Avril 14th

Album: Drukqs (2001)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Avril 14th" is a piece by electronic musician Aphex Twin, released on the album Drukqs, released October 22, 2001. The album reached #22 in the UK Albums chart and #6 in the US Dance Albums chart.

    Unlike the majority of James' electronic tracks, "Avril 14th" consists singularly of a tender two-part piano piece.
  • The track is used in Kanye West's "Blame Game." Richard D. James claims that West tried to get away with not paying, his reps saying, "It's not yours, it's ours."

    The piano part sounds like it could be re-recorded by West rather than directly sampled. In the liner notes for its album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, it states that "Blame Game" "contains elements of Avril 14 by Richard James."
  • The track has been used in film soundtracks, including Marie Antoinette (2006) and at the end of Chris Morris' Four Lions (2010).
  • An alternate version, titled "avril altdelay," was included in Aphex Twin's SoundCloud dump as user18081971. Though it remains mostly unchanged, it is in a different key and is slightly more rough in its recording quality - featuring the echo from the room, as opposed to the dryness of the original.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")Songwriter Interviews

Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang Van HalenSongwriter Interviews

Wolfgang Van Halen breaks down the songs on his debut album, Mammoth WVH, and names the definitive Van Halen songs from the Sammy and Dave eras.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.