Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Увлекательное путешествие в бездну фиг пойми чего Очень фоновая музыка, мозгу под нее комфортно Я позволяю себе не понимать такую музыку Не цепляет, не разъебывает Почитать под нее можно Только ради этого и можно было бы переслушать 3.0

I’m 834 albums in. I’m running out of things to say about electronica/techno albums at this point. It was solid background music.

Does me no harm. But is far too long and feels more like a spotify ambient playlist than an album! 1,5

Chill

Здарова отец

I find it impossible to not reach for metaphor when describing SAW 85-92. This music transports me. Put your headphones on like a closet to Narnia. It takes me to a mountaintop, to the surface of a passing star, to an island in the deepest ocean. It's my go-to album when I'm wired at 3 in the morning, or lonely in the middle of nowhere. It's a heightened reality of warm, vivid colors. I get lost in it, but I don't lose myself; it's a compass in the lovely, dark, and deep woods. It's a cathedral of freshly fallen snow in Vermont, an oasis in the desert, music for exploring catacombs, or making your way home on the El after an ear-piercing concert. I love it. It is a singular album in my collection. What a pleasure it was to revisit it.

Certainly not what I'd call ambient — at least not in the way Eno seems to have defined the genre. No, this is actually listenable. More than that, it's excellent. And yes, while I might have it on in the background, this is foot-tapping, hypnotic, immersive chill-out electronica. Almost dance music, but post-dance music. Yes this is what I want to listen to on the way home.

Un album que je n'ai pas assez écouté. Je préfère sont stock plus "hard" mais c'est excellent. Je le remet en rotation!

Le hihat de la première toune a endommagé l'émail de mes dents. Représente assez bien l'idée que je me fais de pas avoir de fun.

Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992) On Day 296, this landmark electronic LP proved to be an exceptional ambient companion, providing the perfect sonic backdrop while tackling heavy, focused work. Rather than leaning into abrasive warehouse rave tropes or fading into sterile background noise, the record strikes a rare balance of hypnotic groove and understated warmth. Highlights like the ethereal, floating vocal textures of "Xtal," the deep subterranean pulse of "Tha," and the delicate melodic interlude "i" created an immersive atmosphere. Meanwhile, more rhythmically active cuts like the euphoric bounce of "Heliosphan" and the rubbery basslines of "We Are the Music Makers" kept the momentum alive without breaking concentration. A consistently engaging, brilliantly textured electronic milestone. A solid 4/5.

This is #day799 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... I've never really listened to Aphex Twin before, so here we are... Of course, I've read that this one's influential and all that jazz, but I just find it hard to care for this kind of music. I mean, it's techno. It's good at what it does, particularly for its time, but that's about it for me, I believe. I'll play it safe with a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to, wow, #day800.

This incredible record could only have been made in the late 80s, when for the first time, digital audio manipulation was accessible to any eccentrics or enthusiast who didn't mind reading a manual or two. Amongst them was a 14-year-old in Cornwall with a synth, sampler, and sequencer, who became a pioneer in...well, whatever sort of music this is. It isn't really "ambient" - nor is it dance music. At the point at it was made, this genre didn't exist. Ambient techno? Intelligent Dance Music? Who knows. But this is music *about* dance music: made with the same machines as rave and techno, but not for the hedonists in the main room: it's for the curious, the lost, or just plain stoned, for the more relaxed and cerebral chillout space. The sounds are familiar but out of context, and - in contrast to the super-slick sheen of techno and electronic pop music - often pretty shonky: booming kick drums as if heard from a next door tent; stuttering acid lead lines deliberately conking out; out of tune synth patches; dirty digital distortion - the stuff which "proper" producers would've cleaned up and discarded - are preserved, magnified, and given pride of place. These are literally new sounds: noise being redefined as music. And to add to this DIY aesthetic, the entire album was recorded onto cassette, so there's a warm blanket of hiss and muddiness wrapped around the cold digital synths. The deeply emotional effect of this music - at times blissful and euphoric ("Pulsewave", "Ptolemy"), and deeply unnerving ("Schottkey 7th Path", "Hedphelym") - is rooted in its unique sound pallette, and its dialogue with the sounds of rave: like the sound of a night out going sideways, or the memory of a dancefloor. This might be a reach, but I would put the work of Aphex Twin (as well as other electronic artists such as Squarepusher, Autechre et al) within the same lineage as Ravel's "La Valse", Shostakovich 10's brutal scherzo, Mahler's symphonic Ländler parodies, and even Bach's suites: music based on dance forms, twisted and subverted, and rendered pretty undanceable. While it feels odd to describe a record which practically invented a genre as "naive", it does mean that the density and complexity which is a feature of Aphex Twin's later work such as Syro, or Druqs, is absent, and instead the grooves flow and evolve slowly. He would go on to make more innovative records, but he would rarely sound this accessible again.

