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Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

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Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#81

Post by Xmd5a »

isoprophlex wrote: post #68
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #7

The depth of knowledge of Richard James surprises me every time I come across articles about him. No wonder Aphex Twin's music stands out the way it does. He's always a fair way ahead of the curve.

> It’s very simple, but do you want your music to be based on an international standard or on what you think sounds right to you? [...] I’m very glad I trusted my instincts. Listening to that other voice is THE most important thing in creativity, whether you’re an engineer or a musician. To me, RDJs music always stood out as having uncanny, unique melodies and harmonies. As a teenager I fantasized about him being som…

I knew it

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#82

Post by runjake »

spacechild1 wrote: post #80
spacechild1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is indeed a very technical and nerdy person. For example, he was an early adopter of the SuperCollider audio programming language. Fun trivia: he was trolling the SuperCollider mailing list under the alias "eric hard jams" which is an anagram of Richard [D.] James. Some of his messages were truely horrendous and he got kicked out eventually. He is quite a character...

I should clarify that it hasn't been 100% confirmed that "eric_hard_jams" was really him, but many people on the list thought so, including James McCartney himself: Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 22:20:06 -0600 From: James McCartney Subject: Re: [ OT ]very low signal to noise ratio . on 1/17/01 9:18 PM, eric_hard_jams at eric_hard_jams@btinternet.com wrote: > >> ok boss. i'm really sorry. back to normal now. much better. >>…

It's worth little coming from some random HN guy, but I can confirm eric_hard_jams was Richard D James. We used to hang around similar circles online, and there were a couple meetups. There were a bunch of other Rephlex and Rephlex-adjacent musicians using pseudonyms, as well.

Richard was sort of annoying at times, in the way someone on the spectrum can be. A bit of a troll with poor timing, and poor social skills, but a good, kind lad who spent his time doing things completely orthogonal to anyone else and that made him quite interesting.

I lost touch with him in around 2000-2001. He kinda went dark in those circles. I don't know what he's up to these days, probably raising a family like me.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#83

Post by SolubleSnake »

I love Aphex Twin but my only issue is he keeps saying in interviews how he hates surfers?!

Being a proud Cornish surfer and one of his earlier fans this saddens me. We were his first fans!

There used to be raves in Cornwall like the one in cult UK surfing classic 'Blue Juice'. They were 'lush' (i've noticed Aphex regularly says 'lush' too so is clearly from a surfer-adjacent group of friends and maybe he's just p1ssing about).

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#84

Post by bondarchuk »

runjake wrote: post #82
spacechild1 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should clarify that it hasn't been 100% confirmed that "eric_hard_jams" was really him, but many people on the list thought so, including James McCartney himself: Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 22:20:06 -0600 From: James McCartney Subject: Re: [ OT ]very low signal to noise ratio . on 1/17/01 9:18 PM, eric_hard_jams at eric_hard_jams@btinternet.com wrote: > >> ok boss. i'm really sorry. back to normal now. much better. >>…

It's worth little coming from some random HN guy, but I can confirm eric_hard_jams was Richard D James. We used to hang around similar circles online, and there were a couple meetups. There were a bunch of other Rephlex and Rephlex-adjacent musicians using pseudonyms, as well. Richard was sort of annoying at times, in the way someone on the spectrum can be. A bit of a troll with poor timing, and poor social skills, b…

Sure thing, Jake

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#85

Post by hamburglar »

mft_ wrote: post #24
publicdebates wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was it confirmed that eric hard jams was actually him? How strange it is that we so easily forgive bad behavior from people we love.

It's not in vogue these days, but rather than forgiving, we can compartmentalise and rationalise. Being a bad person in one domain doesn't mean that someone can't generate value in another.

You guys are doing a lot of hand-wringing over what was likely just tongue-in-cheek trolling among people who considered each other friends. I could easily see creating a thinly veiled persona to do some annoyance of a close friend and call them an ass-licker in my early days. It’s a form of affection.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#86

Post by runjake »

bondarchuk wrote: post #84
runjake wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth little coming from some random HN guy, but I can confirm eric_hard_jams was Richard D James. We used to hang around similar circles online, and there were a couple meetups. There were a bunch of other Rephlex and Rephlex-adjacent musicians using pseudonyms, as well. Richard was sort of annoying at times, in the way someone on the spectrum can be. A bit of a troll with poor timing, and poor social skills, b…

Sure thing, Jake

Funny useless trivia: Jake is not my actual name. It's from a movie. :-P

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#87

Post by runjake »

publicdebates wrote: post #16
spacechild1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is indeed a very technical and nerdy person. For example, he was an early adopter of the SuperCollider audio programming language. Fun trivia: he was trolling the SuperCollider mailing list under the alias "eric hard jams" which is an anagram of Richard [D.] James. Some of his messages were truely horrendous and he got kicked out eventually. He is quite a character...

Was it confirmed that eric hard jams was actually him? How strange it is that we so easily forgive bad behavior from people we love.

If you look in the right places, you'll find some meetup photos that essentially confirm it.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#89

Post by roughly »

spacechild1 wrote: post #80
spacechild1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is indeed a very technical and nerdy person. For example, he was an early adopter of the SuperCollider audio programming language. Fun trivia: he was trolling the SuperCollider mailing list under the alias "eric hard jams" which is an anagram of Richard [D.] James. Some of his messages were truely horrendous and he got kicked out eventually. He is quite a character...

I should clarify that it hasn't been 100% confirmed that "eric_hard_jams" was really him, but many people on the list thought so, including James McCartney himself: Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 22:20:06 -0600 From: James McCartney Subject: Re: [ OT ]very low signal to noise ratio . on 1/17/01 9:18 PM, eric_hard_jams at eric_hard_jams@btinternet.com wrote: > >> ok boss. i'm really sorry. back to normal now. much better. >>…

That audiosynth link is a fine thread for anyone lamenting the loss of civility on the modern internet.

Re: Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)

#90

Post by MomsAVoxell »

spacechild1 wrote: post #13
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #7

The depth of knowledge of Richard James surprises me every time I come across articles about him. No wonder Aphex Twin's music stands out the way it does. He's always a fair way ahead of the curve.

He is indeed a very technical and nerdy person. For example, he was an early adopter of the SuperCollider audio programming language. Fun trivia: he was trolling the SuperCollider mailing list under the alias "eric hard jams" which is an anagram of Richard [D.] James. Some of his messages were truely horrendous and he got kicked out eventually. He is quite a character...

This is probably the best thing I’ve ever read on Hacker News .. seriously, honestly.

I mean, wtf, the mailing lists are astonishing if you think about them .. like, how UUCP and mailman and qmail/sendmail used to be all you need to get access to the archives …

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