Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II

Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II
Author: Marc Weidenbaum
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2014-02-13
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1623567637

Extravagantly opaque, willfully vaporous - Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II, released by the estimable British label Warp Records in 1994, rejuvenated ambient music for the Internet Age that was just dawning. In the United States, it was Richard D. James's first full length on Sire Records (home to Madonna and Depeche Mode) under the moniker Aphex Twin; Sire helped usher him in as a major force in music, electronic or otherwise. Faithful to Brian Eno's definition of ambient music, Selected Ambient Works Volume II was intentionally functional: it furnished chill out rooms, the sanctuaries amid intense raves. Choreographers and film directors began to employ it to their own ends, and in the intervening decades this background music came to the fore, adapted by classical composers who reverse-engineered its fragile textures for performance on acoustic instruments. Simultaneously, “ambient” has moved from esoteric sound art to central tenet of online culture. This book contends that despite a reputation for being beatless, the album exudes percussive curiosity, providing a sonic metaphor for our technologically mediated era of countless synchronized nanosecond metronomes.

Aphex Twin on track

Aphex Twin on track
Author: Beau Waddell
Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2023-09-05
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1789522129

One of the true musical geniuses of the late 20th and early 21st century, Richard D. James has continued to be a pioneer in the electronic music landscape throughout his prolific, multi-faceted career. James, under his myriad of aliases, laid the foundation for ambient techno, drill ‘n’ bass and dark ambient across the span of six phenomenal studio albums and a multitude of EPs and side projects. Alongside this, he has crafted a unique visual identity, expressed through his iconic logo and video collaborations with Chris Cunningham. If that wasn’t enough, he has become a figurehead for artists as diverse as Thom Yorke and Pharrell Williams. Year by year, the mythos surrounding him continues to grow, ensuring he remains as culturally prevalent as ever. With no new, officially released music since 2020, this book marks the perfect opportunity to track the course of James’ sizeable catalogue. From the well-known to the obscure, the rapid bursts of activity in the 1990s to the so-called ‘hiatus’ in the 2000s, every corner of this formidable discography is examined in vivid detail, providing insightful analysis and an impetus to discover for new listeners and hardcore fans in equal measure. Beau Waddell has been a passionate music lover since a very young age and has adored writing for nearly as long. At 16 years old, he is the youngest On Track author but has already been published in poetry and fiction collections, such as the Generation Lockdown compendium, and furthermore, he has been commissioned by Record Collector magazine. He plays guitar, creating his own music and he also prides himself on his thirst for finding new music in a variety of genres. He is particularly infatuated with rock, electronica and jazz. He lives in Watford, UK.

Sound and Vision

Sound and Vision
Author: John Riordan
Publisher: Dog n Bone
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9781909313989

Love music? Love illustration? Want to know more about some of the best musicians ever to record—from Bowie and the Beastie Boys to The Smiths and St. Vincent? Then Sound and Vision is for you. Love music? Love illustration? Want to know more about some of the best musicians ever to record—from Bowie and the Beastie Boys to The Smiths and St. Vincent? Then�Sound and Vision�is for you. Featuring 100 of the coolest artists from the last five decades, Sound and Vision reveals the influencers and tastemakers who have helped to shape the contemporary music scene. Award-winning illustrator and comic artist John Riordan profiles cult musicians from genres including punk, indie, alternative, hip-hop, and electronic music. Not only does John create amazing illustrations, he also outlines key works from the artists and provides engaging trivia to accompany each entry. Enlightening, often amusing, and always stunning to look at,�Sound and Vision is a unique blend of the aesthetic and the acoustic and is an essential addition to any music fan’s collection.

OneTrackMinds

OneTrackMinds
Author: Kristian Brodie
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2022-06-23
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1800181019

Put your headphones on, close your eyes. Embrace the possibility of the life-changing power of music. And perhaps one of these songs will change your life too. Music can inspire our greatest creations, salve our deepest wounds, make us fall in – or out of – love. It can also be a window into another’s soul. Based on the popular live storytelling series, OneTrackMinds is a collection of twenty-five compelling answers to the question, ‘What was the song that changed your life?’ Featuring pieces from a stellar cast of contributors including Peter Tatchell, Inua Ellams, Cash Carraway, Rhik Samadder, Ingrid Oliver and Joe Dunthorne, alongside some of the UK’s most exciting new voices, the book compiles many of the standout stories from the live show so far. Just as rich and varied are the songs themselves, by artists ranging from Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell to Aphex Twin and the Replacements via Tupac, Prince and the Spice Girls. The result is an entertaining, enlightening musical guide to the best of what makes us human.

