this always feels like you've stepped out from a rave to grab a smoke and you're just processing the vibes while you can still hear the music from outside
He stepped outside, as he walked away from the club...its music faded and started to blend with something new, he continued walking, found this mysterious door, he opened the door and walked inside, an empty building with music playing....he stayed, and then and there was the rest of this album.
I first heard this track xtal when my friend handed me his headphones sitting on the bow of a ferry from Rottnest island to Perth Australia at dusk in 2001. With flat calm water, a warm breeze & the lights of Perth in the distance, this tune takes me back there everytime.
Every time I test a pair of headphones, it's tradition for this song to be the first song to listen to. If this song doesn't sound good, the headphones aren't good.
ive actually been using this song to make crappy speakers and headphones sound good with an equalizer. trying not to have anything too loud or too quiet, like the hi-hats, the kick and bass, and the synth at the start. now my car speakers don't sound to bassy thanks to this song.
I grew up in the countryside as a child, and whenever there was a snow day and school was cancelled, me and my best friend would take the wheels off our skateboards and use them as snowboards on all the newly formed slopes. I would have Xtal & Pulsewidth playing on my mp3 player as the soundtrack to those snow days, I don't know why but something about those two tracks really suited the snowy landscape. Now whenever I hear these tracks as an adult, I get the strongest sense of nostalgia and those magical snowy childhood memories all come flooding back. I can't thank Aphex Twin enough for creating this music. If you ever happen to read this, Richard - thank you for making my childhood just that extra bit more special :)
I would say it fits because the sound uses mainly plains-soundscapes (like smooth snow) and with a bit of fantasy you can hear the jingly christmas bells in the song which might remind you of generic christmas song bells.
@@birdlawyer6191 in all honesty I can't remember. I'm sure it must have been through CZcams in the really early days when it first started, but what lead me to landing on an Aphex Twin video will forever be a mystery 😅
Aphex Twin has made such beautiful music that has actually helped me through some tough times and that is super impressive for a sound that rarely EVER has lyrics. When you hear this stuff, you can ACTUALLY FEEL SOMETHING. Richard is a very talented and creative person, I want to meet him one day.
I wish to meet him one day as well. at least got to see him live once :) and I know exactly what u mean about the emotive nature and how its healing music in a weird way at the right times. hope ur doing well
I used to play this on loop whilst sinking off into a K-hole, always felt like I was in a elevator going up to a different dimension lol. This is definitely the music they would play in the elevator up to heaven!
Something about this comment seems so very comfortable and warming to me. I've never done K yet, (yet) but I had a sorta similar experience with MDMA. I crushed a yellow strawberry pill into dust, split it into two lines and snorted one up each nostril. I'm shitting you not mate I kept playing "Will Smiths - Getting Jiggy With It" on loop not remembering I had just played it a couple of times already. You know the bit where the "choir/group" is chanting that "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na" bit? I felt like I was in heaven listening to those voices, I felt like nothing else existed and I was just in a pure euphoric state that I don't think I've ever experienced since. Thank you for reminding me about that wonderful time.
This song is like standing outside in the snow late at night with yellowed lights that only slightly illuminate the area around you but just enough to make you feel safe and cozy
I remember the first time when I heard of Aphex, it was through his grammy win in 2014. At the time, I only listened to electronic music in the form of house and synthpop, and when I heard Syro and the RDJ album, I was turned off on how cold and calculated it sounded. But then I found out about his 2 Selected Ambient Works albums, and that was when I was struck by the wonderment of it all. And it all started with this song.
I feel like I’m walking down an elongated hallway in a hospital while listening to this. I feel like I’m in an empty train station while listening to this. I feel like I’m in heaven while listening to this.
Why? It was the definitive decade for great music. The last, in fact. It was the beginning of the end in reality, but it all felt magical, never ending and enriched the soul. The creativity was everywhere and we can largely thank electronic music for that, and sampling... Sampling played a massive part as it ensured everyone was perpetually looking back, whether they knew it or not. What an era.
This feels like waking up before everyone else to see the overcast and fog suffocating the brick buildings. You percolate a cup of coffee and sit in the darkness, shaking off the dreams of the earliest reach of slumber. You hesitate to turn to screens for stimulation. You soak in the silence.
