{"product_id":"aohex-twin-windowlicker","title":"Aphex Twin - Windowlicker","description":"\u003cp\u003eA sonic analysis of one of electronic music's most monumental moments - \u003cem\u003eWindowlicker\u003c\/em\u003e by Aphex Twin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn March 22 1999 Richard D. James released a track under his well-known moniker Aphex Twin called \u003cem\u003eWindowlicker. \u003c\/em\u003eAcross six minutes, the track sways between awfully out-of-tune synthesisers, jarring vocal samples, chaotic rhythms and awkward sex noises before culminating in a cacaphonic, ear piercing wall of white noise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy all means, it’s unlistenable – on paper, it’s the kind of song that would make you squirm in your seat and make your dog uncomfortably pace and howl in the backyard. Some would say it’s one of the greatest electronic tracks ever made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’re familiar with the works of Richard D. James, you’ll know that the man’s a bit of an oddball – in fact, he’s quite possibly one of the most eccentric minds of this generation. In his adolescence, James dabbled in software coding and modifying electronic equipment as a hobby, and began creating music with his array of modified samplers, synthesisers and tape machines at the age of 12.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the time he was 14, James had started utilising his modified machines and 8-bit computers to record a unique form of music that fused pounding techno rhythms, soaring synth pads, pulsating sequences of ambient noise and reverb-heavy samples from an array of films to create his beloved debut LP: \u003cem\u003eSelected Ambient Works 85-92\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile initially released to a small independent label, \u003cem\u003eSelected Ambient Works 85-92\u003c\/em\u003e eventually hurtled Aphex Twin into mainstream consciousness as critics began to catch wind of the record’s genius, with many deeming it responsible for pioneering the genre of Intelligent Dance Music, essentially bridging the gap between the likes of techno auteurs like Jeff Mills and ambient masterminds such as Brian Eno.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn an era where electronic music – particularly acid house and techno – was condemned and ridiculed throughout mainstream media, Aphex Twin proved that electronic music wasn’t just music for nightclubs. Perhaps it could have soul, and stimulate unique discussion. Maybe it could invoke feelings in people without all the negative, drugged-up connotations it was associated with. Maybe it was even the sound of the future after all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the success of Selected Ambient Works 85-92, Richard D. James doubled down on his eclectic musical output, releasing an array of records and creating various pseudonyms such Caustic Window, AFX and Power-Pill in order to constantly release his diverse sonic experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1992 also saw the release of the single \u003cem\u003eDidgeridoo\u003c\/em\u003e, a frenetic fusion of machine gun drums and the distinctive drone of the Aboriginal instrument which somehow managed to reach #55 on the UK Singles charts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome would go on to argue that ‘Didgeridoo’ acted as a precursor to the emergence of drum ‘n bass, a genre which Aphex Twin would go on to revisit in subsequent works such as 1996’s \u003cem\u003eRichard D. James Album\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis era also saw the release of \u003cem\u003eSelected Ambient Works Vol. 2\u003c\/em\u003e in 1994 – a much more evident foray into ambient music that many consider to be one of the genre’s defining releases – as well as the classical-influenced \u003cem\u003e…I Care Because You Do\u003c\/em\u003e in 1995, the latter bearing a distorted image of James’ own face which would soon become a recurring theme in subsequent Aphex releases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, it was with the release of 1997’s \u003cem\u003eCome To Daddy \u003c\/em\u003eand its accompanying video that made Aphex Twin a household name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA snarling, brutal drill ‘n bass affair with a terrifying video to match, ‘\u003cem\u003eCome To Daddy\u003c\/em\u003e’ was originally conceived by James as a drunken death metal parody, with its unprecedented critical and chart success catching him off-guard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJames later expressed his remorse at the success of the single in an interview with Index Magazine – “Come to Daddy’ came about while I was just hanging around my house, getting pissed and doing this crappy death metal jingle. Then it got marketed and a video was made, and this little idea that I had, which was a joke, turned into something huge. It wasn’t right at all.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlmost 18 months after the release of ‘\u003cem\u003eome To Daddy\u003c\/em\u003e, Aphex Twin returned with \u003cem\u003eWindowlicker\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA nauseous sonic odyssey that fuses James’ digitally processed vocals with wonky drum rhythms, rolling snares,  a deceptively simple synthesiser chord progression and oddball samples before concluding in an ecstatic wall of distortion, it’s difficult to place a finger on what’s just so special about \u003cem\u003eWindowlicker.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome elements of the track sound incredibly organic and warm, while other parts simply sound cold and sterile – a contrast which seems to be a recurring theme throughout Aphex Twin’s music. It’s almost as if an alien from outer space was explained the fundamentals of manmade music and then created an electronic track without ever listening to one prior.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a nutshell, \u003cem\u003eWindowlicker\u003c\/em\u003e essentially packages everything great about Aphex Twin’s output from the ’90s into one track, and its impact was instant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the year of its release, NME crowned \u003cem\u003eWindowlicker\u003c\/em\u003e as the best single of 1999, and Pitchfork later ranked it above the likes of Nirvana’s \u003cem\u003eSmells Like Teen Spirit\u003c\/em\u003e in its Top 200 Tracks Of The ’90s, while the song peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Charts. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/mixdownmag.com.au\/features\/revisiting-aphex-twin-windowlicker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eMixdown\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/59wyQv8zUfLulyPYefI8vh?utm_source=generator\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CLSQjgU9RHw?si=oOpDSIcVj7I6Hs_O\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Warp Records\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, 12\", 45 RPM, Single, Reissue\u003cbr\u003eCountry: UK\u003cbr\u003eReleased: Dec 2023 \/ Original Release: 1999\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Electronic\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Abstract, Electro, Experimental, IDM, Glitch, Breakbeat\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Electronic \/\/ Leftfield\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Warp Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46248451899550,"sku":"502160310506545","price":38.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/a_26657b6f-e64c-455a-ad95-628f8f584672.png?v=1764683227","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/aohex-twin-windowlicker","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}