Reviews (page 8 of 8)
Relaxing, calming, energetic beats. I'm not a huge electronic music fan but this is something that I can enjoy.
Dang, 2 ambient albums in a row. Just not for me. Was so bored throughout. Just felt like an hour of a video game on a pause menu.
Ambient techno type music. Nice vibe. Nice background music.
Had heard selected songs but never the album. Very mellow. Wish I had listened in a more intentional setting.
Good background music
Generic background music. Nothing memorable about it, but fine to put on and forget about.
Not my type
nice and chill ambient electronica. good in the background 4/5
3.0
Electrónica. Dura una hora, pero como es todo una repetición, podría durar siete días y siete noches.
I don't mind this, though I need to listen to it at the right time when something mellow works better, and then I think I'll appreciate it more. Right now it's decent background music for me to work with.
Might be the best electronic album of all time, but it still isn't for me. Maybe my musical ear isn't sophisticated enough to tell the difference between good electronica and bad, but I just don't get that much out of it. It can just scrape a three based on its wider contribution and because it's perfectly fine to have on in the background whilst I work, but I can't justify giving it anything more than that.
Listened Before? N Meh, it was pretty good for electronica. There's been a lot of electronic stuff lately. I'm hoping it gets better. This one was tolerable, but still pretty lame. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Xtal (cause it's short)
Good. It took me some time
Surprise! This album is all ambient music and it is totallly unnecessary. I recognized one song as it was used as the beat for Ugly Boy by Die Antwoord. Not sure why this album made the list. Definitely did not need to be an hour and 20 minutes. There is no need to listen to it again.
I am aware that this is insanely influential and a sacred cow among music nerds, but today it just sounds like somebody messing around with FL Studio presets. Ambient music is really hit or miss for me. I can't tell you with I loved Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxygéne" and why this album completely flew over my head. Best part was when he used the goofy ass Looney Tunes "BOING!" sound effect in "Green Calx".
Siiiiiiiick
Big fan of AphexTwin music videos, but not this album apparently. Overall, it seems fine but not for casual listening for me. I'll probably reattack it when I'm more in the mood for this.
I liked this but I’m not sure what all you say about it. Ambient is a weird genre where sort of falling back from the forefront to become part of the context is maybe the point. Bonus score for the precocious origins and technical inventiveness.
Kraftwerk if they were from Detroit.
This album is incredible front to back. Always kind of aware of Aphex Twin and heard the music occasionally in the background, but never listened to a whole record front to back, this is just excellent. Obviously game changing.
Unabashed classic, sounds lightyears ahead of its time. Even if "Ambient" isn't really the genre to describe this music anymore since it's so exciting and filled with changes.
Always avoided because I assumed it would be noise but turns out it is literally what it says on the cover & very much my genre of bleepy bloopy. Also, turns out he's my boss boss boss boss boss' brother - tenuous celebrity connection?!
Enjoyed Xtal and the rest was good background noise
Didn't listen. Not mentally healthy enough to listen to music I hate, but I'm sure it's still better than Lorde
One of the greatest albums of all time
Pioneering at the time - not really my thing today, kinda boring. Good bg music.
Great album with classic beeps and boops
Definitely ambient. Not something overly exciting for me, though.
Used to really like this.
Xtal - 8/10 Tha - 9/10 Pulsewidth - 8/10 Ageispolis - 8/10 I - 6/10 Green Calx - 9/10 Heliosphan - 9/10 We Are The Music Makers - 8/10 Schottkey 7th Path - 5/10 Ptolemy - 9/10 Hedphelym - 8/10 Delphium - 8/10 Actium - 9/10
not bad
I enjoyed listening to this quite a bit today. (Thankfully, it fit the day quite well. It may not always have.) I liked it being mellow and groovy but also with a beat. Am I meditatin' or dancin'? Both!
This was some nice background music for me today. I didn't find anything groundbreaking, but there was a steady beat and somewhat soothing sounds. So very decent electronic music from the early 90s.
Really great in the background today. Caught my attention now and then in a very pleasant way.
Took me back to my 90s Sunday morning radio days inserting local ads into a new age music show. Really great for chilling out. I’m digging this!
This is the kind of music you can put in the background of a slide show or an animation.
That's... incredibly boring. It's just boots and cats all the way down. Good for what it is, I suppose, but there's no real point to it, is there?
This album was so long and after the first few songs was pretty boring. It’s really only sufficient use is background music and even then there are more enjoyable options. Not a fan of this one. 1.3/10
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Xtal, Actium
not for me.
omfg absolute bangers through and through. what an artist
8/10. Enjoyable ambient music. Always feels weird that ambient albums are included on this list at all, but that aside my main complaint with this one was some tracks were a bit distracting for something to be in the background, especially Green Calx.
