Caustic Window (album)

{{UBE|date=March 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Caustic Window | type = studio | artist = [[Aphex Twin|Caustic Window]] | cover = Caustic_Window_LP_cover.jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|2014|df=y}} | recorded = 1988–94 | venue = | studio = | genre = [[Intelligent dance music|IDM]], [[acid house]], [[acid techno]], [[ambient techno]] | length = {{Duration|m=69|s=25}} | label = [[Rephlex Records|Rephlex]] | producer = [[Aphex Twin|Richard D. James]] | chronology = [[Aphex Twin|Richard D. James]] | prev_title = [[Chosen Lords]] | prev_year = 2006 | year = 2014 | next_title = [[Syro]] | next_year = 2014 }}

'''''Caustic Window''''' (also known as '''''Caustic Window LP''''') is an album by [[Aphex Twin|Richard D. James]] under the alias Caustic Window.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Harriet|last1=Gibsone|accessdate=2019-08-10|title=Fan led Aphex Twin Kickstarter campaign raises $67,424|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/12/fan-led-aphex-twin-kickstarter-campaign-raises-67424-caustic-window|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 May 2014|issn=0261-3077|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> It was planned for release in 1996 but only a few [[White label record|test pressings]] were produced. After one copy surfaced for sale on [[Discogs]] in 2014, it was bought and digitally distributed through a [[Kickstarter]] campaign. It was eventually sold on [[eBay]] for $46,300.

==Release== Although the tracks "Phlaps" and "Cunt" appeared on compilations in the 1990s, the album release was canceled. At least five copies were pressed in 1994. At least one was sold through the Record & Tape Exchange in [[Camden Town|Camden]] in the late 1990s.<ref name="Martin2014">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Piers |title=Aphex Twin: 'His music is a perfect mix of mystery and adrenaline' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/19/aphex-twin-richard-james-bjork-ian-rankin |accessdate=20 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408061440/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/19/aphex-twin-richard-james-bjork-ian-rankin |archive-date=8 April 2016 |date=19 September 2014}}</ref> One of the copies surfaced on [[Discogs]] in 2014 priced at $13,500.<ref name="gordon-p4k">{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/54714-aphex-twin-unreleased-album-caustic-window-to-be-sold-digitally-on-kickstarter-physically-on-ebay/ | title=Aphex Twin Unreleased Album Caustic Window to Be Sold Digitally on Kickstarter, Physically on eBay | publisher=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]] | date=9 April 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014 | author=Gordon, Jeremy}}</ref> In response, We Are the Music Makers, an electronic music forum, negotiated with [[Rephlex Records]] and initiated a [[Kickstarter]] project in which backers received a digital copy of the album.<ref name="fact">{{cite web | url=http://www.factmag.com/2014/04/08/an-alleged-test-pressing-of-aphex-twins-unreleased-caustic-window-album-is-on-discogs/ | title=Aphex Twin's unreleased Caustic Window album is now available digitally through Kickstarter | publisher=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]] | date=8 April 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014}}</ref> More than $47,000 was raised.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/news/aphex-twin--2/76720 | title=Kickstarter campaign to buy lost Aphex Twin album surpasses $40,000 (£24,000) mark | work=[[NME]] | date=14 April 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014}}</ref>

After the Kickstarter campaign, the copy was sold on an [[eBay]] auction. Money raised from the sale was split evenly between the Kickstarter contributors, [[Aphex Twin|Richard D. James]] and [[Médecins Sans Frontières|Doctors Without Borders]].<ref name="ebay1">{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/news/aphex-twin--2/78090 | title=Physical copy of Aphex Twin's 'Caustic Window' raises over £27,000 on eBay | work=[[NME]] | date=24 June 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014}}</ref> The copy was bought by [[Markus Persson|Markus "Notch" Persson]], the creator of ''[[Minecraft]]'', for $46,300.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/minecraft-creator-buys-rare-aphex-twin-vinyl-for-46-300-20140624 | title='Minecraft' Creator Buys Rare Aphex Twin Vinyl for $46,300| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=24 June 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014 | author=Blinstein, Jon}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/55664-aphex-twins-caustic-window-test-pressing-picks-up-46300-on-ebay/ | title=Aphex Twin's Caustic Window Test Pressing Picks Up $46,300 on eBay | publisher=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]] | date=23 June 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014 | author=Minsker, Evan}}</ref>

==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' | rev1Score = C+<ref name="cos-review">{{cite web | url=https://consequence.net/2014/06/album-review-aphex-twin-caustic-window/ | title=Album Review: Aphex Twin – Caustic Window | work=[[Consequence of Sound]] | date=27 June 2014 | accessdate=7 July 2014}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]'' | rev2Score = 8.1/10<ref name="p4k-review">{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19574-aphex-twin-caustic-window/ | title=Caustic Window - Caustic Window LP | work=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]] | date=30 June 2014 | accessdate=30 June 2014 | author=Richardson, Mark}}</ref> | rev3 = ''[[Resident Advisor]]'' | rev3score = 4/5<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=15245|title=Caustic Window - Caustic Window|website=[[Resident Advisor]]|last=Rothlein|first=Jordan|date=4 July 2014|access-date=25 April 2025|archive-date=8 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708204517/http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=15245|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> | rev4 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' | rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Cross">{{cite book|last=Cross|first=Charles R.|author-link=Charles R. Cross|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter=Aphex Twin|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/21 21]}}</ref> }} Mark Richardson of ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]'' named ''Caustic Window'' the week's "best new reissue", and wrote: "''Caustic Window'' LP probably wouldn’t have left a significant mark, and would have been heard as second-tier James. Twenty years later, though, we’re hearing it with that aura, that extra bit of longing that comes from how scarce music from James has become. And in that light, second tier is still very good indeed."<ref name="p4k-review"/> Derek Staples of ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' wrote that "the greatest gems within this collection highlight James’ foresight into electronic dance music", with "early examples of now trending [[tech-house]] ... This release might not have lived up to the lofty standards of the label, yet it remains relevant in a community of constant transition."<ref name="cos-review"/>

==Track listing== {{Track list |title1 = Flutey |length1 = 8:20 |title2 = Stomper 101mod Detunekik |length2 = 7:26 |title3 = Mumbly |length3 = 5:31 |title4 = Popeye |length4 = 1:19 |title5 = Fingertrips |length5 = 4:17 |title6 = Revpok |length6 = 3:43 |title7 = AFX Tribal Kik |length7 = 1:06 |title8 = Airflow |length8 = 5:06 |title9 = Squidge in the Fridge |length9 = 4:09 |title10 = Fingry |length10 = 4:51 |title11 = Jazzphase |length11 = 4:23 |title12 = 101 Rainbows Ambient Mix |length12 = 8:52 |title13 = Phlaps |length13 = 3:50 |title14 = Cunt |length14 = 4:16 |title15 = Phone Pranks |length15 = 2:16 }}

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== * [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/watmmofficial/cat023-caustic-window-own-the-legendary-record-by Caustic Window Kickstarter campaign]

[[Category:1996 albums]] [[Category:2014 albums]] [[Category:Aphex Twin albums]] [[Category:Rephlex Records albums]] [[Category:Kickstarter-funded albums]]