| Drukqs | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 153 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8801
Category: Music
Artist: Aphex Twin
Publisher: Rhino / Wea
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
Label: Rhino / Wea
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 31174
UPC: 643443117425
EAN: 0643443117425
ASIN: B00005QD9N
Release Date: October 23, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Jynweythek | | • | Vordhosbn | | • | Kladfvgbung Micshk | | • | Omgyjya-Switch 7 | | • | Strotha Tynhe | | • | Gwely Mernans | | • | Bbydhyonchord | | • | Cock/Ver 10 | | • | Avril 14th | | • | Mt. Saint Michel Mix/St. Michaels Mount | | • | Gwarek 2 | | • | Orban Eq Trx 4 | | • | Aussois | | • | Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagrow | | • | Kesson Daslef |
Disc 2
| • | 54 Cymru Beats | | • | Btoum-Roumada | | • | Lornaderek | | • | Penty Harmomium | | • | Meltphace 6 | | • | Bit 4 | | • | Prep Gwarlek 3b | | • | Father | | • | Taking Control | | • | Petiatil Cx Htdui | | • | Ruglen Holon | | • | Afx237 V7 | | • | Ziggomatic V17 | | • | Beskhu3epnm | | • | Nanou 2 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Often proclaimed as electronica's one true genius, Richard James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, returns with a double CD that showcases his cleverness as well as his inevitable inscrutability. Still, amid macabre birthday songs, unsettling screams, and other bizarre touches, Drukqs offers the most technically accomplished and beautiful tracks of Aphex Twin's career. Every aspect of the Aphex brain is on display here, from stark pieces performed on sampled piano and zither to Squarepusher-styled drum & bass implosions, all informed by that peculiar Aphex treatment of bittersweet melody and unparalleled programming. For an artist once engrossed in homages to his dead twin brother and grotesque videos, Drukqs shows James getting by purely on music alone. "Mt. Saint Michel Mix" starts as maddening drum & bass, but is soon transfixed by glowing tones, hand drums, and police sirens. "Vordhosbn" is all acid beats and mad synths matched with fart-bombs and haunted cries. "54 Cymru Beats" sounds more like the tweaked-out, goofball techno of Wagon Christ than Aphex, while "Taking Control" goes metaphysical with cerebral synth-drums and muddled vocals. If Drukqs is the result of medication James has been imbibing during his three-year hiatus, then this is indeed better living through chemistry. Regardless, his music is still as beautiful and frothy as ever. --Ken Micallef
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| Customer Reviews: Read 148 more reviews...
 RDJ's genre-transcending masterpiece June 14, 2008
Although I admit I am largely unfamiliar with 2 of Aphex Twin's most famous pieces of work, "Selected Ambient Works Volume 2" and "The Richard D. James Album", I can confidently say that this is lightyears beyond the early "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" and "I Care Because You Do", as well as the recent "Analord" vinyl EPs. These compositions are beautiful, multi-faceted and detailed on a level almost comparable to Autechre.
"Drukqz" is perfectly thematic and atmospheric, while being incredibly diverse, stylistically, which is no easy feat... Ambient pieces and piano compositions flow seamlessly in and out of the glitchy IDM songs in an ethereal, red gold haze. The more minimal compositions aren't a completely different style as much as deconstructed; the droning ambiences of tracks like "gwely mernans" also exist as backdrops to the rhythms and melodies of the more frenetic tracks like "omgyjya switch7". The whole collection has a pretty consistent sonic presence.
Unlike the light, relaxed, stoned playfulness of most of his early work and "Analord", "Drukqz" is seriously emotionally intense. It occasionally adopts the numb warmth of his acid material, but is just as often disorienting, dark and alienating, full of microtonal / detuned harmony. It feels like for once, RDJ is taking his music seriously, and despite what some say about 'filler', I feel every track on here serves to make the experience more powerful. Even the more traditional, break beat focused tracks like "Mt Saint Michel Mix + St Michael" or "Taking Control", which might've seemed cliche by 2002, are saved before the end by gorgeous, memorable melody and atmosphere. There is always something interesting going on, and there is an equal of number of standout tracks at any point in the entire double album. Like all good IDM, "Drukqz" also seriously rewards repeated listening.
I feel like the reason "Drukqz" doesn't get the rave reviews it should is that music on it goes over the heads of most of his fan base, who can't appreciate the more slow paced ambient material, or the 20th century avant-classical inspired piano pieces. "Father" seriously almost sounds like it could have been written by Olivier Messiaen or Arnold Schoenberg.
Basically, "Drukqz" is a seriously ambitious work that succeeds on all levels, and probably one of the best electronic albums ever made. Highly recommended.