Truly ambient. Sounds fine. Well produced. 6/10
Meh, interesting but not super engaging
Right. The Wikipedia page for this album is pretty impressive, so I need to consider that this album has its importance for music history and especially for the electronic scene. On the other hand, ambiance music is annoying and electronic music is (generally) annoying and repetitive as hell. I conclude that I can rate an essential album with two stars when it has the most annoying sequence of songs I have ever listened to.
There are times while working I like to put on ambient music, it's typically a playlist but at other times I choose this album. It's not that I love the album per se but it's just sounds good in the background.
Rating after listening several weeks ago, but I enjoyed it. But I already knew that.
it's good background. can't say much more about it.
Pure background music, at best. It's not offensive or anything, but it's not something I would ever plan on putting on again.
Classic
These are indeed ambient works
I love aphex twin but this isn't my fave album I have to say. I prefer the first half of the album to the latter. But obvs overall it is great. It's that relaxed ambience that suits any mood or occasion, v relaxing
Must admit I didn't really know this album but I really enjoyed it. Definitely something to come back to. Perfect for chilling and working
A masterpiece in ambient music. Can always put this album on and just feel better, chills me out. The opening bars to Xtal is some of the most peaceful music I know
6/26/2022 - ALBUM #150 Today's Album: "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" by Aphex Twin - This is an artist that I've been meaning to check out for a long time, and although this isn't the album I've heard is their best work, it is still so good that it's hard for me to imagine how they could have improved upon it. Some of these tracks even date back to when the artist was 14 and it's just amazing to me what they were able to create so young. These tracks are a collection of ambient loops and each of them is a unique soundscape that is slowly explored with incrementally added instruments and samples. It actually reminds me a lot of the Orbital album I just reviewed, but there is a more subtle approach to the production and layering of each song. The droning ethereal synths and echoey production remind me a lot of those sleep/meditation playlists on Spotify, but the steady drum machine and lead synths make it much more engaging and enjoyable. The album as a whole feels like one long song in a way since all the songs do take a pretty similar approach to the sonic landscapes they're building, but each song does stand on its own as a unique piece and it becomes very enjoyable to hear what each track is going to build off from. Overall, this is a really peaceful, but engaging album with a ton of really interesting sounds and it's filled to the brim with ethereal grooviness. Give this one a listen if you want a good electronica album to study or sleep to. Highlights: Tha, Ageispolis, Green Calx, Heliosphan, We Are the Music Makers, Delphium, Actium Score: 8/10 The most peaceful electronic music I've heard before
I’m not a fan of electronic music at all so it all just sounds the same after 10 minutes. Maybe for people who are into the genre might enjoy it but definitely not for me.
I just couldn't get into this at all. No tune, just a beat with sounds. It was hard to distinguish one track from another.
3cent
Probably breathtaking in its time, the state of electronic music has moved so far ahead that this ends up sounding a bit boring and dated.
DNF Just sounds man... kinda calming tho
Although I have owned two Aphex Twin albums in the past (his more raucous, jungle-inflected stuff), to be honest Aphex Twin is an artist I have found easier to admire than like unquestionly. The story of Aphex Twin fascinates, partly due to Richard D. James' gleeful mythomania. Among his claims include sleeping 2 hours a night, gaining musical inspiration from lucid dreaming, scratching sandpaper instead of records, owning a tank (apparently, he actually owns an armoured car), living in a bank vault, purchasing the Michael Faraday Memorial, playing gigs in people's living rooms, and being named after a stillborn older brother. One of these legends is that this album assembles tracks he had lain down since the age of 14 on his ZX Spectrum, hence the timeframe indicated on the title. But is the music as interesting as the lore? The adjectives Aphex Twin generates seem impressive to some: experimental, challenging, innovative, unique, uncompromising. To multitudes, those terms inspire despair rather than intrigue. It appears tailor-made to accompany an Adam Curtis montage or Chris Morris' more surreal excursions; again, that thought will cause some to weep. But I am a sturdier figure. I chew up supposedly formidable works as if they were made by Wrigleys. Over this week, I have listened to Selected Ambient Works 85-92 thrice, and yes, it conjures those dread phrases "rewards repeated listenings" and "on its own terms". On the first occasion, which was not part of the reviewing process, I was, like I suspect many others would be, a trifle bored. It's an hour of ambient electronic dance music ca. 1985-1992. It sounds like an hour of ambient electronic dance music ca. 1985-1992. It didn't sound unpleasant, but unengaging and meandering. So, I continued with my assumption that Aphex Twin was not that embraceable. The second time, after the generator presented it, I found it much more alluring. The ambient nature of the album clicked, and I thought myself foolish for my prior dismissal. The third time, whilst writing this, I focused more the textures of individual tracks, and I was oft reminded of a group I adore, PiL (just checked, and the album does sample PiL's Fodderstompf). Like PiL's early work, the iciness may lead even those who appreciate difficult music to have their misgivings, but I'm not one of them. So yes, I like Aphex Twin, and I like this album a lot. By the by, Fact magazine (no, I haven't heard of it either) named this as the greatest album of the 90s. Even though this is an excellent album, can you think of a more pretentious choice?
