Richard D. James Album
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Template:Album infobox The Richard D. James Album is an IDM album by Aphex Twin. Released in 1996, it is one of his most experimental and well-recognised works, often considered an archetype in the drill n' bass genre and one of the more robust IDM recordings.
For those unfamiliar with his works, Richard D. James is the real name of Aphex Twin, also known by many other pseudonyms. The album was named after himself for two main reasons: the first being that he had released so much material under his various guises, that he thought he should have a self-titled album, and the second being that he had an older brother named Richard James, who died at a very young age. Richard D. James may have released the album as a form of tribute (Richard James' memorial is displayed in the booklet, which led to some confusion among Aphex fans).
The album epitomizes and transcends many of the genres that are interwoven in its sound, from the very strictly proscribed drill n' bass/jungle drumming to the more general IDM and techno intonations. The songs are melodic and are borne on structures not alien to the more general rock and pop listening public, unlike the music of James' fellow techno artists (e.g., Autechre's driving loops or μ-Ziq's jazzy noodling).
Tracklisting
Tracks from the original UK release (brackets indicate a dispute over song title):
- 4 (3:34)
- Cornish Acid (2:15)
- Peek 824545201 [.824545201] (3:01)
- Fingerbib [Fore Street] (3:46)
- Carn Marth [Corn Mouth] (2:29)
- To Cure a Weakling Child (3:58)
- Goon Gumpas (1:57)
- Yellow Calx (3:00)
- Girl/Boy Song (4:47)
- Logon Rock Witch [Logan Rock Witch] (3:31)
The American version of this album contains five extra tracks, which make up the previously released Girl/Boy EP, the b-sides to the UK album. The extra tracks are as follows, in order:
- Milkman (4:08)
- Inkey$ (1:21)
- Girl/Boy Song (£18 Snare Rush Mix) (1:54)
- Beetles (1:26)
- Girl/Boy Song (Redruth Mix) (1:37)
Notes
As can be seen above, many of the songs are kept short, and the original album was just over a half hour long, supposedly because James claimed that anything over a half hour in length bores him, and he cannot concentrate.
This album contains at least two sounds from the Spectrum home computer: a program being loaded from a tape, and sound effects from the game Jetpac. This theme is continued in the later album drukqs, which features the Spectrum keyboard font in its artwork.
The album was followed by Come to Daddy, which included a remix of "To Cure a Weakling Child", dubbed the "Contour Regard" mix. The original album mix was used in a high-profile UK TV advertising campaign for the mobile phone company, Orange. Another track from the album was used, ironically, in a US government anti-drug advertisement spot.