...I Care Because You Do

Last updated

...I Care Because You Do
AphexTwinICareBecauseYouDo.jpg
Studio album by
Aphex Twin
Released24 April 1995 (1995-04-24)
Recorded1990–1994
Genre
Length63:49
Label Warp
Producer Richard D. James
Richard D. James chronology
Ventolin E.P
(1995)		...I Care Because You Do
(1995)		 Donkey Rhubarb
(1995)
Aphex Twin album chronology
Classics
(1995)		...I Care Because You Do
(1995)		 Richard D. James Album
(1996)

...I Care Because You Do is a studio album by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 24 April 1995 through Warp Records. It contains material recorded between 1990 and 1994 and marked James's return to a beat-driven sound following the mostly ambient album Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and pairs abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait of James. [9]

Contents

I Care Because You Do entered the CIN's Dance Albums Chart at number 4 and the Albums Chart at number 24. [10] It was supported by the single and Extended Play (EP) release of the track "Ventolin". The album received positive reviews. It garnered comparisons to the work of composer Philip Glass, who later created an orchestral version of the track "Icct Hedral", and John Cage. [11] The reviewers for Entertainment Weekly , Spin , and Rolling Stone preferred it to his two previous albums. In 2017 Pitchfork ranked I Care Because You Do the 13th best IDM album of all time. [12]

Composition

Each track on I Care Because You Do is annotated with a date; the tracks were created between 1990 and 1994. [13] It was James' final album to be recorded with mostly analogue technology before he began using digital production methods. [14]

According to AllMusic, the album finds James "pairing his hardcore experimentalism with more symphonic ambient material, aligned with the work of many post-classical composers" such as Philip Glass. [11] Writer Dave Thompson described the album as "pulling together calm, serene moments then launching into battering and bruising beat-heavy tracks", and said the rhythms shift "from trancey to hip-hoppish". [15] Thompson also noted the influence of modern composers such as Glass. [15] Rolling Stone stated the music has "little to do with techno in any of its more popular guises", and compared it to the work of Glass and John Cage, and said the album draws "most strongly from hip-hop ... James' trademark is to put rhythm and percussion above all else; his beautiful, haunting melodies are relegated to the back of the mix." [7]

According to Exclaim! , ...I Care Because You Do has been described as "occupying a middle-ground between Philip Glass and the Wu-Tang Clan". [14] Spin wrote the album "showed up trip-hop laziness", [16] while Dummy Mag said James was taking trip hop and "refashioning [the] voguish genre in his own image". [6] Entertainment Weekly wrote: "By adding layers of soft, warm synthesizer chords over skull-grinding electronic percussion, James creates sounds that are simultaneously comforting and scary". [5] In 2003 NME summarized the album as "a shotgun wedding of analogue rave and ambient porridge." [17] In 2004 Rolling Stone stated the increasingly active drum backing on the album was inspired by the presence of drum and bass music in the United Kingdom. [13]

Release

...I Care Because You Do was released on 24 April 1995 [18] on vinyl, compact disc, and cassette. [18] It entered the CIN's Dance Albums Chart at number 4 and the Albums Chart at number 24, remaining on the latter for two weeks. [10] [19] The label 1972 re-released I Care Because You Do on vinyl on 18 September 2012. [14] Warp also re-issued the album in vinyl with a download card on 8 October 2012. [14] In 2017, the album was re-released in digital format with eight bonus tracks. [20]

The album's cover artwork is a self-portrait painted by James. [9] It was the first of several Aphex Twin releases to feature an image of James' grinning face on the cover. [21]

Following the album's release, composer Philip Glass contributed an orchestral arrangement to "Icct Hedral" that was included on the 1995 EP Donkey Rhubarb . [11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [22]
Entertainment Weekly A− [5]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [23]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [24]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Select 4/5 [4]
Spin 8/10 [3]
The Sydney Morning Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [25]
Tom Hull – on the Web A− [26]

