Squarepusher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Squarepusher | ||
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 Squarepusher in 2004
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Tom Jenkinson | |
| Also known as | Chaos A.D. Duke of Harringay Tom Jenkinson |
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| Born | January, 1975 | |
| Origin | Chelmsford, Essex, England | |
| Genre(s) | Jazz Electronic music Drum and Bass |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician | |
| Instrument(s) | bass guitar, sampler, drum machine, synthesizer, drum kit | |
| Years active | 1996 – Present | |
| Label(s) | Rephlex Records, Warp Records, Nothing Records | |
Squarepusher, the performing pseudonym of Tom Jenkinson, is an English electronic music artist signed to Warp Records. He specialises in the electronic music genres of drum and bass, musique concrète (sampled digitally rather than by tape), and acid, albeit with a significant jazz influence.
Jenkinson was born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1975 and was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School. A self-taught drummer and highly skilled bass guitar player, his style of extremely fast, cut-up beats mixed with fusion jazz and interlaced with synth lines and samples has gained him a cult following, which includes Outkast's André 3000 and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. He is a friend of Richard D. James (Aphex Twin), and his albums have been critically acclaimed for their forward-thinking approach to electronic music.
Jenkinson performs live, playing with a fretless or fretted bass guitar, a laptop, and other hardware. He appeared twice on BBC Radio 1's The Breezeblock show. On 26 June 2005, Squarepusher played at London's Royal Festival Hall as part of the Show "Songs of Experience" a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. His 12 minute performance was built up of a medley of Hendrix tracks played solely on the bass guitar with the use of effects.
One of his brothers, Andy Jenkinson, is also a respected recording artist, under the name Ceephax Acid Crew. A third brother, Jonny, also performs and occasionally supports his siblings on tour as a drum and bass DJ.
Squarepusher's latest full-length album, Hello Everything, was released on October 16th, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Equipment
Squarepusher sequenced his pre-2000 work on a BOSS DR-660 drum machine, which wasn't designed to sequence entire songs. He uses hardware for his electronic music such as King Tubby-style spring reverbs and Akai samplers (S950 for early work, S6000 for later work), and a reel-to-reel player. Around the year 2000, Squarepusher bought a computer with Reaktor and an Eventide Orville for digital processing. He has been known to play Fender, Ernie Ball, and Warwick basses. Squarepusher claims to know more about his music equipment than the manufacturers of the products themselves.
[edit] Philosophy
| I, Squarepusher, hold the view that the influence of the structural aspect of music making is in general underestimated. By structural aspect, I refer to the machinery of music making eg: acoustic and electric instruments, computers, electronic processing devices etc. Use of a musical machine is obviously accompanied by some level of insight into its construction, operation and capabilities. It is common for a musician to have an awareness of harmonic and stylistic rules which may be observed or otherwise. It seems less common to be critically aware of the structural limitations. This structural limitation is inevitable; an analogy might be to try to talk without the use of a mouth.
This point has a particular pertinence in our present era where so many pre- fabricated electronic devices populate the landscape of contemporary music making. These devices generate ouput according to input combined with mathematically defined rules of transformation, implemented electronically. These rules thus have a direct effect on any musical activity mediated by a given machine. Of course, this is why the machine is employed - to modify sound, generate sound etc. Yet this triviality seems somewhat more significant if one considers that the manufacturers of electronic instruments are thus having a considerable influence on modern music. Indirectly, software programmers and hardware designers are taking part. A naive notion of creativity seems compromised if we consider that a given musical piece was at least partially dictated by the tools of its realisation. Although I emphasise that never can a musician escape the use of some sort of musical tool, there is nevertheless a choice which is always made, unwittingly or otherwise. We can choose whether to understand what rules the tool imposes on our work, or we can disregard them and leave the manufacturers as "sleeping partners". I suggest we can enhance creative potential by a critical awareness of the modes of operation of these tools. Thus, I urge an unmasking of these black boxes of the contemporary musical landscape. Circuit bending can be one way - analysing and modifying electronic circuitry. Another is to understand the ways in which musical data is encoded and modified by currently ubiquitous digital means. In addition, various software platforms now exist which, with varying levels of flexibilty, allow users to generate their own instruments. The modern musician is subject to a barrage of persuasion from manufacturers of music technology. The general implication is that buying new tools leads to being able to make new and exciting music. While it is true that certain degrees of freedom are added by new equipment, it is not the case that this entails wholesale musical innovation. What seems more likely is that new clichés are generated by users unanalytically being forced into certain actions by the achitecture of the machine. For me it is parallel, if not synonymous with a dogmatic consumer mentality that seems to hold that our lives are always improved by possessions. Imagine the conception of structural rules to do with electric guitars before and after Jimi Hendrix. An instrument is always open to re-definition. Thus I encourage anybody remotely interested in making music to boldly investigate exactly what the rules are to which you, as a modern musician, are subject. Only thus can you have a hope in bending and ultimately rewriting them. For a more detailed exposition on my thoughts concerning music making, please refer to www.squarepusher.net |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] EPs, singles and promos
| 1995 | Conumber EP | – |
| 1996 | Squarepusher Plays... | – |
| 1996 | Port Rhombus EP | – |
| 1997 | Vic Acid | – |
| 1997 | Big Loada | Also released on Nothing Records in 1998. |
| 1999 | Maximum Priest EP | – |
| 2001 | My Red Hot Car | – |
| 2001 | Untitled | – |
| 2004 | Square Window | Promo for Ultravisitor. |
| 2004 | Venus No. 17 | – |
| 2006 | Welcome To Europe | Exclusive digital single #1: released September 4. |
| 2006 | Hanningfield Window | Exclusive digital single #2: released September 18. |
| 2006 | Exciton | Exclusive digital single #3: released October 2. |
[edit] Remixes
| 1996 | DJ Food - Scratch Yer Hed (Squarepusher Mix) | Appears on Refried Food and various Ninja Tune compilations. |
| 1996 | Funki Porcini - Carwreck (Squarepusher Mix) | Appears on Carwreck EP. |
| 1998 | East Flatbush Project - Tried By 12 (Squarepusher Mix) | Appears on Tried By 12 Remixes. |
| 2001 | Psultan (Squarepusher Mix) | Appears on Rephlex Records The Braindance Of Coincidence compilation. |
[edit] Aliases
- Buzz Caner (1998) — Rephlex
- Remixes EP (1998) — Rephlex
Duke of Harringay
- Alroy Road Tracks (1995) — Spymania
Tom Jenkinson
- Crot EP (1994) — Rumble Tum Jum
- Stereotype EP (1994) — Nothings Clear
- Bubble And Squeak (1996) — Worm Interface
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Warp: Squarepusher
- Squarepusher at Discogs
- BBC Collective: Ask Squarepusher! Tom Jenkinson extensively answers fan's questions. Plus listen to 'Hello Everything' in full.
- Complete Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson discography
- WATMM fansite free downloads of live Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson performances, interviews, and radio appearances
- Interview (2004)
- Interview (2001)
- Interview (01/1999)
- Article (05/1999)
- Squarepusher at MusicBrainz
