Selected Ambient Works 85-92
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| Selected Ambient Works 85-92 | ||
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| Studio album by Aphex Twin | ||
| Released | February 12, 1992 | |
| Recorded | 1985 - 1992 | |
| Genre | Ambient Techno IDM |
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| 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, James had learnt about new music techniques and rhythm patterns. With the club scene under his belt, and with a small underground following, James 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 Volume II, 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, James 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.) A good number of the songs share similarities to electronic music genres like acid techno that did not exist until 1987. The fact that the date when each song was composed is not clearly indicated, and sounds like other rave electronic music post 90s, makes it likely that most of the songs probably came from 1990 and beyond.
According to legend, the 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 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 samples. "Tha" has clips of two people (one possibly being James himself) talking, while "Actium" has samples of what sound like shoes being squeaked in a hallway. "We Are the Music Makers" features a line of dialogue from the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. "Green Calx" contains 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. "Green Calx" also contains a faint sample of the vocal from "Fodderstompf" by Public Image Ltd.
"We Are the Music Makers" was also remixed (or a new version created) by James'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.
"We Are the Music Makers" is also the inspired title used for a electronic music news site, http://watmm.com/. WATMM highlights artists such as Aphex Twin, µ-Ziq, Boards of Canada, Autechre, and Squarepusher.
[edit] External links
| Richard D. James |
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| Discography |
| As Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992) - Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994) - ...I Care Because You Do (1995) - Richard D. James (1996) - Come to Daddy (1997) - Windowlicker (1999) - drukqs (2001) - Analord 10 (2005) - Chosen Lords (2006) As AFX: Analogue Bubblebath (1991) - Analogue Bubblebath 3 (1993) - Analogue Bubblebath 4 (1994) - Hangable Auto Bulb (1995) - Analord (2005) - Chosen Lords (2006) As Polygon Window: Surfing on Sine Waves (1993) |
| Related Artcles |
| Warp Records | Rephlex Records | Mike & Rich | Universal Indicator |
