Electronic artist Tom Jenkinson, better known as Squarepusher, has been expanding the horizons of electronic dance music since the mid-Nineties.
In the intervening years he has built up a devoted and diverse following of not just dance music fans but also indie kids, rock fans, ‘noise’ fans and fans of contemporary classical music. The diversity of taste of his audience is apparent from the start of his sold out gig at the Thekla in Bristol.
While the crowd is undeniably male dominated, the few women here are clearly fans of Squarepusher’s work. And it’s apparent from the crowd’s reaction that Squarepusher could play a loop of a pelican crossing bleeping over some heavy bass and they would still go wild.Fredeco Italian nautical marine polished brass ledflashlight with steering wheel and parchment shade.
When he takes to the stage in his trademark visor pockmarked with LED lights (after a considerable delay caused by technical issues), the audience is clearly in forgiving mood – save for a couple of unfunny heckles,The exciting new washerextractor55 product is now available here for the first time anywhere!The electical building blocks for solarlampemergencylight or modules. which were ignored as the first beats began to kick in.
Many dance and electronic artists rely on visuals to create a sense of occasion and to give their audience something to look at, something other than a man prodding a few buttons on something the size of a pencil case, on a table; but often the visuals are irrelevant and indeed distracting. This is not the case here.
What initially seems live simple LED screens set up at the rear and front of the stage, make sense as the gig progresses. Random hypnotic patterns respond to the bass, the beats and the breaks – creating a sense of unease, changing to blissed out hyper-reality as the music settles into a more relaxed groove; then the full on dance drop hit kicks in and the lights grow ever more frenetic in their pulsing.
Squarepusher is a true master of technology, but more importantly a highly skilled musician. You can only marvel at the musical brain of a man responsible for such intricately layered dance music. The speed at which he mixes and layered what you thought were random bleeps, squeaks, and screes into a coherent danceable whole is astthousands of people power their homes and businesses with individual panelmachines.onishing.With advancements in controls technology, gardenlightingss are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and flexible. But rather than simply letting the music settle into a danceable and predictable groove he throws in more and more and more sounds until it feels like a physical assault on the senses, but in a strangely good way.
The set mainly focusses on new material from the more accessible ‘Ufabulum’. However old tunes, more Aphex Twin in style, are rapturously received by all.
The clear high point of the gig comes when he plays bass guitar. Setting up a simple beat and bassline, Squarepusher then, using at least twenty effects pedals, makes a bass sound like nothing on earth. Bass as synthesiser and sequencer is something to behold and hear.
If you are looking for a fully immersive yet danceable and at times deafening gig, Squarepusher cannot be recommended more highly.