I bought this in 1993; loved it; but have hardly listened to it since. Thanks to 1001 albums, I’ve listened to it again. I still love it. 9/10

actually not even my favorite afx album but this deserves to be bumped up on here

EDM Masterpiece

Wouldn't call this an album

Perfectly satisfactory background music.

i feel so cool

Pretty cool, especially at first. Got to a point where I was questioning why I was listening to this for so long. Decent enough background music faves: Xtal, pulsewidth, ageispolis Rating:6.3/10

Ambient electronica? Yup, that’s horrible

Jeg er stødt på flere sampels fra dette album, men som rent album skal fungere det nok bedst i situationer hvor man gerne vil drone, eller zone lidt ud, og bare rocke til rytme uden lyric. Det havde sikkert været fedt på min ski sæson, men en efterårs mandag rammer den lidt forbi.

Fuck hvor er det kedeligt

Pretty solid. Tron music. Into it.

It reminded me of repetitive video game music.

A lot of EDM fans love Aphex Twin, and I never heard him before, but I could see why they like him. This is some really good lobby room dance music. Not intense or loud or something that commands your attention, but something that you can listen to and enjoy in the background. Someone might think that's a diss but I really think there's a place for this kind of music and it's really enjoyable. I will be listening to more Aphex Twin in the future.

I enjoy ambient music, but I did not enjoy this. It was too singular in it's rhythms and beats. There were a couple of toe-tappers, but overall, nothing memorable.

Soothing, and honestly pretty cool.

🩷

A whole world to get lost into... it takes me to cities that never existed, to empty clubs in the night, to the bottom of a coral sea... it sounds like music from a videogame, but you would need to stop playing just to assimilate what you're hearing. Absolutely beautiful.

This is so primitive looking back from 2026. I could do this in garage band in an afternoon. For 1992 (and possibly earlier) this is a great start to portishead to boards of Canada which I think hadn't produced an album yet? Also, I feel like for how seminal this is, I don't recognize any songs. I know him from later weirder stuff. But this is just there...

Very good.

Nice ambiance. Nothing too annoying. Just relaxing with some interesting beats. 4 out of 5

Ambient Techno, IDM Favorite Songs: *All of them* Least Favorite Song: *None of them* Oh hey, another album that I’ve listened to beforehand. This time, it was a gift from my sister from last year’s Christmas. To quote for a future video that I’m going to make, “Honestly, as someone who’s more into electronic music, this album is absolutely up there with some of my favorite electronic music, especially in the overall whelm of techno. There’s definitely moments where it’s very atmospheric and minimalistic, and then there’s others that’s more rhythmic and even in like one or two tracks kinda dark, a bit harsh, and somewhat haunting. It’s with the way that Richard has this overall knowledge and passion about wanting to create music that he prevailed to make this record, and it ended up being one of my favorite albums that I’ve listened to so far,. With the runtime of about an hour and 15 minutes, it’s a perfect length for me electronic music wise.” 10/10, and as a PS: you guys really need to expand your horizon with ambient music. :/

I did not even need to get through the first few songs of Selected Ambient Works 85-92 to think 'some of this sounds like Radiohead.' Then I asked the internet if Aphex Twin influenced Radiohead and the internet said yes. UK DJs secretly control 67 percent of all music produced in the 21st century.

ugh.... upset i got this album because it means at some point i'll have to finish the album and move on to another one, but i don't WANT to stop listening to this album i want to play it on repeat forever. it physically HURT not hitting the rewind button to play this album back again... my fingers.... i'm in pain.... my vision.............. it's going dark......................................... 5 stars highlights - xtal, tha, pulsewidth, i, green calx, ptolemy

The kind of album you play when you wanna have some music on but not dedicate too much thought in actually listening to it

Ambient dance music: silence is preferable.