I first heard this when a buddy visited me at my new place ,when I first moved out of home, rolled my first spliff to christen the new pad... I lit it, and he pressed play on the CD player... MAGIC
I had myself a wee journey a couple of weeks ago out in a local national park, just me, the milky way, a bunch of pademelons and this track. That memory is going to be with me for a very long time. Thanks RDJ
Richard really managed to capture the inherent beauty of natural electromagnetism tbh . everything in this track feels like its sparkling, like a crystal
This song sounds like when you're swimming underwater and paddling your feet on the surface, and it reminds me of this strange place or dream I had when I was younger. Almost felt like the place you are before you're born, just floating in bright blue sky along the clouds.
I used to listen to this alot while skateboarding around deserted Portland Oregon during the pandemic. The track made me forget everything and just enjoy the blue sky and cruising down the street.
such an odd feeling. As if all the difficulties of life are left somewhere behind when listening, you just lie in your bed and talk about life. Nothing worries you.
i remember showing this song to a really close friend of mine while we were walking around an empty festival season downtown chicago. the shimmers in the river almost seemed to match up with the twinkly synths and i fell in love with life again
This is the only song I have listened to for 3 days with no other songs playing. Even though I could swear I’ve never heard it before it transports me back to days when I was happy. I’m not saying I’m not happy now, I’m just saying this song made me happier.
I absolutely love this song, I can listen to it on repeat for days and never get bored. For me this song is my soundtrack for life. As today is my birthday and I'm here listening to this masterpiece to calm me through this rollecoaster of life
imagina produzir um dos melhores álbuns da história da música tendo apenas 14 anos, instrumentos feitos à mão por ele mesmo, e fitas danificadas. um gênio.
sou adepto a musica eletronica desde os 7 anos. hoje tenho 29 e quando ouvi essa track um mes atras fiquei sem acreditar como eu perdi tanto tempo da minha vida. desde então sou fã desse gênio oculto.
Esse é um dos melhores instrumentais que já escutei! Essa música é de 1992 e eu sou de 2002 mas parece que eu vivi aquela época pq me deu uma nostalgia enorme! Sou muito ligado a música e amei as melodia desse som, tipo um mix de sensações!
Me deixa feliz saber que existem outros brasileiros que partilham do mesmo gosto que o meu. O Aphex Twin é um gênio, sinto que o Richard criava suas músicas com o intuito de gerar emoções, porque cada música que ouço dele me traz uma sensação diferente. E essa, sem sombra de dúvidas, é uma das mais incríveis que ele já produziu, porque pode estar associada a vários sentimentos para quem ouve. De longe um dos melhores artistas eletrônicos que já existiu.
Listening to this shit on a night hike with clear skies and good company was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. The morphine probably helped too.
Ok..in 1993 was in Montreal canada..and just was discharged from the army..I went a club called metropolis on st Catherine st..and said to my father this is my new hobby..now it is my new song to my woman that resides in Switzerland..maybe...it has always calmed me down and made me feel alive in my travels and creativity in somexway..thankyou gentleman .It was my final song..after I left the new rave scene in San Francisco 1993..that was the end
This sounds like walking into a futuristic airport or work place. Water fountains are everywhere, glass windows with the sun beaming through, places where you can sit, booths, and more.
I love how this whole record feels. Some of the tracks sound half asleep yet half awake. None of the tracks are the same yet they incorporate so well together. I see the whole record as one incredible recording. Xtal is sublime, deeply trippy yet focused. It's wonderful listening to it.
When you hear some really old tracks it shows how loudness wars and the like are a bit silly, depending on the context and how you listen to music. No-one listens to magic like this and picks it apart, it just sounds great.
My first time hearing this track was in also the first time smoking weed with my older bro... 3 years later i still find peace in this piece. My dad even slept to this album once :D
Hmm really nice music. Peace and calm. I wonder if those "Aphex Twins" made some more music. I bet they make very "chilled out" music. Yeah I would love to hear more of their music, must be very undergroud.
It was 1993 when I first heard this. On a Tape deck, in a mate’s new place - he’d moved to a farm in Sussex( converted pig sty) .listened whilst stoned looking at the stars on a clear night.
I prefer the original with the low notes to the clear sound of the remastered version, the fantasy that the boy fumbled with the tape and created is wonderful!
