Analogue Bubblebath#Track listing

{{Infobox album

| name = Analogue Bubblebath

| type = EP

| artist = The Aphex Twin

| cover = MIGHTY 001 Aphex label.jpg

| alt =

| released = {{start date|1991|9}}

| studio =

| genre =

Acid
hardcore
{{nowrap|ambient techno}}{{refn|}}

| length = 19:53

| label = Mighty Force

| producer = Richard D. James

| chronology = Richard D. James

| next_title = Analog Bubblebath Vol{{nbsp}}2

| next_year = 1991

}}

Analogue Bubblebath, also released as Aphex Twin ep, is the first record by the British musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugural release for the label, which at the time was a record shop in Exeter.{{cite magazine |author= |title=The Aphex Effect |url=http://bytenoise.co.uk/The_Aphex_Effect.jpg |magazine=Future Music |location=Bath |publisher=Future Publishing |date=April 1993 |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714162607/http://bytenoise.co.uk/The_Aphex_Effect.jpg |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |pages=22–23 }} [https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2020/08/30/the-aphex-effect-future-music-magazine-april-1993/ Alt URL]{{cite web |last1=Darby |first1=Mark |subject-link=Mighty Force Records |title=Mark Darby / DJ |url=http://www.alpharadio.live/ar/members/mark-darby/ |website=Alpha Radio |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107162147/http://www.alpharadio.live/ar/members/mark-darby/|archive-date=7 November 2019 |accessdate=23 July 2019}} The record was hugely influential on the development of electronic music, particularly techno and ambient techno. Its release has been described as a key event in the history of dance music. It is the first release in what became the Analogue Bubblebath series.

James previously had little inclination to release his music, though it had long circulated on tapes amongst his friends, and he would include his tracks in his set when DJing. His reluctance was eventually overcome while he was tripping on acid at a rave where he was performing, where he finally agreed to release the record.

The initial pressing of 1000 copies sold out in less than a week; it was followed by further pressings of several thousand each.{{cite interview |last=Darby |first=Mark |subject-link=Mighty Force Records |title=The Mighty Force from the Bubblebath to Fog City! |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/value-added-facts-22 |publisher=Diamond Publishing Ltd|date=13 March 2018|location=London|work=Record Collector|access-date=7 July 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404143905/https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/value-added-facts-22 |archive-date=4 April 2018}}{{cite interview |last=Darby |first=Mark |subject-link=Mighty Force Records |title=Mighty Force Records History |url=http://records.watmm.com/mightyforce.shtml |url-status=dead |publisher=WATMM.com |date=December 2002|access-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107165407/https://www.reloadonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=861 |archive-date=7 November 2019}} The title track was later described as "one of the most perfect tracks ever written" by the influential publication Mixmag, and is often called one of the best tracks in James' catalogue.

On release it was frequently played by London pirate radio stations and by the then newly-legal station Kiss{{nbsp}}FM. The record quickly gained James a cult following in the techno underground, and one of the early white label copies was heard by the head of R&S Records, leading to James' releases on that label.

