Prunesquallor Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I saw Squarepusher at the Hackney Empire last night, and any thoughts I'd had about him dumbing down or selling out because of his latest electronica album and new Daft Punk-lite image were blown away. He did the latest album, of course, but nothing else I recognized. The rest seemed to be semi-improvized aural assaults, using music as a kind of battering ram. This was not the sweet side of Squarepusher of, say, Bubble Life, but the 'difficult' side, which gets me asked to turn him down a lot at home. Of course, I went to see him play bass. He's one of the main reasons I picked up one in the first place. But when he did, towards the end of the concert, he used it to project yet more jagged, scouring synth rockets over an electronic back beat. Only right at the end of the encore did a recognizable bass sound emerge for a few jazzy chords. That was it. Did I enjoy it? Yes, in a sado-masochistic kind of way. I do wish he'd given us some set dynamics, though, a couple of oldies, like Squarepusher Theme, and some recognizable virtuoso bass. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 As a person who loves old keyboards stuff(tangerine dream/schulze / namlook) I heard of him , but nothing by him. Saw a pic of him in Fridays metro , and watched a few bits on you tube.T he an has awesome talent , and I love someone who puts on ashow. Is there anything you could recommend that's not too dancey ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunesquallor Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 'Not too dancey'... hmm. He does like that d'n'b backbeat... Most people recommend Hard Normal Daddy or Feed Me Weird Things as 'gateway' albums. They could be considered his 'classic' period, if you like. Or you could try Ultravisitor, Flea's favourite album. They could all be a bit dancey for you, though. Alternatively, there's Solo Electric Bass 1, a concert recording in which it's just him and a 6-string bass - no drum machines, or any other electronics. For the record, my favourite tracks for his bass playing, are EZ Boogie, C-Town Smash, Squarepusher Theme, The Swifty (the bass comes in late), Hello Meow, Bubble Life, Papalon, Iambic 5 Poetry, Don't Go Plastic, My Sound, and Tetrasync. Check them out on YouTube. The first two, in particular, are bravura bass displays. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 the man's a genius imho - bass playing aside, i find his music endlessly fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Nice to hear what you thought. Personally I love Squarepusher, but I can't see me enjoying watching him live, partly because I'm not interested in the visceral act of watching what he does on bass or all those modules but mostly because it's way too avant garde... like you say, an onslaught! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairobill Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I LOVE Squarepusher. Operates on his own terms and succeeds due to sheer force of talent. Awesome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyKnees Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hard Normal Daddy kicks arse, it's one of my favourite instrumental albums...so many fantastic ideas crammed into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Sounds great. I didn't know that he had a 'classic period' - those are good albums, but for me Go Plastic and Ubfubulum are the best. I find Ultravisitor like many double albums in that it would be much better if they made it half as long and just kept the best bits. Anyway, I'm dead jealous, I love Squarepusher live, and not seen him for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I absolutely lover Port Rhombus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSnhXGVTdbk His bass playing doesn't do much for me but his music is absolutely sublime. Hard Normal Daddy and Go Plastic are both up there with my favourite electronica albums of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunesquallor Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1350825737' post='1843858'] I didn't know that he had a 'classic period' - those are good albums, but for me Go Plastic and Ubfubulum are the best.[/quote] Well, Hard Normal Daddy and Feed Me Weird Things seem to come up the most, or certainly very often, in favourite Squarepusher album threads, and they aren't too extreme, which is why I recommended them to Ray. Go Plastic I'd rate as one of his more difficult albums; and Ufabulum I couldn't get into at all, and is quite different to his previous output. But, hey, whatever floats your boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 [quote name='Prunesquallor' timestamp='1350828928' post='1843912'] Well, Hard Normal Daddy and Feed Me Weird Things seem to come up the most, or certainly very often, in favourite Squarepusher album threads, and they aren't too extreme, which is why I recommended them to Ray. Go Plastic I'd rate as one of his more difficult albums; and Ufabulum I couldn't get into at all, and is quite different to his previous output. But, hey, whatever floats your boat. [/quote] I was by no means questioning your recommendations, just musing aloud as it were :-) It took me a while to get into Ubfubulum, but it's been in the car player for ages and I've recently really got into it, especially the dark and powerful second half. I remember buying "Budakahn Mindphone" ep in a record shop in Dublin back in 1999, a bit more organic and ambient than later stuff, but I hadn't heard anything like it before, been hooked ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunesquallor Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 No worries! It's good to see a completely different take on the guy. Looks like I'll have to give his latest another go. Maybe I dismissed it too quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydentaku Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Come on my selector, awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 i've posted this before, but I own one of his former combo's my modified TechSoundsystems TVM 600 2x12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunesquallor Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Really? What did he modify? Did you get it directly from him? I've heard he's a nice enough guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 damn - wanted to catch the new show but blew it (just so damn busy I forgot when it was on) - I think he's playing Manchester so might get up for that one - love the man and his music - he's so far ahead of the rest of us... he's out of sight. His knowledge of the inside of computer music/synths is equal or greater than his skills on bass - he has a truly frightening talent. Thoroughly nice chap though - and very down to earth in person. So there you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunesquallor Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 A luthier he deals with (forgot which one) said his drumming is also better than his bass playing. He's frighteningly talented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 [quote name='Prunesquallor' timestamp='1350984069' post='1845745'] Really? What did he modify? Did you get it directly from him? I've heard he's a nice enough guy. [/quote] TVM 600 head in the combo upgraded on the treble to give an extra 6db of boost at 11khz, 600w RMS @ 2ohm. Combo runs at 4ohms. I got it from the Bass Merchant when Mike (Zoot) was still running it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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