I listened to the whole but I wasn’t a fan of it

Background music

Oddly fitting for walking downtown

The music is not my cup of tea. The artist, however, is downright interesting so if you are into electronic music, you should definitely check this one out.

Aphex Twin is goated. Green Calx is what sex sounds like IYKYK

This is music without a point. Hypothetically, it’s dance music, but it could only serve that purpose in a Saturday morning ecstatic dance pajama party environment. It sounds like young kids on Christmas morning who got keyboards last Christmas and are now playing with their brand new drum machine. Annoying, boring, and not worth listening to all the way through. A 1.

It's great background music, but somewhat soulless and repetitive.

Some nice music on here with ambient electronic beats. Some relaxing Some with more energy. Some would be nice driving around town late at night.

I used to have this on CD back in the day. A nice blast from the past and a good album to listen to either on headphones or while working depending on how much head time you want to give it. Even listening to it in the background causes invasion into your mind. An excellent album (5/5)

Много где видел, что это называют одним величайших альбомов в силе ambient. Альбом действительно неплох. Слушал несколько раз до, однозначно послушаю после. Но не разделяю его величия. Кроме того не совсем это и ambient. Есть в нем быстрые треки, которые уже вполне IDM

It is so difficult to rate these ambient albums because you're supposed to listen to them passively to really get the most out of them. I put this on while doing busy work today and it was good enough. I would have preferred something I can more actively engage with today but it is what it is.

Ambient is the right adjective for this album of chill electronica. It's very rhythm heavy and has some really interesting beats and sounds. There's a lot going on but it feels really sparse due to the ample reverb and clean synth. It seems pretty perfect for background music since it doesn't command your full attention and I can see why people love it. Ageispolis was the highlight for me.

one of my favorite albums ever bro

Not really my taste and too long.

Didn't realize I'd been hearing this album my whole life

So beautiful and unique. Really enjoyed this album. Always nice to find an album with a big reputation that lives up to the hype

This was cool, reminded me of early Deadmau5

It’s a weird album that manages to entertain or at least be enjoyable. I was playing it in the office early in the morning when someone walked in and asked if I was listening to Star Wars because of the bleeps and boops. But then I said if the music was bothering her I can put on headphones and she said “no it’s kind of cool” A good album to listen to in order to understand this genre.

I hate to say it to all those 90s rivers but damn yall like some boring ass music. Not saying its all that bad but the repetition is just painful. 7 or 8 minute songs that just drill a single motif the whole time cant ever be for me. I cant do it. And an hour long plus record? God damn. I will say it doesnt sound bad. Like these motifs are good. They sound nice. Even pretty at times but its just the pain of the motion of over and over again that I cant stand. That motif sounds great the first time, and a little less the next and so on and so forth. Don't like it. And I know its apex twin dude is the voice or rather the fruity loops program of a generation. I get it. I really do. I just cant fucking stand it. If you love him hell yes. Im happy you do. Truly. Just i think when we chill we could find some kind of othe music to put on please and thank you

Quite happy with this. I can't attest to how influential it was when it came out. As ambient music it is great as I sit here doing some work on the computer. I would not like to have it on in the car in case I fell asleep. But perhaps it might help me reach the desired state of flow where I arrive at my destination without any clear memory of how I got there. Having read the self created blurb on Spotify I nearly took a point off for the OTT bullshit the artist spouts about himself. Vomit inducing. Modesty is clearly not one of his virtues.

A modern classic both in terms of its overall quality and the way it uses modern techniques to make something akin to classical musical. The music ebbs and flows and takes its time to take you on a sonic journey. Paved the way for so much i love and i enjoyed this immensely

Music for public toilets.

Really enjoyed this

Nice ethereal and mood music. Good for background while doing work.