I thought Aphex Twin was the cutting edge of left field electronic dance music. This sounds a bit like background music for a moderately successful tv show. It probably sounded more out there at the time but I think things have moved on since then.
I enjoyed the DIY home bedroom element, especially the distorted bass. The album passed over me though. Not quite background music, but it didn't maintain my focus.
It wasn't a horrible listen, but it's likely I'll never listen to it again. In fairness, sitting indoors on a rainy Thursday afternoon, paying bills and doing paperwork, is probably not the ideal listener setting for this album. That this is a compilation of unrelated works is evident as there is no coherent theme or mood running throughout, which leaves it all feeling a bit empty.
Some great moments, but really not my thing.
Enjoyed the start. Some great electronic music. Got old after awhile.
Not my bag at all, but decent as background music. I don't know that what amounts to modern-day muzak is a must-listen.
I was introduced to Aphex Twin back in the 90s through Videoflicks...always a good background soundtrack while working. I think it was all just a mish mash of tracks via the music drive we listened to as I can't recall every hearing a single album in its entirety.
What an interesting collection. I got caught up in the techno vibe. I was so happy they were not trying to bemore than just a great beat. Would be 3.5 if I was allowed halfpoints
Pas fan de l'électro mais j'ai bien aimé cet album.
I like how they warnend about the genre in advance. Really clunky. (5/10) FT: Xtal, Ageispolis
A perfect album.
Would never have guessed these were from 1985-1992 with how well produced these tracks are. The time flew by while listening to this album! Perfect for relaxing or doing some work to.
So ambient I am having a hard time having a feeling about it. Nope.
This album is so far ahead of its time that’s listening to it now still sounds fresh. Though I wouldn’t classify this as ambient, this music is certainly less harsh than some of Aphex Twin’s subsequent work. The influence this music has had across genres is staggering; it’s clear that Aphex Twin influenced Radiohead and inspired their Kid A era move to more electronic based music.
Very solid album but it's a little too techno for an album that calls itself ambient. This is basically my only gripe with this album as most of it is really good, especially from the technical point of view.
My son used Alexa to play an Aphex Twin playlist without realizing he was using my spotify to do so. I (not-so-seriously) got on him for messing up my algorithm. Here we go again, but this time it's my own fault. I feel like I give the same review to all of this electronic music. It's all the same to me.
This was an enjoyable listen. It's the kind of music you can exist with while doing other things, but it also has a lot of nuances you can discover if you pay attention. As a collection of songs written over an extended period of time, obviously the album lacks a certain cohesiveness or point of view. It also could stand to be a few songs shorter. Not a bad song on here though. Fave Songs: Heliosphan, Tha, Delphium, Actium, Green Calx, Xtal
Aaah, yes yes, this one good. XTAL JE SAVRŠENSTVO!
Poslušo sam ovaj album kad sam jednom nakon posla u HTu na Draški čeko 🚊. Nosio sam The Cure majicu, sjećam se jer je lik kreno pričat samnom ko da je Robert Smitha upozno, a ne jadnog mene u majici, i rekao mi za Aphex Twin da obvezno moram poslušat i tad jesam ovo prvo i jedino od aphexa možda čak. Taj lik je odrastao i postao Obama. Šalim se, al fr on je na 101 vodio rock antropologiju, kul tip, mislim da bi se razočaro u ocjenu.
Eh. Not my cup of tea.
I would rather the Come to Daddy EP or Drucqs - but I haven't listened to this for 20 or so years, so maybe I'm ready to 'get' this album now. Nope. It's still an interesting album, but it lacks the propulsive lunatic energy of Come to Daddy, the squelchy funk of Cheetah or the mind melting beauty of Avril 14th. It's still years ahead of its time (if you changed the dates to 1997-2004 it would make more sense!) But is more of a document of his earlier compositions than a work of genius as happened later.
Cheeeeeeelin
Straddling a line between standing the test of time and having aged unfavourably, it’s place is certainly earned on this list
Sw4g
Not my kind of thing, but good background music and very chilled out. Sounds like the work of one man with a clear idea of what he wants to do
Not interesting ambient. There's a formula and he follows it well, I suppose.
