Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin speaks to Tatsuya Takahashi (2017)
web.archive.org257 points by lelandfe a day ago
257 points by lelandfe a day ago
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 some sort of benevolent alien music shaman, beaming melodies onto our planet.
Stuff on SAW II where you can't figure out if you're hearing single notes or mutating chords and everything is near-synaesthetic bliss. The wistful otherness of 'Italic Eyeball'. Whatever 'fingerbib', ICBYD, and things on Melodies from Mars are doing was very formative to my 16 year old brain.
It's clear that whatever he does, he channels some unique creative juices.
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 …
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.
>> my apologies.
>>
> ass licker.
>
shut the F up already, richard.
JMC and RDJ know each personally and hung out together. Here's a picture of the two together: https://www.reddit.com/r/aphextwin/comments/6oheli/screen_ra...
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.
That audiosynth link is a fine thread for anyone lamenting the loss of civility on the modern internet.
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.
>How strange it is that we so easily forgive bad behavior from people we love.
That's part of what loving someone means. It's easy to love someone convenient who never does anything to bother or hurt you.
Besides, he was trolling. It's not like it's a big deal. If you were on a mailing list or usenet group or forum in the 80s and 90s everybody did that, and few if any had an issue with it, we could take it!
We not only forgive but tolerate 100000x worse stuff everyday that directly fucks our lives that we could prioritize not tolerating.
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.
The genius label we bestow on a select few is often a license to behave badly. I always enjoyed Richard’s music but never quite bought the stories told about him.
Why are you putting "value" above human decency? Maybe you shouldn't be considered to generate any "value" if you put misery on others, how can any "value" make up for the direct suffering?
There are plenty people just the same, with the same capabilities without the quality of being a tarpit of suck.
>Why are you putting "value" above human decency?
Because human decency is often overrated and hard usable value is often underrated.
If we removed the value (changes, inventions, artworks, products, etc) made by people which were lacking in "human decency" in this or that aspect, billions would be poorer, sicker, die sooner, and have much worse cultures.
>There are plenty people just the same, with the same capabilities without the quality of being a tarpit of suck.
Understanding is a great component of human decency too, as is not being a sanctimonious hollier-than-thou type. For example, not labelling someone who "wrote something mean in a forum" as "a tarpit of suck", as if that defines them totally, or as if the persons making such statements shit doesn't smell.
Plus "plenty people just the same, with the same capabilities", really? As if the output of an artist is interchangeable with that of another, so that we can just discard those that have done such grave offenses as "being rude on a forum" and just listen to another?
Is there really a distinction? Isn't the altruistic concept that we all have innate value also a statement of offering value, even by our mere existence?
I find it so odd that people overlook severe faults in those whose other qualities they rather love and greatly appreciate. It seems so unjust, yet it's universal.
I know I have made many mistakes in my life, especially as a dumb kid.
We can't all be on your level of moral perfection.
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 his success.
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.
Just because art is challenging and unpredictable doesn’t mean it’s interned to make you suffer.
Is Giger’s art created to cause suffering? How about Beksiński’s paintings? The emotions they invoke are not happiness or joy, but neither are they purely dread or loathing.
Aesthetic pursuit isn’t solely (or even primarily) about the emotions it conjures in the consumer.
Remember: the customer is always right in matters of taste.
It hasn't been confirmed 100% but I remember reading a post by James McCartney (author of SuperCollider) himself, going something like "Shut the fuck up, Richard!". Since they both knew each other personally, I assume that JMC thought that "eric hard jams" was indeed Richard James.
It’s strange but common. I love the music of Miles Davis and consider him a genius. I also give him a pretty poor review in terms of his behavior as a human being.
People are complex.
There's also that fact that Miles Davis doesn't get to review our own behavior as human beings. He might not have liked us as his audience either. His behavior is publicized, and ours (whether it is) is not.
If you look in the right places, you'll find some meetup photos that essentially confirm it.
I mean, I haven't even seen any of the messages. Just a one sentence accusation and no proof that it was actually him. Jumping to the decision that there's anything to forgive would be weird based on this.
Even if it was true, who cares? I like the guy's music, it's had a strong influence on me at various times in my life. But I have never had a strong opinion of whether I like him, and I still don't. Why would I?
>Was it confirmed that eric hard jams was actually him?
Nope. By then RDJ (the actual person) was of course known for using anagrams so it would be an obvious thing to do for any troll.
Has anyone used SuperCollider or computer music framework to make anything resembling a pop song?
Look at how easily a producer can make a pop song in Ableton https://youtube.com/watch?v=F5CPQ8LU36w
Ableton is like the modern day guitar.
SuperCollider and music programming languages are like the modern day bass clarinet.
