Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2

Aphex Twin

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 12, 1994)
• Original Release Date: April 12, 1994
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sire / London/Rhino
• ASIN: B000002MNZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (200 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,234 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Music > Dance & Electronic > Techno
  #11 in	Music > Dance & Electronic > Ambient
  #16 in	Music > Miscellaneous > Experimental Music

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
British electronics wunderkind Richard James (alias Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, etc.) claims he heard the compositions on Selected Ambient Works, Volume II in lucid dreams. Like abstract paintings composed of shades of a single color, James's resonant explorations of specific timbres linger close to a central idea on each cut, incorporating just enough variation to remain disturbing. While its predecessor, Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 drew on seven years' worth of material, the uniform quality of these untitled tracks, plus their judicious sequencing, suggests they were assembled over a shorter period. Clocking in at over 150 minutes, the double-disc set (if this is "selected," how many hours of outtakes remain?) provides an exemplary introduction to the quieter facets of James's expansive, idiosyncratic aesthetic. --Kurt B. Reighley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging, brilliant and paradigm-shifting, March 20, 2001

By	Michael Paulsen (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As when this collection was released in 1994, SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS VOL. II continues to confound techno fans and musicologists alike. Richard James working under his most famous guise, Aphex Twin, released this collection which is still one of the most significant electronic albums ever released and, yes, RDJ is both a genius and a calculated, smart-arsed iconoclast, but a con-artist he ain't. Many people appear to be so outraged by this album (what no song titles? where are the hum-along melodies? where are the dance beats?) that they are prone to ridicule it with knee jerk 1-star reviews -- you can almost visualize the terror in their eyes when their notions of music have been turned upside-down by this album. Frequently devoid of percussion, the musicscapes and tone poems found here are a mix of the profoundly beautiful, terrifying and dissonant. This album is for anyone with enough musical sense to look beyond standard pop music structure and dance beats and a willingness to explore darker, abstract and frequently microtonal electronic music like you've never heard before. If you can appreciate Xenakis, John Cage, Brian Eno, Stockhausen and other early electronic/ambient/avant-garde pioneers then this album is a must. Granted, a few tracks are downright grating, but even they have their place on this album. Now that electronica is a bonafide genre choked with literally thousands of subpar artists and compilations, this album stands as a rare, mind-altering jewel ... now more than ever.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theraputic bliss, April 30, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Calico Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews

Listening to Select Ambient Works Volume II is without a doubt an un-earthly experience. If you have ever wondered what aliens listen to in their lesure time, purchase this cd and you will know. The soft, weightless, flow of some of the tracks leave you in an almost traqualized state. The fluidly sequenced rhythms and beats, along with the unexplainable voices and alienesque sounds are at times a bit erie. This is definitely music to relax, study, write, or sleep to. When I first purchased this album, I was a bit displeased, but after a week or two it began to grow on me. This cd is very theraputic and at times can leave you feeling druged and numb. If you are stressed, depressed, angry, or sad, this cd can make everything dissapear. If you ever feel like drifting away, just slip this cd in and your mind will travel to far off places, where aliens lurk in the shadows, studying your every move. Richard D. James is by far the most talented, versital, mind-blowing knob twiddler in the electronic/ambient genre. Every Richard D. James cd I have purchased, whether its Aphex Twin, Caustic/Polygon Window, or Afx, he never ceises to amaze me. He will always continue to be #1 on my electronic music roster.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THERE ARE NO BEATS HERE....., August 11, 2000

By	J. Michael Showalter (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

Again, there are no beats.

There is nothing resembling a beat. Nor song structure. Nor anything you've heard before....

I've read that James put together this album as something of a joke on critics and people who thought that the first volume of this was as minimalist as things some. Together with Autechre's Tri Repeatae++, this is the most inhuman music that I've ever heard. It is out of this world different, and that is a good thing.

You want to dance to this, you'd better have some good... This is chill out, meditational, semi-holy music good for periods of lucidity. Its like rocks talking to you, it is like a space probe from genius coming down to Indiana....

it takes time. Don't buy this if you're not going to give it a chance, don't buy it if you're not willing to let it settle. YOU WILL HAVE WASTED YOUR MONEY! If all of these conditions are fulfilled, get used to it and let yourself fall half asleep. It will change you.