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Richard D. James Album

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Richard D. James Album
A photo of Richard D. James smiling in a darkened background.
Studio album by
Aphex Twin
Released4 November 1996 (1996-11-04)
Genre
Length32:51
LabelWarp
ProducerAphex Twin
Richard D. James chronology
Girl/Boy EP
(1996) 		Richard D. James Album
(1996) 		Analogue Bubblebath Vol 3.1
(1997)
Aphex Twin album chronology
...I Care Because You Do
(1995) 		Richard D. James Album
(1996) 		Drukqs
(2001)

Richard D. James Album is a studio album by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin, whose real name is Richard David James. It was released on 4 November 1996 through Warp Records. It was composed by James on his Macintosh computer, and took longer to complete than his previous albums. It features fast breakbeats and intricate drum programming which draw from jungle and drum and bass. James' drum loops are paired with lush string arrangements, and ambient melodies reminiscent of his earlier work, as well as modulated vocals from James.

Richard D. James Album entered the UK Dance Albums Chart at number 7, and at number 62 on the UK Albums Chart. It became his first album to chart in the United States, at number 20 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums chart. It had sold over 100,000 units by 1997, making it Warp's most commercially successful release at the time. It received critical acclaim, with much of the praise going to its production. It has since been described as one of the best albums of 1996 and the 1990s overall by music critics.

Background and production

In 1995, Richard James released the two Hangable Auto Bulb EPs under his AFX moniker, experimenting with exaggerated rhythms inspired by drum and bass in a style that came to be called "drill 'n' bass".[1] In the following year, James released the Aphex Twin EP Girl/Boy.[2] This faster style of drum programming was inspired by James' friend Luke Vibert, also known as Plug.[3] James stated that while he worked with triplets and complicated beats in the past, that Vibert "got me into doing it a faster pace. He gave me the spark to do it faster, but now I'm trying to take it to all extremes".[4]

[[File:Luke Vibert 2.JPG|thumb|alt= Luke Vibert live|James's experimentation with faster breakbeats was inspired by Luke Vibert. }}

James has stated that most of the album was composed on his Macintosh computer[4] and that the album took longer to create than any of his previous albums.[5] Describing his approach to drum programming, he stated that "sometimes I just hit the keyboard in a way I'd like the rhythm of the tracks to sound. Then I'll spend four hours moving all the notes where I want them to go."[6] Some tracks on the album include James' vocals modulated on a computer; in "To Cure a Weakling Child", James manipulated his voice to sound like a child giving a lecture about their arms and legs.[4][5] For the orchestral arrangements on the album, James bought a violin at a car boot sale. He taught himself to play a note from the instrument by placing it on a table, playing a note and sampling the note.[7]

Composition

"4"
A sample of "4", a track that features slower melodies underneath faster paced breakbeats.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Richard D. James Album is a work of electronica[8][9] that has been characterised as James's "swan dive into jungle and drill'n'bass" by Vice's Dan Wiess,[10] and labeled as a work of IDM by Pitchfork,[11] working with jungle,[12] drum and bass[13][14] and ambient and acid techno in some tracks.[14] Andrew Speiss of PopMatters noted that '[w]hat makes Richard D. James Album stand out among James' previous works is the synthesis of delicate, symphonic sounds and hard, jackhammering beats," noting that the album consolidated his 1995 entry into the short-lived drill 'n' bass subgenre.[15] James has claimed the influence of jungle music came from "any of the drum 'n' bass and breakbeat artists" and that he has "always been into nicking other things [...] and making something different".[4] Patrick Fallon of Stereogum noted the album heavily relies on drum programming, sampling, and "other digital intricacies that would've been otherwise unthinkable without computers".[16] It also features lush string arrangements and simple keyboard textures built over quadruple time breakbeats.[17] A reviewer for Spectrum Culture wrote that the album used unstable time signatures.[14] Steve Taylor found the record Aphex Twin's "most terrifying" one, with "weird stop-start beats, white noise and tough melodies."[18]

