Selected Ambient Works Volume II
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| Selected Ambient Works Volume II | |||||
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| Studio album by Aphex Twin | |||||
| Released | March 7, 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | ??? | ||||
| Genre | Ambient techno | ||||
| Length | 156:51 | ||||
| Label | Warp Records WARP021 (Europe) Sire/Warner Bros. Records 45482 (rest of world) |
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| Producer | Richard D. James | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Aphex Twin chronology | |||||
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Selected Ambient Works Volume II (SAW2), released in 1994, is an ambient double album by Richard D. James under his Aphex Twin moniker. It is a follow-up to 1992's Selected Ambient Works 85-92.
Contents |
[edit] History
Volume II differs significantly from the first volume in the series, in that the first volume is mostly beat-oriented, with complex instrumental rhythmic patterns and heavy bass frequencies. In contrast to the fast, club-inspired ambient music of its predecessor, Volume II consists of slow, moody pieces, performed much like ambient pioneer Brian Eno; e.g. "[lichen]" is reminiscent of Eno's Discreet Music. Many of the tracks feature almost no percussion, and have strong synth textures. James said that the album is "like being in a power station on acid."
Richard D. James has stated in interviews that the sounds in this music were inspired by lucid dreams, and that upon awaking, he would attempt to re-create the sounds and record them. He claimed that he has natural synaesthesia, which contributed to this album.
[edit] Track listing
Volume II originally consisted of 25 songs, all untitled except for the song "Blue Calx." Every song matches with a specific photograph taken by James himself (except for a solid blue emblem representing the first track of the second CD, "Blue Calx"). The graphics are part of an encoded track-listing system that uses circles and pie diagrams—present in varying forms among the different releases—to represent each track (it may even be the case that the diagrams themselves are the actual track names). The lack of written titles for the tracks on this release provided impetus for fans of the album to come up with their own. Officially, however, the songs are still referred to by their track numbers. The most widely accepted track names are below:
| Duration | CD | / | VINYL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | [cliffs] | 07:21 | 1-01 | / | A-1 |
| 02 | [radiator] | 06:27 | 1-02 | / | A-2 |
| 03 | [rhubarb] | 07:44 | 1-03 | / | A-3 |
| 04 | [hankie] | 04:31 | 1-04 | / | A-4 (Warp CD only, not the Sire edition) |
| 05 | [grass] | 08:51 | 1-05 | / | B-1 |
| 06 | [mould] aka [mold] | 03:27 | 1-06 | / | B-2 |
| 07 | [ropes] aka [curtains] | 08:42 | 1-07 | / | B-3 |
| 08 | [blur] aka [circles] | 05:02 | 1-08 | / | B-4 |
| 09 | [weathered stone] | 06:45 | 1-09 | / | C-1 |
| 10 | [tree] | 09:48 | 1-10 | / | C-2 |
| 11 | [domino] | 07:09 | 1-11 | / | C-3 |
| 12 | [white blur 1] aka [steel plate] | 02:37 | 1-12 | / | C-4 |
| 13 | Blue Calx | 07:16 | 2-01 | / | D-1 |
| 14 | [parallel stripes] | 07:55 | 2-02 | / | D-2 |
| 15 | [shiny metal rods] aka [metal grating] | 05:29 | 2-03 | / | D-3 |
| 16 | [grey stripe] aka [windowsill] | 04:38 | 2-04 | / | D-4 |
| 17 | [z twig] aka [b+w stripes] | 02:01 | 2-05 | / | D-5 |
| 18 | [windowsill] aka [siding nails] | 07:13 | 2-06 | / | E-1 |
| 19 | [stone in focus] a.k.a. #19 | 10:05 | - | / | E-2 (Limited Edition vinyl only — see Notes) |
| 20 | [hexagon] aka [corrugated tubing] | 05:50 | 2-07 | / | E-3 |
| 21 | [lichen] | 04:07 | 2-08 | / | E-4 |
| 22 | [spots] aka [leaves] | 07:03 | 2-09 | / | F-1 |
| 23 | [tassels] | 07:24 | 2-10 | / | F-2 |
| 24 | [white blur 2] aka [rusty metal] | 11:21 | 2-11 | / | F-3 |
| 25 | [matchsticks] aka [b+w stripesII] | 05:36 | 2-12 | / | F-4 |
[edit] Notes