There isn't much bass clarinet in modern pop music either. Part of what defines pop music is the familiarity of the sound and popular expectation of what music is supposed to be.
Why would anyone use SuperCollider or a computer music framework to make something resembling a pop song?
Ableton includes a fairly comprehensive SDK called Max for Live, it's been used in a handful of popular tracks before.
Pure algomusic/tracker setups are usually a poor fit for pop music, though. DAWs have indispensable tools for vocal processing that you cannot forego most of the time.
Can you link to the horrendous messages or summarize them?
http://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n223
http://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n224
http://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n225
http://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n226
http://www.audiosynth.com/files/sc-users-archive/v01.n227
(note I am not personally claiming this is RDJ)
A different opinion about their music is that it all seems rather ostentatious in an aural sense, and leaves a doubt if some of the praise being heaped on it is 'perfomative'.
People would say the same thing about Glass or Reich. People would say the same thing about Messiaen or Ligeti. People would say the same thing about Schoenberg or Webern.
If your expectation of good food is In-N-Out Burger, you might think praise of a three star Michelin restaurant is performative too.
I am not even much a fan of Richard but he is absolutely one of the greatest musical geniuses of the past 50 years bar none.
Avril 14th is my favorite. Clearly Satie influenced but maybe even a little sweeter than Satie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxTdTaNIUxo
Also consider Satie himself is exactly the type of musician people would have said praising is performative at the time. He wasn't taken seriously as a real musician much at all in his life.
I love 'Avril 14th', I had not connected it before to Satie (who I've only just heard of, my poor musical background knowledge). I see the similarities in the balance of sweetness and dissonance (I suppose).
A friend told me a story about Satie, that they found two pianos in his appartement, one stacked on the other, with unpaid bills tossed on the top. Seems very RDJ-like (or v.v.).
Uhm. If I understand correctly, you are saying that some people are pretending to like his music because it is over the top and showy rather than actually good or enjoyable?
While it is possible these fake enjoyers exist, I'm fairly certain a lot of fans of Mr Twin's work like it in a straightforward sense of most music appreciation.
Personally, 'Vordhosbn', 'Windowlicker', 'Rhubarb'... etc are all great tracks. Are there some that I don't get on with? Sure, of course. However I can speak for myself when saying I'm not listening to the music performatively. At least, not much!
Even some AFX fans have the opinion that the stuff on Drukqs is "style over substance".
About as powerful a quote as "Even some Beatles fans think X album is 'style over substance'."
Who cares? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to crank up Vordhobsn and write some code.
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 suppose.
I'm an example, in fact I've loved his music since the 90s and never played it for friends because I always assumed they wouldn't like it. And I'm definitely not being performative for myself. It was a bit surprising to me that his music became kind of legendary recently.
> their music
Richard and James Aphex; the Aphex twins. :P
> leaves a doubt if some of the praise being heaped on it is 'perfomative'.
This sounds rather like someone that doesn't like art in general complaining about those that do. I've heard many people complain about "modern art" in the same way.
I think it's a valid enough opinion but I still like Aphex Twin's music for the same reasons I like Eno's.
"I don't like it, therefore everyone else who likes it must be only pretending"
Agreed, been this way for 30 years, and significant amount of effort by him and warp have been adding to cult of his mystique(actually many electronic music artists in the 90s/early 2000s). He is one of the last popular electronic musicians younger generations of "#DAWLESS" guys like now because he kept up that mystique which is basically impossible to have now in the current social media era.
I remember buying some of his tapes and cd's from Amoeba music in 1999 and the feeling they gave me. I often wonder what its like to been born in 2010 and never experiencing this.
> I often wonder what its like to been born in 2010 and never experiencing this.
It’s always amusing to see these cycles continue. If his music is indeed as good as you claim it will still be listened to - just as so much of the best music of the last 75 years is. People have been lamenting the loss of the thing they felt was their transformative experince, and each generation keeps finding a new generation defining experience
Thats actually not what I meant. I meant the experience of owning music on cd's/records/tapes. This cant really be experienced anymore since every song ever released can be immediately streamed. Sure you can buy vinyl or cd's at shows but it isnt the same because back then it was radio or buy/own the stuff
And my other point was how lots of electronic musicians seemed so distant and mysterious because they weren't livestreaming and and social media that made them/their personality/tweets etc available.
as for AFX, I think like one in 15 of his songs are amazing, the rest is just noise/filler
your generation never experienced putting your hands, as a kid, into a thin block of metal that can play all the movies and music and books ever produced (or most)
i installed a pirated copy of Windows XP through floppy disks and i had a CD walkman. i was still a teen when i got a ipod touch 2gen. the latter was much more magical to me. sometimes i stare at my android phone with the screen locked thinking how impressive the tech is. termux x11 can go a long way. i don't wear rose tinted glasses even though my childhood was a freaking blast
Eh, Aphex fans and IDM more broadly has always been pretentious AF. I think there's a kayfabe effect going on where both the artists and the fans lean so far into the earnestness of it all that it surely has to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I suspect that's part of the appeal for some folks, the delight in being obtuse.
