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Expert Knob Twiddlers
Expert Knob Twiddlers
Studio album by Mike & Rich
Released	June 24, 1996
Recorded	1994
Genre	IDM; electro-funk; easy listening;
Length	57:51
Label	Rephlex
Richard D. James chronology

Expert Knob Twiddlers is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records and is the only release credited to the two as Mike & Rich.^[4]

On 14 July 2016 Planet Mu announced that a reissued version would be released with seven bonus tracks in September 2016.^[5]

Production

Mike Paradinas described the sound of the album as "an updated version of easy listening and funk".^[6] James had heard the music Paradinas had made under the name of Jake Slazenger and invited him to create tracks.^[1] Paradinas noted James had invited other artists to collaborate with him, including Luke Vibert, Squarepusher and Cylob and was honoured that his collaborative tracks were chosen for the release.^[1] Both artists were getting drunk while developing tracks, something that Paradinas stated that neither artist regularly did.^[1]

The track "Giant Deflating Football" was written during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.^[1] Paradinas noted that the two "were able to quite quickly write a large amount of material. 'Giant Deflating Football' is named because it had some quite weird percussion sounds made by scraping and blowing in a microphone. It sounded like a big wheezing football. We took a bit of acid afterwards to listen to it, and we were coming out with some imagery like 'Beady Eyes,' which is mentioned in one of the tracks."^[1]

Release

Expert Knob Twiddlers was released by Rephlex Records on 24 June 1996 on audio cassette, compact disc and vinyl.^[8] Paradinas felt the album should have been released as early as 1994, stating that "At that time, that style was something that no one else had done [...] It wasn't like anything anyone heard before really. By the time it did come out, a lot of things came out like Carbon Trio and there was a lot of revived interest in easy listening. Neither of us was prepared for it."^[6]

On 19 July 2016 the song "Vodka (Mix 2)" was released with the announcement of the album's 2016 reissue.^[9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[10]
Clash	8/10^[11]
Exclaim!	8/10^[12]
The Guardian	^[13]
Pitchfork	6.6/10^[14]
PopMatters	8/10^[15]

The Guardian gave the album three stars, calling it "a lovingly kitsch collaboration" and that the album "might easily have been a loathsomely ironic exercise." stating that the track "Mr. Frosty" made the album "worth owning".^[13] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."^[13] AllMusic gave the album four stars, while noting that the mixed styles of James and Paradinas "cancels out the particular attractions of both artists, and the listener is left with a somewhat bland album. Fans of Aphex and μ-Ziq will be excited, but newcomers should go elsewhere before they dig this deep."^[10] In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork described it as "just a playful, occasionally inspired time capsule of the 1990s."^[14]

Track listing

1996 release^[16]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mr. Frosty"	6:51
2.	"Jelly Fish"	6:30
3.	"Eggy Toast"	4:07
4.	"Reg"	5:57
5.	"Vodka"	4:12
6.	"Winner Takes All"	5:44
7.	"Giant Deflating Football"	6:22
8.	"Upright Kangaroo"	3:31
9.	"The Sound of the Beady Eyes"	7:46
10.	"Bu Bu Bu Ba"	6:51

2016 CD reissue

Source:^[17]

Disc one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mr. Frosty"	6:53
2.	"Reg"	5:56
3.	"Jelly Fish"	6:01
4.	"Eggy Toast"	4:32
5.	"Vodka"	4:12
6.	"Winner Takes All"	5:44
7.	"Upright Kangaroo"	3:32
8.	"Giant Deflating Football"	6:21
9.	"The Sound of the Beady Eyes"	7:46
10.	"Bu Bu Bu Ba"	6:52

Disc two
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Vodka" (Mix 2)	4:22
12.	"Portamento Gosh"	2:02
13.	"Waltz"	5:24
14.	"Brivert & Muonds"	6:17
15.	"Clissold Bathroom"	0:54
16.	"Jelly Fish" (Mix 2)	5:21
17.	"Organ Plodder"	4:15