 Another Hard Edged Soft Ball May 29, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Comparatively quiet and uncrowded this CD proves another insignificant project. Odds and ends picked up here and there then assembled into contradictory resonances. 'Druqs' compositions come across as forced and tacky. Witty short squibs intermingled with blatantly caracatured kinetic never static synth drums. Where do we go from here Aphex Twin? The self appointed revolutionary of noise music has lost his feathers.
 his last good album? April 20, 2008
This seems like Aphex's last good album. I own 26 remixes for cash, and you can basically throw that one in the trash. Druqk's has some really standout, emotional, tracks of all types. The pacing of this album suffers greatly however as frantic IDM beats are interspersed with slow ambient "piano" tracks. Basically, you can't listen to the entire album in one go. Some tracks have me skipping ahead or turning it off. Its not really a classic, and it could have been if he worked on creating a flow. It feels like a singles release with some tracks he worked really hard on, and for that he deserves credit. As a whole it really suffers enough to take down two stars. Musically its pretty good though.
Sucked in. April 23, 2007
Avril 14th was the first song I heard off of this album. That was the reason I bought it. I had owned other Aphex Twin albums such as "Richard D. James Album" and the "Come To Daddy EP." But neither of those are as mysterious and beautiful as "Drukqs."
This album flows together very nicely if played continuously through. There are about ten electronica tracks, 10 piano pieces and a few scattered ambient tracks. Some of the trip-hop tracks really slap you in the face with how involved they are... But the piano pieces are truly beautiful.
Definitely my favorite Aphex Twin album.
 Gotta B on druqks to undestsnde unnerstudit unistoou ......? Never mind October 31, 2006
6 out of 16 found this review helpful
This Richard James album is another example of why I struggle to understand his intentions. Sometimes, he plays soft pleasant pieces (that no IDM fanatic needs), and then he goes off into some spastic brain hemorrhaging instrumention (which I actually find comforting). But, I guess he has to do this so that the album, as a whole, doesn't just sound like a whole lotta insane noise. Many of his more spastic drum and bass implosions (as it's been refered to) is some of his best work on this album. Richard James has come along way since I first heard of him with his "Selected Ambient Works" album that I bought many years ago. I was slow to accept and understand this album because there was nothing else like it at the time. I played it alot, got bored with it, and then just gave it away to a friend. Little did I know, that Aphex Twin was going to re-introduce himself to me in the near future.
A few years ago, I saw a movie called "Pi". It was a low budget black and white film based on the subject of intelligence and insanity, and the soundtrack that supported this film had a series of artists that I have never heard of before. Watching the film, I just loved all that strange electronic music playing in the background, so I knew I just had to find the CD soundtrack of the film "Pi".
On the soundtrack, I saw that Aphex Twin had a track on it. I don't remember this track in the film ("Bucephalus Bouncing Ball"), but I sure loved this bizarre electronic collage of dissonant noise. Plus, this CD soundtrack introduced me to alot of new artists, all making a new sound in electronic music that I have never heard before. This new music is called IDM, which means "intelligent dance music". But, I think it should be called ADM meaning "addictive music", because that's what this new music has become to me. I have a hard time listening to regular music anymore. This IDM is very motivational music to listen to. This music gives me all sorts of nervous energy which has turned me into a healthier, more physically toned, workaholic. When I'm in an IDM music euphoria, I can't sit still. After buying the soundtrack of "Pi", I ended up looking for more CD's with this new IDM sound.
This could easily be anyone's favorite CD from Aphex Twin. It doesn't really matter which Aphex Twin album you buy first (although, "Selected Ambient Works: Volume Two" would not be a good idea). But, you know, you can't just allow yourself to be satisfied with this one CD. However, if you don't have a lot of music like this, than it can seem to become too repetitious and become tiresome rather quickly if you just let yourself play this CD too much. Even I don't care to sit through the entire playback of just the one CD. But, I have determined that this music from Aphex Twin should be played within a mix of other Ambient Dub and other various glitch and IDM related electronica. To just play these 30 songs over and over, end to end, can get dull rather quickly. But if you listen to these songs mixed in and shuffling with about another hundred IDM instrumentals than you will truly appreciate Aphex Twin's participation in the overall bigger picture of today's electronic instrumentals.
I have these two Aphex Twin CD's shuffling amongst others in my 200 CD carrousel. These tracks by Aphex Twin are being mixed up with tracks by Autechre, Gescom, Phutureprimitive, Squarepusher, Pete Namlook, Biosphere, The Orb, The Higher Intelligence Agency, Sounds From the Ground, Electric Skychurch, Plaid, Boards of Canada, and various other similar artists of which Aphex Twin belongs with.
I also have these songs and other IDM and Ambient Dub tracks burned onto ATRAC CDR's that is made through the SonicStage program made available only by Sony. (Check out some of Sony's ATRAC CD players and find out why burning hours of your favorite tunes onto a single CDR is better than just loading an ipod with mp3s) Burning hard copies is definitely better than just floating your music in a temporary storage unit like an ipod. (You can make 32 hour CDR's, and as many as you want from all your CD's and mp3s. How many songs can your single ipod hold?)
Anyway, Kudos to you for discovering this Aphex Twin CD, but now, explore some of the other artists I've mentioned above. You will love this new world of sound that you've discovered. It is more vast than you could ever imagine.
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