"#19" | ||||
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Composition by Aphex Twin | ||||
from the album Selected Ambient Works Volume II | ||||
Released | 18 June 2024 | |||
Length | 10:14 | |||
Label | Warp | |||
Songwriter(s) | Richard D. James | |||
Producer(s) | Richard D. James | |||
Aphex Twin singles chronology | ||||
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"#19" (commonly known by fans as "Stone in Focus"), is a track by the British electronic artist and producer Richard D. James, under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was first released in 1994 exclusively on the vinyl and cassette editions of his second studio album Selected Ambient Works Volume II as the nineteenth track, however it was removed from the CD release due to storage constraints. [1] It was not featured on streaming service versions of the album until 2024. [2] It is the second longest track on the original release of Selected Ambient Works Volume II, and the third longest on the Expanded Edition reissue. [3]
#19 was originally released in 1994, as track 19 on Selected Ambient Works Volume II , James' second album. The track was present on the vinyl and cassette versions of the album. It was, however, left off compact disc copies of the album due to space limitations, as CDs can only hold a maximum of 80 minutes of music. [1] [4] The track later appeared on a compilation published by Astralwerks, titled Excursions In Ambience – The Third Dimension, which was released in the same year. [5] James played a snippet of the track at a show at Printworks in 2019. [6]
On 18 June 2024, James and Warp Records announced an expanded edition of Selected Ambient Works Volume II would be releasing on 4 October 2024. [7] This new edition would be released on vinyl, cassette and CD. [8] This new edition featured two new tracks, "th1 [evnslower]", "Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev", as well as #19, putting the track on streaming services and CD for the first time. [9] The track was released as a single on the day of the announcement, and was released with the rest of the tracks in October.
While the song was not released on streaming services until 2024, it had garnered millions of views and thousands of comments on an unofficial upload of the track on YouTube. [4] According to The Guardian , the comments discussed "everything from the vastness of the universe to monoliths and existential despair". [4]
In a ranking of the 50 best tracks released by James, Fact placed "Stone in Focus" at #41. They stated that the track was one of the most "disarming and memorable" on the record, and that it is "befuddling" that the track hadn't been re-instated on regular digital releases. [1] In another ranking of James' best tracks by Geeta Dayal of The Guardian , "Stone in Focus" was placed at #9 out of 20. They stated that the track was a "stirring, slow-burning anthem". [4] Talking about the track for Gizmodo , Marc Weidenbaum said "It’s threadbare stuff, and all the more beautiful for its simplicity. That said, it makes up for in length what it lacks in density." [3]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "#19" | 10:14 |
Total length: | 10:14 |
Credits adapted from Selected Ambient Works Volume II liner notes. [10]
...I Care Because You Do is the third studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 24 April 1995 through Warp Records and contains material recorded between 1990 and 1994. It marked James's return to a beat-driven sound following the mostly ambient album Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and combines abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait of James.
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.
Richard D. James Album is the fourth studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of 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, and ambient melodies reminiscent of his earlier work, as well as modulated vocals from James.
Selected Ambient Works Volume II is the second studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of 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."
Drukqs is the fifth studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of 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, to classical-type piano and prepared piano, ambient, and electroacoustic pieces. It features the piano composition "Avril 14th", one of James's best known recordings.
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".
"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.
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.
The discography of Richard D. James, a 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.
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.
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.
Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of 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.
Syro is the sixth studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of 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).
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.
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.
Hyperreal.org, also known as Hyperreal, was a rave culture website founded by Brian Behlendorf in 1994. It is based in San Francisco.
London 19.08.2023 is an extended play by the electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James, released under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 19 August 2023 through Warp, to coincide with James' performance at the Field Day 2023 festival. The EP was released only as a vinyl record. Both songs on side A were previously released on James' Bleep store, under the name "Korg Trax+Tunings for falling asleep", which was credited to the alias AFX.
"th1 [evnslower]" is a track released by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James, under the alias of Aphex Twin. The track was originally released on SoundCloud on 2 November 2015 as part of James' SoundCloud dump. It was released as a single on streaming services on 4 September 2024 through Warp Records. Finally, it was released as a track on Selected Ambient Works Volume II on 4 October 2024.