Interesting and the name definitely fits. I can see how this is experimental and could inspire other ideas.
Like a soundtrack to nothingness
Música electrónica relajante. Buena para tener de fondo
Música ambiental electrónica. Agradable, pero ni fu ni fa.
Surprisingly good for not my usual cup of tea
Cest ambient comme le titre le dit. 1h15 de musique d’ambiance… top 1001 ok peut etre pour ce style. Potentiel de reecoute tres grand dans un loundge ? 3.25
I am in love with this album
This album stressed me out
Fucking sick as g
Ambient, electrónico o algo así. Estuvo bien, disco largo con diferentes.... sonidos? Y para ser electrónica no fue desagradable terminarlo. 2.5 que subo a 3 porque sí hubo partes que me gustaron, más allá de no estorbar.
De lo que ha tocado de electrónica, lo más digerible y utilizable para mí. No se pone pretencioso, no es taaaaaaan repetitivo y no tiene cantos encima. Por otro lado, hora y cuarto de esto, tampoco me dio ganas de darle otra vuelta.
Ambient House. You can keep it. Nothing to distinguish it from one track to the next. Best track: N/A
Great in the background, but lackluster in the foreground more times than not. So it goes with ambient, I suppose.
Really clean, and surprised to find the sample for Ugly Boy in this piece. Really lacking something for the final star, but strong for a debut.
Ambient? Yes, please. I've never listened to an AT record all the way through. While the title suggests this is a compilation, it's actually a debut record. That's clever. I would say I enjoyed this record at face value. It sounds dated, but a lot of stuff on this list does - that's the nature of this list, right? Great music from all eras? Also, given the impact this record (and subsequent AT releases) had on bands that I love like Radiohead, Kent, Wilco, etc., I'm even more into it.
This was dumb. I mean, kudos for doing this before GarageBand came out and made it so much easier - but I just can't bring myself to care.
Iconic electronic music. 7-8/10
Not the easiest listen, but interesting and clearly influential. Definitely one to come back to in the future.
It's good, but it shouldn't have been included on the list over SAW II. But after omitting Mezzanine, I'm convinced these people don't understand electronic music at all.
OH MY GOD, 1001 ALBUMS GENERATOR, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME? This is nonsense of the highest degree. I just forced my way through Nightmares on Wax, and this is what you serve up next.?! Give me a break that this is "before you die" critical listening. Music for a rave is great for ravers the same way that an album of dogs barking is great for dogs - I am neither, and am uninterested in both. No.
Not soppy ambient muzak, but interesting background music
I'm not sure if this is a collection or what, but if it is, why did I have to listen to five Bob Marley albums?
Took me a lot of tries to make it through paying attention... a combination of it being a bit long and also ambient. Overall, an enjoyable trek through ambient electronica... definitely some that find their groove, while others are interesting.
Loving this so far as I listen, groovy as heck. Ageispolis slaps hard Really enjoyed this album!
Nice chillout muzak, some tracks get lost in themselves and despite a valiant effort the limitations of the genre quickly become clear. There's only so much emotion and soul that can be channeled through repetitive loops and synth sounds.
I am SO glad this popped up because I've been meaning to listen to Aphex Twin for the longest time, but I didn't really know where to start. Most of this was repetitive - ambient seems to be that. However, what really shined through were the moments where it didn't FEEL repetitive and it felt like getting lost in space. Now that was pretty neat.
No.
Ambient weird
ambient, background, fine but not music I'm seeking out
Glad I was working while listening because I would of fell asleep.
Great ambient music
It’s quite dull but also oddly difficult to listen to. And I really wanted to like this as well.
listen to them a lot. just really fucking interesting.
It's pretty good but I do prefer my synthesizers when they are serving up some melody and some traditional song structures. Though the sounds from this album are gorgeous in spots, the music doesn't connect 2.5 stars
Really cool low key “background music”. Great for work or studying
Had me dancing a bit on my own in my room.
Nice
<3
Nice background noise for working.
Audio zen
The standout tracks just about overcome some horrible midi sounds.
Great
Neeh wel grappig maar te electronisch
Absolutely love this. Sounds like its from the future and ancient at the same time. It's incredible he was 14 making some of these tracks
Best Song: Ageispolis. Groovy and bloopy. Worst Song: Green Calx. Sounds a bit too much like a rave inside a malfunctioning office printer. Overall: It is excellent at what it aspires to be. This feels like the pinnacle of what "ambient" music can be. Lacks the busyness/aggression of some of Aphex Twin's other work. Great music to read or work to.
