18. Fritz Kalkbrenner: Are you putting out the new album because of money?
“No. I’m doing it to draw a line, to close a chapter. When you finish an album, it’s like drawing a line so that you can get on with the new stuff. It feels like I’ve reached a certain point in my life. Now I can probably concentrate on new stuff. The music on the album is from quite a long period, some of the tracks are already six years old.”
19. Gernot Bronsert (Moderat): Who is “Rubber Johnny”?
“Chris Cunningham – who did the video – should answer that question. But it’s him who’s playing the guy in the wheelchair. I would like to work with him again, but he lives in Los Angeles now. I’ve talked to him several times, so there might be something happening. I remember him telling me he does a zombie film and then he decided not to release it, cause there was another zombie film coming out. I think he’s too sensitive.”
Video: Aphex Twin – Rubber Johnny
20. Marcel Dettmann: What’s the current state of Rephlex and are you still involved with the label?
“It has finished, it’s closed now, a few months ago. So that has also been another chapter. So that’s something that needed to be done a long time ago. Me and my friend would have drifted apart, but actually the label did keep us together. It got to a point where I’d actually rather be his friend than be in business with him. So I’d rather play those Chicago records and get stoned and not talk about business.”
21. Joe Goddard (Hot Chip): Is the story about you hiring Captain Birdseye (aka Captain Iglo) for a boat party and giving out acid true?
“No, but I want to do this! It’s one of many undone ideas.”
22. Kristian Beyer (Âme): Did any of these tracks on the MP3 player you lost ever resurface on the internet?
“No, thankfully not! But the story is totally true, I left it on the plane. I think there were 80 unreleased Squarepusher tracks on it as well. I felt really bad about this.”
23. Radio Slave: If you were curating a party or festival, what would be your dream line up of artists?
“I don’t know! But I have this musical fatansy, where I would like to rewind and follow bands and producers back in time when they made a special recording. To watch how ‘Strings Of Life’ got made or how Kraftwerk put together some of their music. What they did in their lifes leading up to recording this …”
24. Darshan Jesrani (Metro Area): Have there been any funny examples of people biting your style?
“In the beginning it was quite hard to accept this – you can get obsessed by it. But now it’s fine. I think Bochum Welt is someone who did well. He’s producing some stuff pretty like Ambient Works, but his own kind of sound as well. Some of those are a bit like: ‘Yeah, I could put my name on a couple of those, maybe.’ Coldplay was the weirdest one, where I thought it sounds like me. They probably haven’t even listened to me. They have probably only heard someone that has heard me. Also some of the soundtrack of the Minecraft game. My kids were playing that and I thought that sounds pretty much like some of mine. And then this guy ‘Notch’ [Markus Persson, ed.], who made that game bought one of my records on eBay for 40.000 Dollars. My kids loved it. They told all their friends in school. That was pretty cool.”
25. Luciano: What are your thoughts on the explosion of “EDM” worldwide, but especially in the US, and all those massive LED light shows with only one guy performing on a stage?
“It’s fine. I actually don’t care what people are doing. I just care about what they’re actually playing. It doesn’t feel related to anything I’m doing. This guy Skrillex, I’ve only heard about his tracks, because my kids played them. It sounds like he has a good grasp of technology. I think it’s pretty poppy, isn’t it? It’s too poppy for me.”
Bonus question – Skrillex: Do you still own your tank and if so, can I come visit to you, try it out and drive it?
“He can come, yeah! It’s still at my sister’s house in Wales. It still works! Amazing old technology, when things were designed and they lasted forever. So, it’s 50 to 60 years old and it sounds fucking amazing.”
