― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 7 August 2003 22:09 (twenty years ago) link
― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 7 August 2003 23:28 (twenty years ago) link
― dyson (dyson), Friday, 8 August 2003 02:11 (twenty years ago) link
― actionjackson, Friday, 8 August 2003 10:23 (twenty years ago) link
― CNWB, Friday, 8 August 2003 12:18 (twenty years ago) link
― stevem (blueski), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:54 (twenty years ago) link
I have no idea what you should expect from Jenkinson. Depends what the new stuff is like (okay, it's probably drill'n'cliche, but he might surprise).
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:34 (twenty years ago) link
Squarepusher is good fun live, but I second the "it's gonna be fucking loud" warning...and if you can dance to his whole set, you get a special prize!
― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 8 August 2003 15:15 (twenty years ago) link
― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 8 August 2003 15:36 (twenty years ago) link
― dyson (dyson), Friday, 8 August 2003 15:56 (twenty years ago) link
exactly! i think the disinterested audience thing comes from promoters or whoever booking them in unsuitable venues. it's not a rock show...
― disco stu (disco stu), Friday, 8 August 2003 16:06 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Friday, 8 August 2003 16:45 (twenty years ago) link
― dyson (dyson), Friday, 8 August 2003 17:28 (twenty years ago) link
― stevem (blueski), Friday, 8 August 2003 23:23 (twenty years ago) link
― Lynskey (Lynskey), Friday, 8 August 2003 23:50 (twenty years ago) link
― Billy Gull, Saturday, 23 August 2003 08:51 (twenty years ago) link
Plaid on the other hand are awesome in every way! Can't wait to see them live again!
― Frank Booth (Frank Booth), Saturday, 23 August 2003 09:05 (twenty years ago) link
bumping because I'd forgotten that I like "Kodack" of Feed Me Weird Things a lot
― a Barbie-like nub where he provates should be (HI DERE), Thursday, 12 November 2009 17:06 (fourteen years ago) link
Been soo long since I've listened to Squarepusher.
― Trip Maker, Thursday, 12 November 2009 17:12 (fourteen years ago) link
feed me's nostalgia factor is huge right now
― cutty, Thursday, 12 November 2009 17:14 (fourteen years ago) link
http://squarepusher.net/shobaleader-one/
WTF? this is pretty great. Is it really Squarepusher or what?
― village idiot (dog latin), Tuesday, 7 September 2010 18:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Too widdly. Is it not just an act he's endorsing, or possibly producing?
― rhythm fixated member (chap), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 11:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Apparently it really is him, just a pseudonym. He released a single under the same name on Ed Banger last month. I think its awful, the last thing Jenkinson needs to do right now is some whack Ratatat tribute shit.
― Badmotorfinger Debate Club (MFB), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 11:54 (thirteen years ago) link
I liked Hello Everything quite a bit, he should do more jolly breakbeaty stuff like that. I've never been particularly into the jazz-funk side of his work.
― rhythm fixated member (chap), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 11:56 (thirteen years ago) link
Having said that, this album description is pretty good:
Just a Souvenir is an album by Squarepusher, which was released to the general listening public on October 27, 2008. The album was made available to purchase as a download from bleep.com on September 15, 2008.[1]
The album's genesis came from a daydream, in which Tom Jenkinson envisioned a rock band performing a concert against the backdrop of a large, glowing coathanger. The performance quickly became surreal: among other things, a river forces the band to kayak whilst performing; the guitarist is able to accelerate or decelerate time at will; and every drum in the drummer's kit begins to switch places with one another.[2] As such, the majority of the album consists of Jenkinson's own version of jazz fusion, threaded through with classical guitar, math rock and funk recordings.
― rhythm fixated member (chap), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 11:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Am I listening to the same thing as everyone else? I don't hear any widdlyness or Ratatat or jazz or breakbeat - more epic horror kinda goth/new wave stuff. I hope I was listening to the right thing and not Tim Exile or something.
