I really like Aphex Twin but I find the way his fans overrate his genius so annoying that it puts me off. Like why is this a “listening event” at the Tate? Wtf? It’s bleepy music it should be in a warehouse or a bedroom not in the fucking Tate.
This album isn’t bleepy though it’s glacial (to use a over used journo phrase) dark ambient. No reason why warehouse music can’t be art too. Though i know what you mean about the over reverence i also think it’s probably justified.
Yeah he’s done some stuff that - to my ears at least - isn’t that great or progressive. But really not much proportionate to his output.
Have to say that the accolades are probably totally justified tbh, as undignified as the fanboying is at times.
Music fans of any extreme genre or artist can be fanatical oddbods and then mixed with internet forums can breed some horrendous people, you only have to go on Watmm or the like to see. But like here, forums can be almost family like too.
Some Aphex fans can be pretty twattish.
I guess i am one of those twatty fanboys then. But for me compared to anyone else in that field, say autechre, black dog etc he’s miles ahead.
The best ambient best nutty rave stuff, most brain frying complexity, funniest, most off kilter but catchy melodies… etc
Who’s topping something like this? LFO by LFO maybe… that’s it
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Yeah I love Aphex Twin he’s totally original and that puts him in a category of his own, so if you like it better than anything ese I get that.
But a listening event at the Tate for Aphex Twin? Grosses me out a bit.
Topping that track would be A guy called Gerald live making it up on the spot. The best.
Luke Vibert is an obvious one too, being a long time Aphex collaborator. I mean Aphex is unique, but I don’t think he’s necessarily “miles ahead”, he’s just doing his own thing. Anyway, pointless rant it was only some people listening to an album in an art gallery.
I get what you mean, I don’t even think it’s the event that’s the problem, it’s the hushed, hallowed tone people can use when talking about these sorts of things, means my automatic reaction is, “oh just fuck off”.
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Ha, nah, you’re good.
I’m a fan too obviously.
It’s a taste thing really but I get a tad more from other artists because certain things get my juices going but all the top Warp artists are pinnacle and they all have and give me unique things that turn me on. Not gonna get geeky in what they have and comparing them because they all do their own things.
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I do get that the real fan nerds are annoying. They’ve really rinsed this re-release, crazy priced box sets and tape releases etc for what i saw as a bit of a downer after saw 1 at the time. It’s got some great creepy atmospheres on there but not my favourite
£40 to you squire
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I love the Aphex nerds, cos they paid £300ish for my copy of SAW II on Discogs a while back.
Silly people.
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You get them everywhere. Boards of canada have them but they are less aggro and more emotional pussies. You get them for metal bands, pop bands, all sorts. It’s basically fans.
Yeah they have some high-spending nerds too, I sold a 7" for £200.
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Brown vinyl?
Yeah with some kind of patchy sandy texture on the cover
Speaking of Aphex nerdage (I’ve just been reminiscing thru our Discogs account inventory) my brother sold this for just under £400: https://www.discogs.com/release/16824-Universal-Indicator-Universal-Indicator-4-Green
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My favourite afx release
Nah it’s a Russian bootleg mp3 cd, a mate got me one in Azerbaijan
I’ve got Steinvord which i just checked and is going for £385, nice one
https://www.discogs.com/release/3407862-Steinvord-Steinvord
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I remember picking up my copy of SAW vol. 2 when it came out. I got a call from the shop to say it was in, nipped down there and collected it, went on home, got suitably baked and stuck it on. It took well over half the album to realise that I’d pulled a John Peel and had played it at 33 not 45…
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Totally agree with everything @jimo said. I don’t mind Aphex Twin, I love the fact that there’s dudes like him out there doing his own thing, but he’s not making it into my top 10 any time soon. That said, I’m sure we’ve all got artists were disproportionately into. For me it’s Portishead. If I see any white labels or rarities from them all logic goes out the window in terms of what I’d pay.
I never really got on with Aphex Twin myself. Had a mate (who was one of those over the top fans) that would make me listen to them all the time trying to convert me.
This Vibert album was as as deep as I ventured into this genre.
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Me too. 
The thing is about the Tate show is that the record being played is perfect for that massive, chamber-like room. It’s all about reverb, so hearing it there with natural reverberations is kinda going to be a unique experience in itself.
Yes. I own a lot of Aphex Records. Including that brown original SAWII release. And the 4lp Drukqs boxset. And all the Analords, etc.
I’m lucky enough to have bought a lot of those bits at retail prices.
Much like the Melvins releases (I have lots of them, too) the resellers and hype pisses me off. Makes that shit unaffordable. And then the artist plays up to it.
I’d be happy if these 12" even just got rereleased as part of compilations. But they don’t. Some of this stuff gives you no other choice than to download it really…
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