I was never much into electronic music, although some of my friends were. However in the last 5 years I've been really trying to expose myself to as many different genres as possible, pushing the limits of my own comfort and trying to stretch out my tastes.
Aphex Twin was someone who'd I heard in the past, and whose music I was exposed to was very violent. Mostly I'd seen the "Come to Daddy" and "Windowlicker" music videos, both of which were like watching the inside of someone's nightmare.
But I would eventually listen to Aphex Twin accidentally when I was listening to The Avalanches album "After the Goldrush" where once again a fast paced Aphex Twin song was mixed and matched with their own music. But this time I couldn't stop listening, and it got in my head.
Eventually I sought out the album the song came from, and found the album "Drukqs". Wow. Just this album literally made me an Aphex Twin fan for life. There are so many interweaving sounds and rhythms (and non-rhythms). It's just an amazing thing to hear. It is like listening to clockwork computers who have feelings.
This song, Avril 14th, is one that puts together this sort of automated piano playing machine sound. There is a beautiful core and then things slowly get added to it and finally rhythmically come back to the core.
Earlier on Hubski, I'd talked about my love of Erik Satie's gymnopedies and this song really reminds me of something Satie would have done. I would highly suggest while listening to simply put on some headphones and give yourself a quiet space. Good listening!
Have you heard 'Alberto Balsalm' from I Care Because You Do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUT3KoxVzQg If you haven't heard a lot of Richard James, it is weirder than Avril 14th, but not too out there, and hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric with just enough of his famous dissonance.
Yeah I own "I Care Because You Do", the soundscapes and "architecture" (I don't really know if there is a musical term for the structure of an album) of all of Aphex Twin's albums are very interesting. Honestly I think he's kept me from listening to OTHER music because I like his so much. If you listen to "Drukqs" you'll notice that he is often violently hitting the listener with fast beats and projecting these ridiculous noises, only to bring the listener back with a soothing mechanical melody that they are used to. In a lot of ways, he's like a modern day Satie, pushing against what is accepted in music, a modern genius, rejecting norms, creating genre. It's very interesting.
A lot of his music has parts that sound deceptively simple or mundane, but then the throws in another track or few that takes it to a completely different place than you could have ever predicted, which is rare enough, but that place actually sounds awesome which is rarer still.
I've always liked this song. I can't remember where I heard of Oskar Schuster, but his music reminds me of this song, for example, this track: https://soundcloud.com/oskarschuster/vleurgat-new-album-demo... Here's his SoundCloud and his website
I absolutely love piano/keyboard driven music as well, from classical to modern rock. You ever find that it makes you want to learn piano? Maybe it's just me, but everytime I listen to something like Avril 14th I want to go out, buy a keyboard, and commit to practicing enough everyday until I can play it.
Yes it constantly makes me want to learn piano. As a matter of fact I plan on buying a keyboard next year and starting piano lessons. I don't think Avril 14th is actually played on a real piano (probably MIDI or something), but still just the way it sounds makes you want to be able to fill a room with those sounds.