Squarepusher (aka Tom Jenkinson) has been producing some of the most genre-pushing drum and bass, acid house, and jazz electronic music since the mid-90’s. He originally made the transition from playing in bands during his formative years to the electronic format due to the creative constrictions that he initially found, and saw electronic music as an escape from all of that, allowing for his ideas to flourish within the realm.
It seems the time is right for Squarepusher to make the transition back to a live band format as he has introduced his latest project, Shobaleader One, to the world. While still staying within the genres of acid house and jazz, he is bringing a full band to the live setting and has announced a couple of European dates on May 6th at Gorilla in Manchester, UK, May 7th at XJAZZ Festival/Lido in Berlin, DE and London’s Islington Assembly Hall on May 8th. The band released video of “Squarepusher Theme” which features the band with light-up headgear and completely going off.
Take a listen to “Squarepusher Theme”:
Squarepusher on why the time to play with a live band is now:
“I got fed up with being in bands when I was a teenager. The whole format seemed stricken with creative inertia and conservatism. And the idea of negotiating with other people in order to get music made seemed like a massive waste of time when there was the option of doing it all with electronics. Even if using electronics meant that certain musical options were discarded, that seemed a fair price to pay. Albums such as Hard Normal Daddy (1997) and Music Is Rotted One Note (1998) represent my attempts to narrow the gap between what a band could do and the standard conception of what was possible with electronics – I tried to make electronics sound like an insane band. But I reckon since then electronic music has itself become well acquainted with inertia and conservatism (and possibly also smarminess and tepidity).
Software companies, partly in order to further their business aims, have made it so easy to make electronic music that the format in general is beginning to assume a troubling air of painting-by-numbers pointlessness. I tried to combat that by making Damogen Furies (2015) as close to a musical flamethrower as can be mustered in 1s and 0s, but right now I feel that the battle must be continued outside of the box. It’s time to make a band sound like an insane band. Enter Shobaleader One…
Squarepusher @SQUAREPUSHER”
[via Q Magazine]
