The rise of digital technology in the 1980s revolutionised the way pop music was made and listened to. As so often, however, the most challenging music of that period was inspired by the very range of machines that the digital revolution had ostensibly made obsolete - and therefore cheap and accessible. So it was that, between 1985 and 1992, in the bedroom of a family house in Cornwall, you found a teenager named Richard D James saving his pocket money to buy old analogue synthesisers, pulling them apart, and reassembling them to his own specifications. The music he made took the kind of naive, crystaline melodies previously associated with the German group Kraftwerk, or certain classic composers, bathed them in warmth and light, then juxtaposed the whole cerebral package with syncopated club rhythms. James was hailed as techno music's first genuine star and the early single Analogue Bubblebath is a bona fide classic; one commentator said of Selected Ambient Works Vol 2 in 1994: " These are works of genius".

- Taken from The Sunday Times '1000 makers of music'

Richard D James reputation as the maddest dance genius since St Vitus popularised the Measles Fling didn't come from nowhere. He lives in a bank vault, he drives down Tesco's in an armoured car, he's been known to play DJ sets with sandpaper discs instead of records and he makes some of the weirdest, most twisted noises ever to come from Planet Techno.

Tales of Richard's inspired laziness are legion in the dance world. The classic Aphex Twin story is that when US grunge rockers The Lemonheads asked him to do a remix, he couldn't be arsed so he just grabbed the nearest tape and sold that to them instead. "That's absolutely true!" Richard grins "I didn't even bother listening to the song because I knew I'd hate it. Then I totally forgot all about it until the courier turned up to collect it. So I ran upstairs and gave him the first track I found."

Aphex Twin is the ultimate loafer, a man who'll only get out of bed if he thinks it'll really annoy people. In fact, another rumour has it that Richard actually composes tracks in his sleep. "Yeah, I used to go to bed just to write songs," he explains " But now I just sleep and occasionally wake up with a new one by mistake."

"I'm going to invent a computer program that makes music for me so I can spend more time shagging." A picture pops into mind of the Twin bangin' about in the garden like Rhubarb the green dog while cheeky cartoon birds take the piss. "I've almost done it!" he insists "It's f***ing amazing! The most awesome program, incredible! You just give it some ideas and it does all the work for you. So I'm gonna stop making music soon." Noting my scepticle purple custard face, Richard quickly corrects himself. " Well, I won't stop making music," he says. "I'll just stop releasing it. I only ever released it to earn a living anyway." In fact, since he started making music in the early '90s in a number of guises (traispotters should seek out GAK, Caustic Window or Soit:PP), Aphex Twin has always insisted that he has no interest in what happens to his music after he's finished with it. While the rest of the world was making ambient epics called 'Credence Of Blue/AquatiK 3 (Enw'r Cyfrif)', Aphex Twin had buzz-saw attacks called 'COME ON YOU SLAGS!' and 'Wax The Nip'. Aphex's last single 'Come To Daddy' had a demonic voice screaming, 'Come to DADDDEEE! I want your SOOUUUULL!' "My music isn't extreme at all!" yelps Richard, clearly appalled at the very suggestion. " I just like filling in the gaps that everyone else leaves out, that's my motivation, and if that come across as extreme, than they're the mental ones". Extracts from loaded interview. July 98