Drawn in Stereo

Drawn in Stereo
Author: Michael Gillette
Publisher: Ammo Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-10
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9781623260378

Inspired by experience in the music industry and origins as an aspiring pop star, British artist Michael Gillette delivers his greatest hits, demos, and rare cuts of the past three decades in DRAWN IN STEREO. Showcasing pieces produced for Beastie Boys, Paul McCartney, MGMT, and Beck--among many others--DRAWN IN STEREO focuses on Gillette's ability to channel music into compelling visual art. Gillette shares a curated collection of artistic approaches, including installations, fashion sketches, music video animation stills, and magazine contributions for SpinandThe New Yorker. Filled with selections from more than 20 years of work created in Britain and America, DRAWN IN STEREO encompasses a wide spectrum of visual directions and celebrates many key projects. Featuring a foreword by Fred Deakin and interview by Elastica's Justine Frischmann, DRAWN IN STEREO reveals an inspired life, ranging from Britpop London and rooming with the Aphex Twin to a decade of creativity in San Francisco. "Life needs a backbeat, and that rhythm needs some visuals. So, I'll keep sharpening the pencils, listening for the muse to sing me a new song." --Michael Gillette

Electric Wizards

Electric Wizards
Author: JR Moores
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2022-11-28
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1789144493

From Black Sabbath to Big Black, a ride through the evolution, diversity, and influence of genre-defying heavy music. It began with the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” It was distilled to its dark essence by Black Sabbath. And it has flourished into a vibrant modern underground, epitomized by Newcastle’s Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. This is the evolution of heavy music. The voyage is as varied as it is illuminating: from the lysergic blunt trauma of Blue Cheer to the locked grooves of Funkadelic, the aural frightmares of Faust to the tectonic crush of Sleep, alighting on post-punk, industrial, grunge, stoner rock, and numerous other genres along the way. Ranging from household names to obscure cult heroes and heroines, Electric Wizards demonstrates how each successive phase of heavy music was forged by what came before, outlining a rich and eclectic lineage that extends far beyond the usual boundaries of heavy rock or heavy metal. It extols those who did things differently, who introduced something fresh and exciting into this elemental tradition, whether by design, accident, or sheer chance. In doing so, Electric Wizards weaves an entirely new tapestry of heavy music.

You've Got So Many Machines, Richard!: an Anthology of Aphex Twin Poetry

You've Got So Many Machines, Richard!: an Anthology of Aphex Twin Poetry
Author: Rishi Dastidar
Publisher:
Total Pages: 62
Release: 2022-01-17
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9781915079992

How do you explain a mystery? This opaque mythology is something that pervades a lot of the poems here, inspired by the sideways, the askew, the fables of Aphex Twin. This isn't intended to be a discovery of who Aphex is, nor necessarily what he means to the contributors, rather an attempt to introduce the mythos and aura of Richard D. James. You won't get to know Aphex Twin better through these poems, but you will be intrigued, all over again. The most emotional of musicians, this Aphex Twin anthology provides a reminder that brain and heart can get pulled at by the unexpected as much as the nostalgic familiar.

The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning

The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning
Author: Janice L. Waldron
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 656
Release: 2020-09-23
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0190660791

The rapid pace of technological change over the last decade, particularly the rise of social media, has deeply affected the ways in which we interact as individuals, in groups, and among institutions to the point that it is difficult to grasp what it would be like to lose access to this everyday aspect of modern life. The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning investigates the ways in which social media is now firmly engrained in all aspects of music education, providing fascinating insights into the ways in which social media, musical participation, and musical learning are increasingly entwined. In five sections of newly commissioned chapters, a refreshing mix of junior and senior scholars tackle questions concerning the potential for formal and informal musical learning in a networked society. Beginning with an overview of community identity and the new musical self through social media, scholars explore intersections between digital, musical, and social constructs including the vernacular of born-digital performance, musical identity and projection, and the expanding definition of musical empowerment. The fifth section brings this handbook to full practical fruition, featuring firsthand accounts of digital musicians, students, and teachers in the field. The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning opens up an international discussion of what it means to be a musical community member in an age of technologically mediated relationships that break down the limits of geographical, cultural, political, and economic place.

Flaming Lips' Zaireeka

Flaming Lips' Zaireeka
Author: Mark Richardson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 123
Release: 2009-12-24
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1441111832

Zaireeka is the anti-headphone and the anti-mp3. It purposely makes the two biggest developments in end-user music in the last 30 years irrelevant. Zaireeka is not mobile. It is not personal. It is not solitary, cannot be easily controlled, and can't easily be consumed in small doses. So another way to think of Zaireeka is as a one-off piece of technology that comes in a highly inconvenient dead-end format. The Flaming Lips' 1997 album Zaireeka is one of the most peculiar albums ever recorded, consisting of four CDs meant to be played simultaneously on four CD players. Approaching this powerful and complex art-rock masterpiece from multiple angles, Mark Richardson's prismatic study of Zaireeka mirrors the structure the work itself. Thoughts on communal listening and the "death of the album" are interspersed with the story of the Zaireeka's creation (with assistance from Wayne Coyne) and an in-depth analysis of the music, leading to a complete picture of a record that proved to be a watershed for both the band and adventurous music fans alike.

The A to X of Alternative Music

The A to X of Alternative Music
Author: Steve Taylor
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2006-09-27
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780826482174

Covers those bands and artists who have rejected the mainstream in favor of innovation, originality and the pursuit of their own unique musical identity.