Ventolin (song)

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Ventolin
Ventolin cover
EP by Aphex Twin
Released March 27, 1995
Genre Electronic
Length mm:ss
Label Warp Records
Producer(s) Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin chronology
Classics
(1994)		 Ventolin
(1995)		 ...I Care Because You Do
(1995)


"Ventolin" is a piece of electronic music composed by Cornish musician Richard D James. It is noted for its abrasive sound. James recorded numerous versions of the piece under his Aphex Twin alias.

The piece is named after the drug Ventolin, which is prescribed to treat asthma. A common side effect of this drug is a high pitched ringing in the ears. James utilized this effect in "Ventolin", incorportating a piercing high-pitched ringing sound throughout the track. The music also incorporates heavily distorted techno beats. The resulting effect has been cited as "one of the most abrasive singles ever recorded".[1]

Contents

[edit] Album/video version

The first recording of "Ventolin" (subtitled "video version") appeared on the 1994 Aphex Twin album …I Care Because You Do. A music video was also produced to accompany the track, which consists of a woman being trapped in an elevator with other images interspersed.

[edit] Single releases

In 1995, Warp Records the released "Ventolin" as a single in the United Kingdom, on 12" vinyl and CD in two parts, Ventolin and Ventolin Remixes. Between them, these EPs featured a further 12 versions of "Ventolin". (The United States release, by Sire Records, collects all of the tracks on a single CD.)

The singles' artwork, by Dan Parks, featured renaissance-style anatomical drawings of a human head and upper torso, together with an asthma inhaler and the Aphex Twin logo.

Whilst all the twelve versions of "Ventolin" on these singles are labelled as ostensible remixes, in many cases they appear to be almost entirely new pieces of music, bearing only nominal relation to the original. In typical Richard D James fashion, several of the mixes are labelled with obscure or bizarre titles, some of which are Cornish placenames.

[edit] Notes on the various "remixes"

  • Several of the apparently bizarre remix names are actually Cornish place names: Praze-An-Beeble, Marazanvose[2], Carharrack and Probus are all Cornish villages. There is a Coppice Inn in the town of Redruth. Plain-An-Gwarry is a Cornish place name, and also the generic name for a Cornish medieval amphitheatre used for the performance of mystery plays and sports.
  • Other mix names reference the Ventolin drug: "asthma beats", "wheeze" (a symptom of asthma), and Salbutamol (the active ingredient of the Ventolin drug).
  • The "Praze-An-Beeble mix" ends with manipulated samples of Richard D James' mother Lorna laughing, whilst the "Marazanvose mix" ends with manipulated animal/vocal sounds.
  • "Crowsmengegus mix" closes with a speech synthesizer intoning an MC's toast to list of names ("Respect going out to..."), all of whom were collaborators with Richard D James. The "Respect List", which was later issued as a separate track on 51/13 Aphex Singles Collection.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Ventolin

  1. "Ventolin" (Salbutamol Mix) – 5:46
  2. "Ventolin" (Praze-An-Beeble Mix) – 3:21
  3. "Ventolin" (Marazanvose Mix) – 2:10
  4. "Ventolin" (Plain-An-Gwarry Mix) – 4:37
  5. "Ventolin" (The Coppice Mix) – 4:35
  6. "Ventolin" (Crowsmengegus Mix) – 5:52

[edit] Ventolin Remixes

  1. "Ventolin" (Wheeze Mix) – 7:07
  2. "Ventolin" (Carharrack Mix) – 2:49
  3. "Ventolin" (Probus Mix) – 4:14
  4. "Ventolin" (Cylob Mix) – 4:03
  5. "Ventolin" (Deep Gong Mix) – 6:18
  6. "Ventolin" (Asthma Beats Mix) – 1:39
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