Eclectic Minds…. You know the drill now: we speak to someone who isn’t necessarily associated with D&B but has something to say about it, and gives us a few all-time favourites in the process.
Today we’re talking to Squarepusher. It’s elementary; Tom Jenkinson was heavily inspired by hardcore and early jungle. In fact he’s been so heavily involved in the development and dissection of the breakbeat, he considers himself something of an addict. Here’s one of his earliest releases, taken from the Conumber EP, released in 1995.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJAR4qIBv5s
And here’s Red Hot Car from 2001. Simply because it’s ace…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3TyBD0f1CM
A man who’s motto can be concentrated down to ‘keep it mental’, if any ‘non D&B’ artist has something to say about drum & bass, it’s Squarepusher. But there’s a problem: He’s already done a similar list for an XLR8R feature. Instead we opted for a much more wholesome – not to mention thought provoking – Q&A session instead. Which, it turns out, suits Mr Pusher much better. He’s really not a list man.
“No I’m not that fond of writing lists at all,” he tells us. “It’s not the way I look at the world really…”
How do you look at the world, then?
“I take things on their own merits. As they come. The problem with lists is that there’s always a danger of criteria. A set of rules. And it’s too easy to forget things when you concentrate on these rules. Plus there’s a lot of music that won’t quite fit in. Like music you love but you can’t describe why you love it, you just do; you don’t always know why you love things or how you quantify them. In fact it’s those things I tend to love!”
Would that include genres then, as well?
“My very early experiences of music were primarily through the radio. I was into electronics as a kid so I built radios and messed about with circuits. As well as the technical side of radio I also loved the fact you could just pick music up out of the air; I’d pick up stations from around the world and never know what they’re playing. That’s how music first presented itself to me; I didn’t know the people behind it, the context of it, how it was made. Nothing. All I knew is that I was enjoying it.
So my primary experience of listening to music is the sense of enjoyment; who did it, why it was done, how it was done and the genre it falls in is all secondary information to me. Genres help you talk about it, they help you get things in a rough structure but it’s only a guide. I’d certainly not recommend making music by considering the genre first. Drum & bass sprung up after people made the music they were already making. The genre description always comes after people’s endeavours. By using a genre to define what you do is throwing away a lot of creative potential. Genres are a handy yardstick but that’s that for me. It starts shutting you down if you conform to standards set by other people. So there’s a danger of silencing progress, innovation and new ideas.”
Do you still get that totally fresh, exciting ‘first time’ experience these days?
“Yeah of course! I try not to rely or fall back on any preconceptions, contexts or references as they spoil the fun, excitement and surprise we have in the world. It’s not just about music, it could be something so simple as going out on a beautiful day. The problem is when you put these experiences into words they’re not so special any more. I don’t want to ruin those moments by even trying to explain them because it’s a feeling and not a description.”
You mention references; there are definitely references or elements of drum & bass in Squarepusher music. Breakbeats for example…
“My love for breakbeats goes back to when people started using samplers. Way back in the 80s. In terms of the most influential sounds for me were what people were calling hardcore. 1991-2, labels like D-Zone and Chill and Back 2 Basics. They were utilising sampled breaks. I first heard that when I was 16 and it immediately drew me in. I’d heard other forms of electronic music before then and wasn’t really that keen on much of it. I was a musician and I’d already had years of experience playing in bands with drummers, so when I heard breaks being used I was attracted to the dynamism and motion. It was based on how drummers play and I’ve always loved that: the way a drummer can create a great groove and momentum. And obviously this technique got more and more advanced, the technology got better and better and I found it very persuading. It’s an addiction, I’ve tried to kick the habit a few times…”
Addicted to breakbeats?
“Yeah! After I did Big Loader in 1997 I felt I’d done everything I could with the breakbeat. I was trying to get as much the absolute maximum out of an Akai S950. I was sequencing from a drum machine and rinse every possible capability and make the most mental breakbeat record ever. After that I was like ‘breaks are over, that’s it for me’ and started working with live drummers for a while instead. Within a couple of years it was gnawing at me, something inside was saying ‘come on, there’s more mileage in the breakbeat yet’. It’s happening to me again, funnily enough. I haven’t used breaks on the last few albums and there’s that voice inside suggesting I return to them…”
You haven’t used them in the classical sense but there are traces of the D&B rhythm. The second half of Unreal Square for example…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4r_94EvDZ4
“I’ve always had a transient relationship with drum & bass. When I first put records out I was closely associated with it. I remember making my earliest records and taking them round to shops like Blackmarket for sale or return. I got talking to Nicky and he’d take a few for himself and people like Kenny Ken. I got quite a lot of interest from some of those characters and doing gigs with people like Peshay. Those shows were interesting but I never felt I fitted in. The crowd would go two ways; they’d go bananas or get completely confused. It was entertaining, it was all very new and at the time there were less rules. But the reactions were very extreme… It was great!”
A bad reaction is better than no reaction, right?
“Of course! I didn’t care! I’d been gigging with bands for seven years by then so I’d experienced enough to be able to take it on the chin. And yeah, I’d much rather a pissed off reaction than a mediocre response. I’m never going to be a ‘turn up and tread water until someone else come along’ guy. If I was you wouldn’t be talking to me right now! Regardless of whether it’s drum & bass or not, the whole thing for me is that music needs to slam, every aspect of the presentation, delivery, performance, whatever… It needs to be completely mental. If there’s a theme in my work it’s this: keep it mental! That’s the thing about those early hardcore records, it was completely mad music. It was off its fucking head! There’s always been experimental and extremely out-there music, but suddenly it was being made on my doorstep. And that’s what I’m trying to keep alive… that ‘fuck! What was that?’ sensation I had back then.”
Find out a little more about Squarepusher.