The Tuss - Richard James

Outer Bongolia

Anybody like Aphex twin?

Well, have you heard The Tuss? It is Richard James under another alias, although there is still a good old argument going on around the internet over whether it's him or not. The second you hear the music though, you know it has to be him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBwUJMZNOgQ

Pitchfork wrote:

quick introductory note for those with only a passing interest in home-listening electronic music: The Tuss is a new project on Rephlex that, due to a string of associations in the CD notes and various related MySpace pages, appears to have been authored at least in part (and probably completely) by Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin. If it turns out that someone other than James created the Tuss tracks, it was a brilliant hoax, complete with clues-- such as James hailing from Cornwall and "The Tuss" being Cornish slang for an erection-- scattered in all the right places.

We don't know for sure if Rushup Edge is James' work, but it certainly sounds like a continuation of and expansion upon the ground covered two years ago with dogged thoroughness on the 11-volume Analord series. But where that project maintained clear aesthetic boundaries, in which tracks were generally grounded in early techno and electro and timbres were derived from analog synths, the tracks on Rushup Edge feel more open and less tied to orthodoxy. While the quality of the sounds still loosely refers to the late 1980s up through the mid-90s, there's a brisker, more breakbeat-driven approach to rhythm and less focus on repetition compared to the Analord project.

The first two tracks in particular are packed with nimble but deceptively complex variation, and seem especially suggestive of James' programming and compositional virtuosity. "Synthacon 9" is almost six-and-a-half minutes of propulsive techno, but it dashes by in as instant, so full of ideas the track can't contain them. Every bar or two another element is introduced-- a grinding acid bass riff, bright synths neatly inverting the pattern, a brief rainfall of electronic handclaps, some indecipherable vocodered vocals-- and each is perfectly balanced, eminently logical but still surprising. "Last Rushup 10" also zips along at a good clip, churning through loads of compelling bass and drum interplay. Then, all of a sudden, a self-conscious but undeniably catchy "Far East" melody played on a lone synth appears, an escapee from a Yellow Magic Orchestra track, and from then on everything else plays out in relation to this new tune. A pretty nifty trick.

The first two tracks are near-masterpieces in James' (or anyone else's) oeuvre, so it's not surprising that the rest of the EP doesn't quite conform to the same standard. But everything else is listenable and interesting in its own way. "Shiz Ko E" is comparatively straight electro with unusual use of a warped and queasy vocal, while "Rushup I Bank 12" seamlessly melds acid bass, rough breakbeats, and piano in a disorienting but beautiful tapestry. The abrasive percussion workout "Death ****" is a bit more trying-- its solo piano interlude sounds tacked-on-- while the closing "Goodbye Rute" is spare, ghostly, and pleasingly alien. The latter is closer in spirit to a couple of the excerpted tracks currently found on the Tuss MySpace page, none of which are included here. They suggest another side to whoever is behind this thing: one closer-- whadayah know?-- to the more melodic side of a certain Richard D. James. Stay tuned.

-Mark Richardson, July 06, 2007

jtsuited

mmmm? Is it really him. Last I read he totally denied it. I actually don't think it sounds much like him. Obviously he does if you're new to the whole Warp label. But it's not 'definitely' him just by listening to it.

Outer Bongolia

The fact that he denies it is not anything to go by, given his habit of tomfoolery in the past. I'm not new to the Warp label by the way. I think that the evidence it is him is overwhelming. And it resembles Analord no end

cornbb

I dunno. The clip you posted above might almost convince me its him but some of the tunes on the MySpace page sound way off. So now I think it might be some guy who got hold of a 303 and is trying very hard to sound like him. I wouldn't mind hearing the whole album though.

The tune above does remind me a bit of Analord, but Analord's instruments were purely analog, it was a no-bullsh*t stripped back sound. There's all sorts of digital tomfoolery going on in that track (not that Aphex Twin doesn't know how to do that really well when it suits him).

