Aphex Twin Interview By Heiko Hoffmann ([email protected]) Place: Nettuno, a cheap Italian restaurant on the first floor of the Elephant&Castle shopping center, South London. Date: September 1, 1-4pm. You still live in this old bank building around the Do you play different sets for different occasions? corner from here, don’t you? I’ve been doing lots of different sets. Although I Yeah, it’s a really good area. I really like it. It’s very haven’t been doing any ambient or sort of weird untrendy down here which is why I moved here. sets for ages. I do lots of stuff with my laptop and There’s no young people at all - I never get recog- that can really mean anything. It’s usually a mish- nized down here. I think I’ve been recognized twice mash of live and djing. But noone knows I’m play- in five years. In the Eastend, where my girlfriend ing live because I never actually say it. I’ve been lives and which has become a very trendy place, doing this now for about a year and a half maybe. people just go round your house all the time. The reason I’m doing this is because if you’re say- They’re just like: „Oh, you live in a cool area so we ing you play live then it’s more like a gig and peo- come and see you.“ Whereas down here it’s like: ple just go and stand and stare at you. But if you „Oh, you live down there! I’m never going to go say you’re djing then everone dances and gets into down there.“ it. I’ve heard that the Ministry Of Sound club is a I remember that at Sonar festival in Barcelona this neighbour of yours. year you were playing more of a hardcore gabba Yes, and if the queue is long enough it goes all the set. way to my house. Sometimes I throw water bal- It depends on the place and on what mood I’m in. loons on the people that stand there with my In dance places like massive raves I am more into friends. I do that on a regular basis, although the brutally fast music. There are lots of people on last time is already three months ago. We just do it drugs and they try do dance to it. I find that amus- from the roof. It’s wicked because nobody knows ing. Lots of people just stare at me know in clubs. where it comes from. It’s really dark and you can They just come up and stare, they don’t even smile. hide easily. I’ve got a really good video footage of And you get the impression that you’re only play- my friends in those teddybear things I used to have. ing towards five people because you can’t see any- They just walked across to the queue in these cos- one behind them. Sometimes I can’t be bothered tumes and were harrassing people. I’ve got that and I end up just playing total noise just to fuck friend Damon on Rephlex who videod it. He’s been them off. Before I was more famous I really loved constantly videoing everything for three or four djing in the middle of the dancefloor. People just years. He’s mad. He’s not a very good film maker. danced and didn’t really take any notice of you. He never films the good bits. But because he’s had But if you’re more a celebrity kind of thing every- it for so long and because he films everything he one just stares at you and it doesn’t work. has actually loads of good footage just by mistake. He has all this amazing footage of Rephlex stuff You seem to dj quite a lot recently. and we keep saying to him that he has to make a Yes, just for the moment. Because the tracks I’ve video. But he has 150 tapes and it would take like been making recently are really for the dancefloor three years to get through them. kind of things. I’ve been getting into raving again. I didn’t do that for ages. If you’re making these Last night you djed at a party at the Victoria & tracks it’s just brilliant to be able to dj them the Albert museum. Your set sounded like a history les- day after you’ve made them and see if it works. son in breakbeats in the last ten years - ranging from happy hardcore to jungle to drum & bass and Last year your music was played along a video by finally your own tracks. Chris Cunningham at the Royal Academy in I wanted to play really trashy rave music because it London. Yesterday you djed at the V&A museum was in a museum. The obvious thing would have and in October one „Prichard G. Jams“ is sched- been to play really classy music but I thought it uled to play at the Barbican as part of a would be more funny to play something trashy. Stockhausen festival. Do you enjoy having your music played in such traditionally highbrow places? 1 I’m not making a conscious decision to play in these places. I’d rather play in a shit club anyday. Isn’t there a personal bond between you and the I’m doing this Stockhausen thing because it will people who work there? probably be his last gig and I actually just wanted Sort of. But I don’t know most of the people work- to get tickets. He’s played live a few times recently ing there now. I was more friends with Rob but only new things and I don’t really like them. (Mitchell, Warp founder) and he is very ill now and They are conceptually amazing but I don’t really he doesn’t really run Warp. I like Steve (Beckett, like the music. They are probably too advanced or Warp founder) but I’ve never really been best mates whatever. (laughs) But this time he is playing his with him. first three electronic pieces. Some musicians who started out in really dodgy places and have been Why do you release your new double album underground all their lives all of a sudden play only „Drukqs“ on Warp? in (London concert venue) the South Bank and Eh, that’s quite a good question. I’m sort of con- stuff like that. I think that’s just wrong. tractually obliged to release with them. I’ve got no problem with them at all, so it’s not a big deal. At You are also known to play in the living rooms of the same time me and Squarepusher are starting up other peoples houses. our own label. I released those acid mixes („2 Yeah, I have played in people‘s houses. Last month Remixes by AFX“, MEN1). That’s our first release. we got an email from this bloke who said: „my grandmother’s died and I inherited lots of money“. Is this new label a Rephlex sublabel? So we thought that sounds cool and went over with No, it’s just me and Tom (Jenkinson, Squarepusher) a massive tour bus. Thos are actually my favourite but Rephlex are going to help bits and bops to do gigs: a mixture of mates and a random number of it. But it’ll be mainly run by me and Tom. people from the street. I’m also playing at a wed- ding reception soon and just recently this girl asked Why do you want another label? me if I would like to play gabba at her graduation Mainly because Tom’s got a real problem being on party in art history. I said: „yeah totally!“ As long a label where there’s other artists he hates. He hates as it’s in London and I have the time I like to do everything on Warp. He doesn’t like Autechre, he these things. doesn’t like, mmh, I don’t know. He likes the old things. „LFO“ is probably the last record he liked Would you also play at this restaurant if they’d ask (laughs). He doesn’t like to carry everyone along. I you? don’t mind being on a label where there’s shit peo- Yeah. Definately. ple. I don’t like that music on Warp either. And I’m aware that they benefit from what you do. They’re What do you like about gabba music? like „Oh, we’re on Warp“ and people take notice I’m well into the aggression kind of thing. But I of that and then they buy their records and stuff. usually don’t like it when it’s all distorted. I like But it doesn’t bother me as much as Tom. But controlled aggression. I think it’s much more effec- because he’s a good mate I understand what he’s tive. If someone is just turning the gain right up on saying. So we prefer to do it ourselves because it’s the mixer it’s not really that scary. But things like more pure. If it was up to me „Drukqs“ would be the new stuff from Squarepusher I find them more on Rephlex but I contractually have to give it to disturbing because it’s just so fucking off his head.