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1996 studio album by Mike & Rich From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Expert Knob Twiddlers is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records and is the only release credited to the two as Mike & Rich.[4]
Expert Knob Twiddlers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 24, 1996 | |||
Recorded | 1994[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 57:51 | |||
Label | Rephlex | |||
Richard D. James chronology | ||||
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On 14 July 2016 Planet Mu announced that a reissued version would be released with seven bonus tracks in September 2016.[5]
Mike Paradinas described the sound of the album as "an updated version of easy listening and funk".[6] James had heard the music Paradinas had made under the name of Jake Slazenger and invited him to create tracks.[1] Paradinas noted James had invited other artists to collaborate with him, including Luke Vibert, Squarepusher and Cylob and was honoured that his collaborative tracks were chosen for the release.[1] Both artists were getting drunk while developing tracks, something that Paradinas stated that neither artist regularly did.[1]
The track "Giant Deflating Football" was written during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[1] Paradinas noted that the two "were able to quite quickly write a large amount of material. 'Giant Deflating Football' is named because it had some quite weird percussion sounds made by scraping and blowing in a microphone. It sounded like a big wheezing football. We took a bit of acid afterwards to listen to it, and we were coming out with some imagery like 'Beady Eyes,' which is mentioned in one of the tracks."[1]
Expert Knob Twiddlers was released by Rephlex Records on 24 June 1996 on audio cassette, compact disc and vinyl.[8] Paradinas felt the album should have been released as early as 1994, stating that "At that time, that style was something that no one else had done [...] It wasn't like anything anyone heard before really. By the time it did come out, a lot of things came out like Carbon Trio and there was a lot of revived interest in easy listening. Neither of us was prepared for it."[6]
On 19 July 2016 the song "Vodka (Mix 2)" was released with the announcement of the album's 2016 reissue.[9]
The Guardian gave the album three stars, calling it "a lovingly kitsch collaboration" and that the album "might easily have been a loathsomely ironic exercise." stating that the track "Mr. Frosty" made the album "worth owning".[13] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."[13] AllMusic gave the album four stars, while noting that the mixed styles of James and Paradinas "cancels out the particular attractions of both artists, and the listener is left with a somewhat bland album. Fans of Aphex and μ-Ziq will be excited, but newcomers should go elsewhere before they dig this deep."[10] In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork described it as "just a playful, occasionally inspired time capsule of the 1990s."[14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Mr. Frosty" | 6:51 |
2. | "Jelly Fish" | 6:30 |
3. | "Eggy Toast" | 4:07 |
4. | "Reg" | 5:57 |
5. | "Vodka" | 4:12 |
6. | "Winner Takes All" | 5:44 |
7. | "Giant Deflating Football" | 6:22 |
8. | "Upright Kangaroo" | 3:31 |
9. | "The Sound of the Beady Eyes" | 7:46 |
10. | "Bu Bu Bu Ba" | 6:51 |
Source:[17]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Mr. Frosty" | 6:53 |
2. | "Reg" | 5:56 |
3. | "Jelly Fish" | 6:01 |
4. | "Eggy Toast" | 4:32 |
5. | "Vodka" | 4:12 |
6. | "Winner Takes All" | 5:44 |
7. | "Upright Kangaroo" | 3:32 |
8. | "Giant Deflating Football" | 6:21 |
9. | "The Sound of the Beady Eyes" | 7:46 |
10. | "Bu Bu Bu Ba" | 6:52 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Vodka" (Mix 2) | 4:22 |
12. | "Portamento Gosh" | 2:02 |
13. | "Waltz" | 5:24 |
14. | "Brivert & Muonds" | 6:17 |
15. | "Clissold Bathroom" | 0:54 |
16. | "Jelly Fish" (Mix 2) | 5:21 |
17. | "Organ Plodder" | 4:15 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
18. | "Upright Kangaroo" (Mix 2) | 4:33 |
Adapted from the Expert Knob Twiddlers liner notes:[16]
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