Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Jynweythek
2. Vordhosbn
3. Kladfvgbungmicshk
4. Omgyja Switch
5. Strothatynhe
6. Gwety Mernans
7. Bbydhyonchord
8. Cock/Ver 10
9. Avril 14th
10. Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michael's Mount
11. Gwarek 2
12. Orban Eq Trax 4
13. Aussois
14. Hy A Scullyas Lyf Adhagrow
15. Kesson Dalet
16. 54 Cymru Beats
17. Btoum Roumada
18. Lornaderek
19. Qkthr
20. Meltplace 6
21. Bit 4
22. Prep Gwarlek 36
23. Fathur
24. Taking Control
25. Petiatil Cx Htdui
26. Ruglen Holon
27. AFX237VI
28. Ziggomatic 17
29. Beskhu3epnm
30. Nanou 2

Disc 2:

1. 54 Cymru Beats
2. Btoum Roumada
3. Lornaderek
4. Qkthr
5. Meltplace 6
6. Bit 4
7. Prep Gwarlek 36
8. Fathur
9. Taking Control
10. Petiatil Cx Htdui
11. Ruglen Holon
12. AFX237VI
13. Ziggomatic 17
14. Beskhu3epnm
15. Nanou 2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5421 in Music
• Released on: 2001-10-22
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.co.uk Review
Drukqs is the 2001 release from Cornish Techno wizard Richard D James aka the Aphex Twin. Deified in the sphere of experimental dance--partly for his indisputable sporadic genius, but partly, it must be said, for his bullish refusal to play the whole "releasing records" game, and the subsequent mythology that such contrariness invariably prompts--every new release is greeted like it's the future of music on plastic. Drukqs is not that album, at least not quite: a 30-track double CD set that runs to over 100 minutes in length, it reads like a hastily-compiled joy-ride through the old Aphex countryside, full-on acid junglist scorchers like "Vord Hosbn" barrelling madly past serene, oddly beautiful ambient piano curiosities like "Avril 14th" and sometimes the two disparate disciplines blending, as in the truly surreal wreckage of "Mt Saint Michel + St Michaels Mount". It's a minor disappointment when you realise there's nothing here as epochal as "Come To Daddy" or "Windowlicker", two late-period Aphex singles so startlingly revolutionary that, on their release, they sounded like nothing else on God's good earth. But once that's out the way, and you're free to immerse yourself in the tangled depths of Drukqs, it's simply a relief to know that Aphex is still making music: fiendishly complex, lovably dumb, and still aeons ahead of the legion of imitators. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Fifth album from Cornish acid techno act Richard D. James, his first for five years. A staggering 30 tracks spread across two CDs feature his usual mishmash of styles. Gentle ambience sits next to manic drum 'n' bass, skittering glitches and swathes of grating avant-garde noise.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful and inventive, not for the casual listener
This record represents an intriguing development in the music of Richard D. James' most popular and glamorous persona, Aphex Twin. The characteristic qualities of darkness, sadness, lyric beauty, impressive violence, vulnerability, and sinister sexual aggression still seem to be there in 'Druqks', linking it to his former works.

However, this double cd will not be as palatable to the casual Warp listener in a way that songs with elements akin to commercial 'hooks' were (e.g. Girl / Boy Song, Windowlicker, Alberto Balsalm, Come to Daddy). The tracks are a lot less easily appreciable. They are mysterious in their musical statement, as cryptic as the apparently random collection of letters which constitute the track names.

This album, I believe, will be more appealing to more seasoned Aphex Twin listeners. There is a curious interspersion of acid techno/warp d&b with ambience of similar darkness to S.A.W. 2, and occasional simple piano melodies which have a distinctively chilling edge.

Technically 'Druqks' is confounding in its resourcefulness. The diversity of samples used and the ingenuity with which they are woven together into tunes makes fascinating listening.

I believe this record re-affirms Richard James' place at the top of his field, a position which some may have said was contestable (by, e.g., Squarepusher or more likely Autechre, although please adjust as your opinion determines). 'Druqks' is the fruit of an imaginative power and unbelievably prolific creativity belonging to a genius of the same order as Bob Dylan, Mozart, or J.S. Bach.

Why 4/5? 'Druqks' has great character and calibre, and is of great human and cultural interest, however it doesn't have the melodic elegance which, let's face it, is usually initial attraction to the rich and vast wealth of music offered by this powerful and prodigious artist.

Give it a minute...
Let me first point out that it took no shorter than nine months for me to actually begin to like this album. I got it as a present in January after expressing my love for the brilliant 'Come to Daddy EP' and the frankly disturbing 'Windowlicker'. When I first listened to drukqs, I just didn't understand it and it seemed too different from what I had loved on his other works. Hence, it lay unplayed for many months, despite a few attempts to get 'into' it.

Recently, I have just put it on at random to give it another try, and after falling asleep with 'ruglen holon' playing in my ears I have developed a great fondness for the album. It's not easy listening, certainly not the snappy, eclectic, drill and bass style sections, but each track eventually grew on me. There is a certain quality to the album in that it works best as a full album. I won't feel satisfied if I just listen to one song. After listening to thirty tracks, I'm happy.

Perhaps I'm reviewing in very irrelevant terms, but to me, the music just bestows a great sense of familiarity. It's as if a lot of the sounds in drukqs have occured earlier in my life and I remember them almost nostalgically. There's a great sense of peace to the music, even the horrific screams of children on one track (forget which one). There is certainly something very surreal about this music.

To conclude, I must say that if you surrender your ears to the majesty of drukqs for thirty tracks, you will be under the spell of a master. Richard James wrenches you through his musical landscape, mercilessly barraging your ears with chaotic sounds and beats so that when a subdued piano track comes along it is all the sweeter. drukqs is a masterpiece, not of music, but of mood.

Revolutionary
To avoid a cliché when describing this album is virtually impossible, but revolutionary is the right word for me personally. Having only previously encountered "The Twin" on account of "Windowlicker" in a chillout CD purchased several summers ago I was a relative innocent. But as experimental electronica was coming to the forefront amongst friends I got to hear this and I agree that the track Vordhosbn is actually so outrageously mental that I do want to cry and scream and my heart rate actually increases to the point of ecstasy whenever I listen to it. Before I acquired the album my desire to listen to that track was actually eating me up, but after a few days I listened to the rest of the 2 discs and I am proud of my personal discovery. Without it I wouldn't be the man that I am. Tracks 8, 9 and 10 in that order on disc 1 are just indescribable; it borders on perfection and The Twin actually hit every nail on every proverbial head possible, ever, putting these in this order and letting them (not) follow on and cause spiritual chaos and metaphysical pleasure in psychopaths such as myself. Nice one.