There were several editions of SAW2 available for purchase. The most complete, with all 25 tracks, were the Limited Edition UK vinyl, which was pressed on brown vinyl and limited to a press run of 10,000 copies and the UK cassette edition, released simultaneously with the vinyl and CD. Both of these are out of print. The second most complete versions are the regular vinyl release and the Warp Records (UK) CD release, which has every track except for "[stone in focus]", omitted due to the capacity limit of the CD format. The third most complete version is the Sire Records (US) CD release, which also omits "[hankie]". The only hard-copy digital form of "[stone in focus]" can be found on the Astralwerks compilation Excursions In Ambience: The Third Dimension. On this compilation, it has been given the name "#19" and appears as track number 10. [1]
The names for the tracks listed, as aforementioned, are interpretations of the photographs on the labels for the vinyl copies and inlay for the double CD release. On the Sire Records (US) editions, various photos were altered, either by showing unblurred photographs or by changing the image altogether. The image representing "[stone in focus]" was removed entirely on the US version, leaving behind an empty white box. The image for "Blue Calx", it being the only explicitly named track, is a blue box that reads "Blue Calx".
"Blue Calx" originally appeared on the Applied Rhythmic Technology compilation album The Philosophy Of Sound And Machine under the artist name Blue Calx, which was released in cooperation with Rephlex Records.
The front cover for this album features the textual Aphex Twin logo that was used on the earlier Xylem Tube EP, albeit in a broken, incomplete form.
[edit] Remixes
- SAW2 CD1 TRK2 (Original Mix) (aka "[radiator]"), available on the compilation album 26 Mixes for Cash. Originally recorded for Richard's Peel Session in 1995.
- SAW2 CD1 TRK7 (aka "[curtains]" aka "[ropes]"), jointly remixed with LFO's Simon from Sidney, remixed by Pram for the Warp 10th anniversary compilation 10+3 Remixes.
- SAW2 CD1 TRK1 (aka "[cliffs]"), remixed by Four Tet for the Warp 10th anniversary compilation 10+3 Remixes.
- SAW2 CD1 TRK1 (aka "[cliffs]"), SAW2 CD1 TRK3 (aka "[rhubarb]"), SAW2 CD2 TRK5 (aka "[z twig]") and SAW CD2 TRK8 (aka "[lichen]") remixed by Wisp on "Selected Ambient Works 2: Reworked", released April 30th 2004 on TavCOM Records.
[edit] Notes of interest
"Blur" was used in the closing credits of the final episode of season 3 of The Sopranos, Army of One.
Numerous tracks from Selected Ambient Works Volume II are used in the comedy series Blue Jam and Jam.
The album is referenced by name in the song Pretentious Jenny by band Visually Impaired Placenta.
Track number 3, "rhubarb" was used as part of the soundtrack for a film used by the BBC on Digital TV test transmissions. Also, "rhubarb" and "stone in focus" are featured several times in the animated flash series Salad Fingers and Spoilsbury Toast Boy, respectively, both of which are by animator David Firth.
"Rhubarb" "Curtain" "Window Sill" and "Radiator" were featured on a BBC Documentary about the philosophy of "Time".
"Shiny Metal Rods" was used in a "Saab" Commercial and in a channel 4 advertisement for a TV programme.
"Rhubarb" was featured on the 2007 award winning Canadian documentary Sharkwater.
Cover versions of “Blue Calx” and "Cliffs" played on acoustic instruments by the Western classical new-music ensemble Alarm Will Sound appeared on its album Acoustica—an album of Aphex Twin pieces re-scored for chamber ensemble.
"Z Twig" was used in the Niko Bellic teaser trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, and features on the game's soundtrack.
[edit] External links
- The SAW II GRAPHICAL F.A.Q
- Complete Aphex Twin discography
- Selected Ambient Works Volume II at the Warp Records discography (features audio clips).
- Brown Vinyl scans
- More pictures of the brown vinyl edition
- Information on Excursions In Ambience: The Third Dimension
- SAWII user review
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