Ventolin (EP)

Last updated

Ventolin
Ventolin (EP cover).jpg
EP / Single by
Released27 March 1995
Genre
Length26:27
Label Warp
Producer Aphex Twin
Richard D. James chronology
Classics
(1995)
Ventolin
(1995)
...I Care Because You Do
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

"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. [3]

Contents

The piece is named after a trade name for the drug salbutamol, which is prescribed for the treatment of asthma. A reported side effect of this drug is tinnitus, [4] a high pitched ringing in the ears. James utilised this effect in "Ventolin", incorporating a piercing high-pitched ringing sound throughout the track. The music also incorporates heavily distorted techno beats. The resulting effect has been cited as "one of the harshest singles ever recorded". [5]

The song is sampled by the Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly in the song "Retribution" on their 1999 album Implode .

Album/video version

The first recording of "Ventolin" (the "video version") appeared on a music video produced to accompany the track. The video consists of a woman being trapped in an elevator with other industrial images interspersed. The "video version" of the track was released a month later on the 1995 Aphex Twin album ...I Care Because You Do .

Single releases

In 1995 Warp Records released "Ventolin" as a single in the United Kingdom, on 12-inch vinyl and CD in two parts, Ventolin and Ventolin Remixes. Between them, these EPs have a further 12 tracks, ostensibly versions of "Ventolin". The record entered the Dance Singles Chart at number 15 on 8 April 1995. [3]

Designed by Dan Parkes (who also designed the artwork for On ), the single's artwork has Renaissance-style anatomical drawings of a human head and upper torso, together with an asthma inhaler and the Aphex Twin logo.

Notes on the various "remixes"

Whilst all twelve versions of "Ventolin" on these singles are labelled as ostensible remixes, in many cases they appear to be almost entirely new pieces of music, bearing only nominal relation to the original. The "Wheeze" mix is the only remix that utilises the high-pitched ringing and sounds from the original "Ventolin".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Richard David James unless noted

Ventolin
No.TitleLength
1."Ventolin" (Salbutamol Mix)5:46
2."Ventolin" (Praze-An-Beeble Mix)3:21
3."Ventolin" (Marazanvose Mix)2:10
4."Ventolin" (Plain-An-Gwarry Mix)4:37
5."Ventolin" (The Coppice Mix)4:35
6."Ventolin" (Crowsmengegus Mix)5:52
Total length:26:27
2017 re-release digital bonus tracks [7] [8]
No.TitleLength
7."hilow [ru,ec,+3]"2:55
8."ventolin1 un e,ru,ec+2"1:21
Total length:30:43
Ventolin Remixes
No.TitleRemix byLength
1."Ventolin" (Wheeze Mix) 7:07
2."Ventolin" (Carharrack Mix) 2:49
3."Ventolin" (Probus Mix) 4:14
4."Ventolin" (Cylob Mix) Cylob 5:02
5."Ventolin" (Deep Gong Mix) Luke Vibert 6:18
6."Ventolin" (Asthma Beats Mix) 1:39
Total length:27:09

Related Research Articles

<i>...I Care Because You Do</i> 1995 studio album by Aphex Twin

...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 ambient work Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and pairs abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait by James.

<i>On</i> (EP) 1993 EP by Aphex Twin

On is an extended play record by the electronic music producer Aphex Twin released on 15 November 1993 by Warp. On Remixes, featuring remixes by James, Reload and μ-Ziq, was released on the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salbutamol</span> Short-acting bronchodilator used for acute asthma

Salbutamol, also known as albuterol and sold under the brand name Ventolin among others, is a medication that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs. It is a short-acting β2 adrenergic receptor agonist that causes relaxation of airway smooth muscle. It is used to treat asthma, including asthma attacks and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It may also be used to treat high blood potassium levels. Salbutamol is usually used with an inhaler or nebulizer, but it is also available in a pill, liquid, and intravenous solution. Onset of action of the inhaled version is typically within 15 minutes and lasts for two to six hours.

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

Drukqs is a studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under his moniker 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carharrack</span> Village and civil parish in Cornwall, England

Carharrack is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated two miles (3 km) east of Redruth in a former mining area.

<i>26 Mixes for Cash</i> 2003 compilation album by Aphex Twin

26 Mixes for Cash is a compilation album of remixes produced by Aphex Twin. Most of the remixes were produced for other artists between 1990 and 2003. It was released on 24 March 2003 by Warp Records.

<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".

Beta<sub>2</sub>-adrenergic agonist Compounds that bind to and activate adrenergic beta-2 receptors

Beta2-adrenergic agonists, also known as adrenergic β2 receptor agonists, are a class of drugs that act on the β2 adrenergic receptor. Like other β adrenergic agonists, they cause smooth muscle relaxation. β2 adrenergic agonists' effects on smooth muscle cause dilation of bronchial passages, vasodilation in muscle and liver, relaxation of uterine muscle, and release of insulin. They are primarily used to treat asthma and other pulmonary disorders. Bronchodilators are considered an important treatment regime for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are usually used in combination with short acting medications and long acting medications in a combined inhaler.

<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.

Chris Jeffs, best known by the stage name Cylob, is a British electronic musician and producer closely associated with Aphex Twin. He has produced seven albums, three compilations and a number of remixes. Previously signed to Rephlex records, Jeffs started his own digital label Cylob Industries in 2007. His most well-known tracks include "Rewind" and "Cut The Midrange, Drop The Bass".

<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>Expert Knob Twiddlers</i> 1996 studio album by Mike & Rich

Expert Knob Twiddlers is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records and is the only release credited to the two as Mike & Rich.

Feline asthma is a common allergic respiratory disease in cats, affecting at least one percent of all adult cats worldwide. It is a chronic progressive disease for which there is no cure. Common symptoms include wheezing, coughing, labored breathing and potentially life-threatening bronchoconstriction. There is conjecture that the disease has become more common due to increased exposure to industrial pollutants. Feline asthma can also be attributed to lung damage caused by long-term exposure to second-hand smoke.

<i>Girl/Boy EP</i> 1996 EP by Aphex Twin

Girl/Boy EP is an EP by the British electronic music producer and DJ Aphex Twin. It was released through the label Warp on 19 August 1996. It peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart.

<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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MARCHROMT30A edit 2b 96</span> 2015 single by Aphex Twin

"MARCHROMT30A edit 2b 96" is a track by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It serves as the second single and the Japanese bonus track from Aphex Twin's sixth studio album, Syro.

<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.

References

  1. Murphy, Ben (3 January 2019). "SOLID GOLD: HOW APHEX TWIN'S 'SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS 85-92' REFINED DANCE MUSIC". DJ Mag. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. "Aphex Twin - Ventolin". AllMusic . Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  3. 1 2 Redmond, Steve, ed. (8 April 1995). "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week . London: Spotlight Publications. p. 19.
  4. Goodey, R. J. (1981). "Drugs in the Treatment of Tinnitus". Ciba Foundation Symposium 85 - Tinnitus. Novartis Foundation Symposia. Vol. 85. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 263–78. doi:10.1002/9780470720677.ch15. ISBN   978-0-470-72067-7. PMID   6799263 . Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  5. Ventolin at AllMusic
  6. Map
  7. "Aphex Twin - Ventolin. Aphex Twin". Warp . Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  8. Ventolin Inhaler