Windowlicker

"Windowlicker" is a track by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released as a single on 22 March 1999 through Warp Records. The artwork for the single was created by Chris Cunningham, with additional work by The Designers Republic. Cunningham also directed the song's music video, which was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Video. The song peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, and was later voted by fans as Warp Records' most popular song for its 2009 Warp20 compilation. In 2010, Pitchfork included the song at number 12 on their list of the "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s" and in 2025, Billboard magazine ranked it among "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time". "Windowlicker" has been described variously as "uncompromising cyborg R&B", "hip-hop written in the language of glitches", and "eerie lounge-porn music"; the track's "sleazy, erotic ambiance connote[s] images and emotions alien to James's previous compositions." Heavily digitally processed and rearranged breakbeats prominently appear in the song's backing track. Gasps, vocal harmonies and moans reminiscent of sexual vocalizations "glide in and out of the production"; it has been speculated that, like in many of James's productions from the late 1990s, the vocals are his own. The track contains various distinct sections, including a drum and bass intro, a "gooey middle section", and an abrasive noise ending, and consistent melodic elements throughout.