Drukqs
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| Studio album by Aphex Twin | ||||
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Publication |
October 22, 2001 |
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Warp Records WARP092 (UK) Sire Records |
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
30th |
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running time |
100: 48 |
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Richard D. James ( Aphex Twin ) |
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drukqs (often spelled drukQs ) is a double album released in 2001 by the British electronic musician Richard D. James. It was released under its most famous pseudonym, Aphex Twin . It is his fifth studio album under this pseudonym and was released on Warp Records .
Overview
The pronunciation of the title is not entirely clear. Since the CD cover capitalizes the Q in the title, many fans pronounce the album as drack-use (this could be an allusion to drug use ). However, everywhere else on the cover and artwork of the record the Q is written in lower case , so that most fans simply put it out of what sounds like drugs . James himself said, however, that the title had nothing to do with drugs, it was just a word he came up with. The album's promo CD is capitalized and distributed with a lowercase Q: Drukqs .
After the release of the single Windowlicker (1999), James paused for a long time and did not release any new material. During this time he played DJ sets in his home suburb of Cornwall , re-released his first album, which he released on Warp ( Surfing on Sine Waves ), and spread rumors that he would no longer release music.
drukQs is available in three different formats. The first and most popular version is CD release. The second version is the 180-gram vinyl release. The third is a limited 180 gram release for audiophiles , pressed on heavy, non-recycled vinyl. It was released in a 12 "x17inch box (limited to 1000 numbered copies).
The cover itself shows the words "Aphex Twin" spelled with keys from the Sinclair ZX81 .
History of origin
According to James' own statements, he was reluctant to release this album. For one thing, he said in an interview that he forgot a USB stick with 273 unreleased tracks by Aphex Twin on an airplane. On the other hand, he absolutely wanted to fulfill his contract with Warp and release the last studio album under his Aphex Twin pseudonym, so that from then on he would only publish new music on his own label, Rephlex Records :
“I haven't given them [Warp] an album in about three years. I told them, 'OK, I'll give you something like a double album, but then you'll have to let me do my own label afterwards.' And they just said 'yes'. I also tried Warner Brothers (Aphex Twin's record company in the US and Japan), but they weren't that easy to convince. I was like, 'I want to do Aphex Twin on Rephlex'. And they just said: 'No way, we bought you, you are ours.' It went back and forth. I said, 'If you don't say yes, you'll never get anything from me.' And then they said: 'OK, then we won't get anything.' I'm allowed to use the name AFX on Rephlex so I'll just go back to that.
Do you care about the name Aphex Twin?
Actually already. I could use other names, of course, but I wanted to do Aphex Twin and then just do experimental stuff. I guess a lot of people who aren't really into my stuff will buy my (Aphex Twin) album. And I like the idea that they are buying something very experimental. "
style
James used the latest technical innovations for this album in order to achieve the attention to detail and complexity necessary for his music. New equipment allowed his sound to be further developed, for example the analog drum modules from the British company Analogue Solutions . These are used extensively in Track Taking Control . 13 of the 30 tracks are piano compositions, both with prepared (inspired by the work of John Cage ) and normal pianos. To do this, he used a MIDI- controlled Disklavier made by the Japanese company Yamaha , which James says he modified to make it sound more lifelike. The Disklavier is a "descendant" of the self-playing pianolas of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For some pieces, James placed microphones in the body of the piano so that, in addition to the notes played, the work of the piano mechanics can also be heard.
A few tracks are short samples (synthesizer experiments or voices) that are shorter than 30 seconds. 54 Cymru Beats uses sounds from the Windowlicker single, a Welsh-speaking computer and a short version of the fairy tale Goldilocks . The track Lornaderek is an answering machine message from James' parents Lorna and Derek, who congratulate their "little 28-year-old-son" on their 28th birthday and sing Happy Birthday . The recording was most likely taken on August 18, 1999, as this is James' 28th birthday.
reception
The reviews were very mixed. Some critics praised the innovativity and versatility of the album, while other critics complained that the album could not meet the expectations due to the previous albums.
Pitchfork Media gave the record 5.5 out of 10 points. The critic Malcolm Seymour III wrote there that this album could not inspire and astonish in the same way as, for example, the predecessor Richard D. James album or Selected Ambient Works Vol. II .
Alex Needham from the New Musical Express gave it 9 out of 10 points and praised the flexibility of the album. According to Needham, the piano pieces are reminiscent of the work of Erik Satie , plus there are tracks full of irony-free 80s electro beats and "intellectual techno".
Allmusic and Blender awarded 3 out of 5 points, dotmusic gave the record 5 out of 5 points. The British experimental music magazine The Wire only awarded 2 out of 5 points, but the Rolling Stone Album Guide awarded four out of five points in 2004.
Stefan Friedrich from laut.de gives the record full points (five out of five stars) and writes:
“As different as the individual puzzle pieces on 'Drukqs' are, the more than 100 minutes of music always work as a unit and the signature of Aphex Twin is clearly recognizable in practically every piece. This apparently holds an infinite number of surprises in store, because every time you listen you discover something new. Not only does the album grow, but also the listener himself. Sometimes the songs work on several levels at the same time, which is exhausting at first, until suddenly you realize that there is a connection and that the apparent chaos follows a system. "
Song title
Several track titles are in Cornish , a Celtic language similar to Welsh or Breton . Cornish is spoken in Cornwall , the home of James. Jynweythek Ylow is roughly called the music of an electronic machine . Vordhosbn means sailboat and Cymru is Wales . Interestingly, hy a Scullyas lyf a dhagrow translates as "She spilled my pint ", but it can also mean "She shed a flood of tears".
