APHEX TWIN - SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS 85-92 @ 30

 

Marking its 30th anniversary today is the debut album from Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, which was released on November 9th, 1992. Issued in double LP, CD and cassette formats, it became a cornerstone for the next evolution of electronics music, commonly referred to as “IDM - intelligent dance music”.

As the first waves of techno & house/acid house music swept the clubs in the UK through the late 1980s, cresting with the dawn of the new decade, DJs and producers like Richard D. James were looking for ways to evolve the music into more thoughtful, progressive forms. This desire became the impetus for James to found his Rephlex record label. After debuting his Aphex Twin alias the prior year with the Analogue Bubblebath EP followed by the Digeridoo 12”, when it came time to put together an album, James decided to soften his edges, He compiled a set of tracks largely based on input from friends regarding which of his recordings they enjoyed hearing most when they were chilling out.

The material for the album was reputedly all recorded directly to cassette between 1985 and 1992, utilizing a limited set of electronics, synths and drum machines, often modified and customized by James. While still pursuing his academic studies prior to committing full time to a music career, James had been focusing his education on engineering and electronics, so that expertise dovetailed perfectly with his interest in music making.

The genius of the album’s style is that it combines the contemporary electronic rhythms of the dance floor with the layering of subtle, evocative melodic textures which, when infused with the soft-focusing effect of the somewhat “low fi” recording techniques, created the album’s trademark dreamscape effect. Indeed, it’s James’ nuanced and delicate melodic sensibilities that set his music apart and above so many other electronic artists. There’s a compositional cohesion to his use of musical refrains and chord shifts which stamp his work with its distinctive surrealism. While it isn’t technically “ambient” in the classic, "Eno" defined sense of the term, it still rests inside an atmospheric landscape which avoids the jarring edginess of the more brutal material James had been releasing for the clubs.

The album was minimally packaged with the iconic Aphex logo prominently dominating the otherwise blank surface. The logo had been designed by Paul Nicholson under the guidance of James, with the two going through several iterations before they settled on a final form. James’ principal instruction was that it should refrain from the use of any sharp edges, thus the entire design is based on rounded corners with the overall shape vaguely suggesting the letter “A”. James has also suggested it has some significance as a sigil, though he has not elaborated on the specifics of its meaning or intent.

Since its original release, the album has been reissued and remastered numerous times, though its content has remained exact, with no bonus materials ever being added. Its influence and legacy have remained consistent as well. It set a standard for its genre of electronic music and pushed other producers in the field to try to keep up. Listening to it today, though it may have been produced with limited and primitive tools, it still sounds contemporary and even ahead of the times. It’s simply one of the best, most visionary electronic music albums ever created. It is the soundtrack for “dreamers of dreams”.