The 10 best uses of Aphex Twin in cinema and TV
Spanning a wide range of style, sounds and inspirations, the idiosyncratic music of Richard David James, better known as Aphex Twin, exists in the realms of techno, ambient, and jungle, often taking listeners to wild plains of frenetic rhythm. Recognised as one of the most influential artists in contemporary electronic music, the reach of Aphex Twin has left an indelible mark on the industry, inspiring everyone from Skrillex, Linkin Park and Deadmau5 to Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Travis Scott.
Releasing his debut EP Analogue Bubblebath back in 1991 through Mighty Force Records, the artist amassed a cult following, leading him to perform at techno clubs and raves across the UK and Europe. His follow-up, Selected Ambient Works 85–92, elevated him to receive further success, gaining cultural and critical recognition for his unique contributions to contemporary electronic music.
The distinctive and dynamic sounds of Aphex Twin make his music perfect for almost any project, with countless independent movies using his sound to inspire their projects, whether they’re aiming for meditative ambience, frantic techno or something else entirely.
The 10 best uses of Aphex Twin in cinema (and TV)
10. ‘Omgyjya-Switch7’ – Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
One of the definitive sci-films of the 20th century, Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece Children of Men imagines a dystopian future where human civilisation is on the verge of collapse due to widespread reproductive infertility.
If you think Aphex Twin’s music is the perfect fit for such a world, you still wouldn’t be able to guess the context in which Cuarón uses it. ‘Omgyjya-Switch 7’ is the song to which Michael Caine, the main character’s dealer, strums his air guitar. The scene is Caine at his most powerful.
9. ‘UT1’ – Blade (Stephen Norrington, 1998)
The Blade series is legendary, featuring Wesley Snipes as the titular character, one of the world’s most skilled martial artists. As a half-vampire, he takes it upon himself to hunt and exterminate vampires.
‘UT1’ is the perfect song to characterise the bizarre and ultra-violent world inhabited by Blade. From hip hop to techno and alt-rock, Blade’s soundtrack was a huge hit among fans and reached number 36 on the Billboard Top 200.
8. ‘Goon Gumpas’ – Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002)
Lynne Ramsay’s second feature Morvern Callar is a compelling piece of cinema that focuses on the titular character’s life (a BAFTA-winning performance by Samantha Morton) after she discovers her boyfriend has killed himself. Based on the novel of the same name by Alan Warner, a particular quality that helps to bring the story to life is Ramsey’s delicately-crafted soundtrack.
Morvern Callar’s melancholic and desperate atmosphere is emphasized by the sounds of Can, Broadcast, The Velvet Underground, Stereolab, and Boards of Canada. However, one artist that appears twice on the soundtrack is Aphex Twin. Both ‘Nannou’ and ‘Goon Gumpas’ are used. However, the latter stands out the most when it can be heard in the background of a hazy party montage that weaves snippets of dialogue within it as Morvern grapples with the reality of her situation.
7. ‘#08’ – The Sopranos – ‘Army of One’ (2001)
The Sopranos has often been regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time and follows the Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano as he attempts to balance his life of crime with his family. Premiering on HBO in 1999, the show ran for six seasons until 2007.
A dramatic and emotional moment closes the end of series three, and as the picture fades to black and the credits begin to roll, the sound of ‘#8’ can be heard, a track from Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II. The repetitive beat has a haunting and tense quality to it, making it the perfect closer to an entire season of drama.
6. ‘Nanou 2’ – Beautiful Boy (Felix Van Groeningen, 2018)
Felix Van Groeningen’s adaptation of Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines is an emotional exploration of the effects of methamphetamine addiction. Starring Timothee Chalamet as young addict Nic Sheff and Steve Carell as his concerned father, the film was fairly well-received and earned Chalamet a BAFTA nomination.
In one moving scene, when Nic begins to relapse again, Aphex Twin’s ‘Nanou2’ from the 2001 album Drukqs can be heard. The delicate and moving piano piece is minimalistic, yet it is exactly this minimalism that impacts the scene and the film as a whole.
5. ‘Windowlicker’ – Climax (Gaspar Noé, 2018)
Climax is an incredibly disturbing film. Honestly, how does Gasper Noé sleep at night? Whether it’s the screams of a child left to die in an electrical closet, the telling thud of a brutal murder or the manic cries of an acid-addled incestophile, one of the scariest aspects of this immersive 2018 picture is its audio.
The film focuses on a dance troupe who are lured to an empty school, where they drink LSD-laced sangria and get very, very weird indeed. The nightmare that follows is accompanied by a stellar soundtrack of glitchy techno, including Aphex Twin’s mesmeric 1999 single ‘Windowlicker’.
4. ‘Avril 14th’ – Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)
Aphex Twin’s clockwork piano on ‘Avril 14th’ provides the perfect accompaniment to this scene from Sofia Copolla’s 18th-century costume drama Marie Antoinette. Telling the story of a young girl who grows up to become the queen of France at a time when aristocrats are losing their heads in droves, this 2006 film boasts one of the best anachronistic soundtracks in all cinema, featuring tracks by the likes of The Cure, Roxy Music and. Of course, Aphex Twin.
Soundtracking one of the film’s most tender moments, ‘Avril 14th’ is a brilliant example of how Aphex Twin brought the rhythms of electronic music to everything he did, including this Phillip Glass-style minimalist piano piece. It’s an absolute beauty, that’s for sure.
3. ‘Nanou 2’ – Dead Man’s Shoes (Shane Meadows, 2004)
Not only did Aphex Twin lend his music to Shane Meadows’ beautifully brutal 2004 drama Dead Man’s Shoes, but he is actually credited as the composer, creating the entire sound of the film itself. Drawing out the painful tone of Meadows’ fantastic character drama, the musician uses his track ‘Nanou 2’ to a terrific effect, elevating the nuanced emotions of the lead character searching for revenge in the English countryside.
Starring Paddy Considine, the film tells the story of a disaffected soldier who returns to his hometown to take revenge on the group of young men who terrorised his mentally ill brother many years ago.
2. ‘Btoum-Roumada’ – Mister Lonely (Harmony Korine, 2007)
The cinema of Harmony Korine is as idiosyncratic as the music of Aphex Twin, so their eventual collaboration was a match made in heaven, as the clip from his 2007 film Mister Lonely innately suggests. The scene itself shows a circle of nuns skydiving back to earth, each wearing pearly white smiles as the angelic sound of ‘Btoum-Roumada’ plays in the background, its heavenly and strangely ethereal stuff.
Though not regularly discussed in cinematic circles, Mister Lonely stars Werner Herzog and Diego Luna and tells the story of a Michael Jackson look-alike who heads to a commune of like-minded people in Scotland.
1. ‘Bucephalus Bouncing Ball’ – Pi (Darren Aronofsky, 1998)
Having enjoyed an impressive career that has spanned independent and Hollywood cinema, Darren Aronofsky’s greatest success remains his peculiar feature-film debut, Pi. Telling the story of a paranoid mathematician searching for a key number that might unlock the universal patterns of nature, Aronofsky’s monochrome adventure is indeed designed for the music of Aphex Twin to slip naturally in.
Erratic and industrial, the sound of the musician’s ‘Bucephalus Bouncing Ball’ works to reflect the confused mindstate of the protagonist, Sean Gullette’s Maximillian Cohen. It’s an effortless synthesis of sound and cinema.
