µ-Ziq Made a Brain-Scrambling Mix of Aphex Twin Tracks

Twenty years ago this month, producers Mike Paradinas (a.k.a. µ-Ziq) and the ever-elusive Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) joined IDM forces to create a collaborative album, Expert Knob Twiddlers, as Mike & Rich.

To mark the anniversay, Paradinas made a mix of entirely RDJ-made tracks and remixes under his various aliases including Aphex Twin, Polygon Window, AFX, and Caustic Window. Coming in at 32 tracks and 71 minutes, it's a rapid-fire presentation of IDM madness with few valleys to recollect one's brain cells, and you can listen below via The Vinyl Factory.

Released on James's Rephlex label, the duo have said that Expert Knob Twiddlers was fueled by vodka, spliffs, and even watching games from the 1994 FIFA World Cup; the end result was what's described on the official website as "fun experiments in the spirit of lighthearted moog pop and ripe 70s British TV themes, standing out from the po-faced electronica of the time with a garish glee."

Speaking with THUMP about making the album, Paradinas says the re-issue (out now on his label Planet Mu) has been a long time coming. "I've been asking Richard about [reissuing] it for a long time, and finally he said 'yes,' about the time Syro was released," he said. "He's got a lot of other things he's doing at the moment and he's very busy with his family. It's a good time because it ended up being the 20th anniversary approximately, but it wasn't planned that way."

Tracklist:

1. Aphex Twin – Schottkey 7th Path (Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 / Apollo)
2. Aphex Twin – Isopropophlex (Analogue Bubblebath EP / Mighty Force)
3. Aphex Twin – AFX 2 (Analogue Bubblebath EP / Mighty Force)
4. Aphex Twin – Analogue Bubblebath (Analogue Bubblebath EP / Mighty Force)
5. Aphex Twin – Alien Fanny Farts (Analog Bubblebath Vol.2 / Rabbit City)
6. Aphex Twin – Digeridoo (Digeridoo EP / R&S)
7. Aphex Twin – Metapharstic (Classics / R&S)
8. Aphex Twin – Phloam (Didgeridoo EP / R&S)
9. Caustic Window – Stomper 101mod Detunekik (Caustic Window LP / Rephlex)
10. Aphex Twin – Flap Head (Didgeridoo EP / R&S)
11. Caustic Window – Revpok (Caustic Window LP / Rephlex)
12. Polygon Window – Quoth (Quoth EP / Warp)
13. Aphex Twin – Tha (Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 / Apollo)
14. AFX – .942937 (Analogue Bubblebath Vol.3 / Rephlex)
15. Caustic Window – Joyrex J5 (Joyrex J5 EP / Rephlex)
14. AFX – .1993841 (Analogue Bubblebath Vol.3 / Rephlex)
15. Polygon Window – Polygon Window (Surfing On Sine Waves / Warp)
16. Aphex Twin – Heliosphan (Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 / Apollo)
17. Polygon Window – UT1-Dot (Surfing On Sine Waves / Warp)
18. Aphex Twin – Hedphelym (Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 / Apollo)
19. Aphex Twin – Analogue Bubblebath 3 (Trance Europe Express / Volume)
20. AFX – Cat 00897 AA1 (Analogue Bubblebath Vol.3 / Rephlex)
21. Aphex Twin – Dodeccaheedron (Xylem Tube EP / R&S)
22. Caustic Window – Italic Eyeball (Joyrex J4 EP / Rephlex)
23. Polynomial-C (Xylem Tube EP / R&S)
24. Caustic Window – The Garden Of Linmiri (Joyrex J9 EP / Rephlex)
25. Mescalinium United – We Have Arrived (Aphex Twin QQT Mix) (R&S)
26. Caustic Window – We Are The Music Makers (Hardcore Mix) (Joyrex J9 EP / Rephlex)
27. Mescalinium United – We Have Arrived (Aphex Twin TTQ Mix) (R&S)
28. Aphex Twin – 28 (On EP / Warp)
29. Caustic Window – 101 Rainbows Ambient Mix (Caustic Window LP / Rephlex)
30. Aphex Twin – We Are The Music Makers (Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 / Apollo)
31. Saint Etienne – Quex-rd (Who Do You Think You Are / Heavenly)
32. Aphex Twin – i (Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 / Apollo)