Surfing on Sine Waves
| Surfing on Sine Waves | |||||
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| Studio album by Polygon Window | |||||
| Released | 11 January 1993 | ||||
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| Length | 56:58 | ||||
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| Producer | Richard D. James | ||||
| Aphex Twin chronology | |||||
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| Artificial Intelligence series chronology | |||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| Pitchfork Media | (8.1/10) |
Surfing on Sine Waves (stylized as (Surfing on Sine Waves) is an album by Polygon Window, a pseudonym for the English electronic music producer Richard D. James, (better known by his other alias of Aphex Twin), released on 11 January 1993 by Warp Records in the United Kingdom, Wax Trax! Records and TVT Records in the United States, SME Records in Japan and by Zomba Records in Germany. It is the second release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series. Warp released "Quoth" as a single in March 1993.
After hearing James' early material as Aphex Twin on Belgium's R&S Records, Warp contacted James and offered him a recording contract. Richard D. James is listed as the creator of the music; however, his name is printed over the brown cliff on the back of the album, so it is not easily seen without careful scrutiny. The full text reads, "Writing, programming, arranging, engineering, producing + location recording by Richard D. James at Llannerlog Studios, Cornwall." An image of him running down a flight of stairs can also be found inside the liner notes. This image was later used on the Quoth single.
The album is a collection of largely instrumental electronic music (a few vocal samples are included in places, including one from the Broadway musical "The Sound of Music"). It was most likely recorded by James onto cassettes in his bedroom studio (similar to the production of Selected Ambient Works 85-92), using a limited range of available drum machines, synthesizers, sequencers and samplers, some of which he may have modified himself. The equipment included staples such as the Roland TB-303 bass synth/sequencer and Roland TR-606 drum machine on the Untitled track, a Roland R-8 digital drum machine, and low-budget synths such as the Yamaha DX100. Digital piano sample sounds are also used. Most of the tracks feature insistent drum machine patterns (the ambient "Quino-phec" being an exception) and James' characteristic angular and modal melodies. James makes liberal use of lengthy digital reverberation, giving a spacious feel to the tracks.
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