Rephlex Records
Rephlex Records | |
---|---|
Founded | 1991 |
Defunct | 2014 |
Genre | Electronic, IDM, ambient techno, experimental |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Location | Cornwall, then London |
Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge.[1] The label coined the term braindance to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists.[2]
History
In 1989, Grant Wilson-Claridge met Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) DJing at The Bowgie, a club located just along the coast from Newquay, Cornwall. According to Wilson-Claridge, back in 1989, "the Bowgie was the best club ever...this was before Newquay turned into the Cornish Ibiza" and it was very difficult to hear new and interesting music. Wilson-Claridge and James used to DJ on alternate weeks. When he noticed that James was playing his own tapes rather than records, Wilson-Claridge suggested that they press up some records. In the beginning, committing Aphex Twin recordings to vinyl was a way of making music the duo's friends wanted to hear. Due to their geographical dis-location they did not have access to the music they wanted to hear and so they decided to create their own, and Rephlex as a label was born.[3] Although the label was founded in 1991 in Cornwall, it moved the year after to London.[4]
On a post to an internet newsgroup in 1992, the label stated that its intent was to "promote Innovation in the dynamics of Acid" – a much loved and misunderstood genre of house music" and to "demonstrate to the rest of the world that British dance music can be entirely original".[5]
Rephlex has released the music of many electronic artists, among them Mike Paradinas, DMX Krew, Luke Vibert, Aleksi Perälä and Squarepusher. The label has also remastered and re-released the early works of 808 State[6] and the Future Sound of London, and relaunched the career of electronic duo producers Black Devil with a re-release of their first record.
In 2014, James announced the closing of Rephlex Records.[7] He stated that the closure was "something that needed to be done a long time ago. Me and my friend would have drifted apart, but actually the label did keep us together. It got to a point where I’d actually rather be his friend than be in business with him."[7]
Roster
- 808 State[6]
- Arpanet
- Baby Ford
- Black Devil
- Bochum Welt
- Bodenstandig 2000
- Brian Dougans
- The Bug
- Ceephax Acid Crew
- Chimera
- The Criminal Minds
- Cylob
- D'Arcangelo
- Dabrye
- DMX Krew
- Dopplereffekt
- Drexciya
- Ensemble
- EOD
- The Gentle People
- Global Goon
- hecker
- Richard D. James (including releases as AFX,[8] Aphex Twin, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, and The Tuss[8])
- Jodey Kendrick
- JP Buckle
- Kosmik Kommando[1]
- Leila
- The Lisa Carbon Trio
- Ovuca (including releases as Aleksi Perälä)
- P.P. Roy
- Bogdan Raczynski
- Seefeel[1]
- Squarepusher[9] (including releases as Chaos A.D.)
- Urban Tribe
- Universal Indicator (collective)
- μ-Ziq[1]
- Wisp
- Luke Vibert (including releases as Amen Andrews)
- Vulva
- Yee-King
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 285. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
- ^ "repHlex official sponsors of braindance". Archived from the original on 2 March 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ^ Stuart Aitken (November 2003). "A history of Rephlex Records". Stuartaitken.com.
- ^ "Rephlex Records: Recalling Aphex Twin & Grant Wilson-Claridge's label". Orb Mag. 7 May 2018.
- ^ "~~~ The definitive RePHLeX ~~~ alt.rave". Alt.rave. 30 November 1992.
- ^ a b Michaels, Sean (18 February 2010). "808 State set to reunite". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ a b Hoffmann, Heiko (2014). "25 Questions for Aphex Twin". Groove. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b Jonze, Tim (18 September 2014). "Aphex Twin: Syro review – a tour through brain-bending avenues". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (11 October 2010). "André 3000 and Squarepusher collaboration 'will happen'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
External links
- Rephlex Records at Discogs.com