Hangable Auto Bulb is a 1995 electronic music EP by Richard D. James

Aphex Twin

Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...

, under his alias AFX. It was re-released on CD on October 31, 2005.

Overview

Split across two 12″ EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

s, the second released eight weeks after the first and each limited to 1000 pressings, the records marked a significant change in sound from previous AFX and Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin

Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...

 releases. Moving away from the analogue sounds of the previous releases, Donkey Rhubarb

Donkey Rhubarb

Donkey Rhubarb can refer to:*Japanese knotweed*Donkey Rhubarb , an EP by Aphex Twin...

and …I Care Because You Do, the tracks show James experimenting with computer-arranged Breakbeat

Breakbeat

In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...

 programming and timestretched samples, and this can be seen as a precursor to Richard D. James Album

Richard D. James Album

Richard D. James Album is an electronic album by Aphex Twin, whose real name is Richard David James. It was released on Warp Records in 1996. The work features use of software synthesizers and unusual beats. It is his fourth official full-length album. The album garnered high acclaim from music...

. This would become the dominant sound in his work up until the Analord

Analord

Analord is a 3½ hour, 42-track series of recordings on 12" vinyl by UK-based electronic music artist Richard D. James. The first instalment, Analord 10, went on sale through the Rephlex Records website on 15 December 2004, and was packaged in a faux-leather binder with sleeves for housing the rest...

releases of 2005.

The records are influenced by the early EPs of fellow Cornish

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 producer Plug (Luke Vibert

Luke Vibert

Luke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions...

), as well as other Drum and bass

Drum and bass

Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...

 movements of the day. Due to their rarity, original pressings have become collector's items, selling for substantial sums on eBay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

.

12″ EPs

Hangable Auto Bulb EP (1995)

1. "Children Talking" – 5:19
2. "Hangable Auto Bulb" – 6:48
3. "Laughable Butane Bob" – 2:58
4. "Bit" – 0:06
5. "Custodian Discount" – 4:25
6. "Wabby Legs" – 5:29

Hangable Auto Bulb EP.2 (1995)

1. "Every Day" – 3:44
2. "Arched Maid Via RDJ" – 5:20

CD

1. "Children Talking" – 5:22
2. "Hangable Auto Bulb" – 6:52
3. "Laughable Butane Bob" – 3:02
4. "Bit" – 0:11
5. "Custodian Discount" – 4:30
6. "Wabby Legs" – 5:35
7. "Every Day" – 3:50
8. "Arched Maid Via RDJ" – 5:25

The CD lengths are slightly different from the original EPs. On some pressings, tracks 7 and 8 are erroneously reversed.

Anagrams

The album's title is an anagram

Anagram

An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...

 of "Analogue Bublbath", a reference to James' previous AFX release series, Analogue Bubblebath

Analogue Bubblebath

Analogue Bubblebath Vol I was the first EP released by electronic musician Richard D. James under the alias of AFX and is the first release in the Analogue Bubblebath series.-Pressings:...

.

Also, as on James' previous album …I Care Because You Do, a number of the track titles are anagrams:

• of Analogue Bubblebath
  Analogue Bubblebath
  Analogue Bubblebath Vol I was the first EP released by electronic musician Richard D. James under the alias of AFX and is the first release in the Analogue Bubblebath series.-Pressings:...
  
  : "Laughable Butane Bob"
• of Analogue Bublbath [sic]: "Hangable Auto Bulb"
• of Richard David Jame [sic]: "Arched Maid Via RDJ"
• of Caussttic Ouinnddo [sic] (correctly spelled "Caustic Window"): "Custodian Discount"

External links

• More info on Hangable Auto Bulb EP
• More info on Hangable Auto Bulb EP.2
• Complete AFX discography