― village idiot (dog latin), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 12:18 (thirteen years ago) link
this is pretty alright (remix is better):
http://soundcloud.com/hypetrak/sets/squarepusher-cryptic-motion-edits
― the parking garage has more facebook followers than my band (Jordan), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:53 (thirteen years ago) link
did y'all hear that shobaleader one thing yet?
― social-media-compost Circle of Life (jdchurchill), Friday, 22 October 2010 00:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Has he done anything of merit since the "Do You Know Squarepusher" single?
― Mr. Snrub, Friday, 22 October 2010 01:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, a fair bit.
I like the Shobaleader One single, but the Mr Oizo mix was best.
― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 22 October 2010 09:12 (thirteen years ago) link
I am still trying to get my head around the Shobaleader thing. Every time I hear it, halfway through I keep expecting to go somewhere, and it doesn't, so I really just want to take it off and put on Chrome Hoof instead.
― Wheal Dream, Friday, 22 October 2010 09:46 (thirteen years ago) link
― Mr. Snrub, Friday, October 22, 2010 1:20 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark
Hello Everything.
― A brownish area with points (chap), Friday, 22 October 2010 09:51 (thirteen years ago) link
if you ever get to see him in an improv / jazz situation dooo it. it's fucking cool when he starts playing some wacky squarepusher bass shit in that context. i think pretty much everything he does is worth a listen just not always worth revisiting.
― Crackle Box, Friday, 22 October 2010 13:06 (thirteen years ago) link
I've never been into his jazz improv stuff. If I wanted to listen to something like that I'd seek out people who've dedicated their careers to it, not a moonlighting IDM producer.
― A brownish area with points (chap), Friday, 22 October 2010 13:20 (thirteen years ago) link
tbf he has been doing the jazz improv thing quite heavily for most of his career, or at least since Music Is Rotted One Note, which was 98? 97? That said I know what you mean because a lot of it is tributary rather than truly innovative.
― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 22 October 2010 13:27 (thirteen years ago) link
a lot of it is tributary rather than truly innovative.
You put it better than I did.
― A brownish area with points (chap), Friday, 22 October 2010 13:29 (thirteen years ago) link
Then again, while a lot of it might be trying to channel Bitches Brew through a bunch of warped-out synths, the man knows his jazz and is a remarkable bassist and drummer, so it's maybe doing him a disservice to slate a good 50% of his career as "Switched On Miles" or something. Especially when every so often he comes out with a "My Sound" or a "Underwatertorch" or a "Iambic 5 Poetry", all of which are very beautiful with hardly anything ostensibly electronic.
― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 22 October 2010 13:45 (thirteen years ago) link
oh shit I haven't thought about "Iambic 5 Poetry" in YEARS
― O'Donnell and the Brain (HI DERE), Friday, 22 October 2010 13:47 (thirteen years ago) link
one of my all time favourite tracks. first time i heard it i was in Paris, which fits nicely.
― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 22 October 2010 14:15 (thirteen years ago) link
iambic 9 is my favourite
― jumpskins, Friday, 22 October 2010 14:16 (thirteen years ago) link
wait... which one is the one on Budakhan Mindphone?
― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 22 October 2010 14:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Has he done anything of merit since the "Do You Know Squarepusher" single?― Mr. Snrub, Friday, October 22, 2010 1:20 AM (8 hours ago) BookmarkHello Everything.― A brownish area with points (chap), Friday, 22 October 2010 10:51 (Yesterday) Bookmark
― A brownish area with points (chap), Friday, 22 October 2010 10:51 (Yesterday) Bookmark
hold up, surely you mean this one?http://blog.nettribe.org/user_images/36/03/413fda2a10b6644c37ccada81f58d43a.jpg
actually the non 1-D sub-Lightning Bolt rawk shite on Just A Souvenir was fun, if more diverting than classic - but still fuckloads better than the tripe Tom's put out this year.
― your mum, Saturday, 23 October 2010 06:49 (thirteen years ago) link
Been catching up with the last few Squarepusher releases. Not convinced by Shobaleader, but surprised how good his Solo Electric Bass Vol1 thing is.
― Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:02 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't really like either, but Just a Souvenir was pretty greatStill, I can't help but feel he's not really trying anymore...?
― frogbs, Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:14 (twelve years ago) link
Some might argue he hasn't REALLY tried since Hard Normal Daddy. I can't name a single release by him which I can positively say isn't 50% filler. That said nearly everything has something very good on it. He's always been in desperate need of a quality filter.
― Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:22 (twelve years ago) link
Ultravisitor was great but he's one of those guys who I can only listen to his stuff at the time. Someone could steal my ten Squarepusher albums and I'd never notice.
― Rebekah Brooks Hardsonned My Hamster (Doran), Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:24 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah. HND is probably his best but Ultravisitor was his real "opus" album.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:27 (twelve years ago) link
I would still go back to HND and Music Is Rotted One Note. The Come On My Selector EP is great fun. After that it got very pick'n'mix until Hello Everything which went back to his Hard Normal Daddy sound for a bit. I couldn't get into Ultravisitor, although it was well received.
My POhowmany (in reough chronological order):
Theme From Ernest BorgnineCoopers WorldChin HippyA Journey To Reedham (7am Mix)Full Rinse (feat. MC Twin Tub)My SoundShin TriadIambic 5 PoetryTomorrow WorldSong: Our Underwater TorchMy Red Hot CarMutilation ColonyDo You Know SquarepusherGreenways TrajectoryKill RobokTetra-SyncTalk About You And MeWelcome To EuropeThe Modern Bass GuitarBubble LifeOpen SocietyA Real WomanDuotone Moonbeam
― Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:41 (twelve years ago) link
A Journey To Reedham (7am Mix)
this is fucking brilliant, probably the best thing he ever did
Coopers World
my god you're going to have me pulling up Squarepusher albums all day
― CLUB PISCOPO (DJP), Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:43 (twelve years ago) link
^^^ those two, along with Iambic 5 Poetry are def my faves of the whole lot. HAven't heard any of them in years though.
― Post-Manpat Music (dog latin), Tuesday, 2 August 2011 13:46 (twelve years ago) link
The main descending synth line is heavily reminiscent of "Inbetween Days"
― DJP, Friday, 20 March 2015 19:39 (nine years ago) link
er I meant "Just Like Heaven" oops
Cure card revoked
― DJP, Friday, 20 March 2015 19:41 (nine years ago) link
If I go see him play live is it just gonna be him hitting play and then noodling on a bass
― the most painstaking, humorless people in the world (lukas), Saturday, 21 March 2015 18:22 (nine years ago) link
there's a rad light show apparently
― oochie wally (clean version) (sic), Saturday, 21 March 2015 22:41 (nine years ago) link
i have always been super-into "my sound"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzoFHatryJQ
― jaymc, Thursday, 16 April 2015 06:46 (nine years ago) link
yeah that one's excellent. squarepusher rarely does the chilled/pretty jazz thing but it's something he's really great at.
― but then again, who really cares? I don’t. (dog latin), Thursday, 16 April 2015 08:58 (nine years ago) link
new one seems super maximal and overdriven, with barely a deep breath in sight
― Michael F Gill, Thursday, 16 April 2015 22:48 (nine years ago) link
I'm enjoying the new one. Very much continuing in a similar vein to the last one, unusually for him.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 27 April 2015 15:26 (nine years ago) link
Just saw him with Shobaleader One in SF. Was expecting all Shobaleader songs with Tommy J going off and maybe a Squarepusher track as fan service, but instead it was an all Squarepusher cover set with them playing classics from almost every album from 1996-2007. I think they finally dropped a Shobaleader song for the encore. If you get a chance, check this show out! Some tracks I recall hearing:
Cooper's World - Hard Normal Daddy (opened the show)Squarepusher Theme - Feed Me Weird ThingsIambic 5 Poetry - Budakhan MindphoneDon't Go Plastic - Music Is Rotted One NoteA Journey To Reedham (7am mix) - Big LoadaTetrasync - UltravisitorHello Meow - Hello Everything
Of all the times I've seen him live (this was the 5th now) this had to be the most satisfying from a fan service perspective. And the drummer was NUTS. Incredible. RDJ in Houston? Squarepusher jamming his classics with a full band? What a time to be alive.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 21:47 (seven years ago) link
that sounds absolutely awesome, and exactly the sort of thing I have been wishing him to do for like, a decade now. this vid confirms:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VypU8zojFsY
hopefully he releases a live disc, cuz damn
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 21:51 (seven years ago) link
I decided to play Hard Normal Daddy after years of skipping over it in favor of other things and it is the best decision I've made in a long time.
