Expert Knob Twiddlers

Expert Knob Twiddlers
Studio album by
Mike & Rich
ReleasedJune 24, 1996 (1996-06-24)
Recorded1994[1]
Genre
Length57:51
LabelRephlex
Richard D. James chronology
Hangable Auto Bulb
(1995) 		Expert Knob Twiddlers
(1996) 		Girl/Boy EP
(1996)

Expert Knob Twiddlers is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records and is the only release credited to the two as Mike & Rich.[4]

On 14 July 2016 Planet Mu announced that a reissued version would be released with seven bonus tracks in September 2016.[5]

Production

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Mike Paradinas described the sound of the album as "an updated version of easy listening and funk".[6] James had heard the music Paradinas had made under the name of Jake Slazenger and invited him to create tracks.[1] Paradinas noted James had invited other artists to collaborate with him, including Luke Vibert, Squarepusher and Cylob and was honoured that his collaborative tracks were chosen for the release.[1] Both artists were getting drunk while developing tracks, something that Paradinas stated that neither artist regularly did.[1]

The track "Giant Deflating Football" was written during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[1] Paradinas noted that the two "were able to quite quickly write a large amount of material. 'Giant Deflating Football' is named because it had some quite weird percussion sounds made by scraping and blowing in a microphone. It sounded like a big wheezing football. We took a bit of acid afterwards to listen to it, and we were coming out with some imagery like 'Beady Eyes,' which is mentioned in one of the tracks."[1]

Release

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The cover of the album features Paradinas and James playing the Milton Bradley game Downfall, whilst also parodying the box art of the original game.[7]

Expert Knob Twiddlers was released by Rephlex Records on 24 June 1996 on audio cassette, compact disc and vinyl.[8] Paradinas felt the album should have been released as early as 1994, stating that "At that time, that style was something that no one else had done [...] It wasn't like anything anyone heard before really. By the time it did come out, a lot of things came out like Carbon Trio and there was a lot of revived interest in easy listening. Neither of us was prepared for it."[6]

On 19 July 2016 the song "Vodka (Mix 2)" was released with the announcement of the album's 2016 reissue.[9]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash8/10[11]
Exclaim!8/10[12]
The Guardian[13]
Pitchfork6.6/10[14]
PopMatters8/10[15]

The Guardian gave the album three stars, calling it "a lovingly kitsch collaboration" and that the album "might easily have been a loathsomely ironic exercise." stating that the track "Mr. Frosty" made the album "worth owning".[13] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."[13] AllMusic gave the album four stars, while noting that the mixed styles of James and Paradinas "cancels out the particular attractions of both artists, and the listener is left with a somewhat bland album. Fans of Aphex and μ-Ziq will be excited, but newcomers should go elsewhere before they dig this deep."[10] In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork described it as "just a playful, occasionally inspired time capsule of the 1990s."[14]

Track listing

[edit]
1996 release[16]
No.TitleLength
1."Mr. Frosty"6:51
2."Jelly Fish"6:30
3."Eggy Toast"4:07
4."Reg"5:57
5."Vodka"4:12
6."Winner Takes All"5:44
7."Giant Deflating Football"6:22
8."Upright Kangaroo"3:31
9."The Sound of the Beady Eyes"7:46
10."Bu Bu Bu Ba"6:51

2016 CD reissue

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Source:[17]

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Mr. Frosty"6:53
2."Reg"5:56
3."Jelly Fish"6:01
4."Eggy Toast"4:32
5."Vodka"4:12
6."Winner Takes All"5:44
7."Upright Kangaroo"3:32
8."Giant Deflating Football"6:21
9."The Sound of the Beady Eyes"7:46
10."Bu Bu Bu Ba"6:52
Disc two
No.TitleLength
11."Vodka" (Mix 2)4:22
12."Portamento Gosh"2:02
13."Waltz"5:24
14."Brivert & Muonds"6:17
15."Clissold Bathroom"0:54
16."Jelly Fish" (Mix 2)5:21
17."Organ Plodder"4:15
Digital exclusive track
No.TitleLength
18."Upright Kangaroo" (Mix 2)4:33

Personnel

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Adapted from the Expert Knob Twiddlers liner notes:[16]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Bulut, Selim (8 September 2015). "The 20 tracks that define Planet Mu, according to Mike Paradinas". Dummy. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. ^ Twells, John. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq's Expert Knob Twiddlers gets expanded reissue". FACT. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b Bush, John. "Aphex Twin | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  4. ^ "TrouserPress.com :: Aphex Twin". www.trouserpress.com.
  5. ^ Twells, John. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq's Expert Knob Twiddlers gets expanded reissue". Fact Mag. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b "u-Ziq Interview by Jason Gross". Perfect Sound Forever. September 1997. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  7. ^ Buckley 2003, p. 35.
  8. ^ "[Inside Promo Sheet]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. CAT 027 LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Lozano, Kevin (19 July 2016). "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq Announce Expert Knob Twiddlers Reissue, Share Unreleased Track". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  10. ^ a b Bush, John. "Expert Knob Twiddlers". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  11. ^ Dolan, Jack. "Mike and Rich – Expert Knob Twiddlers". Clash. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  12. ^ Pearson, Luke. "Mike & Rich - Expert Knob Twiddlers". Exclaim!. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  13. ^ a b c Bennun, David (19 July 1996). "Dance". The Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media Limited. p. A12. ISSN 0261-3077.
  14. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (30 September 2016). "Expert Knob Twiddlers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  15. ^ Paul, John. "MIKE & RICH: EXPERT KNOB TWIDDLERS". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  16. ^ a b "[Inside sleeve]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. cat027cd.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Slingerland, Calum. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq Treat 'Expert Knob Twiddlers' to Expanded Reissue". Exclaim. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

References

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