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Volume 72, Issue 56,
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Life & Arts 'Hello' mixes jazz rock, accessibility by BEN HILL
Between 500 and 5,000 people are crammed into a tent or pressed against a crowd-control barrier, doused in multi-colored light emitted from the stage. They’ve come to see one man, and he mostly plays bass. He’s tucked into a tight space amid metal trusses, lights, amps, a massive electronic setup and a laptop. Volleys of high-speed bass licks are greeted with approving cheers amidst a thick foundation of pre-treated drum samples. It’s an odd scene, not unlike Moby’s tendency to run around an otherwise vacant stage banging his head while playing guitar, but it’s a common one in the United Kingdom and abroad. The word "difficult" would be flattering as a description of some of Squarepusher’s music. Thomas Jenkinson, the man behind the moniker (and all that equipment), took his time in molding a unique voice. His early albums were all over the map, fluctuating between funky Weather Report-influenced fusion and free jazz to head-splitting sonic brutalism and graceful ambient. But after six full-length albums, Jenkinson seemed to achieve a balance for his music with 2004’s Ultravisitor, a fluid mix of his disparate tastes that was a personal milestone of composition and creativity. His work also became less dissonant and more delicate. Hello Everything, his latest release, continues this trend toward accessibility first seen on Ultravisitor. Jenkinson seems more concerned with making a listenable tune than jarring his listeners this time out. "Hello Meow" and "Bubble Life" bring back the good parts of jazz rock while cutting the extended solos. New listeners should note that drum programming on a Squarepusher album is designed to resemble nebulous jazz drumming, which works well given that Jenkinson is as adept behind a drum kit, and nearly any other instrument, as he is with a bass. "Rotate Electrolyte," "Welcome to Europe" and "Plotinus" could be a single suite. "The Modern Bass Guitar" is a shocking torrent of technical prowess and deception; Jenkinson’s bass is so drowned in effects and distortion that it’s unrecognizable. "Orient Orange" is a creepy, ten-minute soundscape that contrasts well with the soothing "Circlewave 2." Hello Everything doesn’t break new ground as far as Squarepusher is concerned, but innovation isn’t always required to make good music. Some criticize Jenkinson’s music as being soulless or devoid of feeling and emotion. Such critics aren’t listening hard enough. Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu |
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