Aphex Twin’s “Avril 14th” goes from Drukqs to Kanye West
Aphex Twin’s “Avril 14th” belongs to Drukqs’ intricate electronics and piano, but its melody finds new life in Kanye West’s “Blame Game,” grounding a song of heartache.
Tracklist
- Avril 14th — Aphex Twin
- Blame Game (feat. John Legend) — Kanye West
Transcript
Avril 14th — Aphex Twin
Before Kanye West used its melody in “Blame Game,” Aphex Twin’s “Avril 14th” belonged to Drukqs. That 2001 album puts piano pieces alongside intricately programmed electronic tracks. Warp’s twenty-fifth-anniversary reissue brings that range back into view. “Avril 14th” is one of those piano pieces. Hear it in its Drukqs setting first, before we follow the melody into West’s song. Hear Avril 14th by Aphex Twin.
Blame Game (feat. John Legend) — Kanye West
Kanye West’s “Blame Game,” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, puts the “Avril 14th” piano melody you just heard into a song about heartache and insecurity. Richard D. James, the musician behind Aphex Twin, told Pitchfork that West’s team sent him a version of the song. He said they’d sampled and time-stretched his part badly, so he offered to replay it at their chosen speed. Hear Blame Game (feat. John Legend) by Kanye West.
James said the team dismissed his offer and claimed the part as theirs. The Drukqs melody reached West’s song, though James didn’t know whether the finished part was sampled or replayed.