Select ranked ...I Care Because You Do at 42 on its 2022 "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list, [27] saying the album is "Leftfield, sound-pop brilliance" and James' "most coherent work to date". [27] Another review in Select stated James had the ability to "make the avant-garde sound pop" and that he "delivers complex contemporary systems music in the most deliciously simple forms". [4] The Sydney Morning Herald gave the album a positive review, stating: "As ever, [James'] palette of sound is astonishing, his arrangements effective and deliberate". [25] Rolling Stone described the album as "classical music for a generation raised on samplers", stating James was "making some of the most engaging and important music of our time". [7]

Entertainment Weekly praised ...I Care Because You Do and called it superior work to Selected Ambient Works Volume II , writing it "reintroduces tension, more beats per minute, and sonic grime into his music", and that it "creates sounds that are simultaneously comforting and scary – a fitting metaphor for the contemporary clash of technology and the humans befuddled by it". [5] Spin also stated that album is superior to Selected Ambient Works Volume II because ...I Care Because You Do "cut the middle of [techno]'s kitchen-sink aesthetic without sacrificing melody coherence or rhythm". [3] Spin also described it as "a real album with its own gestalt", in which capacity it betters the "truly great" Aphex Twin albums Selected Ambient Works 85–92 (1992) and Classics (1995). [3]

In a retrospective of James' work in The Rolling Stone Album Guide , Sasha Frere-Jones said the album's more-recent tracks were its best ones. [13] Justin Boreta from the group The Glitch Mob reviewed the album in 2015, praising it for "the juxtaposition between heavy darkness and gentle depth". [21] The A.V. Club reviewer Kyle Fowle described ...I Care Because You Do as "a perfect bridge between James' implementation of experimental techno and glossy ambient". [28] In 2017, Pitchfork ranked it the 13th-best intelligent dance music (IDM) album of all time. [12]

Track listing

Each track on ...I Care Because You Do is annotated with the year of its recording. [13]

...I Care Because You Do track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Acrid Avid Jam Shred" (1994)7:38
2."The Waxen Pith" (1993)4:50
3."Wax the Nip" (1990)4:19
4."Icct Hedral (edit)" (1994)6:07
5."Ventolin (video version)" (1994)4:29
6."Come On You Slags!" (1990)5:45
7."Start as You Mean to Go On" (1993)6:05
8."Wet Tip Hen Ax" (1994)5:17
9."Mookid" (1994)3:51
10."Alberto Balsalm" (1994)5:11
11."Cow Cud Is a Twin" (1994)5:34
12."Next Heap With" (1993)4:43
Total length:63:49

Personnel

The album credits only state: "Everything by Richard D. James. Self portrait painted by me. Design help from John." [9]

Charts

Chart performance for ...I Care Because You Do
Chart (1995)Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [29] 70
UK Albums (OCC) [30] 24
UK Dance Albums Chart (CIN) [10] 4

