I listened to SAW II, Ventolin, Xylem Tube and Analogue Bubblebath 3 last night and was struck at how fantastic Aphex once was. The presence and otherworldy quality of his early releases really insprired me to make music. Melodies that infiltrate, caustic percussion, ghostly voices. fuckin great!

Basically, I feel that his music has been generally sub-par since "I Care Because You Do".
Analord stuff was good, but still lacked the organic "animalistic" feel of his releases that really moved me when I first heard his stuff in 1992. (yes, unfortunately I AM one of those "I was there at the beginning" twats!)

Sure, the programming on his recent works is impressive, but to me it sounds a bit shit...

Discuss.

I believe that his quality of character has little to do with his songwriting ability.

I believe that to be true of anyone tbh.

I completely agree with you both. I made no comment on the quality of his character in the original post though... I'm confused as the why the point was made!

My roots began in metal and through the journey that is life Aphex Twin came into my life only a mere 3 years ago (I know,I know..Shock horror). But honestly I cant but help feel that the original point above has little or no relevance as music in all forms is 100% subjective! For a long period drukqs was just perfect... In terms of genre he's Aphex Twin,Afx,Richard D. James etc.. Basically he IS a genius and he can do what he wants. If you appreciate talent and can open your mind to all aspects of music both old and new then there should be no discussion as to the quality of his latter works. Wouldn't it be obscenely boring if he just made the same album? Just a tought...

I like all of his old stuff and his new stuff. I personally like the Analord Eps the most. I heard he has something like 12 albums complete, which is crazy. His music is inspiring , except for the noisy stuff. I have over 400 AFX songs and I love them all pretty much.