On 14 July 2016 Planet Mu announced that a reissued version would be released with seven bonus tracks in September 2016.[5]
Production
Mike Paradinas described the sound of the album as "an updated version of easy listening and funk".[6] James had heard the music Paradinas had made under the name of Jake Slazenger and invited him to create tracks.[1] Paradinas noted James had invited other artists to collaborate with him, including Luke Vibert, Squarepusher and Cylob and was honoured that his collaborative tracks were chosen for the release.[1] Both artists were getting drunk while developing tracks, something that Paradinas stated that neither artist regularly did.[1]
The track "Giant Deflating Football" was written during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[1] Paradinas noted that the two "were able to quite quickly write a large amount of material. 'Giant Deflating Football' is named because it had some quite weird percussion sounds made by scraping and blowing in a microphone. It sounded like a big wheezing football. We took a bit of acid afterwards to listen to it, and we were coming out with some imagery like 'Beady Eyes,' which is mentioned in one of the tracks."[1]
Release
The cover of the album features Paradinas and James playing the Milton Bradley game Downfall, whilst also parodying the box art of the original game.[7]
Expert Knob Twiddlers was released by Rephlex Records on 24 June 1996 on audio cassette, compact disc and vinyl.[8] Paradinas felt the album should have been released as early as 1994, stating that "At that time, that style was something that no one else had done [...] It wasn't like anything anyone heard before really. By the time it did come out, a lot of things came out like Carbon Trio and there was a lot of revived interest in easy listening. Neither of us was prepared for it."[6]
On 19 July 2016 the song "Vodka (Mix 2)" was released with the announcement of the album's 2016 reissue.[9]
The Guardian gave the album three stars, calling it "a lovingly kitsch collaboration" and that the album "might easily have been a loathsomely ironic exercise." stating that the track "Mr. Frosty" made the album "worth owning".[13] The review concluded that "much of the rest is indulgent piffle."[13]AllMusic gave the album four stars, while noting that the mixed styles of James and Paradinas "cancels out the particular attractions of both artists, and the listener is left with a somewhat bland album. Fans of Aphex and μ-Ziq will be excited, but newcomers should go elsewhere before they dig this deep."[10] In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork described it as "just a playful, occasionally inspired time capsule of the 1990s."[14]
^"[Inside Promo Sheet]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. CAT 027 LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ ab"[Inside sleeve]". Expert Knob Twiddlers (Media notes). Mike & Rich. Rephlex Records. 1996. cat027cd.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
