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===Methods, influences, and music===
===Methods, influences, and music===


''Richard D. James Album'' is influenced by the works of James' friends, including [[Luke Vibert]]'s ''Plug'' series of EPs and [[Squarepusher]]'s ''[[Feed Me Weird Things]]'' and other early works. James avoided the cliched and copyrighted breakbeats often used on drum and bass recordings, and instead programmed [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] computers' software synthesizers—a novel approach at the time{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. This album contains at least two sounds from the [[ZX Spectrum|Spectrum]] home computer: a program being loaded from a tape, and sound effects from the game ''[[Jetpac]]''. The tape noise in "Carn Marth" is the loading screen data for the game ''[[Sabre Wulf]]'', and "Peek 824545201" contains the header block from ''[[Starstrike 3D]]''. On "Logan Rock Witch", James sampled children's toys as percussion instruments. Some of the tracks, including the single "Girl/Boy Song", play plucked and bowed string sounds. In addition, many of the songs are kept short. The UK release of the album was just over half an hour long, supposedly because James claimed that anything over that in length bores him, and he cannot concentrate. "Fingerbib" and "Logan Rock Witch" were originally composed for James' unreleased [[Melodies From Mars]] project.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.
''Richard D. James Album'' is influenced by the works of James' friends, including [[Luke Vibert]]'s ''Plug'' series of EPs and [[Squarepusher]]'s ''[[Feed Me Weird Things]]'' and other early works. James avoided the cliched and copyrighted breakbeats often used on drum and bass recordings, and instead programmed [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] computers' software synthesizers—a novel approach at the time{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. This album contains at least two sounds from the [[ZX Spectrum|Spectrum]] home computer: a program being loaded from a tape, and sound effects from the game ''[[Jetpac]]''. The tape noise in "Carn Marth" is the loading screen data for the game ''[[Sabre Wulf]]'', and "Peek 824545301" contains the header block from ''[[Starstrike 3D]]''. On "Logan Rock Witch", James sampled children's toys as percussion instruments. Some of the tracks, including the single "Girl/Boy Song", play plucked and bowed string sounds. In addition, many of the songs are kept short. The UK release of the album was just over half an hour long, supposedly because James claimed that anything over that in length bores him, and he cannot concentrate. "Fingerbib" and "Logan Rock Witch" were originally composed for James' unreleased [[Melodies From Mars]] project.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.


===Media attention and reception===
===Media attention and reception===

Revision as of 20:22, 20 April 2009

Untitled


Richard D. James, also known as Richard D. James Album, is an electronic album by Aphex Twin whose real name is Richard David James. It was released on Warp Records in 1996.[1] The work features use of software synthesizers and unusual beats. It is his first official full-length album since …I Care Because You Do, released in 1995. The album garnered high acclaim from music critics, and was named 40th in Pitchfork Media's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990's" list.[2]

Overview

James named the album after himself for two main reasons: the first being that he had released so much material under his various monikers, that he thought he should have a self-titled album, and the second being that he had an older brother that died at birth also named Richard James. Richard D. James may have released the album as a form of tribute to him (Richard James' memorial is displayed in the album insert of the US edition, as well as on the cover of the UK-only Girl/Boy EP[3], and the story of James' brother was featured heavily in press articles about the release).

Methods, influences, and music

Richard D. James Album is influenced by the works of James' friends, including Luke Vibert's Plug series of EPs and Squarepusher's Feed Me Weird Things and other early works. James avoided the cliched and copyrighted breakbeats often used on drum and bass recordings, and instead programmed Apple computers' software synthesizers—a novel approach at the time[citation needed]. This album contains at least two sounds from the Spectrum home computer: a program being loaded from a tape, and sound effects from the game Jetpac. The tape noise in "Carn Marth" is the loading screen data for the game Sabre Wulf, and "Peek 824545301" contains the header block from Starstrike 3D. On "Logan Rock Witch", James sampled children's toys as percussion instruments. Some of the tracks, including the single "Girl/Boy Song", play plucked and bowed string sounds. In addition, many of the songs are kept short. The UK release of the album was just over half an hour long, supposedly because James claimed that anything over that in length bores him, and he cannot concentrate. "Fingerbib" and "Logan Rock Witch" were originally composed for James' unreleased Melodies From Mars project.[citation needed].

Media attention and reception

Songs from the album were used on several different television ads. "To Cure a Weakling Child" was used in a high-profile UK TV advertising campaign for the mobile phone company, Orange. The song "4" was used in a US government anti-drug advertisement spot, as well as an advertisement in the United States for the Special Olympics. "Girl/Boy Song" was used in a Bank of America commercial.[4] Many critics also reviewed the album, Pitchfork quotes "The Richard D. James Album is 43.5 minutes of pure electronic genius"[5] A review by the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim Deragotis said of the album: "James has turned inward for inspiration, painting aural pictures of real and imagined scenes from his West Country childhood." Jason Fine of Rolling Stone commented on the album as "combining jolting beats, pristine melodic fragments and random noises into elegant – if at times unnerving – futuristic pop". He also commented "Not all of Richard D. James goes down easy", explaining the "menace lurking beneath the jerking beat of "Peek 82454201."[6]

Track information

Tracks from the original Warp Records release:

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."4 (sampleⓘ"3:37
2."Cornish Acid"2:14
3."Peek 824545301"3:05
4."Fingerbib"3:48
5."Carn Marth"2:33
6."To Cure a Weakling Child"4:03
7."Goon Gumpas"2:02
8."Yellow Calx"3:04
9."Girl/Boy Song"4:52
10."Logan-Rock Witch"3:33


The American, Canadian, and Australian versions of this album contain the following five extra tracks that had previously been released in the UK as the b-sides of the Girl/Boy EP.

No.TitleLength
11."Milkman"4:09
12."INKEY$"1:24
13."Girl/Boy (£18 Snare Rush mix)"1:57
14."Beetles"1:31
15."Girl/Boy (Redruth mix)"1:37

Song titles

"Carn Marth" is frequently, albeit incorrectly, referred to as "Corn Mouth", a mistake possibly attributable to James' handwriting. The track is also named after a hill in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. Logan Rock is also a famous rock located in Cornwall. Goon Gumpas is a village located near Redruth. The tracks "INKEY$" and "Peek 824545301" are named after keywords in the Spectrum's Sinclair BASIC programming language.

Charts

Year Chart Peak Position
1997 Heatseekers #20

References

  1. ^ "Richard D. James at Discogs". Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  2. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990's". Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  3. ^ "Girl/Boy cover". Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  4. ^ "Space Age Bachelor article". Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  5. ^ "Richard D. James pitchfork review". Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  6. ^ "Richard D. James rolling stone review". Retrieved 2008-10-28.
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