Many thanks to Herr Jan for acquiring and scanning this one on my behalf, Cheers Jan!
Interview: Groove Merchant
Photos: Natalie Simmons
Against The Rest Of The World Aphex Twin, aka Richard D James, is one of those unpredictable artists where you never know in advance what he will come up with. you can be sure that it will be seriously weird and experimental. Richard is the quintessential example of the eccentric wizard who is busy at home alone with his computers and sampler. He runs the innovative Rephlex label with his friend Grant, featuring acts like Squarepusher and The Gentle People. He also releases material on labels like R&S and Warp. It is on this latter label that his new single ‘Girl/Boy’ and LP ‘Richard D James’ have just been released. Last month, I had an extensive conversation with this weirdo who manages to blend techno, easy listening, classical, pop, drum & bass, ambient, and Eastern melodies in a very unique way.
Plastiks: You’re used to always working alone in the studio. How does it feel to now spend two weeks traveling across Europe and doing a bunch of interviews every day to promote your new album?
Richard: “It’s very hardcore. It’s very hard to do. Although I actually find it incredibly annoying, I do enjoy it. It’s very extreme. It’s as if I’m suddenly in a different world. I feel uncomfortable with it. I’m not the kind of person who enjoys doing interviews all day long.”
Plastiks: Why do you do it then? Does your record company force you to do this?
Richard: “They didn’t force me, but they convinced me to do it. Warp just wants to promote my new album in the best way possible. That’s why I agreed to this promo tour. Another reason I’m doing this now is because I’m very lazy and my brain is getting a bit rusty. Plus, other artists in the dance world get so much attention in the press, attention they don’t really deserve. That’s why this time, I want to talk to the press about my music.”
Plastiks: Which artists are you talking about?
Richard: “Everyone really. I just rarely get excited about contemporary (dance) music. Right now, I’m impressed by about four colleagues: Luke Vibert, Squarepusher, Ween, and Mike Paradinas. I’ve listened to the latest Ween album at least a hundred times. It’s just so wicked.”
Plastiks: When listening to your new album, I hear three main anchors: experimental drum & bass, classical, and Eastern influences
Richard: “‘”Artists like Squarepusher, who is on my Rephlex label, make it hard not to be inspired by his highly personal and idiosyncratic interpretation of drum & bass. Besides, I’ve always used breakbeats. Now, I try not to steal other people’s breakbeats but only sample the sounds and program them myself. I listen to a lot of classical music, so that influence is also apparent. As for the Eastern vibe on the record, I can be brief. It just happened very spontaneously. It’s not like I took a long trip through Japan or China or listened to hours of Eastern music—it just came out that way.”
Plastiks: Like many other contemporary producers, you release your work under various names and on different labels
Richard: “I could never tie myself to just one label. What I find particularly strange is that all the major labels nowadays go out of their way to sign artists from the underground scene without demanding exclusivity. I don’t think they do it for musical reasons. For them, it’s probably a cool thing to do. For example, Luke Vibert was recently brought in by Virgin. He didn’t even have to demand the ability to release stuff through other labels; they offered it to him themselves. I think many labels sign these kinds of artists for their street credibility. Weird.”
Plastiks: You use a lot of samples. What do you think about the fact that nowadays you’re better off clearing all the samples you use, which means you have to spend a lot of money to avoid risking a costly legal process?
Richard: “I personally think those rules and laws limit creativity. It’s a real pain. If you’re somewhat well-known, you can’t afford not to clear samples anymore. I’m fortunate to be with an independent label and not sell as many records. But if you work with majors, the risk is greater, so you better pay for the samples. Luke Vibert literally grabs everything within reach; the lawyers at Virgin have their hands full with him. But even if the artist you sample from doesn’t mind, you risk legal action because it’s usually the music publishers who own the rights and can drag you to court.”
Plastiks: Do you mean that musicians who sample your music get into trouble, even if they have your permission?
Richard: “Exactly. My publishing company, Chrysalis Publishing, sent Goldie and LTJ Bukem a claim a while ago because they sampled parts of my songs. I can’t stop them. I’m really ashamed of that, but I can’t do anything about it.”
How do you combine making music for different labels with running your own Rephlex label?
Richard: “”I founded Rephlex together with my best friend Grant. Essentially, I handle all the fun work like A&R and artistic direction, while Grant takes care of all the boring paperwork. But the label is really starting to take off, so soon we’ll be able to hire someone for all that administrative work.”
Plastiks: Last month, you even had a double-page advertisement in Muzik Magazine. I must admit, I didn’t really expect that from Rephlex.
Richard: “That was the first time we placed an advertisement in such a big magazine. I realise that with Rephlex, we can sell a lot more records than we currently do; it’s just that many people still don’t know about us. Hence the advertisement, with an overview of everything we’ve released so far. I don’t want to sell more records to get rich myself, but to provide more resources for my artists. Grant doesn’t really care about all that. He’s already happy if we sell a thousand copies of an album. I just know that the market is much bigger than that.”
Plastiks: Don’t you find it frustrating that artists you sign when they’re completely unknown later move to a bigger record label which then rakes in the big money?
Richard: All artists on Rephlex are completely free to do as they please. No one is under contract, and I don’t force anyone to release anything against their will. I value a good mutual vibe more than a contract on paper. I recently had such an issue with R&S. I didn’t want to work with them anymore, so without my permission, they released a compilation of old R&S material. Sometimes another label offers better opportunities, and I simply let the artist go. Tom Jenkinson, (aka Squarepusher) is now with Warp, and I wish him all the success because he deserves it. By the way, Warp allows him the freedom to occasionally work with us too. The same goes for Luke Vibert and Mike Paradinas, whose first records appeared on Rephlex but are now with a major label.”
