All the unaltered photos are included within this post as well.

Can you introduce yourself? (Name / age / what do you do etc)
Hello! I’m Alex Egan and I work for Ninja Tune and Phonica Records. I also run a few of my own little record labels such as Utter and its sub-label Quoth… no prizes for guessing what inspired that name.
What first got you into Aphex Twin? Do you remember the first time you heard his music?
It would’ve initially been via my dad. He is really into music and played in a band in the 80s/90s (Ozric Tentacles) so his taste and record collection influenced me loads growing up. In amongst the Gong, Can and Eno he’d also be blasting out mad electronic stuff like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and whatnot so I was aware of RDJ’s music from a pretty early age. We’d be going to gigs and festivals like Glastonbury throughout the 90s whenever the Ozrics or his mates such as Eat Static played so we’d catch acts like AFX and ‘Pearsquasher’ (as he called him) performing live now and then.
When I was about 15 I’d started getting really into skateboarding and heard ‘Come To Daddy’ in a video called ‘CKY2K’. Suddenly, two worlds I loved had collided. While I was already buying records at that point, it was by seeking out 12”s like ‘Come To Daddy’ and ‘Windowlicker’ that I got sucked into the whole Warp, Rephlex and ‘Braindance’ wormhole.

What stands RDJ’s music apart from everyone else’s for you?
Its fearlessness, originality and sheer diversity. There’s a lot of it as well, yet its quality is consistently high. The humour helps too.
Why do you think he inspires such devotion?
Everyone loves a bit of mystery don’t they? He’s cultivated a reputation as an unpredictable maverick over the years. Yes, there’s a lot of blurring of reality when it comes to his backstory, but behind all the crazy rumours there’s the undeniably excellent music. There’s integrity behind the myth.

This might be an impossible question but – what is your favourite RDJ track (and why)?
Oof. Well, I have loads of favourites and it depends on context but I’ll go with ‘#3 (Rhubarb)’ from SAW II. My wife walked down the aisle to it during our wedding ceremony!
Is there one track that you think most epitomises him? (And why?)
‘Milk Man’? Haha… but seriously, this really IS the impossible question.
I mean, which one track do you pick? ‘Alberto Balsalm’, ‘Xtal’ or ‘Every Day’? Would you choose ’On’, ‘Avril 14th’ or ‘VBS.Redlof.B’ instead? What about ‘Analogue Bubblebath’, ‘Cliffs’ or ‘XMD5a’?
You get the idea, we’re left in a bit of a pickle. So no, I don’t think there’s just one track that epitomises him, which is probably part of the appeal.

What is your most prized RDJ related possession?
I’ve picked up a fair bit of AFX tat over the years. Posters, masks, brollies, towels, toy bears… but most prized is a dubplate which has ‘5 Heliosphan Live’ on. Some of my mates from Phonica had it cut for me as a present. There are some other tracks cut on there as well and funny stuff like stupid answer phone recordings. It’s not valuable – there’s nothing stopping anyone else from cutting their own dub of the track – but mine still holds a special place in my heart. That track is perfection and the other bits crack me up.
Otherwise, my most prized ‘official’ AFX possessions would be the Analord series and The Tuss records. I keep going back to listen to them, they’re all brilliant. I actually sold ‘Rushup Edge’ years back when I needed some extra dosh. I immediately regretted it of course. Thankfully, another copy came my way at a reasonable price. I’m never making that mistake again.

Can you tell us a little more about your collection – how large is it? Any other particular highlights?
Fairly large. I’ve been buying all kinds of records over the last 25 years and a collection gradually snuck up on me. The Aphex section is pretty extensive now, but it’s not like I started out on a mission to get everything by him. I’m not an ultra-obsessive fan who only buys RDJ records or feels the need to get every single release on every single format. I just picked up the records as they came out.
As for the early or rarer bits, I regularly scour second-hand record shops and keep an eye on Discogs, though some find their way to me in a more personal way. For example, a few years back Nick from Phonica hooked me up with a clear vinyl copy of the Polygon Window album and ‘Artificial Intelligence II’ when he was sent a list of rarities for sale. Recently, some of my friends at Ninja Tune gifted me both of the 2023 live show records for my birthday, which was a bloody nice surprise! Then just the other day I got a great haul from Strictly Kev (of DJ Food) who parted ways with some amazing pieces that I had been after for yonks, such as the Caustic Window 303/606 picture disc, Bradley’s Robot 12” with massive poster and Universal Indicator green vinyl triple pack in Rephlex bag.
So the collection is growing slowly and organically. There are still a few gaps… I’d love the official binder to stash my Analord 12”s in and a ‘Drukqs’ box set for example (muggins here got the CD at the time), but with prices as high as they are, I’ll just have to see what crosses my path and hope I get lucky.
I have made peace with the fact that I’ll never own the ‘Analogue Bubblebath 5’, ‘Caustic Window LP’ or ‘Melodies From Mars’ TPs anyway!

Have you made friends with strangers thanks to RDJ’s music?
Yes, I suppose so, but in a roundabout way. It’s more from chatting about records in general rather than specifically Aphex. His music inevitably rears its ugly head in conversation eventually!


Have you made friends with strangers thanks to RDJ’s music?
Yes, I suppose so, but in a roundabout way. It’s more from chatting about records in general rather than specifically Aphex. His music inevitably rears its ugly head in conversation eventually!

Do you have a collective term for RDJ fans?
No, but let’s invent one now. Selected Ambient Berks?

Who is the most extreme fan you know?
Thankfully I’ve only come across the most intense fans online in Facebook groups or forums like Reddit and WATMM. The majority of chat is mellow and good-spirited but occasionally the odd bonkers theory pops up which can be pretty funny. As RDJ has sown the seeds of discord and kept a fairly low profile for so long you have to expect that some madcap followers will fill in the gaps. He certainly inspires a lot of questionable tattoos and unusual fan-art. It’s all quite sweet really.

Have you ever met him? (If so, what happened? If not, what would you ask him?)
No, never met. I do have a wicked idea for a Soundcloud dump release on vinyl though, so drop me a line yeah Rich? Sorted.

What is the best story or rumour you’ve heard about him?
Everyone knows the tank, bank vault and ‘DJing with sandpaper’ tales already. Let’s go for something cuter. One story that made me smile was the when RDJ sneakily entered his old pal Luke Vibert’s ‘Spiral Staircase’ remix competition in Future Music magazine under a false name. He didn’t tell anyone and his mix ended up getting chosen by Luke as the winning entry. It is an absolute belter of a remix to be fair.