Published
Wed, Apr 1, 2020, 18:00
- Richard D. James has shared a note—which also mentions the recent loss of his father—via SoundCloud.
Aphex Twin has shared a note online mourning the loss of his father and warning people about the current political climate.
"Huge heartfelt condolences to anyone grieving right now, I lost my father recently and it's been really tough, it was not related to C19 [COVID-19]," reads the note, which was posted in the bio of SoundCloud user user18081971, widely accepted to be Richard D. James. (The note has since been deleted but re-shared on Reddit.)
James's father, Derek, was a tin and coal miner, before becoming a psychiatric nurse and a counsellor, according to user18081971. He has made numerous cameos in his son's work, including vocal samples on "4" and "Lornaderek."
James's statement then went on to comment on the current pandemic. "When you are presented with C19 statistics, you must demand whether the figures reflect people who have died WITH C19 or FROM C19. Please do not forget this."
He continues: "When police carry out wishes from government, without any law being in place, you are living in a police state and it is no longer a democracy. When you are held under house arrest, when no crime has been committed, you are living in a police state and it is no longer a democracy. You didn't think this could happen did you? Do you know what rights you could lose next, can you guess? You have been warned."
Update: October 12th, 2020
Richard D. James recently returned to SoundCloud to clarify his opinions on the virus. "..Had a lot of Pms," he writes, "tried to answer a lot of them individually but to the ones I didn't reply to: I definitely don't think Covid is a hoax, I'm just very worried about the erosion of civil and human rights and how we are to get them back."
He also offered views on the UK's current "rule of six" law, which bans groups of more than six people from gathering, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak's recent comments suggesting music industry professionals should find other work.
"Got very upset about Rishi Sunak," he writes. "UK minister the other day saying musicians should retrain… I mean really, ffs?"
As of October 11th, 2020, a second wave of Covid-19 infections is sweeping across Europe and the UK, with many countries already reentering full or partial lockdowns. The current stats from the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirm 37 million cases worldwide and more than a million deaths.
For more scene perspectives on the current crisis, read essays by artist manager Ed Karney, booking agent Carin Abdulá and the staff from legendary club Robert Johnson, plus messages from various promoters around the world.
Revisit last year's interview with Aphex Twin and our Label Of The Month feature on Rephlex.
This post has been updated.