Welcome to my blog, I write about the music I like.
Album reviews
Under Tangled Silence is an intentional and self-aware record, almost wilfully slipping between categories and resisting definition. But for all that artful poise, it’s also a record with a soul, and particularly in the unadorned piano, the sound of an artist daring to show something of themselves in their music
SickElixir is a dank, dark, claustrophobic and at times downright unsettling listening experience. But for all that, it’s also a startling bold and original piece of work. One that sees Blawan evolve and elevate his sound to a place where he’s pretty much alone, influence-wise.
20 years after he was first labelled as folktronica, Four Tet's collaboration with folk guitarist, William Tyler, could ironically match that description. With expansive and gentle soundscapes populated by acoustic guitar and Kieran Hebden's electronic sculptures.
While Ufabulum surprised many Squarepusher fans with its shiny, synth-heavy sound and lack of amen breaks, bass guitar, jazz-fusion or Roland 303, I argue it still bears the hallmarks of classic Tom Jenkinson. And a reminder of why he’s considered a leading light in electronic music, braindance, IDM, call it what you will. Check out my video review
On Tall Tales, Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard paint nightmarish and hallucinatory landscapes populated by monstrous entities, which are brought to eye-popping life by visual artist Jonathan Zawada.
Presenting a much more accessible packaging of Squarepusher product, I'd hesitate to describe Hello Everything as "Squarepusher goes pop". But it could be seen as an attempt to go back to basics and is the perfect introduction to his music. Check out my video review
At 78 minutes, Ultravisitor is Squarepusher's longest album, bringing together live instrumentation as well as the micro-edited breakbeats and experimental synthesis that had characterised his sound up to that point. The cover photo really invites us to regard this as his most personal album to date. Check out my video review
A curious side-step between two of his greatest works poses an intriguing question, Do you know Squarepusher? To find out, Check out my video review
Dropping in a peak year for so called intelligent dance music, Go Plastic is my favourite release by Tom Jenkinson which saw him abandon live instruments, hardware and jazz influences, in favour of pure digital manipulation of breakbeats in homage to genres such as drum’n’bass, jungle and UK Garage. Check out my video review
Something of an oddity in the Squarepusher discography, Selection Sixteen features live instruments, jazz influences as well as heavy use of the Roland 303 bass synth, most typically known for its use in acid house. Check out my video review
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