This song feels like drinking a cold water at 3am
this is so strangely accurate
or walking into an air conditioned room on blistering hot day
Well I’ll never get that image out of my head now, thanks for the perfect description
feels like when harry maguire scored that pen against italy in euros 2021
@@Phambleton Maguire is the most expensive Centre Forward in the World at 80 Million...
THINK ABOUT IT😀😀😀😀😀
this always feels like you've stepped out from a rave to grab a smoke and you're just processing the vibes while you can still hear the music from outside
@@ravenitz Yes, well said!
I guess so sure Marlboro
Perfect description.
Yea good insight
He stepped outside, as he walked away from the club...its music faded and started to blend with something new, he continued walking, found this mysterious door, he opened the door and walked inside, an empty building with music playing....he stayed, and then and there was the rest of this album.
Aphex is timeless. Richard released that track 28 years ago and it sounds even fresher and more relevant today.
FACTSSSS
it’s literally just noise
@@goku9791 If this is noise for you then go listen to some mainstream shit
@@vmrrobotic7069 y’all will listen to anything just to be different istg
@@goku9791 Is being different wrong? Is having different music taste to other people wrong? 🤨
the kind of music you want as background when you are having a nice moment and want to keep it as a memory.
Yup, I've got this associated with tropical rains in Guam. When I was there, California's drought was serious and I cried watching it to this song.
dale el diego y afx
aguante el diego y la droga@@rasvetx
This was the first song my daughter ever heard.
Always kept amazing memories for me so I couldn't agree more!
I first heard this track xtal when my friend handed me his headphones sitting on the bow of a ferry from Rottnest island to Perth Australia at dusk in 2001. With flat calm water, a warm breeze & the lights of Perth in the distance, this tune takes me back there everytime.
awesome really good vibes
what a beautiful memory
wicked
Beautiful! It takes me to the coast of Cornwall, UK, sun setting, stars brightening, sea crashing below...
i was on acid when i found this track
Every time I test a pair of headphones, it's tradition for this song to be the first song to listen to. If this song doesn't sound good, the headphones aren't good.
ive actually been using this song to make crappy speakers and headphones sound good with an equalizer. trying not to have anything too loud or too quiet, like the hi-hats, the kick and bass, and the synth at the start. now my car speakers don't sound to bassy thanks to this song.
I will love this record until the day I die.
Same here buddy.
Same! And what a good life, to have enjoyed such a divine soundtrack throughout it:)
Yeah maan
so your dead body wont wanna have a listen?
This track is timeless it's a combination of the past and the future
I grew up in the countryside as a child, and whenever there was a snow day and school was cancelled, me and my best friend would take the wheels off our skateboards and use them as snowboards on all the newly formed slopes.
I would have Xtal & Pulsewidth playing on my mp3 player as the soundtrack to those snow days, I don't know why but something about those two tracks really suited the snowy landscape. Now whenever I hear these tracks as an adult, I get the strongest sense of nostalgia and those magical snowy childhood memories all come flooding back.
I can't thank Aphex Twin enough for creating this music. If you ever happen to read this, Richard - thank you for making my childhood just that extra bit more special :)
I would say it fits because the sound uses mainly plains-soundscapes (like smooth snow) and with a bit of fantasy you can hear the jingly christmas bells in the song which might remind you of generic christmas song bells.
Sounds like a good dream. The pictures must be admirable for a lifetime
How'd you get into Aphex Twin as a youngin? I didn't hear of know about him till college.
Killed it mate.
@@birdlawyer6191 in all honesty I can't remember. I'm sure it must have been through CZcams in the really early days when it first started, but what lead me to landing on an Aphex Twin video will forever be a mystery 😅
I wish I could listen to this song for the first time again so badly.
This song for the first time is like taking Morning Glory seeds for the first time. Legal ecstasy
This music is an alarm clock for the soul
nice
idk what this means but i feel that its correct
@@hangingnutsjimmy88 hell yeah dude
yes
God that is a beautiful sentiment
Aphex Twin has made such beautiful music that has actually helped me through some tough times and that is super impressive for a sound that rarely EVER has lyrics. When you hear this stuff, you can ACTUALLY FEEL SOMETHING. Richard is a very talented and creative person, I want to meet him one day.
