To celebrate the 25th anniversary of electronic music magazine Groove, the publication had 25 electronic musicians submit a question for Aphex Twin/Richard D. James, whose 2014 album Syro was his first in 13 years. Artists like Skrillex, Caribou, Apparat, DJ Koze, Nicolas Jaar, Hot Chip and more submitted questions. A few excerpts here:
On his low output over the past decade:
Apparat: Why did you only put out very few records in the last years?
Just because I don’t need to do it. I’ve been making music all the time, as much as possible, but releasing it gets harder and harder. Because I’m making so much music, everytime I go to compile it, I give up after a few hours, because it’s just so much stuff and then I get lost. But I’m now in this mode where I’m listening and compiling a lot. I think I will be putting out a lot of stuff, hopefully
On his audience:
Ricardo Villalobos: Do you mostly make music just for yourself or do you make it for others?
Well, the people come into your mind when you’re doing stuff. Sometimes people kind of flow past you. Sometimes you fixate on a person. Most of the time you’re not thinking about it, it just comes in. People just come into your head. Because when you’re making music it’s like meditating, when it’s good, when you’re really good. Sometimes, if I like the taste of a person, I try to make music I imagine this person really likes. Which is quite interesting. I don’t even think I want to play it to them.
On software he’s developing:
I’ve actually recently hired a Chinese programmer to make a music software for me. It’s taking the concept of mutation into music software. You give the program some sounds you made and then it gives you six variations of it and then you choose the one you like most and then it makes another six and it kind of keeps trying to choosing the variations by itself. It’s a bit like that, but more advanced, but basically it starts with a sound, analyzes it, then does different versions of variations. It randomizes, it compares all of them to the original and then it picks the best one. It sounds totally awesome, but it needs to be tweeked a little bit. I will continue with this. I have a whole book full of ideas for software and instruments.
On Syro:
Fritz Kalkbrenner: Are you putting out the new album because of money?
No. I’m doing it to draw a line, to close a chapter. When you finish an album, it’s like drawing a line so that you can get on with the new stuff. It feels like I’ve reached a certain point in my life. Now I can probably concentrate on new stuff. The music on the album is from quite a long period, some of the tracks are already six years old.
On EDM:
Luciano: What are your thoughts on the explosion of “EDM” worldwide, but especially in the US, and all those massive LED light shows with only one guy performing on a stage?
It’s fine. I actually don’t care what people are doing. I just care about what they’re actually playing. It doesn’t feel related to anything I’m doing. This guy Skrillex, I’ve only heard about his tracks, because my kids played them. It sounds like he has a good grasp of technology. I think it’s pretty poppy, isn’t it? It’s too poppy for me.
Even though James might not listen to Skrillex, he fielded his question about the tank James allegedly owns:
Skrillex: Do you still own your tank and if so, can I come visit to you, try it out and drive it?
He can come, yeah! It’s still at my sister’s house in Wales. It still works! Amazing old technology, when things were designed and they lasted forever. So, it’s 50 to 60 years old and it sounds fucking amazing.
Read the entire interview at Groove.
Check out our Aphex Twin Cover Story here.
Watch Aphex Twin’s video for “Windowlicker” below:
