Expert Knob Twiddlers

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]

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)

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

Production

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
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 June 24, 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 Lisa Carbon Trio aka Lisa Carbon aka Lisa Carbon & Friends (band has albums on different listings) and there was a lot of revived interest in easy listening. Neither of us was prepared for it."[6]

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

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Pitchfork6.6/10[11]

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".[12] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."[12] 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."[11]

Track listing
1996 release[13]
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[14]
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

Adapted from the Expert Knob Twiddlers liner notes:[13]

Footnotes
  1. 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. 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. "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. Bush, John. "Expert Knob Twiddlers". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  11. Richardson, Mark (30 September 2016). "Expert Knob Twiddlers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  12. Bennun, David (19 July 1996). "Dance". The Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media Limited. p. A12. ISSN 0261-3077.
  13. "[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)
  14. Slingerland, Calum. "Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq Treat 'Expert Knob Twiddlers' to Expanded Reissue". Exclaim. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

References
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