Plastiks: With Mike, you recorded the brilliant LP ‘Expert Knob Twiddlers’ a few months ago under the name Mike & Rich
Richard: “I’ve known Mike for years; we’re good friends. That LP wasn’t planned; we were just messing around in each other’s studios, and before we knew it, we had enough material for an album.”
Plastiks: Was it easy to collaborate with someone? Usually, you work alone in your own studio; you even handle your own engineering and mixing
Richard: “”Not really, because we know each other quite well. We respect each other’s music. Actually, we were immediately on the same wavelength.”
Plastiks: Last year, James Lavelle signed a pretty lucrative deal for Mo Wax with major A&M. Is Rephlex also for sale and for how much?
Richard: “We’ve had several offers, but we’re happy with how we’re doing things ourselves. I would never want to give up control and artistic freedom, not even for all the money in the world. It’s different for people like Lavelle. He’s more of a businessman; he wants to sell as many records as possible. For us, music comes first. If we can make money from it, that’s a bonus, but it’s definitely not the reason we do it.”
Plastiks: What do you personally think of all this internet hype?
Richard: “I love the Internet. Many of the programs I use to make music come directly from the Internet. When you start surfing the Internet as a beginner, you come across a lot of crap, but if you make the right selections, you can find really great information. It’s like extracting the most interesting articles from a world newspaper without having to read the whole paper. The idea that you can communicate with anyone around the world is also a very fascinating thought to me. Communication is the most important thing for me, and through the Internet, the possibilities are almost limitless. It’s just awesome.”
Plastiks: Do you think that soon we will be able to download music directly from the internet, and that no more records or CDs will be made?
Richard: “It seems like the technology is almost there. Many people will buy music this way in the future, but there will always be a need for record stores because there will always be music lovers who crave human contact when buying records. And DJs will always continue to buy records.”
Plastiks: On the ‘Girl/Boy’ 12” you use your vocals for the first time. Are you planning to sing more in the future?
Richard: “It was actually just meant as a joke. I always want to experiment and try new things. It was more like, ‘You can’t do it.’ And then I’m even more motivated to do it. In the future, I will definitely sing more, but not in a conventional way.”
Plastiks: When I listen to your music, terms like weird, spaced out, fucked up come to mind spontaneously. Do you intentionally create such mutant music?
Richard: “Absolutely. I want to stay as far away from conventional music as possible. The only music I want to create is the music I’ve never heard before. But on the other hand, I also don’t want to create completely original music. Somehow, I always try to connect with what’s happening at the moment. It’s more fun twisting the rules than making your own rules. I do like rules, if only to interpret them in my own way. It’s just more enjoyable when they exist, I can’t explain why. For example, if you’re in class and you’re not supposed to laugh, it’s all the more exciting to do it anyway, you know? I’m an individual, so I want to create my own sound that sets me apart from the rest. I’ve always been an outsider, a loner. Me against the world.”
Plastiks: “Where do your musical influences lie? Who inspires you to make music?”
“Everything I find good influences me. It doesn’t necessarily have to be music. People can also be inspiring. It often happens that I get an idea for a new track when I’ve met someone interesting. But also visuals, ambient sounds… almost anything can be a potential input. I’m more inspired than influenced.”
Plastiks: Do you still find inspiration in techno these days?
Richard: “No, not really… I don’t even know what techno is these days. Techno is just a pale imitation of what it used to be. I don’t want to sound nostalgic, but the minimal early Detroit stuff is quite different from what people consider techno nowadays. I’m a huge Derrick May fan. On one hand, I would love to collaborate with him, but on the other hand, maybe not. He does his thing, I do mine.”
Plastiks: Last year, the single “Ventolin” was released (one of the most well-known medications for asthma). Are you yourself an asthma sufferer?
Richard: “Yes, I just wanted to translate the abrasive sound of asthma breathing into music. It’s a sound I encounter regularly, so I thought it would be interesting to do something with it. Looking back, I wasn’t very satisfied with the result. Now I could do it much better.”
Plastiks: Recently, you remixed a song by Mike Flowers Pops. Strange combination, isn’t it?
Richard: “Do you think so? To me, it was the most natural thing in the world. I stayed very close to the original… I kept the vocals and the brass sounds, at least.”
Plastiks: Apart from that Mike Flowers remix, I also hear some easy tune influences in your music here and there.
Richard: “I’ve been a fan of easy listening for years, long before it became trendy. Thanks to this easy tune revival, there have been some brilliant compilations with wicked stuff that I had never heard of.”
Plastiks: Recently you played at Big Love, a festival organized by the organizers of Tribal Gathering. What did you think of playing at such a huge (dance music) festival?”
Richard: “I thought it was pretty cool. For the occasion, I had the stage filled with large teddy bears and two female bodybuilders playing with them. But honestly, those festivals are miles away from the early raves. At Big Love, everything was so tightly organized; I struggled to get through security myself. Everything is also legal, unlike raves where things could be quite unprofessional at times. Often, you wouldn’t know where a rave would be held until an hour beforehand. There was much more tension in the air. Now it’s all about cash, it’s a business. It’s a completely different vibe, but I do enjoy it.”
Plastiks: Last question, where does the name Aphex Twin come from?
Richard: “Before my birth, my mother had another son who passed away a few days after birth. His name was Richard James, and to remember him, she gave me the same name when I was born. He has always been the twin brother I never knew and never will. By the way, the photo on the cover of the ‘Girl/Boy’ 12” is a picture of my late brother’s grave. That’s why Twin; the Aphex part is just made up.”
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