{"id":1071,"date":"2015-01-27T17:25:59","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T22:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.splice.com\/?p=1071"},"modified":"2026-01-23T13:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:24:16","slug":"programming-drums-aphex-twin-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/programming-drums-aphex-twin-style\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Approaches for Aphex Twin Style Drum Programming Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Richard D. James, better known to the world as the innovative composer and producer Aphex Twin<\/strong><\/a>, is no stranger to creative sequencing and beat mashing. Throughout his long career and almost innumerable releases, James has consistently showcased his unique abilities and talents for joining seemingly disparate elements in to a cohesive melting pot of beautifully melodic and rhythmic compositions. His latest offerings – Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments<\/em> 2<\/em> and the acclaimed Syro<\/em> – are certainly no exception. From more chilled out tracks like Minipops 67 <\/em>and Produk 29 <\/em>to quicker and often chaotic tracks such as Cirlont 14 <\/em>and S950tx16wasr10<\/em>, Aphex Twin’s work is rich with innovative sampling and sequencing techniques that push the limits of creativity and remind us as producers to always think outside of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog post mentions Splice Studio, which is no longer active. Learn more about the shutdown here.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idea One: Straightforward “Chopping” of Audio Samples<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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This is the most traditional and straightforward of methods, as it involves manually “chopping” audio clips in to slices and rearranging them. This can involve a fair amount of effort, but also allows for the highest degree of simplicity and control. One of the hallmarks of Aphex Twin\u2019s signature sound is his ability to take a simple loop and manipulate it almost beyond recognition. Here, we\u2019ve taken one of our favorite drum breaks and manipulated it through the use of processed chopping, reversing, gating, stretching, pitching, re-ordering, and stuttering, to create beats that barely resemble the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idea Two: Triggering Samples from a Drum Rack<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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This slightly more abstract and intermediate method involves loading one shot samples in to a DRUM RACK<\/strong> and then triggering the samples via MIDI. For this layer, we\u2019ve taken the same drum break and used Live\u2019s built-in CONVERT DRUMS TO NEW MIDI TRACK<\/strong> function to create a MIDI clip that represents the break. Once that\u2019s done, we loaded a DRUM RACK<\/strong> preset and were off and running. We chopped and rearranged the clips somewhat, just as we did in the first layer. The standard DRUM RACK<\/strong> preset that we selected already had plenty of MACRO CONTROLS<\/strong> to play around with, so we went ahead and automated these to create even more interesting textures and fills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n