Background

James had been making tapes of his music since his school days, which then circulated amongst his friends.{{cite magazine |last=Smith|first=Andrew|date=30 January 1993|title=Double Exposure|url=https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2020/08/06/double-exposure-melody-maker-interview-january-30-1993/|magazine=Melody Maker|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711134347/https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2020/08/06/double-exposure-melody-maker-interview-january-30-1993/|archive-date=11 July 2021|url-status=live|publisher=IPC Media|access-date=15 Nov 2020}} He also included tracks of his own music in his early DJ performances.{{cite web |last1=Sepulveda |first1=Manuel |last2=Middleton |first2=Tom|author-link2=Tom Middleton|title='Mindphuqed by Rich!' – Digging into the Aphex Twin Archives|url=https://boilerroom.tv/mindphuqed-by-rich-digging-deep-into-the-aphex-twin-archives/|location=London|website=Boiler Room |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519161421/https://boilerroom.tv/mindphuqed-by-rich-digging-deep-into-the-aphex-twin-archives/|archive-date=19 May 2017|url-status=live|publisher=Boiler Room (UK) Ltd |date=9 February 2015}}{{cite interview |last=Middleton |first=Tom |subject-link=Tom Middleton|date=23 September 2014|interviewer-last=Ressler|interviewer-first=Darren|title=Tom Middleton on his Bedroom Studio Days with Aphex Twin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520125058/https://newsflash.bigshotmag.com/features/31519/|archive-date=20 May 2017|url-status=dead|url=https://newsflash.bigshotmag.com/features/31519/ |magazine=Big Shot Magazine|location=Brooklyn|access-date=2 December 2019}} He has often said that during this period he had little inclination to release his music. James preferred to keep his music exclusively for playing at his performances, similar to the use of dubplates in sound system culture.{{refn|{{cite interview |last=James|first=Richard D.|subject-link=Aphex Twin|date=May 1995|interviewer-last=Marcus|interviewer-first=Tony|title=True Lies|url=https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2020/08/18/mixmag-may-1995/|magazine=Mixmag|location=London|publisher=EMAP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317172519/https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2020/08/18/mixmag-may-1995/|archive-date=17 March 2021|url-status=dead|access-date=17 June 2021}} [https://archive.today/20210712020647/https://lannerchronicle.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/page-1.jpg Alt URL]{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/20908-aphex-twin-richard-james-cornwall-cornish|title=The Wheal Thing: Aphex Twin's Alternative Cornish Language|work=The Quietus|first=Laura|last=Snapes|date=13 September 2016|access-date=27 February 2018|location=London|publisher=Black Sky Thinking Ltd|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210711172609/https://thequietus.com/articles/20908-aphex-twin-richard-james-cornwall-cornish|archive-date=11 July 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |last=McCann|first=Ian|date=13 February 1993|title=Twin Speaks|url=https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2021/06/05/aphex-twin-nme-13th-february-1993/|magazine=New Musical Express|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606075125/https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2021/06/05/aphex-twin-nme-13th-february-1993/|archive-date=6 June 2021|url-status=dead|access-date=17 June 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Sherburne |first1=Philip|author-link=Philip Sherburne|title=Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Volume II|location=Chicago|date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507063754/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-volume-ii/|archive-date=7 May 2019|url-status=live|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-volume-ii/ |website=Pitchfork |publisher=Condé Nast |language=en}}}}

Mark Darby, a free party organiser and rave promoter, opened the Mighty Force record shop in Exeter in January 1991. Like many independent record shops, it became an unofficial place for musicians and DJs to hang out, and was a focal point for the rave scene in the south west. James' friend Tom Middleton frequented the shop, and played Darby a C90 tape of James' music over the shop's sound system. Darby was eager to release music from it. He later commented: "I couldn’t believe it: it was like nothing I’d ever heard before." James was very reluctant to release a record on Darby's fledgling label. Darby stated that it took "around three months" to convince James to release it.

File:New_Palace_Theatre_Plymouth.jpg in Plymouth. The agreement to release the record was made during a rave at the venue.]]

Darby had booked James to perform at a rave at the Academy in Plymouth. During the rave James started tripping on acid. While James was tripping backstage after his set, Darby and Middleton were able to convince James to release the record. Darby later said "I think if he had not done that trip that night there may have never been any Aphex Twin." James has given a similar account: "they made me sign the contract when I was off my face. I was tripping and they're waving this money and a pen at me. It’s a bit clichéd but it's the way they got me to sign."

The original record was mastered from the C90 tape onto a Betamax F1 tape. The initial pressing of one thousand (12" vinyl) records was distributed by Darby's friends, taking copies to record shops around London, and it quickly sold out. Further pressings of several thousand each followed soon after.

Music

{{Album ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web|last=DiGravina|first=Tim|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/analogue-bubblebath-mw0000111337|title=Analogue Bubblebath - Aphex Twin|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=19 September 2022}}

| rev2 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Cross|first=Charles R.|author-link=Charles R. Cross|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter=Aphex Twin|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/21 21]}}

}}

The music varies from Detroit-influenced ambient techno to intense acid and hardcore.{{refn|{{cite book |title=The new Rolling Stone album guide |date=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=9780743201698 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/21 21] |editor-last1=Brackett |editor-last2=Hoard |editor-first1=Nathan |editor-first2=Christian |edition=4th |url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/21 }}{{cite magazine |last=Harrison|first=Andrew|date=June 1992|title=Who is the Aphex Twin?|url=https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2021/05/29/aphex-twin-select-magazine-june-1992/|magazine=Select|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529114625/https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2021/05/29/aphex-twin-select-magazine-june-1992/|archive-date=29 May 2021|url-status=live|publisher=EMAP|access-date=15 Nov 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Reynolds |first1=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Energy Flash : a Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture|date=2013|publisher=Faber & Faber|location=London |isbn=9780571289141|url= https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571289134-energy-flash/|pages=165–166 |edition=2nd}}{{cite magazine |last=Kirwan|first=Paul |date=October 1999|title=The Record Buyer's Guide to The Aphex Twin |url=http://www.muzikmagazine.co.uk/issues/muzik053_october_1999.pdf |magazine=Muzik|location=London |publisher=IPC Media|access-date=15 Nov 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702043332/http://www.muzikmagazine.co.uk/issues/muzik053_october_1999.pdf |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=live}}}} The track "Isopropophlex" uses samples from the arcade game Berzerk,{{cite web |last1=Upton |first1=Ed |author-link=DMX Krew |title=Five Records: DMX Krew |url=https://www.factmag.com/2012/06/05/five-records-dmx-krew/5/|date=5 June 2012|website=FACT Magazine |publisher=The Vinyl Factory Group |accessdate=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609022926/https://www.factmag.com/2012/06/05/five-records-dmx-krew/5/ |archive-date=9 June 2012 |url-status=live}} along with a flanged and filtered voice sample. The musician and producer Tom Middleton collaborated on "En Trance to Exit" under the pseudonym Schizophrenia.

