Aphex Twin

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known by his alias Aphex Twin, is an English electronic musician and composer based in London. He is best known for his influential and idiosyncratic work in electronic music styles such as IDM and ambient techno in the 1990s, for which he won widespread critical acclaim. He is also the co-founder of Rephlex Records with Grant Wilson-Claridge.

Initially releasing acid and techno records as AFX and under other aliases, James's first received widespread acclaim for his 1992 album Selected Ambient Works 85-92 and his subsequent 1993 release Selected Ambient Works Volume II. He rose to mainstream popularity with his 1997 EP, Come To Daddy and his 1999 single "Windowlicker". Taking a 14-year hiatus following the release of his 2001 album Drukqs to mixed reviews, James returned in 2014 with a new album, Syro, earning him critical praise and a win for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album.

History

Early years

James was born in Limerick, Ireland, but he grew up in Lanner, Cornwall, UK, with two older sisters, in a "very happy" childhood during which they "were pretty much left to do what [they] wanted". He enjoyed living there, feeling apart from nearby cities and the rest of the world. James attended Redruth School in Redruth, Cornwall, and claimed to have produced sound on a Sinclair ZX81 (a machine with no sound hardware) at age 11:

Acids in wine

The acids in wine are an important component in both winemaking and the finished product of wine. They are present in both grapes and wine, having direct influences on the color, balance and taste of the wine as well as the growth and vitality of yeast during fermentation and protecting the wine from bacteria. The measure of the amount of acidity in wine is known as the “titratable acidity” or “total acidity”, which refers to the test that yields the total of all acids present, while strength of acidity is measured according to pH, with most wines having a pH between 2.9 and 3.9. Generally, the lower the pH, the higher the acidity in the wine. However, there is no direct connection between total acidity and pH (it is possible to find wines with a high pH for wine and high acidity). In wine tasting, the term “acidity” refers to the fresh, tart and sour attributes of the wine which are evaluated in relation to how well the acidity balances out the sweetness and bitter components of the wine such as tannins. Three primary acids are found in wine grapes: tartaric, malic and citric acids. During the course of winemaking and in the finished wines, acetic, butyric, lactic and succinic acids can play significant roles. Most of the acids involved with wine are fixed acids with the notable exception of acetic acid, mostly found in vinegar, which is volatile and can contribute to the wine fault known as volatile acidity. Sometimes, additional acids, such as ascorbic, sorbic and sulfurous acids, are used in winemaking.

Acid (disambiguation)

An acid is any chemical compound that, when dissolved in water, gives a solution with a pH less than 7.0.

Acid or ACID may also refer to:

Science

Computing

Music

Genres

Bands

Acid house

Acid house is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The defining feature of a "squelching" bass sound was produced using the Roland TB-303 electronic synthesizer-sequencer. Acid house spread to the United Kingdom and continental Europe, where it was played by DJs in the acid house and later rave scenes. By the late 1980s, acid house had moved into the British mainstream, where it had some influence on pop and dance styles.

Acid house brought house music to a worldwide audience. The influence of acid house can be heard on later styles of dance music including trance, Goa trance, psychedelic trance, breakbeat, big beat, techno and trip hop.

Characteristics

Acid house's minimalist production aesthetic combined house music's ubiquitous programmed 4/4 beat with the electronic ‘squelch' sound produced by the Roland TB-303 electronic synthesizer-sequencer by constantly modulating its frequency and resonance controls to create 'movement' in otherwise simple bass patterns. Other elements, such as synthetic strings and stabs, were usually minimal. Sometimes tracks were instrumentals such as Phuture's "Acid Tracks", or contained full vocal performances such as Pierre's Pfantasy Club's "Dream Girl", while others were essentially instrumentals complemented by the odd spoken word 'drop-in', such as Phuture's "Slam".

Aubrey (song)

"Aubrey" is a song written and composed by David Gates, and originally recorded by the pop-rock group Bread, of which Gates was the leader and primary music producer. It appeared on Bread's 1972 album Guitar Man. The single lasted 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

David Gates wrote the song after watching Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Audrey Hepburn.

This song swapped the assumed gender of the name Aubrey, nearly extinguishing its use as a male name and popularizing it as a female name up to the present. Actress Aubrey Plaza is named after the song, and Canadian rapper Drake (rapper)'s birth name is Aubrey

The main melody of the song was sampled by Vampire Weekend on their song "Step".

Musical structure and lyrics

The song features David Gates' solo voice, with no backup vocals or drumming. It relies on various melodic resources such as orchestral strings, acoustic guitar, celeste, and orchestra bells. In the lyrics, the singer talks about a longing for a girl named Aubrey for whom he had unrequited love ("the hearts that never played in tune"); perhaps a first love. It is also said to be a song about shyness ("I never knew her, but I loved her just the same"). It is regarded as one of Bread's most beautiful, yet melancholic, songs. The song was later recorded by Perry Como and released on his 1973 album And I Love You So.

Aubrey (archbishop of Reims)

Aubrey (or Alberic of Humbert) was the Archbishop of Reims from 1207 to 1218. He was a warrior prelate, participating in both the Albigensian Crusade of 1209 and the Fifth Crusade. In the latter, he travelled with the Hungarian troops.

Sources