pritchad G. Kraymes,[[note]]Which he wrote to New Musical Express under after they deemed "Windowlicker" Best Single of 1999[[/note]] Prichard D. Jams, Q-Chastic, Tahnaiya Russell, The Dice Man, Soit P.P., The Tuss, user18081971, and, by extension, both Brian and Karen Tregaskin.

* NotableMusicVideos: When Chris Cunningham's involved...
** "Come to Daddy": filmed in one of the locations for ''Film/AClockworkOrange'', it depicts an old woman walking her dog. The dog pisses on a pile of garbage and on a TV which brings itself to life, with a creepy being chanting out the lyrics of the song. From the building, a group of troublemaking kids with Richard D. James's trademark face with SlasherSmile start to wreak havoc and unintentionally bring the TV being to the real world. The being, then, [[CarefulWithThatAxe screams out loud to the old woman]] and then gathers the kids to itself. '''WARNING''': this video has content which can potentially cause nightmares.
** "Windowlicker": filmed in Los Angeles. The video starts with two men (a black guy and a Latin-American guy) who [[SirSwearsALot love to swear]], who then meet two sexy prostitutes. The two men want to have sex with the two girls, but the latter reject them because of their bad behavior. A heated discussion starts, which is then interrupted by the arrival of Richard D. James, depicted as a ridiculously rich pimp, who manages to score both of the women. The rest of the video will probably make you say "WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs".