Aphex Twin - Drukqs

This double album was a pretty unique release at the time it was put out. RDJ brings us some of his heaviest drum'n bass tracks while also showing us his talets with a piano that John Cage created. Some of the movements in those piano tracks are pretty artistic. I will say that as far as his drum'n bass tracks go I didn't like them as much as his previous albums. There were some hits though, like, Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount and 54 Cymru Beats but I think I'd have rather heard RDJ mix the piano tracks within the drum'n bass, just like he did so very well before.

Sadly i own this cd. I had done some research looking for some new cds and noticed that aphex twin was allways poping up. I read some news/history about it and figured id go out and buy a cd. Big Mistake. I love experimental but my god this was bad. It was as if someone with tons of knowldge about electronic music got a 6 pack of honey brown, chugged it and begain slapping things together and calling it a song. After reading about how legendary this guy is i was let down after hearing the cds.

1 out of 5... and thats generous.

Drukqs is a quite unusual album, at least to me. You see, my introduction to RDJ was through the Come to Daddy and Windowlicker EPs. I then became a fan after hearing the Analord and Analogue Bubblebath EPs. So to hear something like Drukqs-- a mixed jumble of rapid speedcore and lovely piano works-- was quite unusual.

However, after listening to a few tracks, I eventually came to like it. It may be a sharp contrast to hear the slow piano tinkling of Avril 14th immediately after the brain-meltingly fast Cock-Ver10, but both those songs have their qualities. The former is not the best piano track on the album (that honor goes to Petiatil Cx Htdui), but it is short, sweet and simple. Cock-Ver10 sounds like Equation sped up by a factor of 15-- rapid, choppy and incredibly noisy.

As the album goes on, the more melodic piano compositions begin to emerge. CD1's closer, Kesson Dalef, is impressively melodic and fast, even if it's only 80 seconds long. Lornaderek is an unusual attempt by James to inject a personal moment into the album-- a phone message of his parents singing "Happy Birthday" to him on his 28th birthday. While only 30 seconds in length, I can't really come to a consensus on whether or not it works. I don't want to be pretentious, so I'll just leave you to decide for yourself if it works. QKThr is another short non-electronic piece that works well. Father is likely the worst piano track on the album, though; it sounds forced and unusually atonal, even though it's less than a minute in length. Thankfully, the album gets back on track with Petiatil Cx Htdui, which is the kind of song you'd play out in your head walking through a desert at night-- slow, melodic, and full of reverb.

As for the speedcore that makes up the rest of the album, it is unusually melodic. Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount is ridiculously fast, but it does have a melody reminiscent of something you'd hear on SAW1. Taking Control feels like a rejected track from the Analord series-- the drum machines sound somewhat like Boxing Day off Analord 03.

The album closes with a piano track, Nanou 2, which is sort of okay. The song comprises the piano playing chords with the occasional note, and while they do sound melodic, it moves unusually slow. All in all, it's not a bad song or a good one.

Drukqs seems to have a bad rap among fans. The good songs outweigh the bad ones, though. Overall, Drukqs isn't a "pick up and play" album, but it is worth the buy after three or four listenings.

This album was my first real introduction to IDM/experimental electronica. I was into other electronic music, like Fatboy Slim, Leftfield and Orbital, but when I heard this album for the very first time I suddenly discovered what REAL experimental electronic music was all about.

I remember it clearly when a friend of mine a couple of years ago come into my room with Drukqs in his hand, and said: "Man, you just have to listen at this!" And when the crazy beats of the track "vordhosbn" mixed with a beatiful melody and weird sounds started streaming from my speakers, I was completly blown away! I had never heard anything like it! I thought, "What the hell is this?!". But I fell in love with the music instant.

I wanted more, much more. So I started some research at the web, (and it was this way I discovered Discogs by the way), and I discovered that Aphex Twin was a big (and still is!) electronic artist. Very big. So I decided that I wanted to collect everything he had released. So I did. And soon a completely new world in electronic music started to emerge in front of me. I started to use Discogs frequently, and I discovered other big artists like Autechre (which is now one of my absolutely favourite bands btw), Squarepusher, Boards Of Canada, Bola, Amon Tobin and so on. I discovered how important Warp really have been for electronic music, and I discovered smaller, but of course very important labels like Skam, Rephlex, Ninja Tune and Planet Mu.

So now that's my story how I discovered real experimental electronic music. I still keep discovering great artsists, and labels, that push the genres to limit. When I think I have heard everything, a new artist comes around that just blow me away! I just can't get enough! Maybe someday I will sit down and start to make some electronic music myself, who knows?

But this albumm, Drukqs, and Aphex Twin has a very special place in my heart today. Thank you Richard D. James, and thank you Discogs!

"Thank you for your attention, bye!"

This album is an important one. Whether you like it or not (I have trouble deciding), there are a few things worth mentioning about it. In a number of ways, this album really set the bar for "IDM" when it came out. All of the tracks, to me, sound like they're saying, "Top that!" Many have tried, but the few that have pulled it off I can count on one hand. Honestly, at times it seems he's going deeper into the chaos than I've even heard Squarepusher manage, aside from his material on albums like 'Big Loada' or 'Ultravisitor'. From the progressive perspective, this is a definite peak in the intelligent dance music genre. But, personally, I'm not a fan of progressive electronics.

After awhile I get really sick of all of the insanely detailed programmed drumbeats that move and shift at the drop of a hat, and the treated piano tracks are also extremely tiring, just in a different way. Tracks like Cock/Ver10 sound like their all over the place (though managing to remain, to my ears, coherent), but after a few listens, you're done for life. Bbydhyonchord is an example of a track off of the album that I enjoy more than the rest (reminding me of '26 Mixes For Cash' material).

I am surprised, however, that even after I get to the point where I can recall every movement and melody on each and every track on this CD, and make it to that subsequent point where in my mind I never want to have to listen to it again and just feel exhausted even thinking about it, when I end up (normally by accident) hearing a song off of the album, I enjoy myself all over again. I suppose that could just be nostalgia for the period though...

If I were to sum my opinions of this album into one simple thought or idea, it would be this: The album sounds as though it were a Magnum Opus devoid of the artist's better material.

Having owned this superb album by RDJ for a number of years now, I decided to transfer it to mp3 to listen to on my Sony PSP, and I stumbled upon the following curio regards 'Afx237 v7' (the soundtrack to Chris Cunningham's 'Rubber Johnny' film): If you fast forward the track from the beginning on a Sony PSP you can heard the word Aphex repeated twice at normal speed.

Note: I tried this on my iPod but it doesn't work as it doesn't fast forward in real time and therefore skips the audio.

Somehow noone told this before. When you listen to Autechre tracks you feel there's a melody there that's not played, a melody merely suggested and if you try to figure it out you'll be surprised to know that it can't! It's very strange but those tracks bear a non-melody - you can't hear or play ut but you can enjoy it! This album by Richard has something of that kind but taken to another plane, this non-melody is spread all over the album and maybe it's just me, but it also has two subtle variations (Ying-Yang anyone?). It's more prominent in faster tracks, but once i've spotted it there i can hear it on almost every minute of this double-CD release. Absolutely brilliant. Druqs and RDJ Album are my favorites by him, not to say the rest of his stuff is also to be adored.

I bought this album an hour before I have posted here. I have to say, that all ready it has grown on me. It seems like one of those albums that gets better with age. People often talk about it being ahead/behind its time - to me, the album is both. It just seems to draw ancient classical music together with seering modern drum and bass.

The collaboration of classical, mellow pieces, haunting sound effects and powerful drum and bass makes this album a work of art. This is like absolutely nothing I've ever heard before. It is also very interesting, regarding the whole double CD thing - instead of arranging similar genres on separate CDs, Richard has thrown tracks together from genres undefinable. Its an album that Im really into already - Brilliant!

don't let anyone tell you this is a bad album, though it does take a few listens like a lot of rdjames' stuff. there's two albums in one here: the breakneck speed aphex wizzardry we all know and love and a more twee and elegant piano driven side (a bit reminiscent of bogdan raczynski's my love i love album). taking control is a classic. cool artwork too, for once without richards face all over it, no offence richard!!!

This is one fo the best records aphex twin every produced

Both cd1 and cd2 are different frome achother:
CD1: contains the more beautyfull (and really touchy!)melodies with the trademark overloaded beats that really fit. Mt Saint Michel Mix+St Michaels Mount is the best on this album in my opinion.

CD2: However contains the more rockin'and fat drill n bass/drum n bass sounds. Highlights on this album are Meltphace 6 (beautyfull beats and melodies) and Ziggomatic V17 (very emotional, fits for "the last beat containing-song on the album")

The contrast between the beat and the piano tracks are really good, so all in a nutshell: Drukqs album is a must!