Aphex Twin - Donkey Rhubarb

What this video is

Released August 1995 on Warp Records — the Sheffield-based label that had become the definitive home of UK IDM and experimental electronic music — 'Donkey Rhubarb' arrives at a moment when electronic artists were beginning to develop distinct visual identities to accompany their music. The video deploys giant day-glo teddy bear costumes fitted with Richard D. James's face as a mascot, functioning simultaneously as…

Why it matters

A landmark artifact of mid-90s UK IDM visual culture, 'Donkey Rhubarb' helped establish the template for Aphex Twin's confrontational, face-branded video iconography. Its production through Spidercom Films for Warp Records represents the label's early investment in music video as an art object,…

The director

David Aldrin Slade (born 26 September 1969, Yorkshire, England) studied fine arts at Sheffield Hallam University. He began directing music videos for Warp Records artists before transitioning to commercials and feature films. He has directed over 35 music…