BBC Radio documentary delves into Aphex Twin

Welcome to The Cult Of Aphex Twin.

Mystery results in allure, something intrinsically akin to Richard D James. From the music he makes to his enigmatic career, John Doran, editor of the Quietus, attempts to make sense of this electronic music pioneer.

The 30-minutedocumentary was aired on BBC Radio 4 on July 3, 2018 and features interviews with a host of people in the industry, including author and musician David Toop, British comedian Vic Reeves, Iranian producer Leila and UK producer Tom Middleton.

Some questions explored include:

“Does he drive a tank around Cornwall?” or “Did he once live in a bank vault in the middle of the Elephant And Castle roundabout?” They also want to know if he has a submarine, “Does he really write songs while asleep after training himself in the practice of lucid dreaming?” and if his DJ tech rider has a food processor and sheets of sandpaper on it.

Myths and legends

He started tinkering with music when he was as young as 12 years old, and continued building circuits and synthesizers from scratch throughout his teens- something he would continue to do all throughout his career.

Richard D James was prominently on the scene in the 90’s before vanishing for 13 years and then popping up onto the scene again.

Last year he uploaded all his music (released and unreleased) onto his website for fans to buy and performed a set at the Field Day Music Festival at Victoria Park.

Listen to the documentary and delve into the mystery that is Aphex Twin.