TikTok discovering a musical act or song can be revelatory, for both the audience and the act. This week, we look at how an Aphex Twin track became a subject of discussions about gatekeeping, fandom, and cringe.
The sound
In September 2021, the account phonographicmaterial replied to a follower request to remix Aphex Twin’s “Alberto Balsalm” with an “echo fart” sound. And so, that is essentially the sound: a chill beat punctuated by a reverberating fart.
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The TikTok has more than 1.8 million views, and the sound has been used in more than 56,000 videos. Earlier trends were a little more literal with it, then there was a hand-raising trend and the sound was used to illustrate other behaviors. North West used the sound last fall.
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The creator, who’s based in New Zealand and goes by Dion, tells the Daily Dot that the “story here is the lack of story, honestly.” It was a simple remix request, and you can see from his account, which has more than 66,000 followers, that he’s deep into record collecting.
“Why it’s this popular, or why people seem to be able to convey a wide spectrum of emotions and feelings over the top, is just a display of this app’s users’ creativity,” he says.
Where’s it from?
“Alberto Balsalm” is a track from the 1995 album …I Care Because You Do, by Aphex Twin (producer and musician Richard D. James).
It seems a younger generation is discovering Aphex Twin via TikTok; this isn’t the only remix of “Alberto Balsalm.” And another Aphex Twin song, “QKThr,” has been used in more than 88,000 TikToks.
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People have commented that they can’t hear the song any other way now.
Sound off
In January 2022, Dion posted about pissing off “every single gatekeeping dick that told me to ‘not bring Richard to tiktok.’”
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But in the comments of the original TikTok, a few people claim this is what got them into Aphex Twin. Dion says he’s “just glad it’s putting Aphex Twin in front of new audience.”
