Squarepusher is twentysomething Tom Jenkinson, a one-man band, who, armed with a bass guitar and a bunch of machines, gleefully spits in the face of musical categorization.
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New album "Go Plastic" is another slice of bizarre experimental magic served up by a guy who has carved his own unique niche in electronic music since Aphex Twin and Rephlex records "discovered" him and released his debut album, "Feed Me Weird Things," back in 1996. (It's no coincidence the only other artist who can exist on the same planet as Squarepusher is his chief mentor, Aphex Twin, and being compared to that genius is no mean compliment.)
"Go Plastic" is basically a combination of whacked-out bass grooves, maniacal drum 'n' bass and a bunch of weird space noises. It's sometimes funky, sometimes jazzy, but always in-your-face and never boring.
While initially it might sound like a battalion of insane plumbers banging pipes together, Squarepusher does not fall into the muso trap of just hurling a bunch of random noises at us. After a few listens it's easy to be charmed by the unorthodox song structures and complex beat patterns. It's the work of a noise anarchist launching his own mini-rebellion against musical tradition, like Miles Davis at his most free, but with the trumpet ditched for a beat box. And it's unlikely you'll hear a more challenging album this year, so it's well worth getting to grips with.
Last year, Aphex Twin was the lunatic who chewed up the Red Marquee at Fuji Rock festival; this time round, Tom Jenkinson is set to blow tens of thousands of minds when he does his thing on the White Stage. Something not to be missed.