― (The caption: “fine dining.”) (DJP), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 20:17 (seven years ago) link
you gotta hear his live band play the tracks it's incredible
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 20:23 (seven years ago) link
Dude seriously has one of the most detailed musician pages on Wikipedia I've ever seen:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squarepusher
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 20:27 (seven years ago) link
holy shit that video
― (The caption: “fine dining.”) (DJP), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 20:29 (seven years ago) link
the Journey to Reedham video is insane as well
https://youtu.be/IXtQDsf4gJA
― (The caption: “fine dining.”) (DJP), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 20:36 (seven years ago) link
"Wind down with CBeebies Daydreams, an hour-long journey that focuses on the finer details of the world to help you relax. Voiced by Olivia Colman and music by Tom Jenkinson."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p062glb7/daydreams-cbeebies-wind-down
― koogs, Friday, 11 May 2018 09:40 (six years ago) link
New album coming in January: Be Up a Hello
https://pitchfork.com/news/squarepusher-announces-first-album-in-5-years-shares-new-song-listen/
Squarepusher “returned to using a bewildering array of vintage analog and digital hardware, the same equipment that first helped him develop his sound in the early ’90s.”
The Fracture Remix of Vortrack is quite nice, and clearly has the old school hardware vibe he's going for. Album version is much weirder and has an interesting Aphex vibe. 90's instrumentation with modern side chaining. Not at all like the remix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ke5hp-p3E
― octobeard, Thursday, 21 November 2019 21:28 (four years ago) link
yeah I'd swear the album version of this was Aphex, at least until around the 3:30 mark when the percussion starts really going haywire
― frogbs, Thursday, 21 November 2019 21:56 (four years ago) link
lots of discussion on my FB about whether the Fracture remix is by Fracture or not... bit confused.
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin), Friday, 22 November 2019 18:59 (four years ago) link
Discogs says it is... but the Pitchfork write up implies it's TJ? Also confused. Tbf he's used random remix names in the past, like on Big Loada
― octobeard, Friday, 22 November 2019 23:30 (four years ago) link
Another one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtSJA_U4W1U
― octobeard, Wednesday, 8 January 2020 23:04 (four years ago) link
seems to be getting very good reviews has anyone heard it yet
― frogbs, Monday, 3 February 2020 15:50 (four years ago) link
No but a friend of mine who doesn't normally like Squarepusher told me he really likes it.
― chap, Monday, 3 February 2020 15:53 (four years ago) link
It sounds like '90s Squarepusher.
― afriendlypioneer, Monday, 3 February 2020 16:11 (four years ago) link
listening now and it's really nice and chunky and satisfying. agree, it's the closest thing to Hard Normal Daddy he's done in a while and while being bonkers, it's a lot more accessible - not as much jazzy experiments, more burbling drill'n'bass in a dustbin
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Monday, 3 February 2020 16:20 (four years ago) link
i think this might be one of his most enjoyable albums for decades. that said, I don't know if (like almost all his albums since the mid-2000s) I'll listen to it once, enjoy it, and then feel weirdly guilty for never digging it out again
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Monday, 3 February 2020 16:50 (four years ago) link
Not enough robots IMHO. "Nervelevers" and "80 Ondula" are the keepers.