Very mellow
Great ambient tracks, smooth chillout background. Four stars!
Ambient - it's a doddle eh? Some relaxed beats, a bass line and a few chords on the synth. Aphex Twin shows how difficult it is to make great 'ambient', if such a thing exists, by showing its all about the details. Without lyrics or vocals or anything like a verse/chorus stucture to grab the listener, these tracks are a masterclass in detail: detail in how each track unfolds in time, and the textures employed to keep simple elements always evolving.
The background music of the old mobile game "Smash Hit", where you destroy triangle shaped crystals with metal balls. That bland music that is played in a seminar venue when the seminar has not yet started. A background music for exhibition arts, or a smartphone screensaver. You know, the type of show that only consists of lines and shapes. Elevator music but for airports. This is apparently ambient techno. IDM (EDM but with I for "intelligent", perhaps because it makes you feel smarter, or whatever. Fun Fact: Aphex Twin himself hates that term). It's a decent background music when working or doing homeworks. That's what this 70 minute whopper is. An interesting background music. Nothing more, nothing less.
Title says it all
Volgens mij zijn ze vergeten een selectie te maken. Het eerste nummer duurde al 7 jaar.
Aphex Twins heeft mij altijd voor de gek gehouden met die leuke clipjes, waardoor ik steeds denk dat hun muziek ook leuk is, maar dat is gewoon een dikke vette leugen.
#ookniksaan
Beetje zouteloos.
Me gusta Aphex Twin lo he escuchado bastante. Y aunque este no es su mejor disco tiene algunos temas buenos. Es más o menos tranquilo así que no puedes equivocarte si quieres algo de electrónica suave.
Interesting background music - which I guess is all you can ask from Ambient music
selected ambient percs
3. pleasant background ambient music. Not as good as what I'd usually put on, but still good.
Much less melodically driven than other AT works, dwells more in ethereal soundscapes and ideas than grounded song structures. This works intermittently throughout the album - the highs are enjoyable, but other tracks tend to fade into the background due to repetition or lack of meaningful melodic content.
Want to fill a room with a series of random drums, clicks, and keyboard that is completely unremarkable? Then this is the album for you!
From mellow somewhat relaxing background music to annoying pins pops and buzzes. Sometimes I enjoyed it or at least didn't hate it
Very calming.
Very ambient. So ambient, I forgot I was listening to it. While not my style, good album. 3/5.
A very listenable ambient album featuring lengthy spacey hypnotic grooves. It's psychedelic without being weird.I can imagine this working well as film music, running music, background music and naturally it would be great music to listen to with certain substances.
A decent album to work to, but can’t imagine when else I’d put it on
Takes me way back when we used to sit in me mates treehouse and smoke stuff we shouldn't have. Glourios sounds and moods that take you somewhere else ambient as a masterpiece. Aphex is the king
Nervous about listening to this straight and sober on my way to work. Turns out it's still awesome.
Lovely great trippy swooshing noises. Less aggressive then a lot of his work. Beautiful stuff.
First time listening. I think my expectations were too high for this album. The tracks felt transient - subtly emotive whilst listening, then immediately forgettable.
I know Aphex Twin for two things. First for his music videos which are the stuff of nightmares. Secondly for making music that doesn't exactly make you want to tap your toes.
Ronseal. Ambient techno. Pleasant background music. Not something that demands attention, but a good album to review documents to and certainly a success under its own terms. Green Calx is a bit Pigeon Street. 3.5/5.
Love me an ambient album!! Always nice to have one of these on hand for work days. I'm surprised this was made in '92 because the tracks sound like the EDM hits I would listen to today. Must have been part of that inspiration. Green Calx was too techno-y
Perfect album it you don’t want to actually listen to anything and simply have some music on in the background.
So original for its time. Great instrumentals
Solid casual beats, but I’m too angry to listen to this. Great for work.
Low-fi hip hop beats to chill and study to
The GOAT
While I truly admire how good the album sounds for just being made at home and not in a proper studio, I'm not a fan of house music at all, and without any semblance of a catchy melody or words to sing along with, I struggle to keep my attention on the music.
This is a classic in this genre, wouldn't make the list if it came out today but in the late 80s to make this kind of music using mostly analogue equipment is really impressive and it still sounds relevant and modern even now.
More mellow than the Aphex Twin I thought I (vaguely) knew. Inoffensive, and some of it's very pretty (Xtal & Heliosphan stood out), but I can only really imagine playing the whole album again as background music. If it came out today (and it sounds like it could've done) it'd be a 2, but 30 years ago it must've been pretty revolutionary, so am considering a 3 for impact. Let's say 2.5.
