Windowlicker
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"Windowlicker" is a 1999 single by electronic music artist Richard D. James, released under the Aphex Twin name on Warp. The artwork is by The Designers Republic. The single reached #16 in the charts.
The name of the single comes from the derogatory British term "windowlicker", meaning a mentally handicapped person.
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Details
"Windowlicker" comprises three tracks, each in a different musical style.
The title track consists of the soothing tones of Richard's voice modulated on computer, mixed with his trademark breakbeat snare rushes and drum samples, and mixed choir-like singing, resulting in a smooth, yet erratic song, with its last minute escalating into an extremely distorted wall of bass. Also included is a sample of James's French then-girlfriend speaking in her native tongue (allegedly saying "J'aime faire des (craquettes?) au chiens," translating to "I like to make dog food" or "I like to have sex with dogs"). The song could be interpreted as a parody of oversexualized commercial pop rap and dance music. Track two features sounds that wreak havoc on the eardrums of the listener, and was most likely created as an experimental track. Track three, dedicated to his girlfriend, is made up of wind-up music box samples.
The title track has been used on many adverts, notably for Mercedes Benz, and occasionally on promos for Nickelodeon.
Viewing a spectrogram of the second track reveals hidden images that were apparently synthesized as sound by Aphex Twin for the express purpose of being discovered in this manner. It is perhaps the only known instance of an artist using steganography to embed a representation of his own face into his music. One of the masks, the tribal face towards the end, is one of the many creations by reputable artist H.R. Giger. A spectrogram of the first track also reveals a spiral at the end of the song.
Video
Also of note is the promotional music video, a ten minute long parody of contemporary American rap music videos. In the video, two foul mouthed young men (a Hispanic and an African American) in LA are attempting, unsuccessfully, to pick up two young African American women (referred to in the end credits as "hoochies"), when suddenly a ridiculously long white limousine crashes into the two men's black Mazda Miata convertible, and a "pimped-out" Richard D. James displaying a surreal amount of wealth and power emerges with a fixed grin. The two women accompany Richard in his limousine, while throughout the video, their faces continuously morph into James's own likeness. The video was directed by Chris Cunningham, who also directed the infamous music video for Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" in 1997.
The promo was nominated for the "Best Video" award at the Brit Awards 2000, alongside videos by Supergrass, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and eventual winner Robbie Williams.
Track listing
All tracks written, produced and engineered by Richard D. James. The original single was released on 12" and two separate CDs.
CD1 and 12" vinyl
WAP105CD/WAP105
- "Windowlicker" – 6:07
- "<math>\Delta M_i^{-1} = -a \sum_{n=1}^N D_i \left[ n \right] \left[ \sum_{j \in \mathbb{C} \{i \}} F_{ij} \left[ n-1 \right] + F\operatorname{ext}_i \left[ n^{-1} \right] \right]</math>" – 5:47
- in HTML: "ΔMi−1 = −aΣn=1NDi[n] [Σj∈ℂ{i}Fij[n − 1] + [Fexti[n−1]]"
- commonly referred to as "Equation", "Complex Mathematical Equation", "[Formula]", or "[Symbol]"
- "Nannou" – 4:13
CD2 (out of print)
WAP105CDR
- "Windowlicker (Original Demo)" – 2:37
- available on the bleep.com release of Windowlicker
- "Windowlicker" video, in QuickTime format.
Other information
There are also three other official mixes of "Windowlicker" in existence: the "End-Roll Version", which is played during the credits of the video and a different "Demo" (both available on some Japanese imports), and the "Acid Edit", a remix performed in the acid techno style (available on the remix compilation 26 Mixes for Cash).
Other promotional material included a 5" calendar featuring images from the video, an authentic jeweled Aphex Twin logo necklace (replicas of the one worn in the video), and a VHS release of the video (in both uncut and censored versions, the latter being referred to as the "Bleep Version").
The single was named NME's Single Of The Year 1999 in its end-of-year charts. Richard James sent NME the following missive in acceptance:
- Smart! Thank you very much for voting for my track/s. I've had a very good year as usual, although it was very intense, getting on a really big roll, writing new stuff constantly, really looking forward to isolating myself next year even more! Hope everyone has a totally boring New Year's party, overdoses on everything and chokes on their own vomit on the bathroom floor, make sure you lie face down just before you pass out!
- Signed, Pritchad.g.kraymes.
Samples of "ΔMi−1 = −aΣn=1NDi[n] [Σj∈ℂ{i}Fij[n − 1] + [Fexti[n−1]]" can be heard on the song "54 Cymru beats" from James' 2001 album drukqs.
External links
- "Windowlicker" at the Warp Records discography (features audio clips).
- The "Windowlicker" video (Directors Cut)
- "Face the music" - from The Guardian Friday Review, 5 March 1999
- Spectrogram analysis of track 2
- The Aphex Face
