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Drukqs

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Drukqs (stylised as drukQs) is a studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released in October 2001 through Warp Records. It is a double album that includes a variety of sharply contrasting styles, from meticulously programmed beats inspired by jungle and drum and bass, to classical-type piano and prepared piano, ambient, and electroacoustic pieces.[1][2] It features the piano composition "Avril 14th", one of James's best known recordings.[3]

Drukqs
Studio album by
Aphex Twin
Released22 October 2001 (2001-10-22)
Genre
Length100:41
LabelWarp
ProducerAphex Twin
Richard D. James chronology
2 Remixes by AFX
(2001) 		Drukqs
(2001) 		26 Mixes for Cash
(2003)
Aphex Twin album chronology
Richard D. James Album
(1996) 		Drukqs
(2001) 		26 Mixes for Cash
(2003)

James released Drukqs to pre-empt a potential leak after he accidentally left an MP3 player containing his music on a plane. It was intended to be his final release with Warp, in accordance with his label contract. The record entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 1, remaining in the top 10 for five weeks,[4] and entered at No. 22 on the Albums Chart.[5] It received polarised reviews from critics: some named it amongst his best work; others dismissed it, focusing on a perceived lack of innovation rather than commenting on the record's musicality. This reception has been described as strange, given the quality of the work.[6]

Background and release

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Aphex Twin in 2008

James released Drukqs to circumvent a potential leak after he accidentally left an MP3 player containing 180 unreleased tracks on a plane while travelling to Scotland. According to James: "I thought, 'They're gonna fucking come on the internet sooner or later so I may as well get an album out of it first.'"[2] James had no intent to release any of the record's tracks to the public prior to the incident.[7] He intended it to be his final release as part of his contractual obligation to Warp.[8] The album was mastered in early July 2001.[9] It was released as a double CD album on 22 October 2001.[10][7][11]

The record entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 1, remaining in the top 10 for five weeks,[4] and entered at No. 22 on the Albums Chart.[5]

Many track names are written in Cornish—for example, "Jynweythek" ("Machine")—or are coded titles.[15] James has stated that the title is not related to drugs, and is "just a word [he] made up."[15] About the album's two-disc length, James said "the way I listen to music now is that I buy a CD, put it on the computer and just take the tracks I want anyway. I'd hope that people would do the same with this CD."[8]

Music

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Drukqs includes music in the genres of drill 'n' bass,[16][17] jungle,[1][3] classical,[1][18] electroacoustic,[17] acid,[17] drum and bass,[1] techno,[1] IDM[18] and ambient.[19] It contains tracks dating back "seven or eight years", according to James, though most of the album was relatively new.[8] The LP is a double album featuring roughly two styles: rapid, meticulously-programmed tracks utilizing exaggerated drum 'n' bass breakbeats,[20] and classical piano pieces[1] made using computer-controlled instruments such as a modified Yamaha Disklavier and several MIDI-controlled, solenoid-based drum mechanisms made by James.[21] Keymag described it as "switching restlessly from his most acidic drill 'n' bass yet to incredibly lavish prepared piano pieces inspired by John Cage."[16] NME noted that the album moves through techno, drum 'n' bass, and early-90s rave, while the piano interludes were compared to the work of Erik Satie.[1] Pitchfork also noted "several purely electro-acoustic excursions".[22]

James said that "A lot of [the tracks] are quite old-style sounding, I reckon. I’ve done loads of tracks which are really new in style and which don’t sound like anything else but I didn’t want to release those tracks."[8] While acknowledging similarities with his past records, James said that "I haven’t done something in so much detail before."[8] Of the album's complex drum programming, he said "it's quite similar to guitar solos, only with programming you have to use your brain. The most important thing is that it should have some emotional effect on me, rather than just, 'Oh, that's really clever.'"[15]

In 2015 James released the EP Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2, featuring further computer-controlled instrumental tracks, as a sequel to Drukqs.[21]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [24]
Alternative Press8/10[25]
Dotmusic10/10[26]
The Guardian     [27]
Los Angeles Times    [28]
NME9/10[1]
Pitchfork5.5/10[22]
Playlouder     [29]
Q     [30]
Rolling Stone     [18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [6]
Spin5/10[20]

Drukqs is among James's most divisive releases, with Oli Warwick of Crack noting that it provoked "widespread indignation amongst music critics, whose primary criticism seemed to be that James had delivered something reminiscent of previous releases, rather than some bold new mode of electronic expression."[31] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 66 based on 21 reviews.[23]

On its 2001 release, Alex Needham of NME called it "beautiful" and "bulging with goodies".[1] The review for Playlouder called it "probably his best album to date".[29] For Spin, Simon Reynolds criticised the album as "unimpressive" and "trapped by the potential for infinitesimal tweakage," stating that it "sounds merely like a slight extension of the Aphex sound circa 1996's Richard D. James Album and 1997's Come to Daddy."[20] Pitchfork described the album's "drill'n'bass" tracks as "throwbacks to the past rather than prospects on the future; and for all of their compositional strength, there's an element of the Aphex Twin mystique missing."[22] Dave Simpson of The Guardian stated that "much of Drukqs sounds like weaker echoes of things Aphex Twin has done before, which no manner of hyperactive drum machines or daft titles can disguise."[27] Pat Blashill of Rolling Stone called Drukqs Aphex's "most irrelevant album to date", and added "rumor has it that James merely loaded this record with outtakes that have been eating up space on his hard drive for years, then released the album as a deal-breaker with his label, Warp."[18] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), critic Sasha Frere-Jones wrote "weirdly dismissed by many, Drukqs is often spectacular".[6]

