Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy EP

Possibly the most accomplished and fun Aphex Twin EP

Aphex Twin is either one of the most important and talented electronic musicians ever, or a disposable gimmick. His work is either ingenious or obnoxious trash. Whatever Richard D. James is all about, something which no one can seem to figure out anyway, the Come To Daddy EP is distinctly more "Aphex Twin" than any work before it. That is to say, when it is brutal, it is more brutal. When it is mellow, it is more mellow. And when it is fun, it is more fun. This is not to say that the Come To Daddy EP is anywhere close to Aphex Twin's best or most respectable work. But this work in particular does represent a lot of what Aphex Twin aims for.

The single Come to Daddy is one hell of a number. Although for Aphex Twin fans it may seem tame in comparison to James' other more hardcore breakbeat work, it is still abrasive and rocking for how underhandedly atmospheric it is. To be sure, if you never liked or found any value in breakbeats in the first place, Come to Daddy is obnoxious and without any real value. But the breakbeats are utilized with a little more recognizable precision and beauty later on. The second track, Flim, is a pretty number with soft yet somehow driving breakbeats played over some of James' most relaxing and pretty atmospheric tracks ever, later on decorated by humble strings to make for a very memorable final product. Bucephalus Bouncing Ball is often cited as one of Aphex Twin's best breakbeat tracks. It starts off as a solid beat with a comprihensable direction, and then about halfway through it breaks into two minutes of impressive breakbeat experimentation and probably covers more ground than most other drill `n bass artists cover in entire albums. It's one for fans and fans only, but it ends up being one of the most eclectic and consistantly interesting songs James has ever made, without being completely scary or obnoxious.

Funny Little Man represents it's title with startling accuracy to say the least, but it isn't a song you will play back as much as the rest of the EP. In any case, it still feels like it holds the disks uninterrupted personality, save maybe the very end where Richard has perhaps a bit too much fun with lude phrases played through a voicebox. Of the eight tracks that comprise the EP, three of them are alternate mixes of little to no value in comparison to their brethren.

Depending on what your specific taste in Aphex Twin is, and every fan certainly approaches his discography in unique ways with unique preferences, these mixes might be worthy of note, but for sure the albums best moments are it's original vignettes which comprise the bulk of it. The last of these original pieces on the disk is IZ-US, possibly the most groovy track James has ever made. Simple rhythmic hand claps, snare hits, and cymbal rolls are played over some signature Aphex synthesizers. Considering it's creator, IZ-US is a relaxing, comforting piece indeed.

Come to Daddy might not be Aphex Twin's most worthwhile release, but it is easily the best EP. New listeners will most likely find this to be the best introduction to Aphex Twin's expansive, varied career, and there are treats to be found here for both fans and new listeners alike. However, Aphex Twin's quality is always scattered, and while there will most likely be something here to satisfy any individual, there are going to be as many songs that are initially worthless to a given person. Aphex Twin is an artist that you need to train yourself to like. This only obscures his agenda and scope of talent even more. October 23, 2008

A masterpiece and a great introduction to Aphex Twin

Although "Come to Daddy" is technically an EP, as opposed to a full album, I consider it to be Aphex Twin's ultimate artistic statement. Every track is perfect and every track shows a different side of Aphex Twin. We've got the menacing, rocking "Come to Daddy (Pappy Mix), the mellow "Flim", the silly "Funny Little Man", the glitchy IDM freakout "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball", and the sentimental "IZ-US."

We all know Richard D. James can at times be self indulgent, but not here. The fact that this is an EP means the statement he makes is going to be brief. It's concise, focused, and solid from start to finish. When I say focused, I mean that everything fits together without overwhelming the listener, as is usually the case with albums like "Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2." There is a lot of variety here, but it's not a random assemblage of loose tracks.

