Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 ALBUM REVIEW 

This is my favorite Aphex Twin album because it doesn't scare the shit out of me when I check my phone in the middle of the night to see what song is playing

You gave Selected Ambient Works a 85-92/10 but DAMN. a 7/10?

Xtal is the best electronic song of all time

"I" is so pure. Its one of my favorite fleeting moments of ambient.

i love a song called creep by U2

Definitely a classic. Xtal and Pulsewidth are my favorites on this. Great memories with them and they conjure such a vivid sense of time and place for me.

Heliosphan helped me through a dark time during my life. That alone gives this album a special place in my heart tbh.

aphex twin is a genius at work, a mozart of moden music, an amazing music artist and talent who even won a grammy but somehow pretty unknown ( not to me )

This is the first music that ever struck me as experimental and creative but also beautiful and just good music. In 1985 there were a lot of people excited about the Amiga and Atari ST, but I can't think of much groundbreaking electronic stuff besides this and the stuff Richie Hawtin was doing.

Aphex Twin 10/10

Stiff smile just like I'm Aphex Twin

Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica

My fav Aphex twin song is probably raise your weapon.

This record's great, but favs are AFX stuff; Pissed Up in SE1, Boxing Day and Lisbon Acid are among my favorites. I listen to Analord weekly, to this day.

Also this was warp records at its best. This and the days of boards of Canada releases.

would think an artist would have worn him self thin after creating hundreds of songs over the years. But rdj still has as much creativity and magic in each and every song now as he ever did. Each track takes you to a place and tells a story that conveys a msg. This experience differs from one listener to the next. I still find his work to be awe inspiring stuff and I have nobody to compare him to cause he is in a league of his own. A true one of a kind legend that has note for note and beat for beat put ever sound in the perfect spot with the exact right amount of space between. That coupled with his production skills. Wow...just..wow.

Can you PLEASE do an aphex twin worst to best? His albums are really different and divisive amongst his fans, I would love to hear your opinion

Fantano should do an Aphex Twin tier list video.

Next year review The Replacements. DO IT!

The "individual experirience" is the key phrase. That is what this music is about. It is about introspection. Imo.

Please do a long form review of Selected Ambient works II !

I don't see the IDM label being used to label this dance music better than that dance music but more as just dance music that isn't made for dancing but to be enjoyed for their intricacies

I always felt like this album would be great in a cyber punk movie. I loooooved reading cyber punk books while listening to this album. It straight up puts me in the world of blade runner or something. I love it.

Did anyone else find this album because of the posters in Macross Plus?

thx for reviewing this antnee :)

I need a classic review of "Storm of the Light's Bane"

Great review. Great album.

Bro! Mezzanine - Massive Attack, I know you got some great insites on that album, I'd love to here them!

You've been killing it with these classics, Melon. I didn't even mind all those numerous threatening references to the U.N. and Syrian refugees at the end.

APHEXTHONY TWINTOWERSTANO

FUCK. YES.

Always preferred Selected Ambient Works II to this

Word on the street is that “Xtal” is pronounced “Crystal”

Yeet

I liked the review but you could have had less of the n word in the video

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks, great classic album

One of the best currents in music.

the track "Xtal" is actually pronounced "Crystal", for the same reason "Xmas" is the same as "Christmas". listened to his stuff for years and only found that out recently myself

This album got me through 50 hrs of community service stemming from a weed charge in 2001.

Thom Yorke named Aphex Twin as his biggest influence, saying: "He burns a heavy shadow ... Aphex opened up another world that didn't involve my fucking electric guitar ... I hated all the music that was around Radiohead at the time, it was completely fucking meaningless. I hated the Britpop thing and what was happening in America, but Aphex was totally beautiful, and he's kind of my age too." Although he has influenced Radiohead, especially on their album Kid A, he does not wish to tour with them: "I wouldn't play with them since I don't like them."

Xtal is a masterpiece

Why don't you say CLASSIC/10 in the description anymore? Now I don't know if it's a CLASSIC/10

Xtal still has me scratching my head at the fact it was made in, if not, before 1992

Showed people at an acid party Xtal and my god the emotion in the room was crazy people were hugging eachother and shit.

I'm not even surprised to hear that you are also Cardi B, she is everywhere

Aphex Twin worst to best??

Xtal in my non humble opinion is one of the best opening tracks to any album

Im a simple man, I see Aphex twin, I click

was this really cardi B in this video ? I said yes but my friend's A little unsure please help us with an answer

Good review melon, but it was very inappropriate to tell Mr. James to "go back to Ireland"

Absolutely one of my favourite albums of all time. I moved to Brighton (UK) for university when I was 18 (1998) and unfortunately I wasn't allocated a room on campus so I ended up sharing a big, old weird house in a village further along the coast (Rottingdean, if you're interested). I had housemates but none of us knew each other, so it was kind of a lonely time, in a house on cliffs overlooking the sea during a dismal grey, autumnal English October. I found a small box of tapes under the bed, including a a copy of Selected Ambient Works 85-92. One day I took a long walk along the cliff and listened to the whole album during my walk. I then flipped it over and listened to it again OK my way back. The music is so soothing, so personal. It has the feel of being made specifically for headphones, to be experienced alone rather than in a crowd (as the reviewer mentioned). It felt like the person who had left that tape there had known it would be found by someone who needed a helping hand. The comforting sensation was like eating a Mars Bar a d drinking a pint of ale by a roaring fire after completing a winter-time swim in the sea. The music is so warm, the opposite to the cold edges of much of electric music. I went out and bought the album on CD, and when I eventually left that house, I made sure the tape was in the box under the bed. I attached a little note to it, suggesting the next person listen to it if they were feeling blue.

didn't even mention pulsewidth smh...