John Bush of AllMusic noted that the album continued James's "forays into acid-jungle and experimental music,"[19] noting that the album was "more extreme than virtually all jungle being made at the time", with beats layered over slower melodies that characterised James' earlier ambient works.[12] Eric Carr of Pitchfork opined that the album was one of the "aggressive combinations of disparate electronic forms", with "almost-brutal contrast between its elements".[20] Exclaim! commented that tracks such as "Girl/Boy Song", "Yellow Calx", and "Peek 824545201" were "loosely based on jungle".[21] Spin's Will Hermes linked the album's use of vocals, both sung and sampled, its cover artwork and title, stating that "Richard D. James might be the first electronica LP that not only gropes for narrative but also aspired to an abstract sort of autobiography."[8]

Release

Richard D. James Album was released through Warp on 4 November 1996.[22] It was released on compact disc, cassette and gramophone record;[23] early copies of the album were distributed with a plastic sachet containing James' hair.[24] The American version included the Girl/Boy EP as bonus tracks.[6][25] The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on the UK Dance Albums Chart,[26] and at number 62 on the UK Albums Chart, in the week ending 16 November 1996.[27] It was released in the United States through Sire Records on 28 January 1997 and became James' first record to chart there, debuting at number 20 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums chart.[28][29] By November 1997, it had sold over 100,000 copies and became Warp's most commercially successful release at the time,[30] the former of which surprised James.[31][32]

Along with ...I Care Because You Do (1995), Richard D. James Album was reissued on vinyl on 18 September 2012 by record label 1972.[33] Warp announced their own re-issue of the album on 180-gram vinyl for 8 October 2012.[34]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Detroit Free Press[35]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[36]
Muzik[37]
Pitchfork8.4/10[38]
Rolling Stone[39]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[40]
Spin7/10[8]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+ ([[File:Five Pointed Star Solid.svg|11px|link=Christgau's_Consumer_Guide:_Albums_of_the_'90s#Grading_key|(3-star Honorable Mention)]](3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention))[41]
The Village VoiceB+[42]

Richard D. James Album received critical acclaim from music critics. In the United Kingdom, The Independent gave album a positive review, stating that "The intuitive sense of melody [James] has been striving so hard to suppress over the last few years has come to the fore too, and the result is the most magical pop record of the year: the year in question being AD 2001".[43] In North America, Pitchfork's Ryan Schreiber gave the album an 8.4 out of ten rating, stating that "The Richard D. James Album is 43.5 minutes of pure electronic genius" and "just when your brain starts to comprehend a rhythmic pattern, the beat shifts, turns left and crushes your torso under the steering wheel."[38] Rolling Stone's Jason Fine gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting that "Aphex Twin coaxes great emotional resonance from his machines" and combines "jolting beats, pristine melodic fragments and random noises into elegant – if at times unnerving – futuristic pop". However, he also commented that "not all of Richard D. James goes down easy".[39] Marc Widenbaum of The Pulse called the album, "quite simply, the strongest art-pop record to appear since Laurie Anderson's Mr. Heartbreak", defined by a "series of lovely tunes atop a decisive, rhythmically fascinating girding of rapid-fire, turn-on-a-dime percussion."[6] Entertainment Weekly writer David Browne awarded the album an A−, calling it James' "quirkiest, most personal work" and said that "4" and "Girl/Boy Song" revealed "a new warmth and wistfulness."[36] Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post gave the album a negative review, referring to the music as "sloppy offhand", "a noisy mess" and sounding "like a private joke".[44]