The piano composition "Avril 14th" became one of James's most popular tracks, later being used in a Saturday Night Live skit, and the Kanye West song "Blame Game".[3] As of April 2017 the track was James's most streamed track on Spotify, with approximately 124 million streams. By this metric, it is his best-known composition.[3] "Avril 14th" has also been used in films such as Marie Antoinette (2006).[3]

Track listing

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All songs composed by Richard D. James.[32]

Drukqs track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Jynweythek" (also known as "Jynweythek Ylow")2:23
2."Vordhosbn"4:51
3."Kladfvgbung Micshk"2:06
4."Omgyjya-Switch7"4:52
5."Strotha Tynhe"2:12
6."Gwely Mernans"5:08
7."Bbydhyonchord"2:33
8."Cock/Ver10"5:18
9."Avril 14th"2:05
10."Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount"8:10
11."Gwarek2"6:46
12."Orban Eq Trx 4"1:35
13."Aussois"0:13
14."Hy a Scullyas Lyf Adhagrow"2:14
15."Kesson Dalef"1:21
16."54 Cymru Beats"6:06
17."Btoum-Roumada"1:58
18."Lornaderek"0:31
19."QKThr" (also known as "Penty Harmonium")1:27
20."Meltphace 6"6:24
21."Bit 4"0:25
22."Prep Gwarlek 3b"1:19
23."Father"0:57
24."Taking Control"7:14
25."Petiatil Cx Htdui"2:11
26."Ruglen Holon"1:49
27."Afx237 v.7"4:23
28."Ziggomatic 17"8:35
29."Beskhu3epnm"2:10
30."Nanou2"3:25
Total length:100:41

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for Drukqs
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 87
French Albums (SNEP)[34] 43
Irish Albums (IRMA)[35] 14
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 47
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 22
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[12] 1
US Billboard 200[39] 154
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[40] 6

Certifications

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Certifications for Drukqs
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Needham, Alex (20 October 2001). "Aphex Twin : Drukqs". NME. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b O'Connell, John. "Interview". The Face.
  3. ^ a b c d e "How Aphex Twin's piano lullaby 'Avril 14th' became a runaway pop culture hit". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 14 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b [12][13][14]
  5. ^ a b "Drukqs by Aphex Twin". Official Charts. London: Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Frere-Jones, Sasha (2004). "Aphex Twin". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 21–23. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (22 October 2021). "'Drukqs' Turns 20". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e Hoffmann, Heiko. "Aphex Twin Interview" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. ^ Roberts, James, ed. (14 July 2001). "New Aphex Twin Album Slated for October" (PDF). Music Week. London: United Business Media Int'l. p. 7.
  10. ^ Stubbs, David (November 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs (Warp)". Uncut. Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  11. ^ Horner, Al (23 October 2011). "A decade of Drukqs: Aphex Twin's opus, ten years on". DrownedInSound. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b Scott, Ajax, ed. (3 November 2001). "The Official UK Charts: Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week. London: United Business Media. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  13. ^ Scott, Ajax, ed. (24 November 2001). "The Official UK Charts: Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week. London: United Business Media. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  14. ^ Scott, Ajax, ed. (8 December 2001). "The Official UK Charts: Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week. London: United Business Media. p. 16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  15. ^ a b c Lester, Paul (5 October 2001). "Tank boy". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  16. ^ a b MCGillevray, Becky. "The Soft Side of Aphex Twin". KEYMAG. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Seymour III, Malcolm. "Aphex Twin – Drukqs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d Blashill, Pat (8 November 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukgs". Rolling Stone. No. 881. Archived from the original on 11 November 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  19. ^ Ducker, Eric (13 April 2021). "The Long Tail of Aphex Twin's 'Avril 14th'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  20. ^ a b c Reynolds, Simon (November 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs". Spin. 17 (11): 130–32. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  21. ^ a b aphextwin (February 2015). "Diskhat ALL Prepared1mixed [snr2mix]". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  22. ^ a b c Seymour, Malcolm III (25 October 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  23. ^ a b "Reviews for Drukqs by Aphex Twin". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  24. ^ Bush, John. "Drukqs – Aphex Twin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  25. ^ "Aphex Twin: Drukqs". Alternative Press (161): 78. December 2001.
  26. ^ Clark, Martin (October 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs". Dotmusic. London: BT Group. Archived from the original on 6 May 2003.
  27. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (19 October 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs (Warp)". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  28. ^ Baltin, Steve (16 December 2001). "Aphex Twin 'Drukqs' Warp/Sire". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  29. ^ a b Heller, Robert (26 October 2001). "Drukqs – Aphex Twin". Playlouder. London: Playlouder Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 May 2003.
  30. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (November 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs". Q (183).
  31. ^ Warwick, Oli. "In celebration of Drukqs, Aphex Twin's most divisive and misunderstood statement". Crack Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  32. ^ a b Richard David James (22 October 2001). Drukqs (Album liner notes). Warp Records.
  33. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 22 October 2001" (PDF). ARIA Report (608). Australian Recording Industry Association. Australian Web Archive. 22 October 2001. Archived from the original on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 7 July 2016.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  34. ^ "Lescharts.com – Aphex Twin – Drukqs". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  35. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  36. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Aphex Twin – Drukqs". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  37. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Aphex Twin – Drukqs". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  39. ^ "Aphex Twin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  40. ^ "Aphex Twin Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Aphex Twin – Drukqs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
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