Expert Knob Twiddlers

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Expert Knob Twiddlers
Ekt-cd-cover.jpg
Studio album by
Mike & Rich
ReleasedJune 24, 1996 (1996-06-24)
Recorded1994[1]
GenreIDM[2]
Length57:51
LabelRephlex
Richard D. James chronology
Caustic Window LP
(1996) 		Expert Knob Twiddlers
(1996) 		Girl/Boy EP
(1996)

Expert Knob Twiddlers is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records and credited to Mike & Rich.[3]

On 14 July 2016, Planet Mu announced that a reissued version would be released with seven bonus tracks in September 2016.[4]

Production[]

Mike Paradinas described the sound of the album as "an updated version of easy listening and funk".[5] James had heard the music Paradinas had made under the name of Jake Slazenger and invited him to create tracks.[1] Paradinas noted James had invited other artists to collaborate with him, including Luke Vibert, Squarepusher and Cylob and was honoured that his collaborative tracks were chosen for the release.[1] Both artists were getting drunk while developing tracks, something that Paradinas stated that neither artist regularly did.[1]

The track "Giant Deflating Football" was written during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[1] Paradinas noted that the two "were able to quite quickly write a large amount of material. "Giant Deflating Football" is named because it had some quite weird percussion sounds made by scraping and blowing in a microphone. It sounded like a big wheezing football. We took a bit of acid afterwards to listen to it, and we were coming out with some imagery like 'Beady Eyes', which is mentioned in one of the tracks."[1]

Release[]

The cover of the album features Paradinas and James playing the Milton Bradley game Downfall, whilst also parodying the box art of the original game.[6]

Expert Knob Twiddlers was released by Rephlex Records on June 24, 1996 on audio cassette, compact disc and vinyl.[7] Paradinas felt the album should have been released as early as 1994, stating that "At that time, that style was something that no one else had done [...] It wasn't like anything anyone heard before really. By the time it did come out, a lot of things came out like Lisa Carbon Trio aka Lisa Carbon aka Lisa Carbon & Friends (band has albums on different listings) and there was a lot of revived interest in easy listening. Neither of us was prepared for it."[5]

On July 19, 2016, the song "Vodka (Mix 2)" was released with the announcement of the album's 2016 reissue.[8]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[9]
Pitchfork(6.6/10)[10]

The Guardian gave the album three stars, calling it "a lovingly kitsch collaboration" and that the album "might easily have been a loathsomely ironic exercise." stating that the track "Mr. Frosty" made the album "worth owning".[11] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."[11] AllMusic gave the album four stars, while noting that the mixed styles of James and Paradinas "cancels out the particular attractions of both artists, and the listener is left with a somewhat bland album. Fans of Aphex and μ-Ziq will be excited, but newcomers should go elsewhere before they dig this deep."[9]

In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork described it as "just a playful, occasionally inspired time capsule of the 1990s."[10]

Track listing[]

1996 release[]

No.TitleLength
1."Mr. Frosty"6:51
2."Jelly Fish"6:30
3."Eggy Toast"4:07
4."Reg"5:57
5."Vodka"4:12
6."Winner Takes All"5:44
7."Giant Deflating Football"6:22
8."Upright Kangaroo"3:31
9."The Sound of Beady Eyes"7:46
10."Bu Bu Bu Ba"6:51

[12]

2016 reissue[]

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Mr. Frosty"6:53
2."Reg"5:56
3."Jelly Fish"6:01
4."Eggy Toast"4:32
5."Vodka"4:12
6."Winner Takes All"5:44
7."Upright Kangaroo"3:32
8."Giant Deflating Football"6:21
9."The Sound of Beady Eyes"7:46
10."Bu Bu Bu Ba"6:52
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Vodka (Mix 2)"4:22
2."Portamento Gosh"2:02
3."Waltz"5:24
4."Brivert & Muonds"6:17
5."Clissold Bathroom"0:54
6."Jelly Fish (Mix 2)"5:21
7."Organ Plodder"4:15

[13]

Credits[]

The credits state "Everything by Richard James and Michael Paradinas except for cover by Richard James and Johnie Clayton".[12]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Bulut, Selim (September 8, 2015). "The 20 tracks that define Planet Mu, according to Mike Paradinas". Dummy. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. ^ Twells, John. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq's Expert Knob Twiddlers gets expanded reissue". FACT. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. ^ "TrouserPress.com :: Aphex Twin". www.trouserpress.com.
  4. ^ Twells, John. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq's Expert Knob Twiddlers gets expanded reissue". Fact Mag. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "u-Ziq Interview by Jason Gross". Perfect Sound Forever. September 1997. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  6. ^ Buckley 2003, p. 35.
  7. ^ "[Inside Promo Sheet]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. CAT 027 LP.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Lozano, Kevin. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq Announce Expert Knob Twiddlers Reissue, Share Unreleased Track". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Bush, John. "Expert Knob Twiddlers". AllMusic. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Richardson, Mark (September 30, 2016). "Expert Knob Twiddlers". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Bennun, David (July 19, 1996). "Dance". The Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media Limited. p. A12. ISSN 0261-3077.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "[Inside sleeve]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. cat027cd.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Slingerland, Calum. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq Treat 'Expert Knob Twiddlers' to Expanded Reissue". Exclaim. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

References[]


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