Outer Bongolia

yeah I know.. that's the thing.. nobody knows for sure but I was reading something about an extremely rare synth that appears on the album which richard is known to possess. Either way, I have all the stuff and it is quality. Recommended

cornbb

This guy might have it bang on I think:

http://aphextwin.watmm.com/aphextwin/comments/274/ wrote:

Rephlex: hello
Brian: lol hello?
R: hi we're from Rephlex and we saw ur myspace and we think the music is cool and we wanna sign u to our label
B: lol cool
R: but there is only one condition
B: lol what is it?
R: u will have to go by the name The Tuss so everyone on the internet will think it's another one of Richard D James' aliases, because its a Cornish word. ... and this way it's gonna sell better cuz our releases are selling like **** recently...
B: lol i like afx
R: yeah... so that's what we're gonna do, alright?
B: lol ok
R: alright bye
B: bye, lol

But yeah you're right, if its quality music then its quality music and it shouldn't matter a toss who made it. I'll check it out a bit more I think.

cornbb

Thought this would be worth a bump.

So all RDJ debates/arguments aside, is this guy's music worth buying? There are a few samples here and I like what I hear.

Edit: lol, I just saw this:

Outer Bongolia wrote:

Either way, I have all the stuff and it is quality. Recommended

Yeah I think I'll splash out on this...

Executive Steve

it's a pretty good album cornbb, a lot of people are calling it "overrated" but i think if you listen without prejudice it's rewarding enough.

cornbb

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

it's a pretty good album cornbb, a lot of people are calling it "overrated" but i think if you listen without prejudice it's rewarding enough.

Cool, thanks for that. I reckon the whole hysteria behind it will taint my expectations although I'll try to avoid that!

Scubadevils

Must get this too, I saw this thread a while back but forgot about it since. Another for the shopping list

Actually, if the youtube tune here is anything to go by, I am really looking forward to getting this album. It is very like the Analord series which is now some of my favourite work from Aphex Twin.

spyro_2001ie

I think it might be some guy who got hold of a 303 and is trying very hard to sound like him.

Ain't no 303 in that track, that acid has the sting of the Wasp in it WASP synth

and available in Vst for free here. renamed Da Hornet (scroll down a bit)

if you check out this myspace there are some pretty awkward tracks from Teh Tuss

the RIP Acid track, is actually a touch of class!

cornbb

Just got delivery of the 2 The Tuss CDs. I like it a lot, I'm getting more convinced now than before that it is RDJ - it sounds like a logical continuation of the Analord CDs with more of the rhythmic sensibilities of his older stuff plus some new tricks too. On the other hand its still possible its just a very talented guy trying to sound like him!

Either way sounds great, Rushup Edge is excellent, haven't listened to the EP yet.

jimi_t

I've been wondering about this for a while... I'm not entirely convinced, or if it is RDJ its with a collaborator - there's some Private Press era DJ Shadow stuff going on behind all the glitchy breaks.

Also, on the myspace what exactly is the distorted organ/piano sound at the beginning of Acid Brother? I'd nearly regard it as RDJs signature sound of the last decade, he always slips it into an album. It kinda sounds like a rhodes or something through delay and a HPF but I'd love to know how to recreate it.

Scubadevils

Got Rushup Edge today, don't know why I had left it so long. Absolutely excellent album, up there with my favourite from Aphex (assuming it is him).

cornbb

I was listening to that in the car today. I'm convinced its RDJ now. Either its him or someone who owns the same rare gear, has managed to keep his talent secret til now, knows all of Aphex's tricks and has managed to conjure up an amazing album that is a logical progression from Analord with some great drukqs moments thrown in too. There are so many great Aphex moments thrown in there, for a while I forgot I was listening to someone who supposedly wasn't him.

empirix

course it is - if you fgo to the tuss's myspace page(real one) RDJ is listed as a member including a few other people