Berlin DJ Ellen Allien called the track "Analogue Bubblebath" "a classic tune by the best electronic producer in the world."{{cite news |last1=Beaumont-Thomas |first1=Ben |title=Ellen Allien's favourite tracks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/04/ellen-allien-favourite-tracks |accessdate=15 November 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=4 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403130321/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/04/ellen-allien-favourite-tracks |archive-date=3 April 2017 |url-status=dead}} The author and critic Simon Reynolds writes of its "fluttery, diaphanous riff-pattern and hazy yet crystalline production". James' friend and fellow producer Tom Middleton considers it as "like pure emotion in sound".{{Cite episode |title=We Love Aphex |episode-link= |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/maryannehobbs/tracklistingarchive.shtml?20051206 |access-date=15 November 2019 |series=The Breezeblock |series-link=The Breezeblock |first=Mary Anne |last=Hobbs |author-link=Mary Anne Hobbs|network=BBC |station=BBC Radio 1 |date=6 December 2005 |minutes= |time=39:48 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229215616/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/maryannehobbs/tracklistingarchive.shtml?20051206|archive-date=29 December 2008|url-status=dead}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5dx-CjUf4E&t=2388 Alt URL] The influential publication Mixmag calls it "one of the most perfect tracks ever written".{{cite web |last1=Hinton |first1=Patrick |title=9 killer tracks from 9 Aphex Twin aliases |url=https://mixmag.net/feature/9-killer-tracks-from-9-aphex-twin-aliases|date=3 August 2018|website=Mixmag|publisher=Wasted Talent Ltd |access-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423162009/https://mixmag.net/feature/9-killer-tracks-from-9-aphex-twin-aliases |archive-date=23 April 2019 |url-status=live}} The Guardian describes it as "one of those timeless tracks that convey incredible emotional depth" and notes that "it still stands as a gold standard for electronic music nearly 30 years after its initial release." It is often cited as one of the best compositions in James' extensive discography.{{cite news |last1=Dayal |first1=Geeta |title=Aphex Twin's best songs – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/28/aphex-twin-best-songs-ranked |accessdate=15 November 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2019 |quote=1. AFX – Analogue Bubblebath (1991) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503172858/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/28/aphex-twin-best-songs-ranked |archive-date=3 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=The 50 best Aphex Twin tracks of all time |url=https://www.factmag.com/2017/04/14/best-aphex-twin-songs/|date=14 April 2017|website=FACT Magazine|publisher=The Vinyl Factory Group |accessdate=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704175541/https://www.factmag.com/2017/04/14/best-aphex-twin-songs/ |archive-date=4 July 2018 |url-status=live |quote=01. The Aphex Twin ‘Analogue Bubblebath’ (Mighty Force, 1991)}}

Simon Reynolds observes that the rest of the EP "revealed that James was no slouch when it came to industrial-strength hardcore." In contrast to the ambient sound of the title track, the industrial, menacing sound of "Isopropophlex" was described as "astringent" and suggestive of "a nasty corrosive fluid". Critic Ira Robbins, writing in 1997, refers to its "aggressively sequenced dance rhythms".{{cite book |last1=Robbins |first1=Ira |title=The Trouser Press guide to '90s rock : the all-new fifth edition of The Trouser Press record guide |date=1997 |chapter=Aphex Twin |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9780684814377 |page=46 |edition=5th}} In an examination of James' work, The A.V. Club describes the track as "restless, a pounding bass line fighting it out with synths that stab through the arrangement with purposeful malice."{{cite news |last1=Fowle |first1=Kyle |title=A beginner's guide to the many sounds of Aphex Twin |url=https://www.avclub.com/a-beginner-s-guide-to-the-many-sounds-of-aphex-twin-1798272281 |access-date=2 May 2020 |work=The A.V. Club |publisher=Onion, Inc.|location=Chicago|date=22 September 2014 |language=en-us}}

The tracks "Analogue Bubblebath" and "Isopropophlex" can also be found on the R&S Records compilation Classics. The EP was reissued by TVT Records in the US in 1994 on both CD and 12" vinyl format.

