26 Mixes for Cash

26 Mixes for Cash is a compilation album of remixes produced by Richard D. James (better known by his recording alias of Aphex Twin) for various artists, plus four original tracks. It was released on March 24, 2003, by Warp Records.

26 Mixes for Cash was released on CD only, although a vinyl promotional disc entitled 2 Mixes on a 12" For Cash, featuring the two Aphex Twin originals exclusive to this compilation, was released in limited quantities in Japan only.

Information

History

From as early as 1990, Richard D. James has been in demand as a remix artist, much to his reported dismay. James has said in interviews that he rarely listens to any music other than his own, although he has admitted listening to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin for breakbeat inspiration, as well as the music made by his close friends, including Luke Vibert, Tom Jenkinson, Mike Paradinas, and Chris Jeffs.

Upon being asked to do a remix for U.S. pop singer Madonna, James replied that he would produce the track on the sole condition that she portray a pig on it for him. In addition, according to an interview with Mixmaster Morris during the Breezeblock "We Luv Aphex" tribute show on October 31, 2005, when an unnamed female pop artist requested a remix a few years ago, she was flatly ignored by Richard. She then supposedly flew to London, tracked down Richard at a club, and was told that he'd only do the track if she "recorded a quota of noises with her genitilia" onto a DAT tape for sampling. Whether this is another variation of the Madonna story or just a flat out lie is unclear.

Another popular story, which has been confirmed by James, claims that a man showed up at Richard's home one morning, claiming to be the representative for the band The Lemonheads, to whom James owed a remix. Having completely forgotten about this agreement, James quickly went to his home studio, Lannerlog, and copied off an original piece completely unrelated to the original mix, which he handed over for several thousand dollars. Despite receiving payment for the track, it was never included on any album. This tale is not so unbelievable given that James is infamous for remixing tracks to the point that they become new musical works with little left intact from the original compositions.

The compilation

Along with the 22 remixes on this release, four original Aphex Twin tracks are also included. Two are new versions of previously-released tracks: "Windowlicker, Acid Edit" and "SAW2 CD1 TRK2, Original Mix". The two others were previously available only on Further Down the Spiral, the remix album of US industrial band Nine Inch Nails's album The Downward Spiral: "The Beauty of Being Numb Section B" (originally the second part of the complete NIN track) and "At the Heart of It All" (originally 7:14 long, this version is shortened to 3:49 by removing a lot of repetitive loops). James allegedly claims to have never heard (and not wanting to hear) the original NIN album, so it appears he contributed two original pieces instead of remixes (duly tagged "Created by Aphex Twin"). However, the end of "The Beauty of Being Numb" does incorporate the compressed sound of the track "Eraser" from the original NIN album in the background, this is left over from Further Down the Spiral, when it fades into the Coil remix of Eraser. James later expressed a desire to tour with Nine Inch Nails and incorporated samples from the NIN track "Heresy" into a live set with Chris Cunningham.

The track "At the Heart of It All" may have been influenced by the 1984 Coil track of the same name: Coil's track is very different, a beatless and dark post-classical piece of piano and clarinet, but its melody and ambiance can be heard in the slow underlying melody that resonates as horns in the background of Aphex Twin's piece. Both Coil and Aphex Twin worked on the NIN remix album to which James contributed this track (Further Down the Spiral). Rumors say they have worked together on the song "The Snow (Answers Come in Dreams)" but it was indeed made by Coil and Jack Dangers (of Meat Beat Manifesto fame).

In addition to the remixes featured on this release, James has also remixed tracks by Beck, DJ Pierre, and Soft Ballet, as well as additional remixes of tracks by Seefeel, Gavin Bryars, Jesus Jones, Saint Etienne, and Mescalinum United.

Online orders of the compilation through Warp Records came with two silver-wrapped chocolate coins, featuring the Aphex Twin logo on one side and Richard's profile on the other (with "ELECTRONICA REX" written alongside it).