The track Lornaderek is made up of the first names of James' parents, Lorna and Derek (as already described above). Father bears this title because James' father liked this piano piece. Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michael's mount refers to two existing places, Mont Saint-Michel and St. Michael's Mount . The latter is a popular tourist attraction in Cornwall. The track was produced by Aphex Twin while on vacation in France. Nanou 2 probably refers to the Aphex Twin-Track Nannou from Windowlicker- EP (1999). The song 54 Cymru Beats uses samples from the Aphex twin song ΔMi − 1 = −∂Σn = 1NDi [n] [Σj∈C {i} Fji [n - 1] + Fexti [n − 1] , which is mostly just is abbreviated with equation . The actually correct title of Equation is in mathematical notation:
![{\ displaystyle \ Delta M_ {i} ^ {- 1} = - a \ sum _ {n = 1} ^ {N} D_ {i} \ left [n \ right] \ left [\ sum _ {j \ in \ mathbb {C} \ {i \}} F_ {ij} \ left [n-1 \ right] + F \ operatorname {ext} _ {i} \ left [n ^ {- 1} \ right] \ right] }](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e241485d508c1818619743ba0fc9357f5c49f4c3)
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Charts
The album received the highest ranking in the British album charts, where it stayed at # 22 for a week. In the USA it reached # 154, in Sweden # 47 for two weeks, in Norway # 36 for two weeks and in France it landed at # 43 for one week. The album could not be placed in Germany.
In the critics' charts of music magazines, the album was # 10 in the NME , # 14 in the German magazine Intro and # 34 in the French magazine Les Inrocks .
It was ranked # 2 on Billboard Magazine's Top Heatseekers list and # 154 on the Billboard 200 . It landed at # 6 on the magazine's third list, the Dance / Electronic Albums list.
In the media
- The short film Rubber Johnny by director Chris Cunningham consists mostly of music from this album, especially the track Afx237 v.7 and the sound collage Gwarek2 are used.
- The piano pieces Jynweythek Ylow and Avril 14th were used in the film Marie Antoinette (2006) by Sofia Coppola . They were later also available on the film soundtrack.
- The 2009 compilation Warp20 Recreated has a gecovertes Vordhosbn . It was covered by the British sound artist Leila .
- A slightly different version of "Omgyjya-Switch7" (with more screams) can be heard in the film Children of Men (2006) as "future" Zen music.
- "Nanou2" plays at the end of the film Blood Vengeance - Dead Man's Shoes by Shane Meadows .
- "Avril 14th" was sampled on Saturday Night Live on September 29, 2007. However, NBC did not have the rights to broadcast the track. However, the rights were later obtained from Chrysalis Music for use on television and on DVD, but the comedy group The Lonely Island responsible for the sketch is not allowed to include the song on their album Icredibad .
- The title "Btoum-Roumada" is set in the film Mister Lonely (2007) by Harmony Korine .
- A poster with the album cover hangs in Shaun's apartment in Shaun of the Dead (2005).
- The short film Monkey Drummer by Chris Cunningham is underlaid with the track "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michael's Mount".
- "Kesson Daslef" was featured in the BBC documentary Cannabis: The Evil Weed? utilized.
- In the British documentary Sleep Furiously (2008) the tracks "Avril 14th", "Penty Harmonium", "Kesson Daslef" and "Nanou2" are played.
- The chamber orchestra the London Sinfonietta , which actually specializes in contemporary classical music , performed "Afx237 v.7".
- "Avril 14th" plays in the final sequence of the film Four Lions (2010).
- Rapper Kanye West sampled "Avril 14th" for his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).
Track list
drukQs consists of 30 tracks, spread over 2 CDs of 15 titles each and on eight pages of the LP release. The LP edition has a slightly different tracklist and was named with slightly differently written titles. For example the track "QKThr" on the LP is called "Penty Harmonium". The first four LP sides are played at 45 rpm , while the last 4 sides should be played at 33.3 rpm.
All tracks were composed, produced and played by Richard D. James.
CD release
CD 1
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CD 2
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LP track list
Page one
Side two
Page three
Page four
Page five
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Page Six
Page Seven
Page eight
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Individual evidence
- ↑ Paul Lester: Tank boy . In: The Guardian , October 5, 2001. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- ↑ Images for Aphex Twin - Drukqs
- ↑ http://www.aphextwin.nu/learn/100278602030994.shtml
- ↑ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/225-drukqs/
- ↑ http://www.nme.com/reviews/aphex-twin/5730
- ↑ AllMusic Review by John Bush
- ↑ http://www.laut.de/Aphex-Twin/Drukqs-%28Album%29
- ↑ Charts UK Charts US
- ^ The Daily Swarm — Aphex Twin in SNL "Iran So Far" [rhyme] with Andy Samberg and Adam Levine ( Memento from March 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Aphex Twin Speaks on His New Album, Being Sampled by Kanye, More | Pitchfork. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
Web links
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992) | Selected Ambient Works Vol. II (1994) | ... I Care Because You Do (1995) | Richard D. James Album (1996) | drukqs (2001) | 26 Mixes for Cash (2003)
EPs: Bradley's Beat (1991) | Digeridoo (1992) | Q-Chastic (1992) | Joyrex 4, 5 + 9 (1992-1993) | Analogue Bubblebath 1-4 (1991-1993) | Xylem Tube (1992) | On (1993) | Bradley's Robot (1993) | Quoth (1993) | GAK 1-4 (1994) | Ventolin (1995) | Hangable Auto Bulb 1, 2 (1995) | Donkey Rhubarb (1995) | Girl / Boy (1996) | Come to Daddy (1997) | Windowlicker (1999) | 2 Remixes (2001) | 4-track EP (2005) | Analord 1-11 (2005) | Confederation Trough EP (2007)