Anonymity has been a part of the music scene for a long time, more specifically in electronic music. It was popularised by the well-known French electronic duo Daft Punk in the late 90s. Thomas Bangalter, one half of the duo claims an 'exploding sampler' was the reason why they had to go from bin bags (over their head) to tin cans (on their head). However, this 'accident' had a profoundly unexpected effect on the industry.
Many musicians began to take an alternate path to the status quo; the path of not being sensationalised for their faces, not having their private life invaded by paparazzi and choosing to bring the focus back to their music. This rejection gave birth to some of the most creative artists in electronic music. Damon Albarn standing behind 'Gorillaz' - the virtual band knowing for bending genre and Joel Zimmerman is concealed inside the helmet of 'deadmau5', one of the most recognisable symbols in electronic music. This anonymity extends to rap with 'MF Doom', the supervillain-inspired rapper who's never shown his face to this day. Even giving imposters the mask for when he doesn't feel like going on stage.
These musicians, oddly enough like Bruce Wayne, adopted a symbol. They gave their fans a mystery, a fiction and a fantasy to follow as opposed to just another face in the sea of music. However, at the peak of the 90's anonymous artist craze, one artist would reject all this to become, ironically, one of the most recognisable faces in electronic music. His name was Richard D. James, AKA, Aphex Twin.
It's hard to liken his music to anything else because of how unique it is. The 'Come To Daddy' EP alone goes from an abrasive, hellish, breakbeat in the EP's title track to a soothing beat alongside calming synths and orchestral strings in 'Flim'. The contrast and styling in those two tracks alone makes him one of electronic music's most experimental and incomparable artists. So as a result, he had to be just as incomparable when he revealed his face. Although rather than go with the trend of glamorising his face to make his album art seem attractive, like many pop artists would, he did the exact opposite. His face is emblazoned onto models, children and even teddy bears - all sharing the same creepy, off-kilter, smile. The overexploitation of his face even extends to his music videos, in particular; Come To Daddy and Windowlicker where, well, I'll let you watch them and make your own synopsis.
After the success of Come To Daddy and Windowlicker, his two most well-known singles, he retired 'the face' on his album art. In an interview shortly after this time, he explained that anonymity was one of the "unwritten rules of techno", saying that in his genre, cover art "had to be a circuit board", presumably to indicate the electronic nature of the music to an audience that was just beginning to grasp it. He's also pointed the finger at MTV when asked why he stopped using his face. "It’s not my fault that they keep playing the same videos over and over again on MTV or where ever. I don’t like to be forced down people’s throats the way other famous people are."
James' response above provides a bit more context as of why he used the face in the first place, irony. In a market where faces, hairstyles and beauty are all worshipped and capitalised on, James' face becomes a symbol of protest. Where One Direction are sensationalised for their looks to the point of that beauty being sold in dolls, Aphex Twin's is never really there. At first it seems as if what takes its place is a shattered, horrific reflection of what an icon in any cultural form should and shouldn't be. However, once you begin to pick up the pieces and form them into the meaning James is conveying - you begin to understand the genius behind Aphex Twin.
Most recently, James demonstrated this genius once again subverting music conventions - but this time by embracing anonymity rather than rejecting it. In early 2015, a Soundcloud account called 'user48736353001' starting posting hundreds of tracks a day. With its only comment being on Aphex Twin's official account, its track titles like '13 high hats tune tamclap orig' baring a resemblance to Aphex's own title styling, fans began to get suspicious. It was eventually revealed that all of these tracks were old unreleased Aphex Twin demos, with Soundcloud being used for its populatrity in sharing free, downloadable music. Every song was made for free until James removed them from soundcloud and made another anonymous account where some of the best tracks were uploaded.
Aphex Twin, along with his music, isn't trying to be something for everyone. But for the quirky nonconfirmists like him that don't quite fit into "everyone" - he's the perfect icon.