Voice of London

An online independent record shop Bleep launched new Aphex Twin merchandise today.

The collection of a limited number of items is based on iconic Aphex Twin (Richard James) videos and is available online and in the Bleep x store in Dalston, London, which is going to be open until 6th February 2019.

Eight items are in the collection:

1. “CIRKLON3 [ Колхозная mix ]” hoodie named after the CIRKLON3 track and video from the Cheetah EP. The video was released in 2016 and directed by Ryan Wyer, who was 12 years old at the time. According to factmag.com, Richard James discovered Wyer’s work after seeing his Youtube gaming channel, where he posts gaming videos as well as Aphex Twin music reviews.

2. “Come To Daddy” baby grow and t-shirt inspired by the Come To Daddy track and video from the Come To Daddy EP (1997). If you are not a fan of boring blue or pink baby items and still don’t have a Christmas present for your friend’s, sibling’s, neighbour’s baby or your dog, you can grab Aphex Twin baby grow and a matching t-shirt for yourself. Come To Daddy is one of the creepiest and one of the most amazing videos from Aphex. According to RedBull, the video that was directed by Chris Cunningham relies more on prosthetics than actual video effects. The masks from the video were sculpted from silicon, using photographs of Richard James face.

3. “Donkey Rhubarb” teddy bear inspired by the Donkey Rhubarb track and video from the Donkey Rhubarb EP (1995). The video tells a weird story of three human-sized bears who instead of toy faces have probably the most known picture of Aphex Twin’s face. The replica of these teddy bears is obviously not human-sized but if you want something to cuddle these cold winter nights a teddy or three might be a nice choice for you.

4. “On” beach towel inspired by an ambient track from Aphex third EP (On EP 1993) and video. The video is a nice, surrealistic day on the beach and something that brings summer nostalgia.

5. “T69 Collapse” print from the latest Aphex Twin EP Collapse that was released this September. For the past two years, the artist behind Aphex Twin music videos was Weirdcore (Nicky Smith). He created the hallucinatory visuals for the Collapse video that are beyond this world.

6. “Ventolin” anti-pollution mask inspired by the Ventolin music video and track from Ventolin EP (1995). It is named after a trade name for the drug Salbutamol, a medication that is used to treat asthma. One of the side effects of this drug is tinnitus, which clearly was the inspiration for the high-pitched sounds in the track. The mask is a must for all of the poor souls that live in the polluted cities.

7. “Windowlicker” umbrella inspired by the track and video Windowlicker that was released as a single in 1999. The video was directed by Chris Cunningham and there is no reason to explain or analyse it. Read what Cunningham himself said about the video and watch it.

“That’s not the primary reason but it had a big bearing on it. When Richard did this track that sounded summery and sunny, I thought, ‘F**k. We should do it in LA in that style’.

Windowlicker was me trying to make a more commercial video for Aphex. The last half of the video sounded really pornographic. It made me think about girls’s arses. So I thought okay, that’s definitely how the video’s got to end and the first half of the video sounded like driving round in the sun.” -Chris Cunningham

The prices of the limited items range from £15 to £45

See also: The Weeknd releases his Third XO Merch Collection for 2018

Featured image: “Donkey Rhubarb” teddy bear. Picture by Ugne Maladauskaite

Words and photographs: Ugne Maladauskaite | Subbing: Jake Woods