The album is popular television background-music fodder, with tracks appearing in an advertisement for Axe deodorant, the television programme Top Gear, and the BBC's 2006 Snooker World Championships coverage.

A remix notably missing from the compilation is "Richard's Haircut", a remix of Beck's "Devil's Haircut", which was cut due to the label's unwillingness to license the track. Additional remixes by Richard D. James that didn't make it onto this album are listed in the Richard D. James discography.

Track listing

Disc one

1. "Time To Find Me, AFX Fast Mix" – 7:34 – remix of Seefeel
2. "Raising The Titanic, Big Drum Mix" – 8:42 – remix of Gavin Bryars' 1994 recording of his 1969 The Sinking of the Titanic orchestral piece
3. "Journey, Aphex Twin Care Mix" – 10:14 – remix of Gentle People
4. "Triachus, Mix by Aphex Twin" – 4:12 – remix of Kinesthesia
5. "Heroes, Aphex Twin Remix" – 5:18 – remix of Philip Glass' orchestral version of David Bowie's Heroes, mixed with samples of Bowie's singing from the original
6. "In The Glitter Part 2, Aphex Twin Mix" – 5:02 – remix of Buck-Tick
7. "Zeros and Ones, Aphex Twin Reconstruction #2" – 5:49 – remix of Jesus Jones
8. "Ziggy, Aphex Twin Mix #1" – 4:25 – remix of Nav Katze
9. "Your Head My Voice, Voix Revirement" – 3:15 – remix of Saint Etienne
10. "Change, Aphex Twin Mix #2" – 4:16 – remix of Nav Katze
11. "Une Femme N'est Pas Un Homme, Aphex Twin Mix" – 4:06 – remix of The Beatniks
12. "The Beauty of Being Numb Section B, Created by Aphex Twin" – 3:27 – an original track; "The Beauty of Being Numb" was remixed by Nine Inch Nails for their remix album Further Down the Spiral.
13. "Let My Fish Loose, Aphex Twin Remix" – 5:26 – remix of Nobukazu Takemura

Disc two

1. "Krieger, Aphex Twin Baldhu Mix" – 3:23 – remix of Die Fantastischen Vier
2. "Deep In Velvet, Aphex Twin Turnips Mix" – 3:50 – remix of Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub
3. "Falling Free, Aphex Twin Remix" – 7:41 – remix of Curve
4. "We Have Arrived, Aphex Twin QQT Mix" – 4:23 – remix of Mescalinum United
5. "At the Heart of It All, Created by Aphex Twin" – 3:49 – shortened version of the track created for a Nine Inch Nails remix album.
6. "Flow Coma, Remix By AFX" – 4:59 – remix of 808 State
7. "Windowlicker, Acid Edit" – 4:15 – acid remix of the title track of Aphex Twin's Windowlicker
8. "Normal, Helston Flora Remix by AFX" – 6:51 – remix of Baby Ford
9. "SAW2 CD1 TRK2, Original Mix" – 6:30 – alternate version of the track from Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II commonly known as "[radiator]" with added beats (Was included in the April 10, 1995 edition of Peel Sessions)
10. "Mindstream, The Aphex Twin Remix" – 3:42 – remix of Meat Beat Manifesto
11. "You Can't Hide Your Love, Hidden Love Mix" – 5:05 – remix of DMX Krew
12. "Spotlight, Aphex Twin Mix" – 6:57 – remix of Wagon Christ
13. "Debase, Soft Palate" – 5:50 – remix of Mike Flowers Pops

Production information

Disc 1: track 1, 6; disc 2: track 3 – Done in the frontroom, Southgate Road
Disc 1: track 2-6, 8, 10-13; disc 2: track 1-2, 5, 9, 12-13 – Made at the Atomic Ab.sorption Laboratory, Clissolog Studio
Disc 2: track 6-8, 11 – Recorded at the Bank
Disc 1: track 9; disc 2: track 10 – Made at Lannerlog
Disc 2: track 4 – Clayhill

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