Classics | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 30 January 1995 | |||
Genre | Acid techno, hardcore techno | |||
Length | 74:03 | |||
Label | R&S Records | |||
Producer | Richard D. James | |||
Richard D. James chronology | ||||
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Aphex Twin album chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [2] |
Classics is a 1995 compilation album by electronic musician Richard D. James,more commonly known by his pseudonym of Aphex Twin.
The album collects James's early releases,including the Analogue Bubblebath , Digeridoo ,and Xylem Tube EPs with a handful of other songs,including remixes of Mescalinum United's "We Have Arrived". It was released by R&S Records following James' success on Warp Records. James was not involved in the release of this compilation. [3]
A remastered version of the album was released on 2 June 2008. The cover for this reissue resembles that of Selected Ambient Works 85–92 ,albeit with the black and white inverted.
James' first release was the 1991 12-inch EP Analogue Bubblebath on Mighty Force Records. In 1991 James and Grant Wilson-Claridge founded Rephlex Records to promote "innovation in the dynamics of Acid —a much-loved and misunderstood genre of house music forgotten by some and indeed new to others,especially in Britain". [4] From 1991 to 1993 James released two Analogue Bubblebath EPs as AFX and an EP, Bradley's Beat ,as Bradley Strider. Although he moved to London to take an electronics course at Kingston Polytechnic,he admitted to David Toop that his electronics studies were slipping away as he pursued a career in the techno genre. After leaving school James remained in the city,releasing albums and EPs on Warp Records and other labels under a number of aliases (including AFX,Polygon Window and Power-Pill);several of his tracks,released under aliases including Blue Calx and The Dice Man,appeared on compilations. Although he allegedly lived on the roundabout in Elephant and Castle,South London during his early years there,he actually resided in a nearby unoccupied bank. [5] [6]
In 1992 James also released the Xylem Tube EP and Digeridoo (first played by DJ Colin Faver on London's Kiss FM) as Aphex Twin,the Pac-Man EP (based on the arcade game) as Power-Pill,and two of his four Joyrex EPs ( Joyrex J4 EP and Joyrex J5 EP ) as Caustic Window. "Digeridoo" reached #55 on the UK Singles Chart,and was later described by Rolling Stone as foreshadowing drum and bass. [7] He wrote "Digeridoo" to clear up his audience after a rave. [8] These early releases were on Rephlex Records,Mighty Force of Exeter and R&S Records of Belgium. [9]
James had no creative input and was against the release of this compilation,accusing R&S of "milking as much money as they can out of me,because they know I'm not going to give them any more records." [10]
All tracks are written by Richard David James unless noted
No. | Title | Remix of | Length |
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1. | "Digeridoo" | 7:12 | |
2. | "Flaphead" | 7:00 | |
3. | "Phloam" | 5:33 | |
4. | "Isopropanol" | 6:23 | |
5. | "Polynomial-C" | 4:46 | |
6. | "Tamphex" (Hedphuq mix) | 6:31 | |
7. | "Phlange Phace" | 5:22 | |
8. | "Dodeccaheedron" | 6:08 | |
9. | "Analogue Bubblebath" | 4:46 | |
10. | "Metapharstic" | 4:33 | |
11. | "We Have Arrived" (Aphex Twin QQT mix) | "We Have Arrived" by Mescalinum United | 4:23 |
12. | "We Have Arrived" (Aphex Twin TTQ mix) | "We Have Arrived" by Mescalinum United | 5:06 |
13. | "Digeridoo" (live in Cornwall, 1990) | 6:21 | |
Total length: | 74:09 |
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
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UK Albums Chart | 24 [13] |
Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term braindance to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists.
Drukqs is the fifth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released in 2001 on Warp. It is a double album alternating primarily between tracks of meticulously programmed drum and bass-inspired beats and computer-controlled classical piano pieces. It features the piano composition "Avril 14th," one of James's best-known recordings.
Analord is a series of eleven 12" vinyl records released in 2005 by UK-based electronic music artist Richard D. James, primarily under the alias AFX. The series marked James's return to primarily analogue equipment following his computer-oriented programming work in the late 1990s. After their release, James "distilled" the 3½ hour, 42-track series into the 10-track compilation album Chosen Lords (2006), effectively his first full-length release since the 2001 album Drukqs.
Analogue Bubblebath, also released as Aphex Twin ep, is the first record by musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugural release for the label, which at the time was a record shop in Exeter. The record was hugely influential on the development of electronic music, particularly techno and ambient techno. Its release has been described as a key event in the history of dance music. It is the first release in what became the Analogue Bubblebath series.
Analog Bubblebath Vol 2 is the second EP released by the musician Richard D. James. It is the second release in the Analogue Bubblebath series.
Analogue Bubblebath Vol 3 is an EP by electronic musician Richard D. James, under the pseudonym of AFX, released in 1992 on Rephlex Records. It is the third release in the Analogue Bubblebath series, and his first release to use the AFX variation of his pseudonym Aphex Twin.
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.
Digeridoo is an EP by the musician Richard D. James under the alias The Aphex Twin, released in January 1992 on R&S Records. The title track had previously been released as "Aboriginal Mix" on Analog Bubblebath Vol 2.
Compilation is an album released by Richard D. James under the pseudonym Caustic Window. The album consists of most of the tracks from the EPs Joyrex J4 EP, Joyrex J5 EP, Joyrex J9i and Joyrex J9ii.
Chosen Lords is a compilation album by Richard D. James, released under the aliases AFX and Aphex Twin. It is a CD compilation of selected tracks previously released on the vinyl-only Analord series. Limited edition copies distributed with a poster were offered on Warpmart to encourage pre-ordering.
The discography of Richard D. James, an Irish-born British musician, consists of six studio albums, three compilation albums, 14 extended plays, seven singles, and 12 music videos, all released under his best known alias Aphex Twin. James has also released one studio album under the alias Polygon Window, one studio album under the alias Caustic Window, and one collaborative album with Mike Paradinas. Three compilation albums and 35 extended plays were released under other aliases.
Bradley's Beat is an EP by Richard D. James, under the alias Bradley Strider, released by Rephlex Records in 1995.
Joyrex J9ii is an album by Richard D. James under the alias Caustic Window. The release is a 12" vinyl and has received more than one pressing. The title of this release is very similar to another Caustic Window release titled Joyrex J9i.
Richard David James, known professionally as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born 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 Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of the British electronic music producer and DJ Richard D. James. 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 13 to 14 years old. On release it received widespread acclaim and entered the UK Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 in December 1992.
Analogue Bubblebath 5 is an unreleased EP by techno and IDM artist Richard D. James.
Melodies from Mars is a collection of unreleased tracks by Richard David James, better known under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. Although James did not admit authorship until 2010, it was known to fans as an unofficial Aphex Twin album because at least two of its tracks are alternate versions of tracks featured on the subsequently released Richard D. James Album (1996). Some tracks also bear resemblance to those on Analogue Bubblebath 5. These tracks are thought to mark the beginning of a new phase in James's career, when he started composing music using computer software rather than on synthesizers and analogue equipment.
The Joyrex Tape is the name given to a collection of unreleased tracks from the early 1990s by Richard D. James, best known by his alias Aphex Twin. The original tape was copied from one of James' DATs sometime in the 1990s and was leaked onto the internet in 2011. In January 2015 James uploaded high quality versions of the tracks to SoundCloud as part of a track dump.
Analogue Bubblebath 4 is an EP by Richard D. James under his alias AFX. It is the fourth release in the Analogue Bubblebath series.