02:25 - Xtal 03:58 - Tha Pulsewidth 05:01 - Ageispolis 05:22 - i 04:20 - Green Calx 05:39 - Heliosphan 05:50 - We Are the Music Makers 05:33 - Schottkey 7th Path 04:53 - Ptolemy 02:35 - Hedphelym 06:05 - Delphium Actium

Why am I watching a talking cantaloupe?

This album has soundtracked many of my long train commutes over the years. A classic, indeed.

Xtal is what's playing in the speakers in heaven.

boards of canada - geogaddi pls

MUSIC HAS THE RIGHT TO CHILDREN OR GEOGADDI NEXT

COME TO MELON. COME TO MELON.

Selected melon works

1:56 I consider IDM to be “artistic electronic music”. It doesn’t have to be fast nor slow. Its simply audible art that pushes boundaries and invokes the imagination

IWANThony YOURSOULtano

'Xtal' is most likely pronounced 'Crystal'...like 'Xmas' and 'Christmas'. Richard is a clever fox.

0:04 tfw you realize he's actually sitting

Where’s the classic/10 melon

Xtal is actually a timeless song, if one song could instantly make an album a 10/10 it would be xtal

THANK YOU ANTHONY. This is the classic review I wanted

this album means so much to me, been listening to it for 10 years now and own every format, its a gamechanger, inspiring. that first track, no matter whats going on in your life, puts you in a place of comfort, you know where you stand. if i could only choose a handful of albums to own, this would be one of them.

Great classic review but it got a little personal when you broke down about your aunt's cancer diagnosis

Aphex twin is played as background music at Woolworths (supermarket chain in Australia), never thought I'd see the day...

this album deserves a 700 hr long review. You did a great job packing it into a watchable video Ant

Javruary 14th

Xtal is such an incredible piece. It feels like I’m in a different dimension when listening to it.

you look like you are going to try to kidnap some chipmunks

Where is Mr. Bungle you fruit

Top 10 theneedledrop intros of all time.

Best classic album you reviewed out of all the other classics this year

Thank you, I love this album, but do Funkadelic next year melon boy.

Xtal fills me with so many conflicting emotions. Sometimes it makes me feel happy. Sometimes it makes me feel melancholy. Sometimes nostalgic and reflective. I love that track off this album but it simultaneously fills me with both sadness and content.

He started making music for this album when he was 16?

Aphex Twin shows that you can be super experimental and still gain appeal as a musician

I’m a huge fan of Aphex Twin and of an old pal of his named Luke Vibert. He has multiple Alias; 1. Plug. drum ‘n’ bass. I’m a drummer so I love it very much so. 2. Wagon Christ which is this giant musical adventure that will possibly blow you away speechlessly. He’s most known for his work there. 3. Is Kerrier District. He has awesome disco tracks Under Kerrier District. Super groovy stuff and can be very intricate at times. Whatever it is that Luke Vibert puts out is 9 times out of 10 a must buy. At least for me that is. And of course Luke Vibert is an artist of his own obviously; which has produced many upon many of songs just like Aphex. Big fan of both. The music they bring will always be ahead of our time imo. One thing about Luke Vibert is that he is a wizard when it comes to mixing random voices into his music. He’s got the biggest library of voice samples. Luke has a little bit of everything. Guys a legend. Can be repetitive but it’s all on how you observe and feel the music as well. Again this guy has so many different Alias so yeah. He’s made a shit ton of music and has made music alongside with Richard. Both aliens at what they do but at the same time. I still hope they see each other from time to time haha. If you like Acid hop. Hip hop disco crazy beautiful stuff like Wagon Christ with trippy/funny/crazy voice samples in the mix then you gotta check this guy out ASAP.

Richard D James offers a truly unique musical experience due to his deep connection to computer science and experimenting with the most basic of computer generated tones as a young man. Through decades of experience and growth he has transformed into someone with a unique kind of mastery of synthesized sound, the same way someone with perfect pitch might be able to dissect and master an orchestra by ear, Richard can digest, process and produce synthesized tones like it's a natural part of his being.

Please review The Downward Spiral by NIN for a classic review

Why did Aphex Twin rip off Half-Life logo with that cover?

‘Tha’ is the track I always come back to. It does something for me that I can’t quite put my finger on, and it’s the only song that does it (besides some other tracks on the same album). It’s so ethereal, it SOUNDS huge.

Personally think drukqs is a better record, but this is a great choice for classics week. Thank you melon.

To really properly experience this album, you must listen to it in a car with a built soundsystem.

Delphium and ageispolis are probably my favourite

Aphex Twin: weird sounds Burzum: Cool fairytale sounds

Xtal is possibly the most beautiful song ever

No more Best and Worst Tracks of the Week?

Yes, Green Calx is a banger. One of my favorite from AFX

Great Classic album! Review Joanna Newsom or Modest Mouse album

Absolutely one of the best albums of all time, very proud to own it on wax. Thanks for this review!

wow I cant believe you said the n word at 2:59

Never took this album serious, because the other techno albums were absolute crap at the library. Damn, what a missed opportunity. Will take a listen to it now...

Unexpected pronunciation of "Tha", in my mind it's always been pronounced like "thaw".

Now review The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails

Don’t usually only listen to reviewers “good” suggestions as everyone’s tastes are different but this melon has suggested this album and Burial’s “Untrue” and I’ve become obsessed with both, does anyone know any other albums he rates as highly as these?