I wish to meet him one day as well. at least got to see him live once :) and I know exactly what u mean about the emotive nature and how its healing music in a weird way at the right times. hope ur doing well
I love the airy feel this song has
Yes by the ocean breeze or after it just rained
If I ever come across Richard one day, I won't bother him too much, I'll just thank him for Xtal and tell him that I love him. That's it.
Same
yep
Every time i jam this album..it inspires me to write and record..
same for me mate! when i listen to Aphex i immediately pick up my guitar and start recording
I used to play this on loop whilst sinking off into a K-hole, always felt like I was in a elevator going up to a different dimension lol. This is definitely the music they would play in the elevator up to heaven!
Something about this comment seems so very comfortable and warming to me. I've never done K yet, (yet) but I had a sorta similar experience with MDMA. I crushed a yellow strawberry pill into dust, split it into two lines and snorted one up each nostril. I'm shitting you not mate I kept playing "Will Smiths - Getting Jiggy With It" on loop not remembering I had just played it a couple of times already. You know the bit where the "choir/group" is chanting that "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na" bit? I felt like I was in heaven listening to those voices, I felt like nothing else existed and I was just in a pure euphoric state that I don't think I've ever experienced since. Thank you for reminding me about that wonderful time.
Xtal is the Electronic version of Stairway to Heaven.
Just say no.
This song is like standing outside in the snow late at night with yellowed lights that only slightly illuminate the area around you but just enough to make you feel safe and cozy
great description!
Miss those days, now my area has terrible LEDs that are uncomfortable
Warmth and comfort with a cold, beautiful dark vastness around you
I remember the first time when I heard of Aphex, it was through his grammy win in 2014. At the time, I only listened to electronic music in the form of house and synthpop, and when I heard Syro and the RDJ album, I was turned off on how cold and calculated it sounded. But then I found out about his 2 Selected Ambient Works albums, and that was when I was struck by the wonderment of it all. And it all started with this song.
His newer sounds are just either calculated or ear grating hyper shiny glitched synths.
Way back when, he was a magician of this transcending sound.
it's like Heroin for your ears and soul and i keep coming back year after year for that sweet sensation
@@necromax13 I think his new stuff is great. No doubt it's different. That's your opinion just as this is mine.
2014?? Bit late to the party dude.
@@groverkirkland518 earlier than me lol. First time listening to this one ❤
I feel like I’m walking down an elongated hallway in a hospital while listening to this. I feel like I’m in an empty train station while listening to this. I feel like I’m in heaven while listening to this.
i feel like im in the mountains on a perfect blue sky day to this
This song is timeless. ridiculously good
yup
yes! 💖💖🥰🥰
the best aphex twin song..
Best song in general, of all time
Alberto Balsam would like a word, but this track definitely holds its own
This song feels like going on a bike joyride with your friends on a chilly summer night
Couldn’t have said it better myself
That was the summer of 2021 for me
This song feels warm and cold at the same time
twenty six years later is still fresher than most of modern music
*all
Facts
Coming up on 32 years now......Jesus where has the time gone??
Listening now I can recall the smells, the places, the friends of 28 years ago when I first heard it. Still vibrant, still brilliant.
Yesssss!!!
Nice profile pic
This feels like when you play Aphex Twin's "Xtal"
Relatable
#Hilarious
This is definitely one of the xtal of all time
Richard D. James moment
music to exist to.
prob the best song ever made
up there on the greatest electronic tracks off all time!
This is my go to song for coping with depression
the sample LALALA brings some joy huh
@@vico805 yep
The disbelief when i found out xtal was made in the 90s is unexplainable
yeah Richard was way ahead of his time with his music!
It's possible it's even older than that. There is a tape from 1989 with XTAL on the notes. So possibly written when Richard was 18.
@@Iofflight78 incredible
this is exactly what i'm experiencing right now
Why? It was the definitive decade for great music. The last, in fact. It was the beginning of the end in reality, but it all felt magical, never ending and enriched the soul. The creativity was everywhere and we can largely thank electronic music for that, and sampling... Sampling played a massive part as it ensured everyone was perpetually looking back, whether they knew it or not. What an era.
