January 30, 1997: Aphex Twin’s first live performance in Japan as Live.PA, at Osaka Bayside Jenny

There was a sofa long enough to lie down on and a table set up on stage. It looked just like Richard D. James’s private room.

And there was Richard, sprawled out on the sofa, just fiddling with his laptop endlessly—it was a totally surreal scene.

The first song was “Pulsewidth.”

I didn’t really rate this song that highly, and I thought it might be a bit of a weak choice to open with…

Well, this track starts with a monotonous synth pad, but the moment the intro kicked in, I was like, “Huh?” The sound was on a whole different level—rich in color and expansive—and, to use a cliché, I really can’t describe it in words.

Then, right in the middle of the intro, a hi-hat comes in for just a split second. That single hi-hat hit alone sent the venue into a storm of cheers. By this point, Richard had already completely taken control of the atmosphere, so he didn’t even need to hype up the crowd. He just sat there silently fiddling with his laptop. He didn’t look at the audience even once the entire time.

He just knows he can blow everyone away with this one song.

The sound was completely unimaginable from the recording—it felt like he’d composed it with such meticulous calculation, or rather, with such attention to every single note.

Then, the four-on-the-floor kick drum kicks in. On the recording, the kick is quite weak—it lacks the impact of a typical club-style techno kick designed to get people dancing—but hearing it live, the sound was deep in a way I’d never experienced before. The sound pressure far exceeded the audience’s expectations, so it wasn’t a matter of thinking anymore; it was instinctive—or rather, our bodies reacted on their own—and in that instant, the entire venue shook explosively.

It’s an unforgettable sight.

It was just a matter of seconds, but with just a few notes, he completely pulled us into his world, and from there on out, he had the stage all to himself.

After the show, Richard D. James even said it was “the second-best live show of his life.”