1996-11-04
Richard D. James Album
Aphex Twin
By Maeve C.
Richard D. James said he made this album entirely on a computer, without any other equipment, and that the music was newer than usual for him, written in the year before release. The drum programming takes fast breakbeats from jungle and drum and bass and sets them against string arrangements and ambient melodies.
His own voice appears, heavily processed; on “To Cure a Weakling Child” it is altered to sound like a child’s. “4” opens the record, and “Girl/Boy Song” arrives near its close. By 1997 it had sold more than 100,000 copies, Warp’s most successful release up to that point.
Sources
Rights-holder metadata (℗ 1996 Warp Records Limited) lists release date 4 November 1996.Independent: Warp Records, 4 November 1996; James quote “I did it all on a computer”; music from the year before release; manipulated vocals on “To Cure a Weakling Child”.
UK release 4 November 1996 (Warp); US 28 January 1997 (Sire); jungle/drum and bass breakbeats against strings; over 100,000 sold by 1997, Warp’s most successful release at the time (seen via quoted search snippets).
UK Warp and German Rough Trade release events dated 1996-11-04; no earlier dated territory.