― Jeff W, Monday, 3 February 2020 16:53 (four years ago) link
lol at opening the record with pachelbel's canon
― you know my name, look up the number of the beast (rushomancy), Monday, 3 February 2020 17:40 (four years ago) link
Feels like a merge between the song structure and musical styles he refined with Hello Everything and Ufabulum combined with his old school gear and editing circa HND. Not sure it will have the staying power of those aforementioned releases, but it's definitely a solid album
― octobeard, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 03:18 (four years ago) link
I felt like I lost track of Squarepusher c Ultravisitor, which felt really messy and sprawling to me at the time, even for him. Never managed to get back on the Squarepusher train despite probably having heard every album since. But I do remember Hello Everything being good
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 09:58 (four years ago) link
Why are Tommib and Beep Street his most listened-to tracks on Spotify? Strange...
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 09:59 (four years ago) link
Maybe Tommib is on a bunch of ambient playlists, plus it's short, but Beep Street never struck me as a SP highlight to be standing over Red Hot Car and Iambic 5 Poetry...
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 10:00 (four years ago) link
I'm taking a worldwind tour of his discography now. each album has its own vague overall vibe. But each one also suffers from wild oscillationgs between tear-out drill'n'bass rave, abstruse avant-jazztronica and the odd ambient or acoustic tune which would otherwise be considered quite pretty. It's Druqks syndrome all over again - the feeling of listening to three or four albums on shuffle rather than a consolidated whole.And while that tension can sometimes works, more often than not it's a jarring, implacable listen that never really settles into a groove. 'Hello Everything' starts with a bunch of fun upbeat bangers but halfway through the album it suddenly switches to three consecutive tracks of quiet, contemplative ambient jazz. This is all very well, but for me as a listener I'm rarely in the mood to be buffeted around in this way. It's nice that he's showing off his musical range, but it leaves me wondering how wide that range is, when he's released so many albums now that swing from what is ultimately two essential styles. Personally I'd much rather he released records like 'Music Is Rotted One Note', which was more focused on his jazz/experimental sound and kept the ravey stuff for other releases rather than trying to cram everything into one claustrophobic assortment box. It would let his range express itself more.
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 10:48 (four years ago) link
one recent-ish record of his I really dug was Just a Souvenir, in which he seemed to force himself to cut the unnecessarily abrasive & doodly stuff and just rock out. I think his audience at large didn't like it but I found it kinda charming.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 14:43 (four years ago) link
Listening to the new one after enjoying his RA Exchange interview. It's really good, even though it sounds more like a video game soundtrack than anything else. There's usually a backbeat or a riff that keeps things from going off the rails entirely into squelchy madness.
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 13 March 2020 15:38 (four years ago) link
Just A Souvenir is one of his best
― El Tomboto, Friday, 13 March 2020 15:53 (four years ago) link
New album continues my personal theory that you could make a “best of squarepusher” album consisting of only the first full-length track on each of his albums/EPs/singles and it would be comprehensive.
― Michael F Gill, Friday, 22 May 2020 17:02 (four years ago) link
You would miss 'Don't Go Plastic', 'Beep Street' and 'UFOs Over Leytonstone' at least.
― braised cod, Friday, 22 May 2020 18:02 (four years ago) link
Just looking at Squarpusher LPs on wiki, hoo boy that Pitchfork review of Go Plastic is one of the wrongest things I have ever read.
― Wuhan!! Got You All in Check (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 22 May 2020 18:21 (four years ago) link
returning to stuff I haven't really played since SOY (start of year), forgot how awesome Be Up A Hello is
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Friday, 11 December 2020 05:11 (three years ago) link
so many good records (including this one) came out before covid and it literally feels like 2 years ago
― octobeard, Friday, 11 December 2020 05:13 (three years ago) link
yeah thought the same about Dan Deacon's new album, I was like no way did this come out in 2020
― frogbs, Friday, 11 December 2020 05:18 (three years ago) link
Feed Me Weird Things 25th anniversary edition coming out June 4th!
― scanner darkly, Saturday, 24 April 2021 02:24 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OySHlQzk8bY
enjoyable
― brisk money (lukas), Thursday, 10 February 2022 05:05 (two years ago) link