| Artificial Intelligence | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by various artists | ||||
| Released | 6 July 1992 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:22 | |||
| Label | Warp | |||
| Artificial Intelligence series chronology | ||||
| ||||
Artificial Intelligence is a compilation album released via Warp on 6 July 1992. [1] It is the first release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series. The album helped birth the genre that would later become known as intelligent dance music (IDM).
According to Warp co-founder Steve Beckett, the album was primarily intended for sedentary listening rather than dancing, and this was reflected in the album art, which depicts an android asleep in an armchair with Kraftwerk and Pink Floyd albums Autobahn (1974) and The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), respectively, at its side:
You could sit down and listen to it like you would a Kraftwerk or Pink Floyd album. That's why we put those sleeves on the cover of Artificial Intelligence – to get it into people's minds that you weren't supposed to dance to it! [2]
— Steve Beckett
The third album on the floor is Pioneers of the Hypnotic Groove, a 1991 collection of some of the first tracks released on Warp.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [3] |
| Pitchfork | 8.8/10 [4] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [5] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
Critic Simon Reynolds cited Artificial Intelligence as a key ambient techno release in a 1994 write-up for The New York Times . [7]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic John Bush praised Artificial Intelligence as "a superb collection of electronic listening music." [3] In 2014, Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy of Vice described it as "an exercise in re-training the ear." [8] The following year, Tegan O'Neil of The A.V. Club wrote: "Although every producer on it would go on to have a long and storied career, the album's music is satisfying enough on its own terms." [9]
In 2014, Rolling Stone included Artificial Intelligence on its list of "The 40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time", citing its formative role in the development of intelligent dance music (IDM). [10] According to The Guardian 's Ben Cardew, the album "birthed" the IDM genre and "changed the idea of electronic music as merely a tool for dancing". [11] In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number ten on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". [12] In 2023, British GQ placed it at number three on its list of the ten best electronic albums of all time. [13]
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Polygon Window" | The Dice Man | 5:12 |
| 2. | "Telefone 529" | Musicology | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Crystel" | Autechre | 4:38 |
| 4. | "The Clan" | I.A.O | 5:08 |
| 5. | "De-Orbit" | Speedy J | 6:13 |
| 6. | "Preminition" | Musicology | 4:04 |
| 7. | "Spiritual High" | UP! | 7:43 |
| 8. | "The Egg" | Autechre | 7:32 |
| 9. | "Fill 3" | Speedy J | 3:42 |
| 10. | "Loving You Live" | Dr Alex Paterson | 4:01 |
Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints. It emerged from the culture and sound palette of electronic styles such as ambient techno, acid house, Detroit techno and breakbeat; it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing. Prominent artists associated with it include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, Amon Tobin, Higher Intelligence Agency, Telefon Tel Aviv, μ-Ziq, The Black Dog, The Future Sound of London, Mouse on Mars, Biosphere, Orbital and Luke Vibert.
Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.
Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Blake Baxter, Drexciya, Mike Banks, James Pennington and Robert Hood. Artists like Terrence Parker and his lead vocalist, Nicole Gregory, set the tone for Detroit's piano techno house sound.
Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
Geogaddi is the second studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. It was originally released on 8 February 2002 in Japan by Vivid and in Europe ten days later by Warp Records. It was recorded between 1999 and 2001 at Hexagon Sun, their Pentland Hills studio. The album is intended to be darker in tone than their debut studio album Music Has the Right to Children, released in 1998. The album contains references to the Branch Davidians and numerology throughout its composition.
Planet Mu is an English electronic music record label created and run by Mike Paradinas. The label started out as a subsidiary of Virgin Records then Paradinas set up the label independent of Virgin. After releasing intelligent dance music, the label moved to jungle and breakcore, and then grime and dubstep and later footwork. The label also releases the music of Paradinas under various aliases such as μ-Ziq, Kid Spatula and Tusken Raiders. It celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020.
Feed Me Weird Things is the debut studio album by English electronic musician Tom Jenkinson under the alias Squarepusher. It was released on 3 June 1996 through Rephlex Records. It entered the dance albums chart at No. 10 on 15 June.
Hard Normal Daddy is the second studio album by English electronic musician Tom Jenkinson under the alias Squarepusher, released on 28 April 1997. The album was Jenkinson's first studio album as Squarepusher for Warp. A single for the track "Vic Acid" was released in 1997 prior to the album's release.
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.
Tri Repetae is the third studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 6 November 1995 by Warp in the United Kingdom. In contrast to the duo's previous albums, Incunabula (1993) and Amber (1994), Tri Repetae features a distinct style that incorporates more minimal rhythms and spacious melodies.
Artificial Intelligence is a series of albums by Warp Records released from 1992–1994 to exhibit the capabilities and sounds of electronic music. Warp described the new music as "electronic listening music" to clarify that it was meant more for the mind than the body. The sleevenote on the 1992 compilation said "Are you sitting comfortably? Artificial Intelligence is for long journeys, quiet nights and club drowsy dawns. Listen with an open mind." The series is remarkable for its inclusion of groups and individuals who would later become leaders in modern electronic music, techno, and ambient, such as Alex Paterson, Plaid, Richard D. James, Richie Hawtin, and Autechre. Every album in the series, aside from Dimension Intrusion, has its name enclosed in parentheses on its cover.
Surfing on Sine Waves is a studio album by the musician and producer Richard D. James under the alias Polygon Window. James is better known as Aphex Twin. The record was released on 11 January 1993 through the label Warp. It entered the UK 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".
Seefeel is a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford, Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher, and Sarah Peacock. Their work became known for fusing guitar-based shoegaze with the production techniques of ambient techno and electronica.
Artificial Intelligence II is a compilation album released via Warp on 30 May 1994. It is the eighth and final release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series. It peaked at number 16 on the UK Compilation Chart.
Ginger is the debut studio album by Dutch electronic music producer Speedy J. Released via a joint deal between Plus 8 and Warp in September 1993, the album was the sixth release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series, which focused on "electronic listening music" by different artists. It peaked at number 68 on the UK Albums Chart and remains Speedy J's most successful album there.
Frequencies is the debut studio album by British electronic music duo LFO, released on 22 July 1991 by Warp. It peaked at No. 42 on the UK Albums Chart and was released to universal acclaim.
Richard David James, known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, 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.
Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut studio album by the British musician 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 recorded onto cassette reputedly dating as far back as 1985, when James was fourteen years old. On release it received widespread acclaim and entered the UK Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 on 26 December 1992.
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range of 120 to 150 beats per minute (BPM). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat. Artists may use electronic instruments such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers, as well as digital audio workstations. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and software emulations of such retro instruments are popular.
Lifestyles of the Laptop Café is the only studio album by The Other People Place, a recording project by American electronic music producer James Stinson. It was released on September 3, 2001 through Warp. Stinson's identity as the album's producer was not confirmed until after his death in 2002. Largely overlooked at the time of its release, Lifestyles of the Laptop Café has since received retrospective critical acclaim. After being out of print for several years, the album was reissued by Warp in 2017.