Impact

The record created a buzz in the UK about Aphex Twin, and on release won immediate acclaim, quickly earning the artist a cult following.{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin |title=The great rock discography |date=1998 |publisher=Canongate |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9780862418274 |page=23 |edition=4th}}{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Tim |title=Techno : the rough guide |date=2000 |publisher=Rough Guides Ltd |location=London |isbn=9781858284347 |page=13}} It was heavily played on the many pirate radio stations in London. It also had playlist support from influential London radio station Kiss FM, and was played frequently by DJ Colin Dale.{{cite magazine |last=Turenne |first=Martin |date=1 April 2003 |title=Aphex Twin The Contrarian |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/aphex_twin-contrarian |magazine=Exclaim! |location=Toronto |publisher=Exclaim! Media |access-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703002122/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/aphex_twin-contrarian |archive-date=3 July 2017 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |title=Rock : the rough guide |chapter=Aphex Twin |last1=Wren |first1=David |last2=Jacobs |first2=Daniel |last3=Moyse |first3=Scott |date=2003 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=9781858284576 |page=35 |edition=3rd}}{{cite web |last1=Aitken |first1=Stuart |title=Rephlexology|date=November 2003|url=https://www.stuartaitken.com/post/43555798376/aphextwin |website=Mad.co.uk |publisher=Centaur Communications|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055051/https://www.stuartaitken.com/post/43555798376/aphextwin|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=2 May 2020 |language=en}} The original white label release found distribution in continental Europe. Renaat Vandepapeliere, head of the Belgian label R&S Records, heard the record and then contacted James, which led to the releases James put out on that label in 1992.{{cite magazine |last=Fintoni |first=Laurent |date=12 February 2017 |title=Paul White salutes the world-building genius of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 |url=https://www.factmag.com/2017/02/12/paul-white-aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92/ |magazine=Fact |location=London |publisher=Vinyl Factory Publishing Ltd |access-date=2 December 2019}}{{cite interview |last=Acardipane |first=Marc |subject-link=Marc Trauner|date=27 November 2014|interviewer-last=Schäfer|interviewer-first=Sven|title=Das Vergessene Interview: Marc Acardipane über Aphex Twin|trans-title=The Forgotten Interview: Marc Acardipane on Aphex Twin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411165732/https://www.fazemag.de/marc-acardipane-meets-aphex-twin/|archive-date=11 April 2019|url-status=live|url=https://www.fazemag.de/marc-acardipane-meets-aphex-twin/ |magazine=Faze Magazin|location=Wuppertal |publisher=FAZE Music & Verlags GmbH|language=de |access-date=2 December 2019}}

The record went on to be hugely influential. Its title track was described as a "redrawing of ambient techno aesthetics" by Rolling Stone. The author Simon Reynolds said that its sound "announced a new... direction in techno". The musician and Planet Mu founder Mike Paradinas said the record "was like a completely new English techno, completely inspired by his own influences."{{cite web |last1=Clay |first1=Joe |title=Chewed Corners: Mike Paradinas' Favourite Records |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/15098-mike-paradinas-u-ziq-heterotic-favourite-albums?page=12 |website=The Quietus |publisher=Black Sky Thinking Ltd |accessdate=28 April 2019 |date=28 April 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200826125537/https://thequietus.com/articles/15098-mike-paradinas-u-ziq-heterotic-favourite-albums?page=12 |archive-date=26 August 2020 |url-status=live}} In 2011 The Guardian named its release one of the "key events in the history of dance music".{{cite news |last1=Vine |first1=Richard |title=A history of dance music: Aphex Twin's first single Bubblebath released by Mighty Force records |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/aphex-twin-bubblebath-mighty-force|accessdate=19 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Ltd |date=14 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424181101/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/aphex-twin-bubblebath-mighty-force |archive-date=24 April 2015 |url-status=dead |location=London}} In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "Analogue Bubblebath" number 62 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine|first1=Jon|last1=Dolan|first2=Julyssa|last2=Lopez|first3=Michaelangelo|last3=Matos|first4=Claire|last4=Shaffer|title=200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/200-greatest-dance-songs-of-all-time-1372888|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=22 July 2022|accessdate=6 April 2025}}