I'm gay
Ahead of our time
he will always be ahead of his time, we will never create someting like this again
being gay is definitely so far ahead of one’s time
Ahead of their time
Ok Tingle.
This feels like waking up before everyone else to see the overcast and fog suffocating the brick buildings. You percolate a cup of coffee and sit in the darkness, shaking off the dreams of the earliest reach of slumber. You hesitate to turn to screens for stimulation. You soak in the silence.
wow
weird that this is 30 years old. feels so much newer
thats all of afx music haha
this song never gets old
I first heard this when a buddy visited me at my new place ,when I first moved out of home, rolled my first spliff to christen the new pad... I lit it, and he pressed play on the CD player... MAGIC
this song is so damn beautiful, I just wan't to cry
so fresh especially for 92
Hauntingly Beautiful.
Absolutely tranquility with a little bit of madness flung in. 😊
I had myself a wee journey a couple of weeks ago out in a local national park, just me, the milky way, a bunch of pademelons and this track.
That memory is going to be with me for a very long time.
Thanks RDJ
Richard really managed to capture the inherent beauty of natural electromagnetism tbh . everything in this track feels like its sparkling, like a crystal
This song sounds like when you're swimming underwater and paddling your feet on the surface, and it reminds me of this strange place or dream I had when I was younger. Almost felt like the place you are before you're born, just floating in bright blue sky along the clouds.
I guess I have a new favorite song. i never heard it before and it's just beautiful 😊
I think it’s the only song i’ve ever heard that makes you wanna both dance and chill, it’s both cool, dancy music but also relaxing ambient
Probably my favourite track of his. Compared to so much of his later stuff - more simple, more soul.
I used to listen to this alot while skateboarding around deserted Portland Oregon during the pandemic. The track made me forget everything and just enjoy the blue sky and cruising down the street.
such an odd feeling. As if all the difficulties of life are left somewhere behind when listening, you just lie in your bed and talk about life. Nothing worries you.
i remember showing this song to a really close friend of mine while we were walking around an empty festival season downtown chicago. the shimmers in the river almost seemed to match up with the twinkly synths and i fell in love with life again
This is the only song I have listened to for 3 days with no other songs playing. Even though I could swear I’ve never heard it before it transports me back to days when I was happy. I’m not saying I’m not happy now, I’m just saying this song made me happier.
track still feels new its amazing fr
only 31 years old jesus
he has crazier tracks also from this era
I absolutely love this song, I can listen to it on repeat for days and never get bored. For me this song is my soundtrack for life.
As today is my birthday and I'm here listening to this masterpiece to calm me through this rollecoaster of life
You said it perfectly
imagina produzir um dos melhores álbuns da história da música tendo apenas 14 anos, instrumentos feitos à mão por ele mesmo, e fitas danificadas. um gênio.
sou adepto a musica eletronica desde os 7 anos. hoje tenho 29 e quando ouvi essa track um mes atras fiquei sem acreditar como eu perdi tanto tempo da minha vida. desde então sou fã desse gênio oculto.
Esse é um dos melhores instrumentais que já escutei! Essa música é de 1992 e eu sou de 2002 mas parece que eu vivi aquela época pq me deu uma nostalgia enorme! Sou muito ligado a música e amei as melodia desse som, tipo um mix de sensações!
Me deixa feliz saber que existem outros brasileiros que partilham do mesmo gosto que o meu. O Aphex Twin é um gênio, sinto que o Richard criava suas músicas com o intuito de gerar emoções, porque cada música que ouço dele me traz uma sensação diferente. E essa, sem sombra de dúvidas, é uma das mais incríveis que ele já produziu, porque pode estar associada a vários sentimentos para quem ouve. De longe um dos melhores artistas eletrônicos que já existiu.
I get a good mood from the song somehow
This was way ahead of its time
Don’t ask who’s here in 2021, because we never left ))
@Are you a Hutu or a Tutsi? You have been blessed with good taste. May that blessing be your guide. Godspeed
🖤🕉️
2024 still bumping in the morning
happy birthday, legendary man
Everyday for over a year I've listened to this before I go to work and it's never not relaxed me.
Listening to this shit on a night hike with clear skies and good company was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. The morphine probably helped too.
