Drukqs: Aphex Twin: Amazon.ca: Music

Disc: 1
1. Jynweythek
2. Vordhosbn
3. Kladfvgbung Micshk
4. Omgyjya-Switch 7
5. Strotha Tynhe
6. Gwely Mernans
7. Bbydhyonchord
8. Cock/Ver 10
9. Avril 14th
10. Mt. Saint Michel Mix/St. Michaels Mount
See all 15 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. 54 Cymru Beats
2. Btoum-Roumada
3. Lornaderek
4. Penty Harmomium
5. Meltphace 6
6. Bit 4
7. Prep Gwarlek 3b
8. Father
9. Taking Control
10. Petiatil Cx Htdui
See all 15 tracks on this disc

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Often proclaimed as electronica's one true genius, Richard James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, returns with a double CD that showcases his cleverness as well as his inevitable inscrutability. Still, amid macabre birthday songs, unsettling screams, and other bizarre touches, Drukqs offers the most technically accomplished and beautiful tracks of Aphex Twin's career. Every aspect of the Aphex brain is on display here, from stark pieces performed on sampled piano and zither to Squarepusher-styled drum & bass implosions, all informed by that peculiar Aphex treatment of bittersweet melody and unparalleled programming. For an artist once engrossed in homages to his dead twin brother and grotesque videos, Drukqs shows James getting by purely on music alone.

"Mt. Saint Michel Mix" starts as maddening drum & bass, but is soon transfixed by glowing tones, hand drums, and police sirens. "Vordhosbn" is all acid beats and mad synths matched with fart-bombs and haunted cries. "54 Cymru Beats" sounds more like the tweaked-out, goofball techno of Wagon Christ than Aphex, while "Taking Control" goes metaphysical with cerebral synth-drums and muddled vocals. If Drukqs is the result of medication James has been imbibing during his three-year hiatus, then this is indeed better living through chemistry. Regardless, his music is still as beautiful and frothy as ever. --Ken Micallef

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Customer Reviews

138 Reviews

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (138 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not sure if I'd consider this "music"..., Jan 8 2002

By

yippee1999 "yippee1999" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drukqs (Audio CD)

I didn't know anything previously about Aphex Twin, although I had heard of him before. I happened upon a link to this CD in ..., and after reading the reviews here, including the editorial reviews, I became intrigued, and decided to order it, as I like a wide variety of music, and like to try "different" things. This CD was not what I expected. I'm not sure I'd call this "music" as much as I would experimental SOUND. As such, I think this "music" might be more appreciated in a space, where it is performed live, and where one can visually appreciate the effort put into producing such strange and variant sounds. It's not something I'd care to listen it at home, even if I were having a party. However, I will say that on many of the tracks, the types of sounds, and they manner in which they are woven are quite unusual, which I can appreciate. There were a FEW tracks that were uniquely pretty (some of the piano pieces), and another few tracks that were quite "interesting", but overall, I did not like this CD enough, especially to warrant it containing two CDs in the collection. By way of background, some CDs I DO like that I'd consider somewhat "different" are Radiohead's "OK Computer", "Mr. Brubaker's Strawberry Alarm Clock", "One Pound Note", "Cup of Tea" (compilation), Crystal Method's "Vegas" and "Vertigo" by Groove Armada, of which "Mr. Brubaker's...." would be the closest thing to "Drukqs"..

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars That's Me Finished With Him, Oct 25 2001

By

Sean (Dublin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drukqs (Audio CD)

I'd read some Drukqs preview/review a week or so ago claiming that this album marked Aphex's move from unlistenable noise assaults to 30 tracks of near perfect commercial tunes.
As I write this, Drukqs is billed as number 72 in Amazon's best seller list which would suggest that a lot of people have read such write-ups and decided that Richard has finally created an album that showcases his obvious talent.

I've listened to Drukqs from start to finish quite a few times since I bought it, and in my opinion, this album is his absolutely worst collection ever. The ultra-hardcore drill 'n bass style featured on his past few releases has been evolved to it's ultimate conclusion here - supersonic splintered breakbeats dominate the albums main tracks (ie, the long ones) and meander aimlessly through filtered squelches and droning synths.

Most of the tracks simply change every few seconds from hyperactive jungle beats to lethargic murky sounding hip-hop speed beats.
Early Prodigy style 808 acid squelches feature on most of the tracks too, but never form anything resembling a tune, their only purpose seems to be as background noise. Combined with these noisy dirges are several boring piano pieces which don't do anything in particular and end up harking back to the smackhead-era Velvet Underground's tinkling piano experiments. Also thrown into the mess are a few pieces that sound like Chinese temple music and a track that features the always captivating music of a metal bar being banged against a fence (Gwarek 2).

I've always been a pseudo-Aphex fan insofar as that I usually buy his albums in the hope that he'll surprise me, and although I've been less than happy with his previous albums as a whole, this one has no redeeming features. Even the twisted humour of the RDJ album, Come To Daddy EP and the WindowLicker EP has been removed with only a silly sample of his mother wishing him a happy birthday as a legacy of his previous outings.

I know that an artist has every right to name his creations as he so desires, but in my opinion track titles like 'hy a Scullyas lyf adhagrow', 'orban eq trx 4' and 'omgyjwa-switch 7' kind of gives the listener a written idea of just what to expect music-wise. Nonsensical, synthetic and unimaginative.

Anyway, tonnes of people will no doubt buy Drukqs and line his pockets with enough cash to refurbish his bank vault, but I'm through giving (...)any more support.

By all means buy Drukqs to settle your own curiosity, but don't say that I didn't warn you.

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5.0 out of 5 stars ?????, Jun 29 2004

By

Mike (Bristol, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drukqs (Audio CD)

My friends and I listen to s*** loads of music of all kinds, but the only thing we never talk about is this. It quite simply excapes description. But, what the heck...
Every track a masterpiece, this presentation pulls the attentive listener through Richard James' consicousness, revealing the expanse of his emotions. Truely one of the few "electronic" albums which has the capacity to toy with your soul, it exudes personality of all tones; from the delicate, fine and gentle, through the cheeky, quircky and mundane, to the revelationary, infinite strata of hyperspacial reality - this recording truely has as much depth and content as the spectator could wish to find or even suppose. To put it another way, this is as close as those who havn't discovered the potentials of the inner landscape will currently ever get to experiencing the kind of continually evolving subconscious patterns that stir within us all. Drukqs exhibits a kind of artistry comparable to all the great masters that display a coherant understanding of the transcendent; and the personality of this genius displays a human originality of which will impact the art world as a strong reference for years to come.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars great
Just great. I am a fan of his music for quite a while and all of his records are special in their own way. Tracks with a little twist only RDJ can add. Read more

Published on May 9 2004 by hugo

5.0 out of 5 stars a little twisted
Just great. I am a fan of his music for quite a while and all of his records are special in their own way. Tracks with a little twist only RDJ can add. Read more

Published on May 9 2004 by hugo