Student Report : Mike DiBiase
Spring '99
Squarepusher: Pushing the Limits of Electronica
Innovation--this is the one word that describes the influence of artist Tom Jenkinson on the widespread world of electronic music. At the ripe young age of twenty-one, this Chelmsford-born digital wizard¼s sound has been described as, although it is a major understatement, „a three way jam between Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, and LFO. Inside a Computer. And speeded up to 45 rpm¾ (Barr 1). Jenkinson has been known for his dysfunctional relationship with the „bandwagon¾ junglists of the drum n¼ bass genre, using his upbringing in jazz, dub and 1970's pop-rock to mold the music he creates.
„Drum n¼ bass,¾ as it¼s referred to, has been one of the most popular styles of electronic dance music to come out of the scene. There are too many forms to list, but they include breakbeat, jungle, hardstep, speed garage, gabber, hard trance, dark core, trip-hop, and happy hardcore. Each form also has endless variations, which even an individual who is constantly „up¾ on the scene cannot recite. Jenkinson has been categorized mostly into the jungle and breakbeat divisions, where many have claimed influence from jazz in their works. However, in an interview with Tom J. Grant, he has a different opinion about their claims:
When junglists cite jazz, that¼s bull[crap]--one can hear that they don¼t have a clue about jazz. When you put on a jazz record, you know right away who it is. The junglists have invented a new form of music, but there¼s so much more that they can do--many will probably hate me for saying this. (1)
What, exaclty, are Squarepusher¼s background and musical influences that have been instrumental in the gyrating, impulse-driven content of his material? In actuality, Jenkinson is
not just a computer and drum machine programmer--he plays the fretless bass, as well as the drums. He started playing the bass guitar when he was twelve years old, influenced at an early age by his dad¼s extensive dub-reggae and jazz record collection. He listened to many greats such as Augustus Pablo, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Dizzie Gillespie, „and because I played the drums, I was checking out Art Blakey and Buddy Rich, too¾ (qtd. in Barr 2). Later, he became interested in pop-rock music of the 1970's, as well as artists like Stanley Clark, Weather Report, and Chick Corea.
As a complete irony to his current life, Tom Jenkinson had no intention of ever creating music electronically. „I started off thinking electronic music was rubbish. . . I thought, åhow can you value music that¼s not written on instruments, how can it be any good if it¼s written on a keyboard?¼¾ (qtd. in Palmer 1). However, Jenkinson had a life-altering experience when he was fifteen--he was exposed for the first time to LFO¼s track „LFO.¾ „[It] kind of totally changed my mind about it [electronic music]. I just thought, yeah, there¼s loads of value in this and there¼s plenty of stuff to be explored¾ (qtd. in Palmer 1).
Thus, the new Tom Jenkinson was born. Electronic music had taken him by surprise and reversed his negative views of it almost instantly. As he delved into this fresh new world, certain artists began to capture his attention and influence his style. One of the most prominent mentors to Jenkinson, to whom he still credits his crossover to electronica, is Richard James of Aphex Twin. James¼ projects have had indescribable effects on, most particularly, the jungle side of drum n¼ bass. Fast breakbeats, strewn together with seemingly „random¾ samples of acoustic
instruments, barely begin to describe the originality of the DJ¼s works. „Aphex is a genius, a shining light. Hearing his åSelected Ambient Works Volume One¼ changed the way I thought about music. He¼s provided me with an aim and an attitude. He¼s on his own and that¼s the way I want to be¾ (qtd. in Bush 1). Because of the complicated rhythms and technical wizardry (not to mention the „subliminal¾ messages) heard in the Aphex¼s tracks, FAQT, an underground electronic culture magazine, goes so far as to state (with a dose of good humor) that his music „warps the minds of children and weak adults¾ (9). This seems to be a compliment to Richard¼s style, which includes driving around in his own World War II Sherman tank and DJ¼ing his sets with sandpaper and kitchen utensils.
Another of Jenkinson¼s main influences has been electronic music artist Luke Vibert. Vibert, who has involved himself with such projects as Plug and Wagonchrist, has been an outcast from the popular dance music scene¼s perspective. He and Richard James have both felt the monotony in the current jungle trend, and their music has dealt an honest hand against the grain of modern drum n¼ bass. This just so happens to be the direction that Squarepusher has taken, only in leaps and bounds.
