Aphex Twin Net Worth

What is Aphex Twin's Net Worth?

Aphex Twin is a British electronic musician, composer, and DJ who has a net worth of $12 million. Widely considered among the most influential artists in contemporary electronic music, Aphex Twin has released such hit albums as "…I Care Because You Do," "Richard D. James Album," "Drukqs," and "Syro," with hit songs including "Come to Daddy," "Windowlicker," and "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f." He has also released music under many other aliases, such as AFX and Caustic Window.

Early Life and Education

Aphex Twin, whose real name is Richard James, was born on August 18, 1971 to Welsh parents in Limerick, Ireland. His sister Julie, nearly 13 years his senior, went on to become a Welsh Labour politician. James was raised in Cornwall, England, where he attended Redruth School. He began making music at the age of 14, but experimented with electronic sounds long before that. For his further education, James went to Cornwall College, graduating with a National Diploma in engineering in 1990.

Career Beginnings

James began his career in the Cornish free party scene in the late 1980s. He held raves and became a regular DJ at the Bowgie nightclub in Crantock. From this gig, James became acquainted with free party organizer Mark Darby, who helped James release a record on the nascent label Mighty Force Records entitled "Analogue Bubblebath." James had also met Grant Wilson-Claridge at the Bowgie, and together they launched Rephlex Records in 1991. After that, James released a number of records, including three more "Analogue Bubblebath" EPs, two EPs under the alias Caustic Window, and the EPs "Digeridoo" and "Xylem Tube" on the Rephlex label.

Rise to Fame

In late 1992, James released his first studio album as Aphex Twin, "Selected Ambient Works 85-92." Consisting of ambient techno music he had recorded as early as his teenage years, it was highly acclaimed by critics and later became regarded as one of the defining works of contemporary electronica. In early 1993, James released the album "Surfing on Sine Waves" under the alias Polygon Window, followed by the EP "Quoth" under the same name. He then released two limited-edition EPs as Caustic Window, "Joyrex J9i" and "Joyrex J9ii." Toward the end of 1993, James released the EP "On." He went on to have his biggest commercial hit yet with the album "Selected Ambient Works Volume II," which reached number one on the Dance Albums Chart and number 11 on the Albums Chart in the UK in 1994. James had another hit with his 1995 album "…I Care Because You Do," which was supported by the EP and single "Ventolin." Later in the year, he released the EP "Donkey Rhubarb" and the two-part EP "Hangable Auto Bulb," the latter under the alias AFX.

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Further Career

In 1996, James collaborated with Michael Paradinas on the album "Expert Knob Twiddlers," released under the name Mike & Rich. Toward the end of the year, he released his fourth studio album as Aphex Twin, ironically titled "Richard D. James Album." The album garnered high praise for its innovative use of breakbeats, elaborate drum programming, and opulent string arrangements combined with ambient melodies. In 1997, James released the double EP "Come to Daddy," which spawned his popular song of the same name. At the end of the decade, he released one of his other major hit songs, "Windowlicker." In 2001, James released his fifth studio album as Aphex Twin, the experimental double album "Drukqs." Influenced by John Cage and Erik Satie, it includes James's acclaimed piano composition "Avril 14th." Over the ensuing years, James's releases included the compilation album "26 Mixes for Cash" and the EP series "Analord," the latter under his AFX alias. In 2007, under the name the Tuss, he released the EP "Confederation Trough" and the studio album "Rushup Edge."

In 2014, James released his sixth studio album as Aphex Twin and his first in 13 years: "Syro." A critical and commercial success, it reached number eight on the Albums Chart in the UK and number 11 on the Billboard 200 in the US. "Syro" went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album." In 2015, James released the EPs "Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2" and "Orphaned Deejay Selek 2006-08," the latter as AFX. The following year, he released the EP "Cheetah." James's subsequent releases have included the EPs "Collapse" (2018) and "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760" (2023) and the compilation album "Music from the Merch Desk (2016-2023)" (2024). He has also occasionally released demos on the audio streaming service SoundCloud. For his 2023 single "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f," James received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.

Personal Life

James is notorious for exaggerating or fabricating stories from his personal life, making it hard to know what's really true. In the 1990s, he said that he only slept two or three hours a night, lived in a converted bank vault in a bank he purchased in London, and drove around Cornwall in a 1950s armored car fitted with a working machine gun. However, it is known that he moved to Scotland in the 2010s and lives with his second wife, Anastasia, in a small village near Glasgow. James also has two sons from his first marriage.

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