Easter Eggs: Minecraft’s Secret Aphex Twin Influence
A niche influence for a massive franchise.
It’s odd to think an artist like Aphex Twin would go on to influence Minecraft. While over the years Aphex Twin has eclipsed his underground status and become a cult-like name, his sound is still firmly rooted in the avant-garde. Yet somehow, he has come to impact the second most selling video game of all-time.
In 2011, after connecting over an indie game development forum called TIGSource, composer C418 was brought on by Markus “Notch” Person to help him create sounds for his upcoming game - Minecraft. “Being the composer of Minecraft is basically like imagining the distance between earth and the moon,” C418 would later say. Both C418 and Notch connected over a love for the ambient works of Aphex Twin and agreed that something like this could help fill this gaping void. “My interest in minimalism originally came from Aphex Twin. Being in his universe and obsessively listening to his music drove me into a whole new world of experimental and sometimes very ambient soundscapes. For Minecraft in fact, I tried to learn how little you actually needed in order to have interesting sounds.” Subwoofer Lullaby in particular embodies a spirit that you might find in Aphex Twin’s ambient works.
Later in 2014, once Minecraft reached astronomical status and Notch had a bit more money to throw around, he bought a test pressing of Aphex Twin’s Caustic Window, anointing his love for the artist with a swift £27,000 price tag. Aphex Twin would go on to say in an interview that “my kids are obsessed with Minecraft and loved that Notch bought their dad’s work. They told all their friends at school.” Aphex Twin also acknowledged that a lot of Minecraft’s soundtracks sound like something he might’ve made himself.
Finally in 2018, after years of one-sided flirting from Minecraft - it seems as though Aphex might’ve shown some love back. T69 Collapse’s music video gives a brief acid layered interpretation of the Minecraft block landscape around the 3:40 mark. While no official reference has been given, it’s a subtle wink that C418 and Notch could take.
While Aphex Twin’s music has officially made it into some other cult-classic franchises like Wipeout Pure, it’s interesting to see the indirect influence he has on one of the most formative games of today’s generation.