Selected Ambient Works 85-92
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Selected Ambient Works 85-92 | ||
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| Studio album by Aphex Twin | ||
| Released | February 12, 1992 | |
| Recorded | 1985 - 1992 | |
| Genre | Ambient/Techno | |
| Length | 74:20 | |
| Label | Apollo Records AMB 3922 | |
| Producer(s) | Richard D. James | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Aphex Twin chronology | ||
| Digeridoo (1991) |
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992) |
Xylem Tube EP (1992) |
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (often abbreviated to SAW85-92) is an ambient techno album by Richard D. James, better known by his pseudonym of Aphex Twin. It is his third release under this alias. It was released in 1992 by Apollo Records, an ambient subdivision of R&S Records.
Having been a club DJ in the early 1990's in his home of Cornwall, UK, Richard had learnt about new music techniques and rhythm patterns. With the club scene under his belt, and with a small underground following, Richard went on to make SAW85-92, which consisted of instrumental, occasionally radio-friendly songs that were mostly beat-oriented. The songs are faster and more upbeat than many of the earlier ambient creations of other musicians (especially Brian Eno and John Cage). His follow-up album, Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2, is closer to these earlier creations. Not all the songs were created during and after his work as a DJ; If the title of the album is to be believed, Richard would have been making songs as early as 1985 (Being born in 1971, he would have been 13-14 years old when he made some of these songs.)
According to legend, the rather prodigious James would preview new material to his friends on cassette as they drove around Cornwall. A few tracks on the album have apparently been mastered from these cassettes, and the ensuing truncated beginnings and endings on these songs is readily apparent.
Warp Records has billed this as "Both the birthplace and the benchmark of modern electronic music," and has stated that "every home should have a copy." [1]
[edit] Track listing
- "Xtal" – 4:54
- "Tha" – 9:06
- "Pulsewidth" – 3:46
- "Ageispolis" – 5:23
- "i" – 1:17
- "Green Calx" – 6:05
- "Heliosphan" – 4:51
- "We are the music makers" – 7:43
- "Schottkey 7th Path" – 5:08
- "Ptolemy" – 7:10
- "Hedphelym" – 6:00
- "Delphium" – 5:26
- "Actium" – 7:32
Many of the songs feature unusual samples. "Tha", for example, has clips of two people (one possibly being Richard himself) talking, while "Actium" has samples of what sound like shoes being squeaked in a hallway. "We are the music makers" features a sampled line from the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. "Green Calx" features samples from RoboCop: the dinosaur's popping eyes during the 6000 SUX TV ad, the ED-209 robot trying to go downstairs without success, and the sound of RoboCop browsing faces of criminals in the police archives computer.
"We Are The Music Makers" was also remixed (or a new version created) by Richard's Rephlex pseudonym Caustic Window. The song, entitled "We Are The Music Makers (Hardcore Mix)" is much faster than the original, and features completely new beats (the only thing keeping the two songs related are the equipment the songs were recorded on, and the movie sample). It is available on the rare Joyrex J9 EP or picture disc, and on Caustic Window's Compilation album.