These are the selected ones?? Man, what was left on the cutting room floor? I wanted to like this, because I'm a shallow human being, and people who seem cool have deemed this to be important. Hoo boy am I ever tired of lame DJ music. What artistic statement can one possibly glean from this if they aren't entrenched in DEEP parasocial relationships with electronica manifestos? Someone who is recognized at basement raves in multiple cities may have a hope, but an employed father from the suburbs? Not my scene. I appreciate that the general intent of this wasn't to get the club into an uproar, but I just don't care about this type of music. I like ambience, and interesting soundscapes, but this is just spacey, borderline catchy electronic music that would fit as hold music, background music, elevator music, and just about everything but a worthwhile album experience. If you want some accompaniment for a sensory deprivation tank, go nuts, but to me, art should sort of, you know, appeal to feelings; not a lack thereof. I'll never be cool. 1.5-2 HIGHLIGHTS: They mow lawns every day here. We spend our money, time and increasingly expensive/always non-renewable gasoline, MOWING LAWNS. God forbid GRASS is LONG. Please power up this loud machinery outside my baby's window and MOW LAWNS because if a local resident sees LONG GRASS he will KILL HIMSELF AND EVERYBODY ELSE. THE GRASS MUST BE SHORT LEST MY EYES WITHER AND FALL FROM MY SKULL.

Enjoyment: 7/10 Replayability: 5/10 Cohesion: 6/10 Flow/Pacing: 6/10 Artistic Merit: 5/10 Weighted Average: 5.95/10 Review: "Hmm... human music. I like it." Liked Song(s): Xtal, Pulsewidth, We Are the Music Makers, Delphium Disliked Song(s): Green Calx Recommend? Maybe Heard Before? No

Fine to have on in the background. I'm sure this was groundbreaking for it's time.

Dope

Not my favourite of their albums obviously but a decent listen

Das ist durchaus nice

Honestly, I thought it was all YouTube background music - you know the kind that's put over hour-long footage of someone baking bread or something. But then I thought "this is music from 1985 to 1992. How does that still sound like 2026?" Influential, to say the least.

EPIC FUCKING PULL, this is my whole personality now. i've listened to some of the songs on this album before, but never actually listened to the whole thing. Xtal got me in a chokehold tho, it was literally the first aphex twin song i ever heard bc someone recommended it to me. i fear i may never shut up about this album

It was ok. I'm not the biggest fan of electronica, but I generally enjoy it. This was nothing special, at least to me. There were a couple of tracks that made me pause and have a proper listen, the rest was just like something that could be created by anyone on a keyboard / computer (even back then, 30 years ago).

Ambient was a good way to describe this. It would be great background to wind down to after doing drugs and dancing in a field for 4 days with your best friends.

Chill af

Super relaxing and expertly mixed. Really dig the vibe on this one. Just an amazing album.

An exquisite selection of electronic music. As soon as it ended, I just started it over.

I just gave Mylo a generous 2 so this will be a very generous 3 because it's better, more creative than that. Does not need to be on the list. It's ambient and not of the innovative, interesting kind. Eminently forgettable.

background noise, makes we wish we could score 2.5.

They are certainly making sounds. Not for me.

Bailed after 20 minutes. Was that one song? 5 songs? Who knows? Seems like the kind of background music they have playing at fancy clothing stores where nothing is in my size or price range.

It's nothing mind-blowing, IMO but definitely easy to get lost in. 3.5 but I don't really see myself seeking this one out for continuous plays so rounding down.

music for people with time to kill.

- first song is supposedly their best but i don’t love it so idk how the rest of this is gonna go - ok just realized every single song is ambient (duh) no words so this will be interesting - was excited to listen to this bc all my friends like this album but i put it on and i was like wow this first song had a really long intro and then i realized i was halfway into the third song and so i think they all sound the same and i didn’t finish it bc i just couldn’t do it

"Yes, hello. I was wondering if you could play that song again." "Hmmm, which one, man?" "The one that goes 'Bee-boo-boo-bop, boo-boo-beep.'" "No, man, you're thinking of 'Bee-boo-boo-bop, boo-boo-bop.'"

i was prepared to like this more but... unfortunately this is a bit forgettable. i know that can be inherent to ambient music but there are other ambient artists who at least manage to grab me more. a little disappointing!

