Selected Ambient Works Volume II

"SAW II" redirects here. For the film, see Saw II.

Selected Ambient Works Volume II
Studio album by
Aphex Twin
Released7 March 1994 (1994-03-07)
Genre
Length156:42 (CD)
166:53 (LP/MC)
LabelWarp
ProducerRichard D. James
Richard D. James chronology
On
(1993) 		Selected Ambient Works Volume II
(1994) 		GAK
(1994)
Aphex Twin album chronology
Selected Ambient Works 85–92
(1992) 		Selected Ambient Works Volume II
(1994) 		Classics
(1995)

Selected Ambient Works Volume II (abbreviated as SAW II)[9] is the second studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James, under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. It was released on 7 March 1994 through Warp Records. Billed as a follow-up to James' debut Selected Ambient Works 85–92, the album differs in sound by being largely beatless ambient music. James said that it was inspired by lucid dreaming, and likened the music to "standing in a power station on acid."[10]

The album reached No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart. Selected Ambient Works Volume II had a mostly positive reception from critics on release and later placed on various best of the decade lists by publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin, and Pitchfork.[11] In 2016 Pitchfork picked Selected Ambient Works Volume II as the second greatest ambient album of all time, after Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports. In June 2024, James announced an upcoming expanded reissue of the album, set to be released in October.

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  3. ^ Carr, Dan (7 March 2019). "Recreating the Synths of Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works II"". Reverb.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Kevin Drumm's Imperial Distortion on vinyl". Fact. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference rs-review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Beta, Andy (29 September 2014). "Richard D. James: 10 Essential Releases". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  7. ^ Seymour, Malcolm III (25 October 2001). "Aphex Twin: Drukqs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Simon (Christmas 1993). "Ambient – The Buzzword of '93". Melody Maker.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pitchfork33&1/3book was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Toop, David (March 1994). "Lost in space". The Face. Vol. 2, no. 66. EMAP.
  11. ^ Wren, David; Jacobs, Daniel; Moyse, Scott (2003). "Aphex Twin". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. pp. 35–36. ISBN 1-8435-3105-4. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2020.