Behind The Decks: Electronic Musicians and Their Personalities

All of us have heard electronic music in some context, some more than others. Some know the classic 80’s synth sound – Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk. Others recognize the wonders of 90’s electronic music – Squarepusher, Autechre. Still others have read a Pitchfork article or two about some Skrillex escapade or another ridiculous something-or-other that Crystal Castles did, or listened to LCD Soundsystem’s last show on NPR (come on – you’re reading a blog. You know you did.).

It’s very easy to forget that these electronic superstars are real people – sort of how you forget that your English teacher actually exists outside of school, or that Bono isn’t just a figment of your imagination. Like actors and actresses, electronic musicians actually LIVE outside of the medium they perform in – but sometimes, that medium floods over into their everyday lives in… well, strange ways.

In other words, we all know the sound of electronic music – but do we know the people behind that music?

Musician #1: Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin, a.k.a. Richard David James, is one of the most hyperbolic people I have ever heard about. He is considered by many to be the patron saint of all electronic music, tackling every subgenre (e.g. Acid, Drum and Bass, Jungle, House, Techno, etc.) with gross expertise – as a matter of fact, when he dabbles in a genre he frequently proves to be better than musicians who dedicate their life to it. Here is a sample of his brilliant, genius work (this is one of my favorite songs ever, and I have 11,165 songs on my ipod now).

Why is he strange?

Well… Let me see…

-He lives in an abandoned bank in Cornwall.

-He owns, and drives, a tank.

-He owns a decommissioned submarine.

-He experiences synesthesia.

-He likes writing machine code in his spare time.

-He uses his classic smiling face everywhere – on album covers, in music videos, even in the waveforms of his songs.

-His first album, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, was released in 1992. James was born in 1971. This means that he wrote one of those songs (hint: it was “Heliosphan”) WHEN HE WAS 14. (As an aside, “Heliosphan” is widely recognized as one of the best electronic songs ever created, and in my opinion it is better music than most people can ever dream of making. This guy made it when he was 14.)

-He apparently has six albums worth of unreleased new material that he just doesn’t feel like sharing right now (this may seem fake, but I believe it).

-He has twenty-three synths. TWENTY. THREE. One of which is the Yamaha GX1. That is a pretty big deal for a few reasons.

One: there were fewer than 100 made. Ever.

Two: the only other people in the world who owned the GX1 were musical giants like John Paul Jones, Keith Emerson, and Stevie Wonder.

Three: it costs approximately $300,000.

He sounds like The Most Interesting Man in the World…mental ward style. James once said, "I'm just some irritating, lying, ginger kid from Cornwall who should have been locked up in some youth detention centre. I just managed to escape and blag it into music."

Long story short, he’s a freak. But damn it, if he isn’t one of the most musically talented freaks the world has ever seen.

Musician #2: Ceephax Acid Crew

Oh, Andy Jenkinson. You and your brother Squarepusher are so darn smart.

Ceephax, widely recognized as the king of the TB303 (a very classy synth used all across electronic music), is absolutely bats. Please watch the following video, and I am sure you will agree. (Don’t worry, he doesn’t only make bad music that’s funny: see this.)

Other than the fact that he’s nuts, why is he nuts?

-He got signed by Ed Upton (a.k.a. DMX Krew) after his very first concert… when he was 18.

-He does all hardware live performances. Just to put that in perspective, imagine manipulating one synthesizer in the comfort of your home (it’s very tough – trust me). Now imagine doing that live. With loud music blaring, people yelling, and sweat pouring down your head. Now imagine doing that with FIVE DIFFERENT SYNTHS SYNCED TO EACH OTHER.

-He throws ceeerrrrraaazzzzzzzzyyyyyy raves.

-He has a jumper collection with an unfathomable number of jumpers. I actually have no idea how many jumpers he owns, but I think it’s in the thousands.

So this guy is weird. Really, really… weird. He’s extremely talented, loves crazy parties, and makes strange music videos (I highly recommend you watch other videos of his, as they’re hilarious). Most electronic musicians like to stare at their laptop and turn up knobs while trying to look cool when they perform live. Andy Jenkinson couldn’t care less what he looks like, because he has an awesome time dancing on stage, tapping out TR909 drum hits, and moving his long, sweaty hair out of his face to be able to see his instruments.

Musician #3: Venetian Snares

Oh boy. Aaron Funk. This guy makes Aphex Twin look like Bob Ross. Here’s a song of his. Have fun. I’m not going to show any photos of him, or link any interviews, because very bad things come up when I do either, and I would rather keep this article somewhat appropriate.

That being said, I’ll save you the trouble of looking him up and tell you he’s probably the weirdest person I’ve ever encountered in my entire life.

Now, you may ask, “Why, Santa Claus, why?”

-Almost every single one of his songs is in the time signature of 7/4 – a typical Eastern European time signature. This is why his music may sound like noise, for the most part (however, when you actually count it off it starts sounding amazing. There’s a reason why I like his music so much).

-He writes orchestral breakcore. That’s right, orchestral breakcore. Think Gustav Mahler with a drum machine after a bad day at work.

-He hangs out with John Frusciante, and he does way more drugs than Aphex Twin ever did, will do, or thought of doing.

-When he was a kid, he enjoyed sitting in the center of five to six Ghetto Blasters and pressing play at random intervals on all of the different tape decks.

-One of his albums is titled Songs About My Cats.

-He makes as many as eight recordings a year. That’s INSANE.

This guy is top notch weird. Just plain old crazy. And yet, I think he is one of the most musically intelligent people ever. Listening to his music with an unfocused ear, one might say “oh my God, what in the name of all that is holy is making that awful noise.” Listening to his music while paying attention, however, will make your brain explode at the SHEER GENIUS OF IT. I’m not just saying that because I’m 18, and I’m not just saying that because I love Drum and Bass.

I’m saying that because anybody who can remix “Gloomy Sunday” by Billie Holiday into a melancholy violin and viola jam in 7/4 (“Ongyilkos Vasarnap”), or take the 1st movement of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto and turn it into a technological masterpiece (“Szamar Madar”), OR use a funk break, an operetta, a mandolin section, AND drum breaks in the same song – AND MAKE IT WORK (“Dance Like You’re Selling Nails”) is much more musically accomplished than most people ever will be.

Step aside, Girl Talk. YOU’RE OUTTA YOUR ELEMENT.

I love electronic music to death. Be it Plaid, Squarepusher, Black Dog, Autechre, Machinedrum, Sepalcure, Four Tet, The Prodigy, Orbital, Boards of Canada, Global Communication, etc., it never fails to deliver on a level that satisfies me in a way no other music can. But all of these musicians are very, very strange. Squarepusher plays the bass like Jaco Pastorious with a piston for an arm, and he makes music every single second of the day. The Prodigy is like Rage Against The Machine, if Rage used lots of face paint and MDMA.

If anything, I think the personalities behind the music don’t detract from the music - they add to it. Unlike hearing that an actor is a jerk in real life, or that an author is really a soulless maniac, hearing that an electronic musician does weird stuff is, if anything, calming.

Why? Because it explains why their music is so absurdly, ridiculously, perfectly awesome. 

Jack Impink lives in Princeton, New Jersey. He appreciates mallomars, Force of Will and Confuse A Cat Ltd.