Squarepusher

Squarepusher is the performing pseudonym of Tom Jenkinson, an English electronic music artist signed to Warp Records. He specialises in the electronic music genres of drum and bass, musique concrète, and acid, with a significant jazz influence.

Jenkinson was born in Bridgeport, Dorset in 1975 and was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School. He went on to study Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design. A self-taught drummer and highly skilled bass guitar player, his style of extremely fast, cut-up beats mixed with fusion jazz and interlaced with synth lines and samples has gained him a cult following. He is a friend of Richard D. James (Aphex Twin), and Luke Vibert. His albums have been critically acclaimed for their forward-thinking approach to electronic music.

Jenkinson performs live, playing with a fretless or fretted bass guitar, a laptop, and other hardware. He appeared twice on BBC Radio 1's The Breezeblock show. On 26 June 2005, Squarepusher played at London's Royal Festival Hall as part of the Jimi Hendrix tribute show "Songs of Experience". His 12-minute performance was built up of a medley of Hendrix tracks played solely on the bass guitar with the use of effects.

His brother, Andy Jenkinson, is also a respected recording artist under the name Ceephax Acid Crew.

Squarepusher's latest full-length album, Hello Everything, was released on October 16th, 2006. He will return to the spotlight for live performances in late 2008 including a set at the All Tomorrow's Parties Nightmare Before Christmas festival at the request of curators Mike Patton and Melvins.

According to the Warp Records Myspace blog, a new album called Just A Souvenir is due to be released on the 27th October 2008.

Equipment

Squarepusher sequenced his pre-2000 work on a BOSS DR-660 drum machine, which wasn't designed to sequence entire songs. He uses hardware for his electronic music such as King Tubby-style spring reverbs, Akai samplers, (S950 for early work, S6000 for later work), a Roland SH-101 synthesizer, a Roland TB-303 bassline synthesizer, and a reel-to-reel tape machine. Around the year 2000, Squarepusher bought a computer with Reaktor and an Eventide Orville for digital processing. According to a list of gear from the official website, Squarepusher owns:

Bass guitars: Music Man / Rickenbacker 4001 / Custom built 6 string.
Guitars: Classical and Baritone classical / custom electric guitar.
Software: Reaktor using only home made algorithms.
Electronic Hardware: Eventide "Orville" + "DSP4000" using only homemade algorithms/ Yamaha sequencer / 16 track tape machine / MackieDesk / Sine wave generator / Roland SH101 / Octave "Cat" synth / AKG414 mics / Home made + AKG analogue reverb units / DAT recorder.
Percussion: Ludwig drum kit / Balinese percussion / xylophone.
Other: some wires, mains leads, a room to put it all in, cooperative neighbors, etc.

He has been known to play Fender, Ernie Ball, and Warwick basses.

Perhaps the most ubiquitous sample associated with many Squarepusher songs is the use of the Amen break.

Discography

Albums

Feed Me Weird Things (June 3, 1996)
Hard Normal Daddy (April 28, 1997) #115 UK
Burningn'n Tree (November 10, 1997)
Buzz Caner (May 25, 1998) (as Chaos A.D.)
Music Is Rotted One Note (October 12, 1998)
Budakhan Mindphone (March 1, 1999) #183 UK
Selection Sixteen (November 8, 1999)
Go Plastic (June 25, 2001) #100 UK
Do You Know Squarepusher (September 30, 2002) #192 UK
Ultravisitor (March 8, 2004) #90 UK
Hello Everything (October 16, 2006) #89 UK
Just A Souvenir (October 27, 2008)

EPs, singles and promos

1994	Crot EP	Released under name Tom Jenkinson.
1994	Stereotype EP	Released under name Tom Jenkinson.
1995	Conumber E:P	Released on Spymania. Partially compiled into Burningn'n Tree.
1995	Alroy Road Tracks	Released on Spymania under the alias The Duke Of Harringay, later all tracks included in Squarepusher compilation Burningn'n Tree.
1996	Bubble And Squeak	Released under name Tom Jenkinson.
1996	Dragon Disk 2	Split EP, released under name Tom Jenkinson.
1996	Squarepusher Plays...	–
1996	Port Rhombus EP	Also compiled in the US version of Big Loada on Nothing Records
1997	Vic Acid	–
1997	Big Loada	Also released on Nothing Records in 1998.
1998	Remixes 12"	Released under alias Chaos A.D. on Rephlex.
1999	Maximum Priest EP	–
1999	Anti-Greylord Protection Scheme Prelude	Included with most copies of Selection Sixteen
2001	My Red Hot Car	–
2001	Do You Know Squarepusher	Single for the album of the same name, no titles appear on this release, merely a single song "Do You Know Squarepusher".
2003	Ultravisitor	Single for Ultravisitor.
2004	Square Window	Promo for Ultravisitor.
2004	Venus No. 17	Includes Venus No.17, acid mix of the track and Tundra 4, which is reworking of track 2 from Feed Me Weird Things album.
2006	Welcome to Europe	Exclusive digital single #1: released September 4 (Also available on Hello Everything).
2006	Hanningfield Window	Exclusive digital single #2: released September 18.
2006	Exciton	Exclusive digital single #3: released October 2.
2006	Vacuum Tracks	Released with certain editions of Hello Everything.
2006	Welcome to Europe	12" vinyl single.

Compilation appearances

Release date	Released on	Track	Notes
1998	We Are Reasonable People	"Freeman Hardy & Willis Acid"	Song credited to "Squarepusher/AFX".
2003	Lost in Translation	"Tommib"
2006	Marie Antoinette	"Tommib Help Buss"

Remixes

1996	DJ Food: "Scratch Yer Hed (Squarepusher Mix)"	Appears on Refried Food and various Ninja Tune compilations.
1996	Funki Porcini: "Carwreck (Squarepusher Mix)"	Appears on Carwreck EP.
1998	East Flatbush Project: "Tried By 12 (Squarepusher Mix)"	Appears on Tried By 12 Remixes.
2001	Chaos A.D.: "Psultan (Squarepusher Mix)"	Appears on Rephlex Records The Braindance Coincidence compilation.