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Pollard, Vincent. "Translator". Exclaim! . Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Keep Your Vintage Champagne I'm Buying Synths". Magnetic Mag. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Weisbard, Eric (July 1995). "Aphex Twin: I Care Because You Do". Spin . Vol. 11, no. 4. pp. 74–75. ISSN   0886-3032. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Grundy, Gareth (May 1995). "Aphex Twin: I Care Because You Do". Select . No. 59. p. 93.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Browne, David (2 June 1995). "...I Care Because You Do". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Album of the Week: Aphex Twin – 'Syro'". Dummy Mag. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Prince, David J. (4 May 1995). "I Care Because You Do : Aphex Twin". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Aphex Twin — …I Care Because You Do". Sound Check! (in Russian). 15 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 ...I Care Because You Do (Media notes). Warp. 1995. WARP LP 30.
  10. 1 2 3 Redmond, Steve, ed. (6 May 1995). "Specialist Charts: Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week . London: Spotlight Publications. p. 35.
  11. 1 2 3 Bush, John. "Aphex Twin | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  12. 1 2 Weidenbaum, Marc (24 January 2017). "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". Pitchfork . p. 4. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Frere-Jones 2004, pp. 21–23.
  14. 1 2 3 4 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 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  15. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 158. ISBN   9780879306076.
  16. ↑ Hermes, Will (February 1997). "Aphex Twin: Richard D. James". Spin . Vol. 12, no. 11. p. 88. ISSN   0886-3032.
  17. ↑ "Aphex Twin". NME . Vol. 7–8, no. 12. IPC. 2003. p. 40. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  18. 1 2 "Aphex Twin:...I Care Because You Do". Warp. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "...I Care Because You Do". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Twin, Aphex. "Aphex Twin - ...I Care Because You Do. Aphex Twin". Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019– via aphextwin.warp.net.
  21. 1 2 Bush, Derek (30 April 2015). "The Glitch Mob's Justin Boreta Revists Aphex Twin's ...I Care Because You Do". Consequence of Sound . Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  22. ↑ Bush, John. "I Care Because You Do – Aphex Twin". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Smith, Andrew (21 April 1995). "Aphex Twin: I Care Because You Do (Warp)". The Guardian .
  24. ↑ Warren, Bruce (28 May 1995). "The Orb: Orbus Terrarum (Island) / Aphex Twin: ...I Care Because You Do (Sire)". The Philadelphia Inquirer .
  25. 1 2 Danielsen, Shane (4 September 1995). "From Chaos To Convention". The Sydney Morning Herald . p. 12.
  26. ↑ Tom Hull, Hull (12 November 2023). "Grade List: Aphex Twin". Tom Hull – on the Web . Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  27. 1 2 Grundy, Gareth (January 1996). "Top 50 Albums of the Year". Select . pp. 78–79. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Fowle, Kyle (22 September 2014). "A beginner's guide to the many sounds of Aphex Twin". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  30. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2019.

Related Research Articles

Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints. The music often described with the term originally emerged in the early 1990s from the culture and sound palette of styles of electronic dance music such as acid house, ambient techno, Detroit techno and breakbeat; it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing. Prominent artists in the style include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, μ-Ziq, the Black Dog and the later duo Plaid, as well as earlier acts such as the Future Sound of London and Orbital.

<i>Richard D. James Album</i> 1996 studio album by Aphex Twin

Richard D. James Album is a studio album by the British 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windowlicker</span> 1999 single by Aphex Twin

"Windowlicker" is a track by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 22 March 1999 through Warp Records. The artwork for the single was created by Chris Cunningham, with additional work by The Designers Republic. Cunningham also directed the song's music video, which was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Video.

<i>Selected Ambient Works Volume II</i> 1994 studio album by Aphex Twin

Selected Ambient Works Volume II is a studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 7 March 1994 through Warp Records. Its title follows James's debut Selected Ambient Works 85–92. Unlike that record, most of the tracks are purely ambient music, without the earlier volume's ambient techno beats. James said the music was inspired through lucid dreaming, and likened it to "standing in a power station on acid."

<i>Drukqs</i> 2001 studio album by Aphex Twin

Drukqs is a studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released in October 2001 through Warp Records. It is a double album that includes a variety of sharply contrasting styles, from meticulously programmed beats inspired by jungle and drum and bass, classical-type piano and prepared piano, ambient, and electroacoustic pieces. It features the piano composition "Avril 14th", one of James's best known recordings.

<i>Come to Daddy</i> (EP) 1997 EP / mini-album by Aphex Twin

Come to Daddy is an EP/mini-album by the British electronic music artist Aphex Twin. The EP's lead single, and the first track on the EP, "Come to Daddy "—often simply called "Come to Daddy"—is one of Aphex Twin's best-known songs; it peaked at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Amber</i> (Autechre album) 1994 studio album by Autechre

Amber is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 7 November 1994 by Warp. It was the first Autechre album to be composed entirely of new material, as their debut album Incunabula (1993) was a compilation of older tracks.

