26 Mixes for Cash - Definition and Overview

26 Mixes for Cash is a compilation album of mixes for various artists, all mixed by Richard D. James, better known by his recording alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on March 24, 2003 by Warp Records.

Since as early as 1992, Richard D. James had been in demand as a remix artist, much to his reported dismay. Richard has said in interviews that he rarely listens to any music other than his own, although he has admitted to listening to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin for use as breakbeats, and to listening to the music made by his close friends, including Luke Vibert, Tom Jenkinson, Mike Paradinas and Chris Jeffs. Upon being asked to do a remix for US pop singer Madonna, Richard asked in return that she portray a pig for him. Another popular story claims that a man showed up at Richard's home one morning, claiming to be the representative for the band Lemonheads, and that James owed them a remix. James quickly went to his home studio, Lannerlog, and copied off a original peice completly unrelated to the original mix.

It is important to note that the compilation is titled 26 Mixes for Cash, and not 26 Remixes for Cash. Some of the tracks are not remixes at all, but original material by James (notably the "mixes" for popular US industrial band Nine Inch Nails, which James claims to never have heard the originals of and to not want to). However, the track The Beauty of Being Numb does reproduce the sound used in a track called Eraser from the Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral, which would indicate that he has, in fact, listened to their music.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Time To Find Me (AFX Fast Mix), originally by Seefeel
2. Rasing The Titanic (Big Drum Mix), by Gavin Bryars
3. Journey (Aphex Twin Care Mix), by The Gentle People
4. Triachus (Mix by Aphex Twin), by Kinesthesia
5. Heroes Symphony (Aphex Twin Remix), by Philip Glass, an orchestration of the David Bowie song, Heroes
6. In The Glitter Part 2 (Aphex Twin Mix), by Buck Tick
7. Zeros & Ones (Aphex Twin Reconstruction Mix #2), by Jesus Jones
8. Ziggy (Aphex Twin Mix #1), by Nav Katze
9. Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement), by Saint Etienne
10. Change (Aphex Twin Mix #2), by Nav Katze
11. Une Femme N'est Pas Un Homme (Aphex Twin Mix), by The Beatniks
12. The Beauty of Being Numb, Section B (Created by Aphex Twin), "by" Nine Inch Nails
13. Let My Fish Loose (Aphex Twin Remix), by Nobukazu Takemura

Disc 2:

1. Krieger (Aphex Twin Baldhu Mix), by Die Fantastischen Vier
2. Deep In Velvet (Aphex Twin Turnips Mix), by Phillip Boa and the Voodoo Club
3. Falling Free (Aphex Twin Remix), by Curve
4. We Have Arrived (Aphex Twin QQT Mix), by Mescalinum United
5. At The Heart of It All (Created by Aphex Twin), "by" Nine Inch Nails
6. Flow Coma (Remix by AFX), by 808 State
7. Windowlicker (Acid Edit), by Aphex Twin
8. Normal (Helston Flora Remix By AFX), by Baby Ford
9. SAW2 CD1 TRK2 (Original Mix), by Aphex Twin
10. Mindstream (The Aphex Twin Remix), by Meat Beat Manifesto
11. You Can't Hide Your Love (Hidden Love Mix), by DMX Krew
12. Spotlight (Aphex Twin Mix), by Wagon Christ
13. Debase (Soft Palete), by Mike Flowers Pops

26 Mixes for Cash was released on CD only, although a vinyl promotional disc, entitled 2 Mixes on a 12" For Cash, featuring the two exclusive Aphex Twin originals on this compilation (the mixes of Windowlicker and "Radiator"/SAW2 CD1 TRK2) was released in limited quantities in Japan only. Online orders through Warp Records came with 2 silver-wrapped chocolate coins, featuring the Aphex Twin logo on one side, and Richard's profile with "ELECTRONICA REX" written alongside.