One of the things that makes Tom Jenkinson¼s style so unique is his utilization of acoustic instruments within the electronic spectrum of his creations. The fretless bass has always been his instrument of priority, which he plays on his records as well as at his live performances. The following segment from an interview with Jenkinson sheds light on the importance of the bass guitar to his music:
. . . the bass guitar has the power to be earthy and funky, it¼s like no other instrument. Drums could never be like the bass, not for a moment. It brings together melody and rhythm. . . Strangely enough the bass gets itself placed in the middle of the jungle scene, sometimes with other things, and they even plan a club where tracks from Luke [Vibert] and myself can be played. (3)
Through the use of acoustic instruments, Jenkinson has been continually changing the composition of his songs over time, making music that differs from his previous material. In the beginnings of Squarepusher, his songs were primarily composed of synthesized sounds and sampled loops. A lot of the drum loops he used were sampled during his years in art school, where there was a drum kit he had access to. Now, however, instead of using pre-recorded instruments, Jenkinson has been tracking them live. He has been concerned primarily with the boundary between electronic and live instrumentation, because „it¼s getting better now but always the two sides have kind of looked upon each other with a lot of skepticism and wariness but I think there¼s a really interesting point in the middle where you harness both. . .¾ (qtd. in Palmer 1). One of Squarepusher¼s latest albums, „Music is Rotted One Note,¾ is actually a jazz record that has no solid techno foundation. Jenkinson recorded all of the instruments himself, track by track, with no one to bounce off of but himself (FAQT 22). The energy and sound that he captured with this technique proves that he is not only an amazing programmer, but a well-versed musician.
So where does this inventive genius do all of his handiwork? He works no other place
than in his bedroom studio. He does not have a large repertoire of gear; only a DR-660 drum machine, an AKAI S-950 sampler, an eight-track reel-to-reel tape machine, his bass guitar and other instruments, along with assorted synthesizers. „I use a drum machine as a sequencer. This uses the whole storage space for one particular track¾ (qtd. in Grant 2). At the time, Jenkinson has been creating his material using limited equipment, pushing him hard to do things that are „easy¾ with the latest professional digital audio gear. When his funds build, however, he is looking to purchase a computer, claiming that „it¼ll make the possibilities massive¾ (qtd. in Palmer 2).
Because of the originality and abnormal style of Squarepusher¼s music, Jenkinson is surprised (yet, at the same time flattered) at the amount of popularity and recognition that it has gained. He has been heckled by labels such as Ninja Tune and R&S for long term contracts, even while releasing material on both Warp Records and on Rephlex, Aphex Twin¼s label. It is amazing to Jenkinson that there has been a sizeable fan base built around his music. He explains that the main motivation for making music is that it is for himself, because „nothing else hits the mark.¾ „That¼s why it¼s so uncompromising and why it¼s so incredible that people are getting into it,¾ he says (qtd. in Bush 1).
Electronica has been, without a doubt, altered by the intense innovations that Tom Jenkinson has brought to it. His instant-shock experimentalism has opened up an entirely different, virtually unexplored area for electronic musicians. As Squarepusher continues to push the envelope in joint acoustic/electronic music, it is sure that many will join the quest to open up
an unprecedented realm of their own.
Works Cited
Barr, Tim. „The Four-Side Saga.¾ NME. Online. Internet. 15 April. 1999. Available: http//:www1.linkonline.net/ fresh/nme.htm.
Bush, Calvin. „Hip to Be Square.¾ Muzik. Online. Internet. 15 April. 1999. Available: http://www1.linkonline. net/fresh/muzik.htm.
Grant, Tom J. „Squarepusher: A Night at the Rephlex HQ with the Future Gibbon.¾ Online. Internet. 15 April. 1999. Available: http://www1.linkonline .net/fresh/german.htm.
Palmer, Tamara. „Squarepusher Thoughts: Excerpts from a Chat with Tom Jenkinson.¾ Online. Internet. 15 April. 1999. Available: http://www1.linkonline .net/fresh/tamara.htm.
Maveriq. „Earwax.¾ FAQT vol. 3. 1999: 22.
Usilton, Amity. „Which Witch Is Witch?¾ FAQT vol. 3. 1999: 9.