I enjoyed this more than I thought j would, as it's not a genre I naturally gravitate to. However, it's perfect music to have playing in the background whilst cracking on with some work. I tuned in an out, which would normally be a bad thing. But it seems like an acceptable response to this album. You don't need to be paying attention. Just subconsciously groove along
if, hypothetically speaking, one were to have run an mp3 server back in the late-ish 90s, which might later have been found to be using 1% of one's university's ENTIRE bandwidth...and if onto that server, someone were to have uploaded track 1 off this album (xtal) - and if you'd known of mj. james' work, but hadn't really been all that into it, and then heard that track for the first time, and hearing it changed your whole perception of him as an artist and later helped you understand just how ahead of his time he actually was...well then, hearing it again all these years later would certainly bring back some memories. hypothetically. also, the rest of the album is also pretty damn amazing, too.
Didn't hate this as much as I thought I would, ha. It wouldn't be on regular rotation but I may go back to it at some point.
29th December 2021 Listened on my headphones whilst working in the morning of the 30th before me and jen went down to Lewes to look at a house! Great for background music while working, I can appreciate but don't enjoy dance music.
Fine
Never heard of them before. Not bad. Interesting catchy tunes. Some are a bit too weird. Middle of the road electronic sounds.
I couldn't really get into the ambiance of it all.
good but not my thing
Very good sound. Ahead of its time
As Aphex Twin, Richard D. James lives on a diet of electronic pulses and seeds of inspiration. "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is an odyssey of experiments in sound, some immediately lush and beautiful, others subtle and vague- all fully realised. It's hard to believe some of these tracks were first sketched out as early as 1985, when ambient music had barely taken off from the airport with Brian Eno. By the time "SAW" was released in 1992, electronic dance music had exploded onto the scene, in a kaleidoscope of rave, house and techno. In the meantime, James had built up a cohesive catalogue of work to cherry-pick from, and still ended up with a 74 minute album of very long tracks. A bit of self-editing here might have been to the album's benefit and made it more accessible still, but defining a whole sub-genre isn't bad going. In "Selected Ambient Works", Aphex Twin offers a more mellow side of electronic dance music, blending steely processed drum sounds with washes of synth to give voice to an emergent sub-genre of "ambient techno." The term seems much more apt than "intelligent dance music", an elitist label that James was right to reject. Instead, the "I" might be replaced with "introspective": this album is subtle, shape-shifting, moving through its tracks almost unnoticed. It's been on while I've been writing this and I've got completely lost in it. The more beat-driven material appeals to me a lot, even if the sounds are minimal and low-key. "Xtal" is a strong opening to set up stall, with a propulsive hi-hat cutting through calming washes of pads, with some gorgeous wordless vocals hovering faintly in the background. It's soothing, calming, yet restless and urgent. "Pulsewidth", "Ptolemy" and "Heliosphan" are similar, allowing the percussion to give a sense of dynamism and occasionally letting it cut out completely, for everything else to wash over. It's difficult to go much more in depth with the other individual tracks as I was very happy to surrender to them and let them soundtrack my day, giving a stronger aesthetic to work, relaxation and walking. It's easy to imagine how the album might have seeped into its fans' daily lives in the same way, becoming part of their landscape. It makes the early 90s seem like a utopia of listeners, riding the wave of fancy new portable music players and headphones, allowing James' "Ambient Works" to soundtrack their travels, their towns and cities, their late nights alone.
A bit of a monoculture, and pretty quickly I couldn’t stand the artificial drums, but overall - not too bad, even if Aphex Twin has better stuff out there.
One of Richard D James's more melodic affairs. Like it a lot...
Das steht sicher nicht umsonst in meinem Regal
Ekki leiðinlegt þannig séð, en rennur (eðli stefnunnar samkvæmt) saman í einn graut í hausnum á mér. Sá ekki appealið við þetta í gamla dag og sé það ekki núna.
non
I mean it's literally ambient music - I don't get it. 2/10.
Some quite fun tracks on this album. Some recognisable as they've been used as the music for other songs as well. Doubting between 3 and 4 stars as it got quite heavy at the end and I didn't really want to continue listening. Giving it 4 stars because I see myself putting it on again.
I mean, it's pretty chill, but also nothing really stood out to me. Might be good to play during focused work tasks?
Not my type
fair enough - great background music for working.
This record is as overdressed as a bacon sandwich on a surfboard.
RIP Paul Walker
This is fine. I think that the prevalence of loop software has made things like this seem much, much less special than they actually are. Kind of like how TikTok can make me look exactly like an old man but they couldn't erase Superman's mustache in that one movie.
