Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 ALBUM REVIEW

Richard D. James' first full-length under the Aphex Twin name still stands as a landmark moment in contemporary electronic music.

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APHEX TWIN - SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS 85-92 / APOLLO / 1992 / AMBIENT TECHNO, ACID TECHNO, IDM

Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?

[NatetheKindaOK]

This is my favorite Aphex Twin album because it doesn't scare the shit out of me when I check my phone in the middle of the night to see what song is playing

[cajunstratjr]

the track "Xtal" is actually pronounced "Crystal", for the same reason "Xmas" is the same as "Christmas". listened to his stuff for years and only found that out recently myself

[DroneCorpse]

Thom Yorke named Aphex Twin as his biggest influence, saying: "He burns a heavy shadow ... Aphex opened up another world that didn't involve my fucking electric guitar ... I hated all the music that was around Radiohead at the time, it was completely fucking meaningless. I hated the Britpop thing and what was happening in America, but Aphex was totally beautiful, and he's kind of my age too."

Although he has influenced Radiohead, especially on their album Kid A, he does not wish to tour with them: "I wouldn't play with them since I don't like them."

[DirtMcLurch]

This album got me through 50 hrs of community service stemming from a weed charge in 2001.

[mrlevinielsen]

Xtal still has me scratching my head at the fact it was made in, if not, before 1992

[wickedhyperstyler]

02:25 - Xtal
03:58 - Tha
Pulsewidth
05:01 - Ageispolis
05:22 - i
04:20 - Green Calx
05:39 - Heliosphan
05:50 - We Are the Music Makers
05:33 - Schottkey 7th Path
04:53 - Ptolemy
02:35 - Hedphelym
06:05 - Delphium
Actium

[cablevamp]

Showed people at an acid party Xtal and my god the emotion in the room was crazy people were hugging eachother and shit.

[holykijo]

Xtal in my non humble opinion is one of the best opening tracks to any album

[Trixiethegoldenwitch]

I'm not even surprised to hear that you are also Cardi B, she is everywhere

[ashleysmith]

Absolutely one of my favourite albums of all time. I moved to Brighton (UK) for university when I was 18 (1998) and unfortunately I wasn't allocated a room on campus so I ended up sharing a big, old weird house in a village further along the coast (Rottingdean, if you're interested). I had housemates but none of us knew each other, so it was kind of a lonely time, in a house on cliffs overlooking the sea during a dismal grey, autumnal English October.
I found a small box of tapes under the bed, including a a copy of Selected Ambient Works 85-92. One day I took a long walk along the cliff and listened to the whole album during my walk. I then flipped it over and listened to it again OK my way back.
The music is so soothing, so personal. It has the feel of being made specifically for headphones, to be experienced alone rather than in a crowd (as the reviewer mentioned). It felt like the person who had left that tape there had known it would be found by someone who needed a helping hand. The comforting sensation was like eating a Mars Bar a d drinking a pint of ale by a roaring fire after completing a winter-time swim in the sea. The music is so warm, the opposite to the cold edges of much of electric music.
I went out and bought the album on CD, and when I eventually left that house, I made sure the tape was in the box under the bed. I attached a little note to it, suggesting the next person listen to it if they were feeling blue.

[PenskeMaterial]

Xtal is the best electronic song of all time

[cnacks]

Xtal is what's playing in the speakers in heaven.

[Triplehdd]

Im a simple man, I see Aphex twin, I click

[hubblebublumbubwub]

Why don't you say CLASSIC/10 in the description anymore? Now I don't know if it's a CLASSIC/10

[Scumbox]

This album has soundtracked many of my long train commutes over the years. A classic, indeed.

[BeansBeansBeans]

You gave Selected Ambient Works a 85-92/10 but DAMN. a 7/10?

[AmbientShrub]

"I" is so pure. Its one of my favorite fleeting moments of ambient.

[cheeseontoast]

this album means so much to me, been listening to it for 10 years now and own every format, its a gamechanger, inspiring. that first track, no matter whats going on in your life, puts you in a place of comfort, you know where you stand. if i could only choose a handful of albums to own, this would be one of them.

[cybersurferd]

1:56 I consider IDM to be “artistic electronic music”. It doesn’t have to be fast nor slow. Its simply audible art that pushes boundaries and invokes the imagination

[shanexx]

Xtal is actually a timeless song, if one song could instantly make an album a 10/10 it would be xtal