I was worried for a sec when I got this because, fool that I am, I mixed it up with Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works *Volume 2*, which while on some level still compelling, is *much* longer, and *much* more ambient. I'll just say that if you aren't into this one, you can skip the sequel. If 85-92 is like hanging out in the weirdest dance club on the planet, Vol 2 is like studying for an exam about a spacewalk that you're about to participate in. Anyways, this is about 85-92, so I should probably write about that one. I am now a good several years away from my most robust Aphex Twin phase, but I do still love a lot of the man's music. Although this is one I largely missed. To be honest, I kind of gravitated towards the post SAW Vol 2 stuff, and just didn't really give this a fair shake. And I have to say that while I still don't really understand the incredibly common argument that this is his discography's crown jewel, I do think this is remarkable, *especially* within the context of when it was made. As the album title suggests, these songs were recorded between the years 1985 and 1992. Regardless of your thoughts on this thing, just listen to it and think about this fact. The music here sounds so consistently, deeply futuristic, and remarkably organic that it is honestly damn near timeless. To think that it was largely recorded in the mid to late '80s, one of the most deeply "of it's time" times for music, is damn near unthinkable. I have no idea how he made something like this. And honestly, for all the emphasis on "ambient" here, these songs have some real musicality. Listen to the synth melody on Aegispolis, or just everything on Green Calx. The music here is chilly and spongey and surprisingly varied. As I implied, I do prefer Richard D James' later works somewhat, but the place this has in electronic history is cemented, and deserved.

Accurate description-ambient.

The relatively basic formula where one element is introduced and repeated, and new elements are added is engaging.The songs gradually build to a dense, multi-layered swirl. The album is appropriately titled, although on closer listening, some of the calm ambient noise becomes unsettling.

Could have been on hold for an hour.

Can't help but think Aphex Twin's music is at its best when used as samples by other people. That said, it wasn't as painful as I'd expected. And some tracks were actually quite good. Take a generous 3*

This is what you listen to after you're dead. I don't know why this would be part of this list. 1 star or F.

Background music

4/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/aphex-twin/selected-ambient-works-85-92/ Includes some of the best electronic songs ever (Xtal, primarily), but also sometimes lingers a bit too long in the same ideas. I think if it would have been a bit more trimmed, it would have been a 5/5 masterpiece. Now it's still a masterpiece, albeit a flawed one.

I love this album. You'd think an album literally titled "Selected Ambient Works" would be mostly Ambient music but a lot of this is really groovy and throws in a lot of interesting synths. If there are two synths I'll never get tired of, they're the whistle synth that shows up in every west coast rap song in the 90s and the Roland synth that makes the funny acid techno song, and the latter shows up here on a few songs. Anyways, the music has a good feel to it. It reminds me a lot of Brian Eno's Ambient works in the sense that it's not really music to focus on, it's just good stuff to play in the background while you're doing other things, and yet focusing on it can be rewarding in its own right.

Not my favorite Aphex album but still pretty good. Listened to this one out of order because it would make for good study/homework accompaniment. Ambient electronica is funny because I enjoyed it but nothing can really stick out enough in my memory to think of it critically without going back and listening to it completely over again completely dedicating myself to picking each track apart. I've tried to rate things with relistenability in mind and this one has been saved in my library for a while but I haven't listened to much since saving it. All of this is a long way of saying 3.5/10 Favorite(s): Pulsewidth Green Calx Least: Ageispolis

Fav: Heliosphan L: We are the music makers 3 Me when I’m listening to man made horrors/wonders beyond my comprehension (I don’t get it) (⊙.☉)7 Cover: 4 Name: 4 Minecraft Parody: Jockey 7th Cave could just use a bunch of mining and cave noises in it

Richard James is a genius. It's a shame this is their only album on the list. This isn't their best work, I think, but they really showed the world and myself how much music can accomplish. Everything is layered in such interesting ways. Each track really feels like the creation of a human being. Like they are carved out of digital marble. Some of these were created when they were like, 13. Awesome. It's definitely not a very album-y album, which makes it hard to rate. Great to listen to while reading or something, where the music isn't necessarily supposed to completely take over. I'm maybe bumping this up a bit just because there's no other aphex twin albums. I'm split between a 4 and 4.5. W: xtal, Tha, green calx, actium L: I 4.5/5

I guess sure why not

Awful music

Dude enough with the electronica

As ambient sounds, awesome. Perfect for when I'm trying to ignore fellow airplane passengers. As music to focus on, nope.

This was not great. Nothing interesting, no energy. Waste of time.