Selected Ambient Works 85–92#Reception and legacy

Richard D. James, better known as Aphex Twin, began experimenting with musical instruments, such as his family's piano, at an early age.{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=A Classic Aphex Twin Interview. Simon Reynolds Talks To Richard D. James |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/04483-simon-reynolds-interview-with-aphex-twin-melody-maker-1993-warp |website=The Quietus |date=21 June 2010 |access-date=26 March 2018}} He later created music using a ZX Spectrum home computer and a sampler,{{cite web |url=http://www.aphextwin.nu/learn/100771194880071.shtml |title=The Further Adventures of the Aphex Twin |access-date=14 June 2008 |last=O'Connell |first=John |date=October 2001 |work=The Face |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080615033834/http://www.aphextwin.nu/learn/100771194880071.shtml| archive-date= 15 June 2008 | url-status= live}} and began reassembling and modifying his own synthesisers. James said he composed ambient music the following year. In an interview with Q in 2014, James said the ambient track "i" emerged from these early recordings. As a teenager, James gained a cult following as a DJ at the Shire Horse Inn in St Ives, Cornwall, with Tom Middleton at the Bowgie Inn in Crantock, and on Cornish beaches.{{cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=Dave |url=https://bytenoise.co.uk/The_Aphex_Effect.jpg |date=April 1993 |title=The Aphex Effect |magazine=Future Music |access-date=14 June 2008 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714162607/http://bytenoise.co.uk/The_Aphex_Effect.jpg |url-status=live }} James studied at Cornwall College from 1988 to 1990 for a National Diploma in engineering, and said "music and electronics went hand in hand".

James's first release was the 12" EP Analogue Bubblebath, released on Mighty Force in September 1991.{{cite web |last1=Darby |first1=Mark |title=Mark Darby |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 |access-date=23 July 2019 }} The EP made the playlist of Kiss FM, an influential London radio station, giving it wide exposure in the dance music scene.{{cite web |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/aphex_twin-contrarian |title=Aphex Twin: The Contrarian |access-date=14 June 2008 |last=Turenne |first=Martin |date=April 2003 |work=Exclaim! |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703002122/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/aphex_twin-contrarian |archive-date=3 July 2017 |url-status=live}} It gained distribution in continental Europe,{{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}} and it was heard by Renaat Vandepapeliere, the head of R&S Records, at that time one of the leading European rave labels. James visited him in Belgium, bringing a box full of cassettes of his music. From these cassettes they picked out tracks for two records, including Selected Ambient Works 85-92.{{cite magazine |last=Khawaja |first=Jemayel |date=26 August 2014 |title=In Order to Dance: The Story of R&S Records |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/in-order-to-dance-the-story-of-rs-records/ |magazine=Vice UK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209095829/https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/jpn7nx/in-order-to-dance-the-story-of-rs-records |archive-date=9 December 2019 |url-status=live |publisher=Vice Media |access-date=10 November 2019 }}{{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 |archive-date=28 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828064401/https://www.factmag.com/2017/02/12/paul-white-aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92/ |url-status=live }}

{{Listen

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According to James, Selected Ambient Works was recorded between 1985 and 1992, beginning when he was fourteen, using homemade equipment constructed from synthesisers and drum machines. The website AllMusic described the sound quality as poor due to it being recorded onto a cassette that was damaged by a cat.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/selected-ambient-works-85-92-mw0000213259 |title=Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 – Aphex Twin |publisher=AllMusic|access-date=19 July 2017 |last=Bush |first=John |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608064028/http://www.allmusic.com/album/selected-ambient-works-85-92-mw0000213259 |archive-date=8 June 2012 |url-status=deviated}} The album differs from ambient music by musicians such as Brian Eno.{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Ben |title=Solid Gold: How Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works 85–92' refined dance music |url=https://djmag.com/content/solid-gold-how-aphex-twins-%E2%80%98selected-ambient-works-85-92%E2%80%99-refined-dance-music |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=DJ Mag |date=3 January 2019 |language=en |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516221413/https://djmag.com/content/solid-gold-how-aphex-twins-%E2%80%98selected-ambient-works-85-92%E2%80%99-refined-dance-music |url-status=live }} According to The Independent, it pays homage to the "refracted minimalism" of the composers Philip Glass and Karlheinz Stockhausen. James said the songs on the record "were just tracks that my mates selected; ones that they like to chill out to".{{cite interview |last=James |first=Richard D. |subject-link=Aphex Twin |date=May 1995 |interviewer-last=Marcus |interviewer-first=Tony |title=True Lies |magazine=Mixmag |location=London|publisher=EMAP}}