Boy, they weren't kidding when they put the word "ambient" in the title of this. It was on, there were beats, I absorbed it all and yet retained not a millisecond of any of it. I don't really know how to have an emotional response to music like this, and I don't really suspect anyone in Aphex Twin even set out to achieve that with this record. It's got ambient in the title! It's not supposed to engage anyone! Which makes it all the more baffling that some dude thinks this record is one of 1,000 best records of all time. OF ALL TIME.
Непонравилось
Just cool. It's ambient but rewards active listening. Electronic music with heart.
Easily, easily, easily one of the best albums ever made.
Underwhelming, but good for programming. I've been told the album was historically significant for electronic music, but it wasn't that exciting by today's standards.
Solid 3
Name def suits the music. Even though it was better than expected and likely influencial-ish, it still sounds just kinda like background music on a loading screen or something
Above average electronica = electronica = 2.5 = rounding up to be polite.
This is more stressful ambient music. Could be fine in small doses, or useful in sci fi game or movie soundtracks, but a hell-nah from me otherwise.
Отлично
11/16 Booop beeeeep, ticktick tiiIING, wrrraaaaooow WHOMP haaaaaAAAAAAAAH Standout Tracks: Xtal, Tha, Schottkey 7th Path, Hedphelym
3.5
Not my bag this I'm afraid, listened to it but had to skip some tracks. "Pulsewidth" is a good track and "I" appealed....a bit but not one for me I'm afraid.
I find ambient, electronic music slightly less annoying than other electronic music.
Gosh, this is really good. I dig on some ambient tunes, both electro and otherwise. Metric Systems, Sarah Neufeld et al have really drunk from the Aphex fountain. This made me feel safe and at home, while taking me many places in space and time as well. Gotta love the history of these jams.
A personal fave! Love it.
Ambient
It's pretty good but I do prefer my synthesizers when they are serving up some melody and some traditional song structures. Though the sounds from this album are gorgeous in spots, the music doesn't connect 2.5 stars
Definately ambient. Some really good tracks balanced by some indifferent one. It was OK.
doop bloop doop bloop
Fail so see what is “must hear”.
Awful and annoying
Delivers on the name
Somehow I thought Aphex Twin was super heavy so I was not looking forward to this (I have a headache). But it's lovely and chill. Despite the title, none of the tracks sound like they could have come from the mid 80s. It's a super modern excursion into electronica that feels exactly like it would have shaken things up in 1992. Yes, it's another influential album and it's very much of its age, but it still holds up. This album makes me want to go and hang out in a park.
Way better than I first expected and really picked up after the first couple of tracks. Great ambient music to work to. Not memorable but the context of the album marks it out as significant. Will listen again.
A totally unexpected treat. I was expecting gloom and fug and got synapse-snapping electronics and good humour.
This is mellow beats sounds that are good and not interruptive. I also have a soft spot for precocious musicians. Not too shabby for a recording damaged by the family cat's urine.
I love the story that these songs were recorded on homemade equipment when he was 14 and the sound quality is bad because his cat damaged the original cassette! Nice ambient pieces, the sampling is subtle, the hooks are catchy as they would need to be if you're going to build a whole song around them (I prefer 4-5 minutes vs 8-9!). It reminds me of a chill version of the techno that was coming out in the late 80s.
This seminal album is by the OG of Electronica. There are some great hooks and melodies buried in these tracks and many of them have gone on to become classics. I think the title is misleading though as its more Electronica Lite rather than Ambient music
I'm not into electronic music so this felt like being stuck in an endless loop of two notes. You get used to it, like the noise of an airplane engine on a 14 hour flight.
Very very very very good electronica.
Very good. I liked this a lot.
Good, but not my thing
If you can dance to it, it's not ambient as far as I'm concerned. It's likely the title of this one is another troll by young Richard. It's a great strong collection of glitchy bangers and really good driving music
This album is perfect to have on in the background whilst studying or working. Great lo-fi beats and sounds like something a 24/7 YouTube channel would be playing. Not sure if I can pick a best and worst, the whole album is pretty cohesive.
I've listened to this album before, but not very closely. I played the album to provide some background music at work. During this second listen, I had to work at paying attention to each track, and appreciate what the music offers. I think I like the music, but based on my rating of the individual tracks this only gets 3 stars ("Green Calx" had some repeating sound effects that were too distracting). Even with only getting 3 stars, there is a chance I'll put this album on again.
Not my kind of thing, but good background music and very chilled out. Sounds like the work of one man with a clear idea of what he wants to do
Great album, iconic beats and so lovely. Less weird than some of the later stuff but so polished and listenable.
