Search - Polygon Window :: Surfing on Sine Waves

The Name of this Band is "Aphex Twin"

DAC Crowell | 05/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Damn, I miss this sound. This is a CD by Richard James, of course, from the period where he was also putting out records under the psuedonyms of 'Caustic Window','The Dice Man', and of course, 'Aphex Twin'. And unlike the first two nom-de-plumes above, this is more in an Aphex-y vein, with dark melodies and very tasteful but propulsive beats in use all over. This, and Aphex's "Selected Ambient Works I", for my money, are perhaps the two best places to start for anyone unfamiliar with RDJ's work. Every track is a standout, but "Quoth", of course, is the one that got RDJ a lot of his early large-scale attention on this side of the Atlantic. A release that really encapsulates a lot of what was so great about techno in that early-to-mid 90s period, RDJ drew away from this sound and into more raucous territory in the wake of "SAW II" and its poor reception by so many factions of the rave community that wanted him to keep doing dance stuff forever. As a result, he quit a lot of both his ambient _and_ melodic proclivities. Try this out and see where the legend of Richard James _really_ comes from!"

And a half stars! Another interesting one!

NOWAY | Kansas City, MO United States | 07/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great release from RDJ, but not as organic as his works under "Aphex Twin". This work is more like a rave, rather than an Ambient work. These you can dance to (awkwardly, at least). The first 4 tracks are electronica bliss. Around the middle, you might become bored with it. Don't turn it off! The final two tracks recover the album as a whole.If you don't know by now, Richard D. James (aka 'Aphex Twin, Polygon Window), is a pioneer in electronic music. He is responsible for the landmarks "Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2", and "I Care Because you do". This album is one of the last times he used self-made instruments to make techno, before switching to his "drill and bass" sound. Therefore, this work is a must have, that is if you are a collector.If you are just a music fan, I suggest you look into his "Aphex" stuff first, and work your way to this one. Like all his other stuff, you may not like it at first listen. Give it time. It's really not as hard to get used to as SAW2. If you already like SAW2, this should be a piece of cake!"

Agriculture

Mr. A. Pomeroy | Wiltshire, England | 06/29/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is unlike his later, more brutal work - it's closer in style to the first Orbital album, or some of the pieces on 'Selected Ambient Works Vol. 1'. It's smoother, more tuneful, more homogenous (it's very hard to think of a specific track after the album has finished), and less interesting than the proper 'Aphex Twin' material. It's a good place to start, though, as it has all the Aphex trademarks - sine-wave chimes, odd tunes, lots of reverb, and a fascinating balance between mechanistic coldness (his 'sound' makes no concessions to naturalness) and humanistic (the tunes are lovely) elements. It's a like an attractive sculture of a person, both beautiful and frigid at the same time."