PSF: What kind of programs are you working on?
Aphex Twin: Things to just get more new sounds and sort of twist my brain as well. It's that complicated. I really love it. It's really technical. That's what I'm interested in basically- really technical music as well as having it be emotional too.
PSF: Is it a problem to balance out time doing the programming and doing the music as well?
Aphex Twin: With programming, it is quite difficult. In the conventional sense, I love the programs I make. It doesn't involved any sort of interaction- you just put it in, press the button and it goes. That doesn't involved much interaction and that's quite hard to get the balance right. If I'm using a sequencer, I don't find it difficult to use it to get what I want into the music. I don't find the equipment to get into my way then. If I did, I wouldn't use it.
PSF: Any interest in working with interactive systems and components?
Aphex Twin: I haven't done anything like that but I'm really interested in that sort of stuff. Anything odd or unusual like that. Electro-acoustics like that. A lot of it makes me laugh though because it's kind of like a science lesson with no music. A lot of people forget to make it into music. It's very technical and not very emotional. When it's got the two, then that's when I really like it.
PSF: Anyone in mind when you say that?
Aphex Twin: At the moment, I suppose it's just my friends who do it and a few old composers. I like the old tape and avant-garde music. I really like Stockhausen's first record. It's awesome. Don't really like much else after that. 'Songs of Youth' is my favorite one. Tod Docstader as well. He's an American (composer) from the '60s, working with tape music. At the moment, I like Luke Vibert. He's doing this tour with me. I love his music. I like Squarepusher as well.
PSF: What kind of things do you like about their music?
Aphex Twin: I like it basically because it's music of today. It's really relevant to me. They're roughly in the same generation as me so it means more to me. That's the first thing but then I also love it because it's fucking good music. It's doing something different that's never been done before.
PSF: How would you compare their work to yours?
Aphex Twin: I think we're all really different but we're linked together. There are SOME simliarities to the music but I think we're all on quite different pathes really. I mean, we're similar compared to some rock bands but looking at it closely, it's not that similar at all.