Mike & Rich
Encyclopedia
Mike & Rich is an ambient
-techno album by Mike Paradinas
and Richard D. James
. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records
. The album is also known as Expert Knob Twiddlers.
The album is an amalgam of the music stylings of Aphex Twin and µ-ziq, complete with peculiar samples of jazz
and of the human anatomy
; "Upright Kangaroo" features a prominent sample of a belch as part of the beat. Familiar elements of both artists' works appear throughout; for example, "Winner Takes All" features a beat quite similar to that of "cow cud is a twin" from Aphex Twin's album ...I Care Because You Do
, at a much faster tempo. According to Paradinas, the collaboration was partially inspired by James' unreleased Melodies from Mars
project.
The album cover
features Mike and Rich playing the game Downfall
by Milton Bradley Company
, designed as a parody of the original game's box art.
The caption on the cover similarly is written in the style of that on the MB game, and reads: "Cleverly manoeuvre your records onto the platters and then listen to the tracks in the right order to win! But watch out-the tracks are different on each side you could be helping your opponent instead of helping yourself!"
An unused track from the Mike & Rich sessions, "Brivert & Muons", was posted on the Planet Mu
website around the time of the album's release, but is no longer available.
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
-techno album by Mike Paradinas
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas , who works primarily under the name μ-Ziq in addition to a large number of aliases, is a British musician in the field of electronic music.-History:...
and 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"...
. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records
Rephlex Records
Rephlex Records is a record label started in 1991 by electronic musician Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Rephlex coined the term braindance to describe the otherwise uncategorisable output of Aphex Twin and Rephlex Records...
. The album is also known as Expert Knob Twiddlers.
The album is an amalgam of the music stylings of Aphex Twin and µ-ziq, complete with peculiar samples of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and of the human anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
; "Upright Kangaroo" features a prominent sample of a belch as part of the beat. Familiar elements of both artists' works appear throughout; for example, "Winner Takes All" features a beat quite similar to that of "cow cud is a twin" from Aphex Twin's album ...I Care Because You Do
...I Care Because You Do
-Song titles:Several of the song titles are anagrams:* of Aphex Twin: "Wax the nip"* of The Aphex Twin: "The Waxen pith", "Wet tip hen ax", "next heap with"* of Richard David James: "Acrid Avid Jam Shred"* of Caustic Window: "cow cud is a twin"...
, at a much faster tempo. According to Paradinas, the collaboration was partially inspired by James' unreleased Melodies from Mars
Melodies from Mars
Melodies from Mars is a collection of unreleased tracks by Richard David James, better known under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. Although James has never admitted authorship of this supposedly unofficial album, at least two of its tracks are alternate versions of tracks featured on the subsequently...
project.
The album cover
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
features Mike and Rich playing the game Downfall
Downfall (game)
Downfall is a two-player game first marketed by the Milton Bradley Company in 1970 for players aged 7 and older.The game consists of a vertical board with five slotted dials on each side. Each player starts with ten numbered tokens or discs at the top of the board. The object of the game is to move...
by Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
, designed as a parody of the original game's box art.
The caption on the cover similarly is written in the style of that on the MB game, and reads: "Cleverly manoeuvre your records onto the platters and then listen to the tracks in the right order to win! But watch out-the tracks are different on each side you could be helping your opponent instead of helping yourself!"
An unused track from the Mike & Rich sessions, "Brivert & Muons", was posted on the Planet Mu
Planet Mu
Planet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
website around the time of the album's release, but is no longer available.
Track listing
- "Mr. Frosty" – 6:51
- "Jelly Fish" – 6:30
- "Eggy Toast" – 4:07
- "Reg" – 5:57
- "Vodka" – 4:12
- "Winner Takes All" – 5:44
- "Giant Deflating Football" – 6:22
- "Upright Kangaroo" – 3:31
- "The Sound of Beady Eyes" – 7:46
- "Bu Bu Bu Ba" – 6:51