Richard D. James Album was placed in numerous best-of lists. NME placed the album at number 20 on their list of the best albums of 1996.[45] The Wire also listed the album among their top 50 albums of the year for 1996.[46] In 2003 Pitchfork listed their top albums of the 1990s, with Richard D. James Album ranking at 40.[20] Pitchfork stated that RDJ is not "easily dated by [its] technology", and doesn't "sound stale compared to modern variations."[20] Also in 2003, NME ranked it 55th in their list of the top 100 albums of all time.[47] Slant Magazine placed the album at number 91 on their list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s, describing it as "more fascinated by textures than almost any other electronic album ever crafted".[48] In 2015 Spin placed the album at number 71 on their list of the best albums of the past 30 years.[49] In the same year, Exclaim! listed Richard D. James Album on their list of Essential Richard D. James albums.[21] The review opined that the album was "not necessarily a release that you immediately fall in love with", but that it was "endlessly rewarding".[21] Evening Standard named it among "the most influential electronica albums of the past 20 years."[9] In 2019, Reverb called the album "perhaps the best-known IDM release of all time" and a "highwater mark" for the genre.[50]

Track listing

All tracks are credited as being written and produced by "Me" (Richard D. James).[51]

Physical (UK)[51] and digital[52] editions
No.TitleLength
1."4"3:37
2."Cornish Acid"2:14
3."Peek 824545201"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" (NLS mix)4:52
10."Logan Rock Witch"3:33
Total length:32:51
American edition bonus tracks (Girl/Boy EP)[25][53]
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
Total length:43:29

Personnel

Credits from the back cover of the album.[51]

  • Aphex Twin (credited as "Me") – writer, producer, sleeve
  • Johnny Clayton – sleeve

Charts

Chart performance for Richard D. James Album
Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart (CIN)[27] 62
UK Dance Albums Chart (CIN)[26] 7
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[54][55] 20
Chart (2023) Peak
position
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[56] 39

Sales

Sales for Richard D. James Album
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom — 30,000[32]
United States — 50,000[32]
Summaries
Worldwide — 100,000[30]