I had higher expectations for this album. I really thought I'd love Aphex Twin, because I know some of his songs like; of course Alberto Balsalm, and I really love the vibe it gives me. This album not so much. Oh wait, does it pick up after Heliosphan? No... I find it too silly most times, and not as dark og abnormal as I would've hoped 3
meh
Not my cup of tea
First time listen. This blew me away.
This is an wonderful album to listen to when you don't necessarily want to listen to music but don't want silence. I would like to have this entire album be the soundtrack of my life, I think. Just chill, wordless music that is upbeat.
Is it true that Richard, the Aphex Twin guy is the spawn of productivity lovers David Allen and Stephen Covey? ----- The main goal of ambient music is to fade into the background and be forgotten. This album does a fine job of that. The only memorable things about Aphex Twin are the album covers which give me NIGHTMARES. The thought of being stoned out of my mind and floating through some warehouse rave with this guy spinning is really attractive (is that still a thing?), though these days, crossing things off my to-do list is just as fulfilling. Richard Marx -er Richard James, the freaky guy in the blue bikini, was ahead of his time, there are literally loads of playlists and channels on Spotify, XM, Soundcloud, etc. with titles like "deep meditation" to get shit done. Go ahead, turn this on and start powering through all the albums you still have yet to rate.
although technically I listened, it was as if I didn't because I remember nothing.
This is your fault, Brian Eno!! I saw it was Aphex Twin, and thought “oh didn’t they have that one really weird music video? I’ve heard of them.” Then I saw the title. More ambient music 😖 A lot of these ambient works sound like great background music for haunted houses and video games where you are figuring out creepy puzzles (Myst!) or getting lost in dungeons with who-knows-what lurking around the corner. And for those purposes, this would be really fitting. But to just sit and listen, for 2 hours and 36 minutes!? No thanks. There is definitely instrumental stuff that is good for background while you work or whatever. This isn't it. (The music video was for "Come to Daddy." It was messed up. That song sounds way more like Prodigy-type late 90s semi-popular drum and bass. But it's not good.) ------------------------- Ok, so all of the above nonsense was written while I was mistakenly listening to the wrong album. Some of it still applies. But not the haunted house/dungeon thing. This album of selected ambient works sounds totally different than Aphex Twin's other selected ambient works. This one has a beat. This is closer to dance music, while the other one is background music. There's some decent stuff here, but a couple that I didn't like. But it's really amazing how different this is from their other ambient album.
Much of this sounds like the background to a shower sex scene. But like. In an outdoor shower so it’s romantic.
I put this album on the big speakers in the other room while I worked on Friday. It was great background sound whilst I plugged away. It’s now Sunday night and I was prepared to mail in my *** rating. However, I decided to listen and skip around one last time before moving on to the next album on the list. Surprisingly, I did more listening than skipping. The beats are varied, present, but not in your face. I’ve dabbled in electronic/ambient/trance music before. I am quite impressed this came out in 1992. 1992 blows my mind because a lot of it sounds current and innovative for today.
Didn't age quite as well as it could have. I generally like Electronica though
Just a perfect piece of music to accompany you through a foggy Amsterdam morning. Though you may not want to have such a morning every day.
No
näpp. blippetibloppeti till ingens glädje.
Very cool
What even is this? This is terrible. Boring and repetitious. I'll never listen to this on purpose again.
I don't think best-ofs should be in the list. I don't know what to expect with this given it's supposedly ambient, but the other Aphex Twin I've heard is scungy UK techno. I'm semi-open-minded about this. Ready to enjoy if needed, but probably going to get the shits at it. Yeah about halfway through now and I'm over it. WAY too fucking long (75min), which I guess is in line with the scungy UK techno tradition of overstaying its welcome. It's ok to have on in the background I guess, but it's not really ambient in the sense I wanted. It's still mostly very clearly house music, just a bit more subdued. Maybe if I was still 19, maybe if I was high on MDMA, maybe I'd get into it then. But I'm not, so it's a 2/5.
September 2, 2021 Actually pretty good for working/studying. Don't think I'd listen otherwise.
Música ambiental, not bad!
This was decent. I wasn't fully in the mood for ambient music today so I didn't finish the entire album but what I heard sounded good. Definitely intend to keep this in mind for when the mood is right.
I'd give it a 1 but it's not as bad as that jazz album
Very back of background music
Interessant disc de techno ambiental, que transcendeix el génere de l'electrònica i pot agradar a qualsevol amb interés i ment oberta
always loved their work. reverbs with the universe
Great chilled out album
Ihan lepposaa menoa. Levyn ehdoton helmi on Agrispolis joka on tullut tutuksi aivan toisen bändin toimesta.
Ihan makeeta kamaa läpi levyn. Hauska detalji ku huomasin, että yhestä biisistä oli Die Antwoord lainannu samplen.