RDJ works under many aliases - AFX, Polygon Window, Caustic Window, Powerpill, GAK, Smojphace, Bradley Strider, and more - but the material he releases as Aphex Twin is unquestionably his absolute finest. The aliases allow him to explore specific directions in greater detail, while his work as Aphex Twin combines it all into RDJ's unique musical language. That is most definitely the case here. "Come to Daddy (Pappy Mix)" has a connection to Caustic Window, while "Flim" seems related to Polygon Window material. You'll hear many more like that.

Finally, a word on the three versions of "Come to Daddy": Usually when you're dealing with electronic music and you see three versions of a song, you can count on the original being the most interesting, while the other mixes are either more repetitive, or geared for the dance floor with more emphasis on the bass drum - essentially, they're variations on the same song without changing a lot. In this case, however, they're three totally different songs. I've listened closely to try to find a connection - anything - to relate them together, but they're just completely different. They don't use the same types of sounds, they're different tempos, they mood is completely different, they don't share any samples - they're just different. Since RDJ is such a witty composer, I'm assuming that the idea of taking three different songs and presenting them as 'remixes' of the same song is to be taken as irony.

This isn't the only Aphex Twin album that everyone should own, but it's a good candidate for the *first* Aphex Twin album everyone should own. It's a wonderful introduction not only to RDJ, but to electronic music in general. I frequently use it to initiate friends who are unfamiliar with electronic music and the response is always favorable. "Come to Daddy" is a masterpiece and an awesome example of the artistic potential in electronic music. July 15, 2008

An album of extremes

The best way to describe Come to Daddy is that it is an album of extremes. There is no middle ground. One song will be soft and soothing and the next will be intense and menacing. "Funny Little Man" is more offensive than funny and "To Cure a Weakling Child (Contour Regard)" isn't as effective as the version that appears on the Richard D. James album. But those two tracks are offset by a couple of powerful ones that rank with Aphex Twin's best. "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball" is avant-garde electronica at its finest and "IZ-US" is an absolutely riveting closer. These two tracks rank with "Boy/Girl" and "Windowlicker" for sheer hypnotic effect that is given to the listener. You just don't want them to end. The four other songs, especially "Flim", are satisfactory. The production on Come to Daddy is what instantly struck me the most. As great as the production on the Richard D. James album was, it's just not as pristine and crisp-sounding as Come to Daddy. There's a lot going on in the album, but the production lets you catch every bit of it. Yes...the production on Come to Daddy is among the best you'll ever hear in any genre and is just about perfect. The originality and production makes Come to Daddy worthwhile and, along with the Richard D. James album and Selected Ambient Works: 85-92, among Aphex Twin's best albums. B+ May 11, 2007

Techno intellectual

A small EP of the best compositional work in the Techno genre that I've ever heard. If the point of music is to represent spiralling electric currents in your brain, then this album will be much more enjoyable than the mind-numbing MIDI 4-on-the-floor of the majority of work in the Genre. March 23, 2007

awestruck!

precisely, this was my reaction upon seeing the video. A scintillatingly devilish promenade of bizarre apparitions, a turmoil of postnuclear visions...and i still have not figured out what makes it so appaling. The iconography of come to daddy has ever since made its way around art forums, magazines and had a greater impact on video-culture as none before, that owes less to the aphexian impromptu itself, than to us, masses who devour anything that is scandalous, and revolving. Thus a sound may only sound as it is visualized, and this may be a reason why, an aphexian experiment could be transplanted to M.T.V standards. Phonic violence is not the case of visual violence, and i think this a reason why we should credit RDJ more for his genuine sampling than for the visual inertia we are faced with in this video. This particular brakethrough does not apply to all aphexian sampling, i have seen other videos that did not scandalize the auditive this far...though windowlicker might be an acception. Come to daddy is musically more than just a scandal to the senses, in fact it juxtaposes them to a certain extent. Altough we seem to see all we hear we have to come to terms with deception, a musical ambiental experience should not be mistaken with the images of horror, and loathing we are bombed with day in day out. February 17, 2006

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