Commentators categorised Selected Ambient Works 85–92 as ambient techno, intelligent dance music (IDM), electronica and ambient. According to AllMusic's Anthony Tognazzini, the album draws from the club rhythms of techno and acid house, but adds melodic elements "of great subtlety, beauty, and atmospheric texture". Ben Murphy of DJ Mag described its synthesis of elements from techno, house, hip-hop, hardcore and ambient, and characterised it as a "somnambulist dreamscape that melted heavenly shoe-gaze melodies into slow-burn beats and ice-clear techno, often with a suggestion of menace lurking at the peripheries".{{cite magazine |last=Murphy |first=Ben |title=Solid Gold: How Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92' Refined Dance Music |url=https://djmag.com/content/solid-gold-how-aphex-twins-%E2%80%98selected-ambient-works-85-92%E2%80%99-refined-dance-music |magazine=DJ Mag |date=3 January 2019 |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516221413/https://djmag.com/content/solid-gold-how-aphex-twins-‘selected-ambient-works-85-92’-refined-dance-music |url-status=live}} He likened the "fuzzy melodies and blurred female vocal" of the opening track, "Xtal", to the shoegaze artists Seefeel and My Bloody Valentine. Kris Needs of Record Collector said the album "demonstrated a mysterious, calmer side" of James's music in contrast to his abrasive earlier releases, calling attention to the presence of "unearthly, gorgeous melodies" on much of the album. Barney Hoskyns described the album as a "schizoid mix of sonic assault and melodic melancholia".{{Cite magazine |last=Hoskyns |first=Barney |author-link=Barney Hoskyns |date=October 2001 |title=Don't Fear The Aphex: The Weird Genius of Richard James |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/dont-fear-the-aphex-the-weird-genius-of-richard-james |magazine=Rock's Backpages |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=27 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927131604/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/dont-fear-the-aphex-the-weird-genius-of-richard-james |url-status=live}} Rolling Stone{{'s}} Pat Blashill said the album combined "lush soundscapes with oceanic beats and bass lines". Jon Savage wrote that it "trashed the boundaries between acid, techno, ambient, and psychedelic".

David M. Pecoraro of Pitchfork wrote: "Despite the simplicity of his equipment and approach, the songs here are both interesting and varied, ranging from the dancefloor-friendly beats of 'Pulsewidth' to the industrial clanks and whirs of 'Green Calx'." In The Guardian, Geeta Dayal wrote that "Ageispolis" progresses in a "grand, cinematic sweep". Simon Reynolds described its melody as "Satie-esque" with an "incongruously strident, unrelenting beat".{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture |publisher=Soft Skull Press |page=146 |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-5937-6407-4}} "Tha" features a "murk[y]" beat and "underwater" sound, according to Dayal.{{Cite web |last=Dayal |first=Geeta |date=2019-02-28 |title=Aphex Twin's best songs – ranked! |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/28/aphex-twin-best-songs-ranked |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=7 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907200039/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/28/aphex-twin-best-songs-ranked |url-status=live}} Writing for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani noted the use of "diffusive synth chords" throughout, and the "pop sensibility" on tracks such as "Pulsewidth" and "Ptolemy".

"Green Calx" uses a sample from the 1987 film RoboCop; "Xtal" samples "Evil At Play" by Steve Jeffries, Mary Carewe and Donald Greig; and "We Are the Music Makers" samples dialogue from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. They were probably sampled using James's Casio FZ-10M, which allows the user to record and load sounds via floppy disk.{{cite news |last=Carrlast |first=Dan |title=How Aphex Twin made Selected Ambient Works 85–92 |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/how-aphex-twin-made-saw-85-92 |access-date=17 March 2024 |work=MusicRadar |date=9 November 2022 |language=en |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317113840/https://www.musicradar.com/news/how-aphex-twin-made-saw-85-92 |url-status=live }}

Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo, an ambient imprint of the Belgian record label R&S Records.{{cite web |url=https://apollorecords.bandcamp.com/album/selected-ambient-works-85-92 |title=Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |via=Bandcamp |access-date=14 February 2019 |publisher=Apollo Records |archive-date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214174243/https://apollorecords.bandcamp.com/album/selected-ambient-works-85-92 |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |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 }} In the UK, it was initially available only via import because a licensing deal between R&S and Outer Rhythm had collapsed earlier in the year.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Andrew |title=The Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |work=Melody Maker |page=30 |location=London |publisher=IPC Magazines Ltd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502140845/http://www.in-a-different-place.com/albumlist/reviews/aphex_twin_selected_ambient_works.jpg |archive-date=2 May 2018 |url=http://www.in-a-different-place.com/albumlist/reviews/aphex_twin_selected_ambient_works.jpg |url-status=dead |date=21 November 1992}} The import release was priced as high as £20 ({{Inflation|UK|20|1992|fmt=eq |cursign=£}}).{{Inflation/fn |UK}} The album was the first record released by R&S in the UK after it started its own operations in the country instead of licensing their releases to another label.{{cite news|title=R&S Goes Solo for UK Return|location=London|editor-last=Redmond|editor-first=Steve|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1992/MW-1992-12-19-IDX-18.pdf|work=Music Week|publisher=Spotlight Publications|date=19 December 1992|access-date=23 August 2022|archive-date=23 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823182809/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1992/MW-1992-12-19-IDX-18.pdf|url-status=live}} James left R&S after the release as he had signed to Warp Records and also wanted to focus on his own label, Rephlex Records.{{cite book|last=Weidenbaum|first=Marc|year=2014|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|title=Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II|location=New York|page=1|isbn=978-1-62356-763-7|series=33⅓ series}}

Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 entered the Chart Information Network's Dance Albums Chart at number 6 on 26{{nbsp}}December 1992.{{cite news |title=Top 10 Dance Albums |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1992/MW-1992-12-26-IDX-32.pdf |work=Music Week |location=London |editor-last=Redmond |editor-first=Steve |publisher=Spotlight Publications |page=24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213150507/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1992/MW-1992-12-26-IDX-32.pdf |archive-date=13 February 2023 |url-status=live |date=26 December 1992}} It was still in the top 10 when James's next album, Surfing on Sine Waves (using the alias Polygon Window), was released in January 1993, and he briefly had two records in the Dance Top 10 under different pseudonyms.{{cite news |title=Top 10 Dance Albums |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1993/Music-Week-1993-01-23-IDX-30.pdf |work=Music Week |location=London |editor-last=Redmond |editor-first=Steve |publisher=Spotlight Publications |page=22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022115233/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1993/Music-Week-1993-01-23-IDX-30.pdf |archive-date=22 October 2023 |url-status=live |date=23 January 1993}} By June 1993, Selected Ambient Works had sold 30,000 copies.{{cite news |last1=Eshun |first1=Kodwo |title=The Man Machine |url=https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/aphex-twin-i-d-magazine-june-1993/|page=9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729135233/https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/aphex-twin-i-d-magazine-june-1993/|archive-date=29 July 2021|url-status=dead|location=London|work=i-D |publisher=Bedford Media |date=June 1993}}

The album sleeve displays the Aphex Twin symbol, which was designed by Paul Nicholson, who was also a stage dancer at several of James's live gigs around this period. Nicholson said they wanted the logo to be an "amorphic and soft" form with "no sharp lines".{{cite news |last1=Coultate |first1=Aaron |title=Aphex Twin logo designer Paul Nicholson shows more unseen sketches |url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/38637 |access-date=29 March 2024 |work=Resident Advisor |date=6 April 2017 |language=en |archive-date=5 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505201850/https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/38637 |url-status=live }} According to James, the design was a collaborative effort:{{bq|He designed it all but I was guiding, like "nah more like this, yeah more like that" etc. [It was] my idea to put the circle around it. There were quite a few iterations before I was happy. I was also astute enough to buy the rights off him, with my last pounds, I was still a student, as I knew it would be very important to me and I also didn't want any arguments down the road.}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/selected-ambient-works-85-92-mw0000213259 |title=Selected Ambient Works 85-92 Review by Anthony Tognazzini |author=Tognazzini, Anthony |date= |access-date=23 October 2023 |website=Allmusic.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314020534/https://www.allmusic.com/album/selected-ambient-works-85-92-mw0000213259 |archive-date=14 March 2021 |url-status=live}}

| rev2 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |location=London |publisher=Omnibus Press |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8 |chapter=Aphex Twin}}

| rev3 = Mojo

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |magazine=Mojo |issue=175 |date=June 2008 |page=121}}

| rev4 = Pitchfork

| rev4score = 9.4/10{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/223-selected-ambient-works-85-92/ |title=Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |work=Pitchfork |date=20 February 2002 |access-date=6 March 2008 |last=Pecoraro |first=David M. |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725185811/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/223-selected-ambient-works-85-92/ |url-status=live }}

| rev5 = Q

| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |magazine=Q |issue=263 |date=June 2008 |page=156}}

| rev6 = Record Collector

| rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/selected-ambient-works85-92 |title=Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |issue=350 |magazine=Record Collector |date=June 2008 |access-date=14 July 2014 |last=Needs |first=Kris |author-link=Kris Needs |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714185103/http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/selected-ambient-works85-92 |url-status=live }}

