(Surfing on Sine Waves)
Album by Polygon Window
Released	January 11th, 1993
Recorded	???
Genre	Techno
Length	56 min 58 sec
Label	Warp
Producer(s)	Richard D. James
Professional reviews
AMG (4.5/5) link
Polygon Window chronology
n/a	(Surfing on Sine Waves) (1993)	n/a

(Surfing on Sine Waves) is an electronic music and early IDM album by Polygon Window, a pseudonym for recording artist Richard D. James, better known by his other alias of Aphex Twin. The album was released January 11th, 1993 on Warp Records, and is the second in their Artificial Intelligence series. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x800, 135 KB)Cover of the album (Surfing on Sine Waves) by aka Aphex Twin, released 1993 under the Pseudonym Polygon Window. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... Richard D. James Aphex redirects here. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Techno is a form of electronic music that emerged in the mid-1980s and primarily refers to a particular style developed in and around Detroit and subsequently adopted by European producers. ... This article contains information that has not been verified. ... Look up Second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The second (symbol: s) is the SI base unit of time. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... Warp Records is a pioneering independent UK record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the most enduring artists in electronic music. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) is (among many other tasks) primarily responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for mass production and commercial release. ... Richard D. James Aphex redirects here. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Richard D. James Aphex redirects here. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Electronic music is a loose term for music created using electronic equipment. ... Intelligent dance music (IDM) refers to a style of experimental electronic music with an emphasis on unconventional sequencing and processing. ... Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin Aphex Twin (born Richard David James, August 18, 1971, Ireland) is a UK-based electronic music artist, credited with pushing forward the genres of techno, ambient, IDM, acid, drum and bass (specifically drill n bass). ... Richard D. James Aphex redirects here. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Warp Records is a pioneering independent UK record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the most enduring artists in electronic music. ... Artificial Intelligence is a series of albums by Warp Records released in the early 1990s to exhibit the capabilities and sounds of electronic music. ...

After hearing James's early material as Aphex Twin on Belgium's R&S Records, Warp contacted James and offered him a recording contract and a chance to "show off" his collection of homemade and modified synthesizers. He would later continue to release material on Warp, but under his other alias of Aphex Twin. Interestingly, nowhere on the package does it list Richard D. James as the artist, though it may be obscured by the image of a cliff on the back. An image of him running down a flight of stairs can be found inside the liner notes. R&S Records are an independent techno, jungle, and ambient record label for artists at the forefront of musical experimentation. ... Warp Records is a pioneering independent UK record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the most enduring artists in electronic music. ... The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ...

The album is a collection of largely instrumental electronic music (a few vocal samples are included in places). It appears to have been recorded by James (possibly in the late 80s) onto cassettes in his bedroom studio, using a limited range of cheaply available drum machines, synthesizers, sequencers and samplers, some of which he had modified himself. The equipment included staples such as the Roland TB-303 bass synth/sequencer on "UT1-dot," TR-808 & TR-909 drum machines, and low-budget synths such as the Yamaha DX100. Digital piano sample sounds are also used. Most of the tracks feature insistent drum machine patterns (the ambient Quinophec being an exception) and James' characteristic angular, modal, melodies. James makes liberal use of lengthy digital reverberation, giving a spacious feel to the tracks. "Quoth," released as a single, supposedly is created out of sounds sampled by James at his job at the time, digging tunnels. Electronic music is a loose term for music created using electronic equipment. ... Roland TB-303 The TB-303 was a synthesizer/sequencer produced by the Roland corporation in 1982 and 1983 that had a crucial role in the development of contemporary electronic music. ... Roland TR-808 Introduced in late 1980, the Roland TR-808 was one of the first programmable drum machines. ... Roland TR-909 The TR-909 was a partially analog, partially sample-based drum machine built by Roland Corporation in 1984. ... hello Sampling (music) Sampling (signal processing) Sampling (statistics) This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

The first track, "Polygon Window", was also featured in a rougher form as the first track on the first album in the Artificial Intelligence series, although Richard had been billed as "The Dice Man."

There is a story circulating on the Internet that this album was created and deleted on the same day. Apparently, after the album was mixed and sent out for mastering, James accidentally spilled a glass of orange juice on the master tapes, ruining them forever. In another version of this story, James explains that the album is compiled from bedroom recordings made on cassette tapes, some of which had orange juice spilt on them. Orange juice is sometimes naturally colored to match the color of orange rinds. ...

The album was re-released in 2000 by Warp to celebrate the opening of Warp's American division (albums by Warp had previously been distributed in America through Sire Records and Nothing Records). The re-release features two previously unreleased tracks that were recorded during the same time this album was created. See also: 1999 in music, 2000 in music (UK), other events of 2000, 2001 in music, 2000s in music and the list of years in music // Events John Tavener is knighted in the New Years Honours List. ... ... American record label, Sire Records Company was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. ... Nothing Records is a vanity label founded by Trent Reznor and John Malm, Jr. ...

Tracklisting

1993 Release

• "Polygon Window" (5:24)
• "Audax Powder" (4:36)
• "Quoth" (5:34)
• "If It Really Is Me" (7:01)
• "Supremacy II" (4:04)
• "UT1-dot" (5:17)
• "Untitled" (6:24)
• "Quixote" (6:00)
• "Quino-phec" (4:42)

2000 US re-release

• "Polygon Window" (5:24)
• "Audax Powder" (4:36)
• "Quoth" (5:34)
• "If It Really Is Me" (7:01)
• "Supremacy II" (4:04)
• "UT1-dot" (5:17)
• "Untitled" (6:24)
• "Quixote" (6:00)
• "Portreath Harbour" (4:44)
• "Redruth School" (2:43)
• "Quino-phec" (4:42)

Singles

"Quoth" was released as a single on transparent vinyl and CD with 2 remixes of the track, and 2 exclusive tracks. Interference colors. ...

• "Quoth" (5:34)
• "Ikita" (4:27)
• "Quoth [Wooden Thump Mix]" (7:52)
• "Bike Pump Meets Bucket" (5:48)
• "Quoth [Hidden Mix]" (6:46), not available on the vinyl release.

External links

• More info, artwork and samples
• Complete Polygon Window discography