Blog

Aphex Twin, “Selected Ambient Works Volume II”

By admin_mike In

Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient Works Volume II, released 1994 by Sire Records

Disc 1:
1) Cliffs
2) Radiator
3) Rhubarb
4) Grass
5) Mould
6) Curtains
7) Blur
8) Weathered Stone
9) Tree
10) Domino
11) White Blur

Disc 2:
1) Blue Calx
2) Parallel Stripes
3) Shiny Metal Rods
4) Grey Stripe
5) Z Twig
6) Window Sill
7) Hexagon
8) Lichen
9) Spots
10) Tassels
11) White Blur 2
12) Match Sticks

It struck me as odd when I realized that the people most devoted to continuing John Cage’s (and Karl Stockhausen’s) musical legacy (consciously or not) are electronic musicians, laptop artists, beatmasters, etc; for example, the folks at lowercase music or my NEC colleague greg davis. One of Cage’s own most important influences was Erik Satie, probably most accurately described as the best kind of jester, whose music and writings were infused with both playful, provocative mockery and thoughtful innovation.

Among Satie’s contributions to musical thought is the idea of furniture music, designed not to be listened to, but to serve as a kind of aural wallpaper…not so much actively “boring” as unobtrusive and unassuming, music to do something else by.

Aphex Twin may not consciously follow this tradition, but he almost certainly knows of Brian Eno, who I can’t imagine doesn’t know Satie and Cage. Best known as one of the earliest purveyors of jagged, complex, beat-heavy electronica – and one of the genre’s “grand old men” by now – Aphex Twin works primarily with electronically generated instruments, building his music out of synthesizers and drum machines. While I believe most of the music he creates is extremely propulsive and often abrasive, this CD represents another side of his compositional aesthetic.

Selected Ambient Works Volume II is an excellent example of prime furniture music. Each track is extremely static and repetitive…though each also contains something ever so slightly twisted, like a subtle, unidentifiable flavor, so the material being iterated is always *just* compelling enough. What’s impressive is that every track manages to be distinct while having almost no real “profile”, like an array of ancient statues whose features have been almost, but not completely, weathered away.

This is an extremely ghostly and meditative album, and perfect for its intended purpose, to exist in the background to support some other activity, while still developing barely often enough to reward you for tuning in occasionally. It’s music that just wants to be, and invites you to do the same.