Трудно поверить, что этот трек вышел в 1992 году
в этом вся прелесть тогдашних музыкантов, которые писали IDM.. настолько футуристические работы. столько скилла..
И не говори
Согласен
liar .
Man this song brings me so much joy :D
Ok..in 1993 was in Montreal canada..and just was discharged from the army..I went a club called metropolis on st Catherine st..and said to my father this is my new hobby..now it is my new song to my woman that resides in Switzerland..maybe...it has always calmed me down and made me feel alive in my travels and creativity in somexway..thankyou gentleman .It was my final song..after I left the new rave scene in San Francisco 1993..that was the end
This sounds like walking into a futuristic airport or work place. Water fountains are everywhere, glass windows with the sun beaming through, places where you can sit, booths, and more.
Thx Andy for introducing me to this album!!
I love how this whole record feels. Some of the tracks sound half asleep yet half awake. None of the tracks are the same yet they incorporate so well together. I see the whole record as one incredible recording. Xtal is sublime, deeply trippy yet focused. It's wonderful listening to it.
this is an absolutely insane song
Aphex Twin always makes me feel like im playing a valve game
This song never gets old
This is the first song I ever heard from Richard.
it’s a good one to start off with
I literally said "hey Google, play a song I can smoke weed to" and this came up :D nice I wouldnt mind listening to while I'm having psychedelics
Isaac4thewin well thank google fro bringing you here
dmt
Cap
This song feels like when u randomly wake up at 3am in the morning and u can't get back to sleep
When you hear some really old tracks it shows how loudness wars and the like are a bit silly, depending on the context and how you listen to music. No-one listens to magic like this and picks it apart, it just sounds great.
My first time hearing this track was in also the first time smoking weed with my older bro... 3 years later i still find peace in this piece. My dad even slept to this album once :D
That synthline so simple yet so optimistic its unreal
lol. thats your pal thinking about how they can make your trip the best
When I'm at the most awakened state that I can, I feel like this song.
we need back to this
In love with this tune
it’s a good one!
Masterpiece
I loved it when it first came out and even more now. AT is so unique and wonderful!!!
Listened to this on Many a come down in the early 90,s, still so divine 🌄
The most irresistible song I have ever heard. If I start playing it, I have to finish.
The amatuer feel of the mixing only adds to this songs charm. 10/10.
This one's cold fresh like an igloo love it!
It's like, like blissful bliss
Blissfully blissful bliss..?
@@BasketCase yeah, like that
So many images comme to my mind with this music
I ascend everytime I listen to this track
especially after a toke of that green
Hmm really nice music. Peace and calm. I wonder if those "Aphex Twins" made some more music. I bet they make very "chilled out" music.
Yeah I would love to hear more of their music, must be very undergroud.
@Menzo Berranzan you're joking aren't you? If not glad you discovered him :)
haha if this is your first introduction to aphex twin, then it certainly is a good one
I do wonder who the other Aphex Twin is ;- ) but FYI, Aphex Twin is one dude.
Ha! Just watched that Coachella reviewer clip - hilarious. And she had the whole experience, too, without knowing it.
@@Vingul Google Aphex Aural Exciter to see what the “other” Aphex is. It’s a piece of studio gear originally released in 1975 :)
I love her!
It was 1993 when I first heard this. On a Tape deck, in a mate’s new place - he’d moved to a farm in Sussex( converted pig sty) .listened whilst stoned looking at the stars on a clear night.
got to be a top 10 AFX song! / it never gets old makes me feel so fresh/good/focused really nice tune!!
My favourite Aphex Twin track.
Surreal, curti muito esse som! Melodia linda demais.
This track gives me power
Simply outstanding.
I prefer the original with the low notes to the clear sound of the remastered version, the fantasy that the boy fumbled with the tape and created is wonderful!
This tune is everything
Sublime. Transcendent. Thank you Aphex Twin. A Limerick man GWAN!! 💪❤️❤️❤️😎 Restores faith in humanity this kind of music 🙏
Las sensaciones con esta obra maestra superan la mejor de las descripciones. Tan atemporal que parece traído de lo desconocido.
Refreshingly sublime.
This music reminds me of forests and it always has since I was 10 and I love it
The fact that this song was produced in the late 80s/early 90s is incredible, it sounds very fresh.
"So let me go over this again."
Amazing music.