Tom Jenkinson can hardly be accused of staying at the
same place for too long. Since his first experimentations
were released on Spymania in 1995, and all throughout
his career, Squarepusher has constantly altered his
route, changing direction with pretty much every new
record. Yet, his sound has defined a whole new area
in electronic music, where drum’n’bass,
jazz, acid and techno co-exist, be it almost unrecognisable.
His recordings have made him one of the most talked-about
electronic artists around, and one of the most influential
too, as his joyful mayhem infiltrated the work of many,
including that of his long-term friend Richard
‘Aphex’ James. Beside his recordings,
Tom has also proved to be a phenomenal live artist,
creating mayhem practically everywhere he has played.
His last tour sold out almost instantly, a rare occurrence.
More recently, he has engaged in a series of projects
including a collaboration with the London Sinfonietta
at the Royal Festival Hall last year, with more dates
to come in 2004, and a soundtrack made of unreleased
material was used by British choreographer Darren Johnston
for a new creation premiered at London’s South
Bank Centre last December. Meanwhile legendary visual
artist Chris Cunningham, a long-time collaborator with
Squarepusher, Autechre
and Aphex Twin,
is currently said to be working on a feature-length
movie based on Jenkinson’s music.
Two-and-a-half years after his last proper album, Go
Plastic, the arrival of a full length Squarepusher
album announces yet another re-invention. If Ultravisitor
lurks toward the Squarepusher of Feed Me Weird Things
and Hard Normal Daddy in some ways, it is very
much a leap forward. Perhaps his most accessible record
to date, Ultravisitor focuses, for the first
time since Music Is Rotted One Note, on the
musician far more than on the programmer. If the two
still cohabit here, the digital processing mostly serves
to highlight the musical quality of Jenkinson’s
work. Surprisingly, this album appears in part far more
tamed and chilled than ever before. The opening title
track is a perfect reflection of this. With the drums
nicely stashed in the background, the melody is able
to develop fully, revealing the dense atmospheres that
had been very much hidden until now. All along this
album, Jenkinson alternates between traditional drill
tracks (Menelec, District Line II),
moodier moments (Iambic 9 Poetry), digital
abrasion (50 Cycles, Steinbolt) and
subdued almost entirely acoustic moments (I Fulcrum,
Andrei, Tommib Help Bus), sometimes
confronting them as on An Arched Pathway. Yet,
despite these sonic fireworks, Ultravisitor
appears more laidback and inviting than its predecessors
as Tom’s music seriously gains in maturity here.
If this album might alienate some of Squarepusher’s
most hardcore fans, it actually proves to be one of
his most accomplished recordings to date. Although he
retains some of what has made him a household name on
the electronic circuit over the last ten years, his
more subtle approach serves his musical talent in complete
new ways, often highlighting his passion for jazz in
similar fashion to Music Is Rotted One Note.
Ultravisitor is the work of a man at peace
with his art.
4.8/5 |