<i>Surfing on Sine Waves</i> 1993 studio album by Polygon Window

Surfing on Sine Waves is a studio album by the musician and producer Richard D. James under the alias Polygon Window. It is the only album released under this name; James is better known as Aphex Twin. The record was released on 11 January 1993 through Warp Records. It entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 2 on 23 January 1993. James' previous album, Selected Ambient Works 85‍–‍92, was then at No. 9 on the chart, and James briefly had two records in the Dance Albums Top 10 under different pseudonyms. The 2001 reissue edition includes the previously unreleased tracks "Portreath Harbour" and "Redruth School".

<i>Ventolin</i> (EP) 1995 EP / Single by Aphex Twin

"Ventolin" is a 1995 EP by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It is noted for its harsh, abrasive sound. James recorded numerous versions of the piece. The record entered the Dance Singles Chart at number 15 in April 1995.

<i>Donkey Rhubarb</i> (EP) 1995 EP by Aphex Twin

Donkey Rhubarb is a 1995 extended play record by the electronic music artist Aphex Twin. It was released on 14 August 1995 by Warp. The EP contains a version of the song "Icct Hedral" from James' album ...I Care Because You Do by Philip Glass.

<i>Hangable Auto Bulb</i> 1995 EP by AFX

Hangable Auto Bulb is a series of two 1995 EPs by electronic musician Richard D. James, under his alias AFX. The two were re-released by Warp Records as a single album on 31 October 2005. They marked James's first foray into rapid drill 'n' bass style beat programming.

<i>Classics</i> (Aphex Twin album) 1995 compilation album by the Aphex Twin

Classics is a 1995 compilation album by the electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James, more commonly known by his pseudonym of Aphex Twin.

<i>Orbus Terrarum</i> 1995 studio album by the Orb

Orbus Terrarum is a studio album by English electronic music group the Orb that was released on 20 March 1995 by Island Records. Member Kris Weston had begun work on the album before leaving the group. After he left, German producer Thomas Fehlmann joined as a full-time studio member, and the group, now consisting of Alex Paterson, Andy Hughes, and Fehlmann, completed the album. Unlike their previous efforts, Orbus Terrarum features more "earthbound", "organic" sounds in contrast to the psychedelic, science fiction-themed music they had previously written.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aphex Twin</span> British electronic musician (born 1971)

Richard David James, known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, record producer, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient and jungle. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact,Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential and important artists in contemporary electronic music.

<i>Succour</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Seefeel

Succour is the second studio album by British band Seefeel. It was released on 20 March 1995 on Warp and did not receive a release in the United States.

<i>Selected Ambient Works 85–92</i> 1992 studio album by Aphex Twin

Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut album by the British electronic music producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo Records, a subsidiary of the Belgian label R&S Records. The album consists of ambient techno tracks that were recorded on cassette as early as 1985, when James was 13-14 years old. On release it received widespread acclaim and entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 on 26 December 1992.

<i>Syro</i> 2014 studio album by Aphex Twin

Syro is a studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 19 September 2014 through Warp Records. It was James's first album under the Aphex Twin name since Drukqs (2001).

minipops 67 (120.2) 2014 single by Aphex Twin

"minipops 67 [120.2]" is a track by the British electronic musician Richard D. James, credited under the pseudonym Aphex Twin. It is the opening track and lead single from Aphex Twin's sixth studio album, Syro (2014).

<i>Collapse EP</i> 2018 EP by Aphex Twin

Collapse EP is an EP by the British electronic music artist Richard D. James under the pseudonym Aphex Twin. It was released on 14 September 2018 on Warp. The record received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised James for returning to his signature "Aphex Twin" sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperreal.org</span> Rave culture website

Hyperreal.org, also known as Hyperreal, was a rave culture website founded by Brian Behlendorf in 1994. It is based in San Francisco.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.