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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)

#91

Post by 12ian34 »

SolubleSnake wrote: post #83

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 p1ss…

he is known for speaking all sorts of bs in interviews just for his own amusement, so I wouldn't take it personally :)

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

#92

Post by [deleted] »

njoyablpnting wrote: post #27

Here's a plugin that he commissioned that you can play with: https://gitlab.com/then-try-this/samplebrain It's hard to overstate the influence RDJ has had on modern music. Maybe even more impressive than his ability to develop multiple compelling distinct styles is the way he has taken existing niches, completely mastered them and then pushed the boundaries all over again.

[deleted]

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

#93

Post by eth0up »

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…

>>>As a teenager I fantasized about him being some sort of benevolent alien music shaman, beaming melodies onto our planet.

Fantasized? Facts are facts but I admire your humility.

From my phone to Desktop to remote NUCs, his noises pervade them all. And indelibly in my mind.

I think there's still a strong case that he ain't human.

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

#95

Post by spacechild1 »

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…

That's interesting!

There is also this email from Tue, 16 Jan 2001 19:02:12 +0000 in https://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n225 where he is clearly talking as Aphex Twin. He might be just an impersonator, but given that he speaks directly to James and James calls him Richard has me pretty convinced that it's actually him.

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

#96

Post by scsh »

gilleain wrote: post #74
flyinglizard wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to put his music in the right historical context. In the time his early works were released he was truly different. I don't like his music, but I appreciate it, artistically. I like his art, I guess.

I believe you, but is that not a strange position to take on music? Appreciating it artistically, but not liking listening to it? Am I right in saying you like the _idea_ behind the music rather than the music itself? That's almost as strange to me as people who do not listen to music at all - it's fine, of course! They are your ears, and you can do what you like with them :) shrug Different people are different, I s…

No it's not strange. As someone who enjoys playing music I have heard a lot of music that doesn't suite my particular tastes, but appreciated the artistic talent of the people creating it because I truly believe they are talented. If you dig below the surface level you can find plenty to appreciate about how something is created, even if the product isn't for you.

You can find something to like about a lot of things. I also enjoy watching videos about wristwatch repairs and seeing the construction of them. However, I do not want one and would never wear one.

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

#97

Post by gopher_space »

spacechild1 wrote: post #79
bigyabai wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of James' discography is predicated on making other people suffer. The album art is offputting, the track listings are usually cluttered and useless, his music videos are scary and confusing, random tracks are designed to torture you (eg. Ventolin ), and half of his music is released under unrelated aliases. If you're not familiar with Aphex Twin, it's hard to understand that this hatred does nothing to inhibit…

What? Just because an artist makes artworks that some people find challenging does not mean that they hate their audience or want to make them suffer. Also, what you personally find offputting, other people may enjoy. For example, I don't find 'Ventolin' particularly challenging to listen to.

Hofstadter's GEB is challenging. Francis Bacon's Popes are disturbing. Aphex Twin is irritating. None of these people hate their audience and they're all pushing boundaries.

Andy Kaufman was challenging, disturbing, and irritating in equal measure and he did hate his audience.

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

#98

Post by [deleted] »

gilleain wrote: post #74
flyinglizard wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to put his music in the right historical context. In the time his early works were released he was truly different. I don't like his music, but I appreciate it, artistically. I like his art, I guess.

I believe you, but is that not a strange position to take on music? Appreciating it artistically, but not liking listening to it? Am I right in saying you like the _idea_ behind the music rather than the music itself? That's almost as strange to me as people who do not listen to music at all - it's fine, of course! They are your ears, and you can do what you like with them :) shrug Different people are different, I s…

[deleted]

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

#99

Post by spacechild1 »

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.

He (presumably) trolled a mailing list for a short period of time in the early 2000s. If that's the worst thing he's done, there's not much to forgive.

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

#100

Post by spacechild1 »

MomsAVoxell wrote: post #90
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...

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 …

The fact that we can still access and search these archives 20-30 years later is really amazing. It gives you a glimpse into a different time period. That's why mailing lists and forums are so important! Fortunately, SuperCollider still has a quite active forum (https://scsynth.org/). It makes me sad that so much communication has moved to proprietory platforms like FB groups or Discord servers, most of which will be forever lost in time.
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