How Aphex Twin Makes Music in His Dreams

In the early 90s, Aphex Twin was on top of the world. After having released his highly acclaimed debut album, “Selected Ambient Works 85-92“, he became a poster child for techno and toured with the likes of The Orb, Orbital and Moby. But when the time came to release his sophomore album, Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) took a very different approach. Instead of leaning back on the techno that had made him a name, James took us on a nearly three-hour-long, introspective journey of mystery and imagination. Obsessed with making tracks in his dreams, James, a trained lucid dreamer, would apparently write music in his dreams (in an imaginary studio and with imaginary instruments) and then recreate it, to the best of his ability, when awake. Thus, “Selected Ambient Works Volume II“ was born. Though the album divided both critics and fans at the time, in retrospect, Ambient Works II has garnered acclaim, and it’s today considered one of the greatest ambient albums of all time. 00:00 Intro 01:02 History of Aphex Twin 02:21 First EPs 02:45 Selected Ambient Works 85-92 04:08 Selected Ambient Works Volume II (SAW II) 05:28 Ambient Music & Brian Eno 07:00 SAW II: Length & Tracklist 08:09 SAW II: Lucid Dreaming 10:33 SAW II: Artwork 11:43 SAW II: Summary 13:22 Conclusion For more album deep-dives: #videoessay #aphextwin #afx #ambient #musicdocumentary #90s #ambienttechno #idm #warprecords #glitch #brianeno #darkambient #drone #minimalism #polygonwindow #thetuss #musichistory #techno #jungle #experimental #radiohead #luciddreams Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.