"Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" | ||||
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Single by Aphex Twin | ||||
from the EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 | ||||
Released | 21 June 2023 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:23 3:32 (Parallax mix) | |||
Label | Warp | |||
Songwriter(s) | Richard D. James | |||
Aphex Twin singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" on YouTube |
"Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" is a track by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was first released as the lead single in promotion of the EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 , his first new music under the Aphex Twin alias in five years since 2018's Collapse EP . [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The EP also contains an alternate "Parallax mix" as the final track on the record. [6]
The track was initially teased on SoundCloud on the day of its release, before being officially released on streaming services before quickly being removed, only for it to gain popularity on major demand-side platforms; a YouTuber's upload was quickly taken down. [7] [8] [9] Around the same time, streaming service Deezer posted details for the EP the track will be on, which was also deleted; the EP and track was officially announced through Bandcamp through Warp Records. [10]
Pitchfork described the track as having some of the most gentle synth-work Aphex Twin has made in "ages", with "analog-sounding drum machines", "snares and rimshots so dry they're practically vacuum-sealed", and noting that "nagging breakbeats poke and prod" with crash symbols and soft, ruminative synths being found throughout the track, with the ending of the track being described as "somber ambience". Overall it was called similar to the track "T69 Collapse" from the Collapse EP. [11]
According to Stereogum , the track is a "heady, lovely, blur of a song" with drum programming that encourages dancing. [12]
BrooklynVegan noted the track featured many of the "glitchy" trademarks of Richard D. James music but "is almost poppy, with an infectious, danceable beat that never flies off the rails." [13]
The official music video was released on 31 July 2023 on YouTube, directed by visual artist Weirdcore. [14] There is a dedication at the end of the video to James' late parents, Derek and Lorna.
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC) [15] | 79 |
UK Dance (OCC) [16] | 30 |
UK Indie (OCC) [17] | 32 |
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs ( Billboard ) [18] | 25 |
...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. Containing material recorded between 1990 and 1994, the album marked James's return to a percussive sound following the largely beatless Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and pairs abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait by James.
Richard D. James Album is an eponymous studio album by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. 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, intricate time signatures, and ambient melodies reminiscent of his earlier work, as well as modulated vocals from James.
"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.
Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace that formed in New York City in 1993. The band's earliest albums were noted for their noise rock influences, though their sound evolved by the early 2000s with the releases of Misery is a Butterfly (2004) and 23 (2007), which both incorporated elements of dream pop, shoegaze and other genres. They have released ten studio albums and have toured internationally.
Selected Ambient Works Volume II is the second studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James, under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. It was released on 7 March 1994 through Warp Records. Billed as a follow-up to James' debut Selected Ambient Works 85–92, the album differs in sound by being largely beatless ambient music. James said that it was inspired by lucid dreaming, and likened the music to "standing in a power station on acid."
Drukqs is a studio album by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released in October 2001 through Warp Records. It is a double album alternating primarily between tracks of meticulously programmed beats inspired by jungle and drum and bass and computer-controlled classical piano pieces. It features the piano composition "Avril 14th", one of James's best known recordings.
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.
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.
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Syro is a studio album by the 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]" 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).
Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 is an extended play record by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 2 January 2015 on Warp. It is meant as a companion piece to his fifth studio album, Drukqs (2001).
Cheetah is an extended play record by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 8 July 2016 on Warp. The name is a reference to Cheetah Marketing, a British manufacturer of microcomputer peripherals and electronic musical instruments in the 1980s.
Lucy Elizabeth Dacus is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Dacus attracted attention with her debut album No Burden (2016), which led to a deal with Matador Records. Historian, her second album, was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Home Video, her third studio album, was released in 2021.
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.
In 2015, Richard D James, who releases music under aliases including Aphex Twin, anonymously uploaded hundreds of demos and unreleased tracks to the music sharing site SoundCloud. James said he released the music to relieve his family of the pressure to release his archives after he dies. He added more tracks in 2020.
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Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 is an extended play record by the British electronic music artist Aphex Twin. It was released on 28 July 2023 on Warp. It was preceded by the release of the first track and single "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" on 21 June 2023. The EP contains four tracks, including an alternate "Parallax mix" of "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" as the final track.