Expert Knob Twiddlers

Expert Knob Twiddlers
Studio album by Mike & Rich
Released June 24, 1996 (1996-06-24)
Recorded 1994-1996[1]
Genre IDM[2]
Length 57:51
Label Rephlex
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]

Expert Knob Twiddlers is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records.

On 14 July 2016, Planet Mu announced that a reissued version would be released with seven bonus tracks in September 2016. [4]

Production

Mike Paradinas described the sound of the album as "an updated version of easy listening and funk".[5] 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

Expert Knob Twiddlers was released by Rephlex Records on June 24, 1996 on audio cassette, compact disc and vinyl.[6] 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."[5]

The cover of the album features Paradinas and James playing the Milton Bradley game Downfall.[7]

On July 19 2016, the song "Vodka (Mix 2)" was released with the announcement of the album's 2016 reissue. [8]

Reception

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".[9] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."[9] 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]

Track listing

1996 release

No. Title Length
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 Beady Eyes"   7:46
10. "Bu Bu Bu Ba"   6:51

[11]

2016 reissue

Disc one
No. Title Length
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 Beady Eyes"   7:46
10. "Bu Bu Bu Ba"   6:52
Disc two
No. Title Length
1. "Vodka (Mix 2)"   4:22
2. "Portamento Gosh"   2:02
3. "Waltz"   5:24
4. "Brivert & Muonds"   6:17
5. "Clissold Bathroom"   0:54
6. "Jelly Fish (Mix 2)"   5:21
7. "Organ Plodder"   4:15

[12]

Credits

The credits state "Everything by Richard James and Michael Paradinas except for cover by Richard James and Johnie Clayton".[11]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bulut, Selim (September 8, 2015). "The 20 tracks that define Planet Mu, according to Mike Paradinas". Dummy. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ Twells, John. "Aphex Twin and µ-Ziq's Expert Knob Twiddlers gets expanded reissue". FACT. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Bush, John. "Mike & Rich - Expert Knob Twiddlers". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Twells, John. "Aphex Twin and µ-Ziq's Expert Knob Twiddlers gets expanded reissue". Fact Mag. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "u-Ziq Interview by Jason Gross". Perfect Sound Forever. September 1997. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ "[Inside Promo Sheet]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. CAT 027 LP.
  7. ↑ Buckley 2003, p. 35.
  8. ↑ Lozano, Kevin. "Aphex Twin and µ-Ziq Announce Expert Knob Twiddlers Reissue, Share Unreleased Track". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 Bennun, David (July 19, 1996). "Dance". The Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media Limited. p. A12. ISSN 0261-3077.
  10. ↑ Bush, John. "Expert Knob Twiddlers". AllMusic. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "[Inside sleeve]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. cat027cd.
  12. ↑ Slingerland, Calum. "Aphex Twin and µ-Ziq Treat 'Expert Knob Twiddlers' to Expanded Reissue". Exclaim. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

References

  • Peter, Buckley, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 1843531054. 
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