Selected Ambient Works Volume II
| Selected Ambient Works Volume II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Aphex Twin | ||||
| Released | 7 March 1994 | |||
| Genre | Ambient, electronic | |||
| Length | 156:32 | |||
| Label | Warp | |||
| Producer | Richard D. James | |||
| Aphex Twin chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Sun-Times |  |
| Entertainment Weekly | C |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Select | 4/5 |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 |
| The Village Voice | B− |
Selected Ambient Works Volume II is the second studio album by English electronic musician Richard D. James under the alias Aphex Twin. The album was released by Warp on 7 March 1994. Billed as a follow-up to Selected Ambient Works 85–92, the album differs in sound by being largely beatless ambient music. James has claimed that the album was inspired by lucid dreaming.
Upon its release, Selected Ambient Works Volume II was well received by critics. It was placed on various best of the decade lists by publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin and Pitchfork.
James stated that the sounds on Selected Ambient Works Volume II were inspired by lucid dreams, and that upon awaking, he would attempt to re-create the sounds and record them. He claimed to have natural synaesthesia, which contributed to this album.
Simon Reynolds commented that on the album Selected Ambient Works Volume II James changed styles "from the idyllic, Satie-esque naivete of early tracks like "Analogue Bubblebath" to clammy, foreboding sound-paintings." Reynolds stated that along with other artists such as Seefeel, David Toop and Max Eastley, that artists have moved from "rave into the vicinity of "isolationism", a term coined by critic Kevin Martin which "breaks with all of ambient's feel-good premises. Isolationism is ice-olationist, offering cold comfort. Instead of pseudopastoral peace, it evokes an uneasy silence: the uncanny calm before catastrophe, the deathly quiet of aftermath."Volume II differs significantly from the first volume in the series, in that it consists of lengthy, textured ambient compositions with minimal percussion and occasional vocal samples, in a vein similar to Brian Eno's ambient works. James described the album as being "like standing in a power station on acid"
...
Wikipedia