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YouTube will livestream both weekends of Coachella in April
YouTube is doubling down on its Coachella partnership -- it will stream live performances from both weekends for the first time this year. As has been the case in recent years, the service will stream the festival's first weekend, which takes place April 12th-14th. This time around, YouTube will host a "curated live experience" on the second weekend, including select performances, artist vignettes and behind-the-scenes footage.
Aphex Twin is the latest artist to open an online record store
Aphex Twin is opening an online record store. For his own music, of course. The Vinyl Factory reports that Richard D. James has started his direct-to-fans store with reissues of his back catalog including ... I Care Because You Do and newer stuff like Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2. More than that, there's a ton of digital-only and unreleased music on offer as well. What's available today isn't the half of it, though. "ALL Rephlex material will be going up here in due course+xtras," a note at the bottom of the site reads.
Aphex Twin's first concert livestream includes online-only visuals
Aphex Twin (aka Richard D. James) may have a reputation as a tech-savvy artist, but he hasn't exactly embraced livestreaming. You've usually had to attend one of his concerts to see him venture beyond his album cuts. At last, though, you'll get to see him perform live... and then some. He's hosting his first-ever livestreamed concert at London's Field Day Festival at 8:55PM local time (3:55PM ET) on June 3rd, and this isn't just the usual feed that shows the stage performance and nothing else.
Aphex Twin gives away 150 unreleased tracks on SoundCloud
To say that Richard D. James likes mixing music and technology is the biggest understatement this side of Bruce Willis admitting he's a bit thin on top. The artist better known as Aphex Twin has previously tweaked his music so that, if you ran the track Formula through a spectroscope, you'd see his face, not to mention launching his last album through Tor. 2015 has seen the musician decide to release a plethora of demo material onto SoundCloud, albeit under the guide of user48736353001.
Aphex Twin is making music software based on mutation
Aphex Twin (aka Richard James) is known for creating original, complex sounds whenever he can, but his next creation might just take the cake. He tells Groove that he hired a programmer to develop music software based on mutation. Once you give the app an audio sample, it automatically generates six variants on that and asks you to pick your favorite before going on to create more variations -- think of it as natural selection for sweet beats. The software still "needs to be tweeked," and there's no mention of a public launch, but the early output reportedly sounds "totally awesome." Don't be shocked if one of James' post-Syro albums uses this software to create some truly one-of-a-kind tunes.
Aphex Twin's first album in 13 years unveiled through the secret web
Fans have been waiting for a new Aphex Twin (aka Richard James) album ever since 2001's Drukqs. Well, he finally put out the first details of this follow-up today -- and in a very modern (if characteristically cryptic) fashion. The electronic musician revealed both the title and track listing through a Tor web link, which requires the kind of privacy-minded "secret web" browsers used by NSA whistleblowers and black market dealers. In fact, trying to visit the public version of the site gives you seemingly everything but what you're looking for; all you'll see is your own internet connection details and James' signature "A" logo. It's almost an anti-publicity campaign, in that sense. You can look at the image below if you're willing to spoil the surprise, but be sure to check out Aphex Twin's excellent/disturbing "Windowlicker" video (the music starts around 3:50) while you're at it.