It doesn't bother me too much. Many indie scenes have this sort of self-consciously avant garde sub-movement - theater, dance, fashion, games...
While I find 99% of braindance to be aggressively unlistenable and/or thoroughly tedious, the 1% that isn't tends to be truly great. Imo the best thing that ever happened to this genre was digital record stores, because casual fans can skip over all the limited edition vinyls and albums full of abstract noodling and just pick up the bangers.
Yes, not to long ago I was looking into the Easter egg in Windowlicker, amazing. https://eeggs.com/items/34824.html
Wow, eeggs.com. Haven't thought about that site in years (maybe even decades).
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.
Very nice read thank you. Still remember very clearly putting the Richard D James album CD into my Sony disc man for the very first time 22 years ago
Tangential:
"Aisatsana - Aphex Twin - Barbican, London 10th October 2012. It's a bit dark so it's probably difficult to tell but that's a grand piano being swung back and forth across the stage like a pendulum."
"Yeah, it's written for my wife. When I first did that, I did this installation-y art thing at the Barbican with a remote orchestra. [The song] was made on my Disklavier [controlled piano], which was swung from the roof at that gig, and there was this massive Doppler effect. It is pretty mental. There's a bad cameraphone version of it on YouTube, but in the flesh it's fucking amazing. To listen to this piano swinging, you almost see all the notes stretching out, so it'll hit you at different times. I never knew if it was going to work or not, and everyone was like, “What the fuck is he swinging a piano for?” But when we actually got it going, we were just like, “fucking hell.” It was so extreme. My friends were like, “Are the strings stretching?” The pitch deviation is that big, it sounds like the actual frame is contorting. Maybe it is, I don't know!" - Richard D. James
I know the year has just started but I vote this comment of the year 2026. Wow. Thank you. Seriously. Of all the things you could do with a piano this has to be the most crazy, and it just works.
I reluctantly decline and instead endorse https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46538574
Goes a few steps past threading metal nuts that move on grand piano strings, that's for ure.
Aisatsana, the final track on Syro. For Syro fans, there's a song called "end E2" that didn't make the cut, presumably it would've been the last song.
> Missing track from Syro, didn't make it for technical and personal reasons.
https://soundcloud.com/user21041984001/syro-013-aphex-twin-e...
Academic electroacoustic music uses large speaker arrays to place sounds in different locations, and "flying pianos" is a standard in-joke. Because you can indeed make a piano sound fly around the room, with or without doppler effects, to taste.
Also, this.
Stage is quite wide so doppler shift could be in the semi-tones range depending on microphone placement. Estimating the shift at around 3% from that video. The piano is standing on a platform that is itself on the hoist so I'd be surprised if there was much frame bending.
I thought he was just bullshitting again until I watched that video
Pure genius.
Now of course we have to know what the rotary speaker equivalent of a grand piano sounds like... anybody have a couple of very large bearings lying around?
Context from the prior year: https://pitchfork.com/news/69473-korg-announces-new-synthesi...
He still works for Korg! Leads their R&D branch in Berlin.
RDJ or Tatsuya Takahashi?
> Tatsuya Takahashi is currently advisor for Korg and holds a full-time position at Yadastar GmbH to work on technology based projects.
It's in the lead in to the article.
This is also a great deep wide-ranging interview/conversation c SYRO release
https://web.archive.org/web/20141111015756/http://noyzelab.b...
https://web.archive.org/web/20141112205122/https://noyzelab....
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).
I remember once hearing an interview with cEvin Key where he described Dwayne Goettel as someone who would have probably turned out to be Aphex Twin had he not died, given the era of it all. And that made me take another look at Aphex twin, and appreciate his work.
I really enjoyed this explanation of just how amazing RDJ is: https://youtu.be/5wIOBBodoic?si=HkR05lAGkSiPZVmS
Programming synths with Scala sounds pretty fun!
And before the wrong Scala crowd gets too excited, the Scala referred to is the musical tuning software from 1985
https://www.huygens-fokker.org/scala/
(Not the programming language from 2004.)
Placeable.
>I’ve since gone on to learn more about this damn 440 Hz.
(2017) appears to be the earliest archive snapshot.
No archive links please;
Source is available: https://warp.net/editorial/richard-d-james-speaks-to-tatsuya...