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/218371/selected_ambient_works_8592 |title=Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 : Aphex Twin |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=12 December 2002 |access-date=1 March 2019 |last=Blashill |first=Pat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525060100/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/218371/selected_ambient_works_8592 |archive-date=25 May 2009}}

| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Aphex Twin |last=Frere-Jones |first=Sasha |author-link=Sasha Frere-Jones |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |edition=4th |year=2004 |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |location=New York City |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/21 21–23] }}

| rev9 = Slant Magazine

| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92/228 |title=Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |work=Slant Magazine |date=2 November 2002 |access-date=22 November 2011 |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |archive-date=8 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508033228/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92/228 |url-status=live }}

| rev10 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev10score = 9/10{{cite book |chapter=Aphex Twin |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |location=New York City |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=15–16}}

}}

Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 received acclaim and almost immediately acquired a "huge underground reputation".{{cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |title=Aphex Twin |encyclopedia=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll |publisher=Fireside |location=New York |editor1-last=George-Warren |editor1-first=Holly |page=24 |isbn=978-0-7432-9201-6 |editor2-last=Romanowski |editor2-first=Patricia}}{{Cite magazine |last=Savage |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Savage |date=1993 |title=Machine Soul: A History Of Techno |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/machine-soul-a-history-of-techno |magazine=The Village Voice |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924143744/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/machine-soul-a-history-of-techno |url-status=live}} Andrew Smith, reviewing the album for Melody Maker, wrote: "Not since Kraftwerk has an artist understood texture in this way, made electronic music sound so organic and resonant, so full of life. The author and critic Simon Reynolds, writing in Melody Maker at the end of 1993, called it "the most sheerly beautiful album of '93 [and] also the most significant", and said it "gave credibility to the then emergent genre of ambient techno" and "singlehandedly won over many indie fans who hadn't really listened to much techno, thus encouraging them to seek out more".{{cite news |last1=Reynolds |first1=Simon |title=Ambient – The Buzzword of '93 |work=Melody Maker |date=Christmas 1993}}

The album's stature grew in the decades following.{{cite news |last=Power |first=Ed |title='This is Not Music': 30 Years of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/aphex-twin-ambient-works-b2007593.html |work=The Independent |date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=11 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220211133705/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/aphex-twin-ambient-works-b2007593.html |url-status=live }} It has been described as a defining electronica and ambient record that showcased electronic music as a work of "nuance and ambition" that took advantage of the LP format. Neil Mason, the editor of Electronic Sound, said the album "arrive[d] at exactly the right time. The acid house explosion of 1988 had ushered in an entirely new genre of music, but by 1992 it was beginning to settle and this sort of music was starting to cross over." Reviewing the album after its 2002 reissue, Rolling Stone{{'s}} Pat Blashill called it a "gorgeous, ethereal album" in which James "proved that techno could be more than druggy dance music". David M. Pecoraro of Pitchfork described "the creeping basslines, the constantly mutating drum patterns, the synth tones which moved with all the grace and fluidity of a professional dancer"; he described the album as "among the most interesting music ever created with a keyboard and a computer" despite its "primitive origins". In 2012 Reynolds said it "infuses everyday life with a perpetual first flush of spring".{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture |publisher=Soft Skull Press |pages=156–7 |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-5937-6407-4}} Peter Manning, in his book Electronic and Computer Music, wrote that James "managed finally to elevate [electronic music's] status to the mainstream consciousness of the general public".{{Cite book |last=Manning |first=Peter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/858861237 |title=Electronic and computer music |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-998643-9 |edition=Fourth |pages=177 |oclc=858861237 |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307184034/https://search.worldcat.org/title/858861237 |url-status=live}} Selected Ambient Works 85–92 expanded the scope of ambient music and, according to Savage, it "defined a new techno primitive romanticism". AllMusic's John Bush called it "a masterpiece of ambient techno" and a "work of brilliance".

Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 has appeared on several best-of lists. In 2003 it was at placed at number 92 in NME{{'}}s "100 Best Albums" poll.{{cite magazine |title=NME's 100 Best Albums |magazine=NME |year=2003}} Ten years later NME included it in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at No.{{nbsp}}121.{{cite web |last1=Barker |first1=Emily |title=The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 200–101 |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-200-101-1426258 |website=NME |access-date=20 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108220838/https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-200-101-1426258 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |date=25 October 2013 |url-status=live}} In 2012 Fact named it the greatest album of the 1990s.{{cite web|url=http://www.factmag.com/2012/09/03/the-100-best-albums-of-the-1990s-100-81/101/|title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s|work=Fact|date=3 September 2012|access-date=20 February 2014|archive-date=11 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311193158/http://www.factmag.com/2012/09/03/the-100-best-albums-of-the-1990s-100-81/101/|url-status=live}} Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 re-entered the dance chart just after the release of Aphex Twin's 2014 album Syro.{{cite web |title=Selected Ambient Works 85–92 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/aphex-twin-selected-ambient-works-85-92/ |website=Official Charts Company}} In 2015 Spin placed Selected Ambient Works 85–92 the 204th-best album released between 1985 and 2014.{{cite web |title=The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014) |url=https://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/2/ |website=Spin |access-date=20 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019225451/https://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/2/ |archive-date=19 October 2023 |page=2 |date=11 May 2015 |url-status=live}} In 2017 Pitchfork named it the best IDM album of all time.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10011-the-50-best-idm-albums-of-all-time/?page=5|title=The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time|website=Pitchfork|date=24 January 2017|access-date=9 April 2017|page=5|archive-date=2 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502000717/http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10011-the-50-best-idm-albums-of-all-time/?page=5|url-status=live}} The album was also included in the 2018 edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Dimery |first2=Michael |last2=Lydon |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |edition=Revised and Updated |date=2018 |location=London |publisher=Cassell |isbn=978-1-78840-080-0}} In 2022 The Independent described it as a landmark 1990s record. In 2024 Uncut ranked it the 32nd-greatest album of the 1990s. The editor, John Robinson, highlighted its "succinct, mysterious ambiences" and "soft and oddly nostalgic tunes", adding: "If this collected Richard James's past, it suggests everyone else's future."{{cite magazine |editor-last=Robinson |editor-first=John |title=SAW 85–92 |magazine=The Ultimate Record Collection: The 500 Greatest Albums of the 1990s |series=The Ultimate Music Guide |date=April 2024 |issue=7 |page=58}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Selected Ambient Works 85–92 track listing

| all_writing = Richard D. James except where noted.{{cite web |title=Selected Ambient Works 85-92 / Aphex Twin |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/59962969 |website=Tidal |access-date=26 July 2024 |language=en |date=9 November 1992}}

| title1 = Xtal

| writer1 = {{hlist|Richard D. James|Donald Grieg|Mary Carewe|Steve Jeffries}}

| length1 = 4:51

| title2 = Tha

| length2 = 9:01

| title3 = Pulsewidth

| length3 = 3:47

| title4 = Ageispolis

| length4 = 5:21

| title5 = i

| length5 = 1:13

| title6 = Green Calx

| length6 = 6:02

| title7 = Heliosphan

| length7 = 4:51

| title8 = We Are the Music Makers

| length8 = 7:42

| title9 = Schottkey 7th Path

| length9 = 5:07

| title10 = Ptolemy

| length10 = 7:12

| title11 = Hedphelym

| length11 = 6:02

| title12 = Delphium

| length12 = 5:36

| title13 = Actium

| length13 = 7:35

| total_length = 74:40

}}

Credits adapted from Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 liner notes.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92 |author=Aphex Twin |year=1992 |type=booklet |publisher=Apollo Records |id=AMB 3922 CD}}

• Richard D. James – writing, production

{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Selected Ambient Works 85–92}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Aphex Twin|title=Selected Ambient Works 85{{nbnd}}92|award=Silver|certyear=2021|relyear=2011|id=17112-2691-2|note=sales since 2011|access-date=29 March 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Prendergast |first1=Mark |title=The Ambient Century |date=2000 |isbn=978-1-58234-134-7 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=New York |df=mdy-all }}

{{refend}}

• {{Discogs master|565|Selected Ambient Works 85–92}}

{{Aphex Twin}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selected Ambient Works 85-92}}

Category:Aphex Twin albums

Category:1992 debut albums

Category:Ambient techno albums

Category:R&S Records albums