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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.
Squarepusher
Equipment
Philosophy
Albums
EPs, singles and promos
Remixes
Aliases
| | Name | Squarepusher | | Img | Squarepusher.ultravisitor.gif | | Img Capt | Squarepusher in 2004 | | Background | non_vocal_instrumentalist | | Birth Name | Tom Jenkinson | | Alias | Rumble Tum Jum
Chaos A.D. | | Origin | Chelmsford, Essex, England | | Instrument | bass guitar, sampler, drum machine, synthesiz... | | Genre | Jazz
Electronic music
Drum and Bass | | Occupation | Musician | | Years Active | 1996 in music | | Label | Rephlex Records, Warp Records, Nothing Record... |
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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 and Warwick basses. Squarepusher claims to know more about his music equipment than the manufacturers of the products themselves.
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Philosophy
Squarepusher holds the belief that the machines used to make music hold just as much influence on the music as the users do themselves, and that humans do not control these machines independently; we hold the same mutual creative capacity as they do. He says that the restraints musical instruments held in the past were quintessential to music composition and that the insignificance of modern classical music, as a result of new technology, exposes this point. This, he says, is why machines themselves now contribute so much influence to musical composition.
In his view, our common delusion that only we humans are the sole cause of the creative process resulting with the machine resisting the composer's will, hindering the process of creation. When the machine is unable to collaborate, it works against its user. In his view, the violent domination of machines produces "artifacts of human stupidity, not art." He says this originates from our inherent desire to control everything, even the prevention of death. This desire to be "controllers" works against us in every instance it can be found. The artists become frustrated that their machine will not cooperate, and this, as Squarepusher claims, is the reason why so many artists have died young, gone insane or committed suicide.
Artists try to represent themselves in their music in an attempt to live after death. As modern music incorporates technology more and more, Jenkinson observes that musicians are the first group of creative society to represent themselves with machines. Our desire to be superior to machines, combined with the reality that we are not, creates human jealousy of machines; thus they become the greatest object of human desire.
Jenkinson's view is that the commercialization of machines is merely an attempt to dominate them, by possessing them as mere fashion accessories.
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Albums
Image:Squarepusher.feedmeweirdthings.jpg|Feed Me Weird Things
June 3, 1996
Image:Squarepusher.hardnormaldaddy.jpg|Hard Normal Daddy
April 28, 1997
Image:Squarepusher-Burningn'n_Tree.jpg|Burningn'n Tree
November 10, 1997
Image:Squarepusher - Music Is Rotted One Note.jpg|Music Is Rotted One Note
October 12, 1998
Image:Squarepusher - Budakhan Mindphone.jpg|Budakhan Mindphone
March 1, 1999
Image:Squarepusher - Selection Sixteen.jpg|Selection Sixteen
November 8, 1999
Image:Squarepusher - Go_Plastic.jpg|Go Plastic
June 25, 2001
Image:Squarepusher - Do You Know Squarepusher.jpg|Do You Know Squarepusher
September 30, 2002
Image:Squarepusher.ultravisitor.gif|Ultravisitor
March 8, 2004
Image:SquarepusherHelloEverything.jpg|Hello Everything
October 16, 2006
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EPs, singles and promos
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Remixes
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Aliases
Chaos A.D.
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
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