See also

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ Richardson, Mark. "Review: Hangable Auto Bulb". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. ^ Turenne, Martin (1 April 2003). "Aphex Twin The Contrarian". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  3. ^ Kirn 2011, p. 153: “I think the main influence is Luke from Wagon Christ. He really inspired me to get into it more. I used to do lots of crazy triplets and stuff at a slower pace, but he really got me into doing it at a faster pace. He gave me the spark to do it faster, but now I’m trying to take it to all extremes, basically.”
  4. ^ a b c d Kirn 2011, p. 150-153
  5. ^ a b Dax, Max (13 August 2013). "From the Vaults: An Interview with Aphex Twin". Electronic Beats. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Widenbaum, Marc (March 1997). "Eponymous Rex". Pulse!. No. 157. pp. 26–27. Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via aphextwin.nu.
  7. ^ Thompson 1998, p. 141.
  8. ^ a b c Hermes, Will (February 1997). "Aphex Twin: Richard D. James". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 11. p. 88. ISSN 0886-3032. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  9. ^ a b De Peyer, Robin (18 August 2014). "Aphex Twin blimp spotted in London sparks speculation over DJ's return". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  10. ^ Weiss, Dan (4 November 2016). "Aphex Twin's 'Richard D. James Album' Is Still Inventively Immature 20 Years Later". Vice. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  11. ^ Dombal, Ryan (24 January 2017). "Top 40 IDM Albums". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  12. ^ a b c Bush, John. "Richard D. James Album – Aphex Twin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  13. ^ Larkin 2011
  14. ^ a b c Cole, Jake (19 October 2016). "Holy Hell! The Richard D. James Album Turns 20". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  15. ^ Speiss, Andrew (5 November 2021). "25 YEARS OF APHEX TWIN'S 'RICHARD D. JAMES' ALBUM". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  16. ^ Fallon, Patrick (10 October 2014). "Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album (1996)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  17. ^ "17. Aphex Twin, 'The Richard D. James Album' (Warp, 1996)". Rolling Stone. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016.
  18. ^ Taylor 2006, pp. 13–14
  19. ^ Bush, John. "Aphex Twin | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  20. ^ a b c Carr, Eric (17 November 2003). "Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  21. ^ a b c Keating, Daryl (13 October 2015). "An Essential Guide to Richard D. James". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Aphex Twin Richard D. James Album". Warp. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Richard D. James Album – Aphex Twin: Releases". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  24. ^ Thompson, Ben (13 January 2008). "120 essential pop albums". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  25. ^ a b Bush, John. "Richard D. James Album – Aphex Twin – Release Information, Reviews, and Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  26. ^ a b Redmond, Steve, ed. (16 November 1996). "Specialist Charts: Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week. London: Miller Freeman Entertainment. p. 23.
  27. ^ a b "Richard D. James Album". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  28. ^ Flick, Larry; Reece, Doug (15 February 1997). "Electronic Music Poised For Power Surge in States: Rising Interest Sparks Excitement, Concern". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 7. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 79. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  29. ^ "US Albums" (PDF). Hit Music. No. 225. 15 February 1997. p. 17.
  30. ^ a b Smith, Gary (1 November 1997). "Dance Grooves: Warp Finds a Voice" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  31. ^ Jones, Andy (19 September 2023). "1997 interview reveals that Aphex Twin owned a tank, wanted to buy a submarine and used the vault of the former bank he owned as a reverb: "It would be great for parties"". MusicRadar. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  32. ^ a b c "Aphex Twin – Interview Transcript". Space Age Bachelor. No. 12. 25 September 1997. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  33. ^ Kaye, Ben (26 July 2012). "Aphex Twin reissues ...I Care Because You Do and Richard D. James Album". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  34. ^ Hudson, Alex (25 July 2012). "Aphex Twin's '...I Care Because You Do' and 'Richard D. James Album' Get Vinyl Reissues". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  35. ^ Pratt, Tim (23 February 1997). "Aphex Twin — 'Richard D. James' (Sire/Elektra)". Detroit Free Press. p. 52.
  36. ^ a b Browne, David (31 January 1997). "Richard D. James". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  37. ^ James, Martin (December 1996). "Aphex Twin: Richard D. James Album (Warp)" (PDF). Muzik. No. 19. p. 136. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  38. ^ a b Schreiber, Ryan (November 1996). "Aphex Twin: The Richard D. James Album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 7 March 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  39. ^ a b Fine, Jason (2 January 1997). "Aphex Twin: Richard D. James Album / DJ Shadow: Endtroducing..." Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  40. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (2004). "Aphex Twin". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 21–23. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  41. ^ Hull, Tom (13 June 2015). "Rhapsody Streamnotes: June 13, 2015". Tom Hull – on the Web. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  42. ^ Christgau, Robert (23 September 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  43. ^ "Records". The Independent. Independent Print Ltd. 3 November 1996. p. 26. ISSN 0951-9467.
  44. ^ Jenkins, Mark (2 February 1997). "Plain Old Common Synth". Washington Post. p. G8. ProQuest 1444597149. (subscription required)
  45. ^ "Albums and tracks of the year 1996". NME. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  46. ^ "1996 Rewind". The Wire. January 1997. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  47. ^ "NME's 100 Best Albums of All Time!". NME. 8 March 2003. p. 30.
  48. ^ Henderson, Eric (14 February 2011). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  49. ^ Weiss, Dan (11 May 2015). "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)". Spin. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  50. ^ Mizek, Steve. "13 Essential IDM Records: Aphex Twin, Autechre, and more". Reverb. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  51. ^ a b c "Back of album cover". Richard D. James Album (Media notes). Aphex Twin. Warp. 1996. WarpCD43.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  52. ^ "Richard D. James Album by Aphex Twin". iTunes. 4 November 1996. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  53. ^ "Back of album cover". Richard D. James Album (Media notes). Aphex Twin. Sire. 1997. CD 62010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  54. ^ Anon. (15 February 1997). "Billboard's Heatseekers Album Chart". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 7. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 21. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  55. ^ "Heatseekers Albums: Up and Coming Musicians Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  56. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 august 2023.

Bibliography

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