squarepusher So whats next?

[pissflaps]

I was wondering whats next for mr Tom Jenkinson. I feel like the dude is getting old, and that he is not going again to deliver us with more out of this world mental jungle shit people like me enjoys. Who would have thought that the Go Plastic's era Squarepusher would end doing albums with Hello Kitty covers and chessy melodies all over? I mean, I liked these releases, but if the next album is still as chessy sounding he has definitely given up at keeping pushing the sonical boundaries again. I pretty much can say the same for Richard D Jams. I think they are dads now, and they can't sit for endless hours in the studio anymore. I will wait for that Konklaver shit but my hopes are kinda low.

 

If AFX and SP stop releasing "fucked up music" anymore, and with muziq practically retired as the next logical talent on this, what do we have left to hope for? (and dont say Venetian Snares). Or, do you still believe in a comeback of AFX and SP to the more experimental territories again?

[Guest IRARI]

venetian snares

[Bubba69]

solo electric bass 1?

[Velazquez]

Florentine Toms

[perunamuusi]

you're confusing "experimental" with "mental jungle shit"

[pissflaps]

you're confusing "experimental" with "mental jungle shit"

 

Nope.

[perunamuusi]

Or, do you still believe in a comeback of AFX and SP to the more experimental territories again?

 

exhibit A: Just a Souvenir

exhibit B: Rushup Edge

[pissflaps]

If AFX and SP stop releasing "fucked up music" anymore, and with muziq practically retired as the next logical talent on this, what do we have left to hope for?

 

With that I was talking about a more less listener-friendly approach, like what Rushup Edge is to Drukqs.

[perunamuusi]

If AFX and SP stop releasing "fucked up music" anymore, and with muziq practically retired as the next logical talent on this, what do we have left to hope for?

 

With that I was talking about a more less listener-friendly approach, like what Rushup Edge is to Drukqs.

 

 

i think you should start another thread where the sentences make sense

[pissflaps]

If AFX and SP stop releasing "fucked up music" anymore, and with muziq practically retired as the next logical talent on this, what do we have left to hope for?

 

With that I was talking about a more less listener-friendly approach, like what Rushup Edge is to Drukqs.

 

 

i think you should start another thread where the sentences make sense

 

Rushup Edge is more listener-friendly than Drukqs, Numbers Lucent is more listener-friendly than Go Plastic. Their latest releases tend to be more user friendly, with less fast-mental-fuckery-whatever involved, a direction I predict they will not be able to take again.

[Berk]

Yes but the difference between Rushup Edge and JAS is that JAS is shit while RE isn't

 

what I mean by this is that RDJ has still got it (and well I kind of like Numbers Lucent so Squarepusher hasn't quite lost it either)

[Guest David R James]

I dont think this is about user friendly music at all. Maybe its got something to do with the amount of copycat problems theses styles have had. The old generic saying still stands, thats what it has become. They are on a quest to try and follow directions that others are not. I mean JAS, yeah there are elements there that anyone can do, but have u heard anything that sound exactly like it? I had a horrible feeling he fell into warps trap and started make indie style music, but i can see this just isnt the case. pusher has done what he has always said, to follow his own path.

 

Analord is a great example,we know it was a direct effort to stick the finger up at all his recent digital master pieces that were being copyied left right and centre, and no one was aiming techno music directly at the gear that was being used, u had certain movements, such the echcospace works or basic channel style tracks but not everyone in the electronica scene were following that too much at the time. That was richs nice little area/niche that wasnt being used in the scene and did it. But u could see it was going to be copyied a mile off.

 

Something i would love to hear is Tom making more stuff like 'do you know squarepher', that track is so different to alot of his other drill type stuff but still in the style.

 

like myself and im sure others, u get bored of working on a computer screen, u spent about 4 years or something using computers and that just gets boring, and rich and tom have obviously had the same issues, they wanted to get 'physical' again. But i have no doubt that they might get the bug for software and digital fuckery again.

 

Yeah rich has got a kid and wife or whatever but it has been clearly documented that he loves music and will always make it, he will surely get some kind of urge to let people hear it, i couldnt see the point keeping it locked away forever, it would seem like wasted talent.

[goonstock]

chessy

[pissflaps]

I get the point of your post, but I don't think its going to be the same anymore. I know you can come up with a somewhat original sounding album based on old rock or jazz rhythms, or experiment with music in directions that doesnt involve "super jungle mental crazyness" everytime you do it, but that is not what im talking about. The kind of music displayed on Go Plastic and Drukqs is just unmatched, I don't know anyone that has managed to reach such understanding of electronic music devices (hardware and software) to come up with something that has a similar level of complexity and richness without lossing an overall flow on the rhythm, keeping it interesting, and these two albums are a million times more replayable and exciting to listen to than anything they've released since. That is why I fear this kind of music is going to end with these two albums, unless some unknown genius pops up out of nowhere, something unlikely. What im trying to say is that in order to create such music, you need to be totally into it. I can see Rich and Tom being 24h on the studio in the 2000-2001 era. I think they are not going to be able to do this sort of thing again, to keep pushing these directions, and I hope im totally wrong. Btw, about they being bored with computers... afaik Go Plastic was still not made with computers, or at least not sequenced with it. Something I personally find hard to believe. About Drukqs... I have no idea if it was sequenced or not with a computer, AFX has never stated anything about it, but definitely computers where obviously used on both. Since that era both have been using computers in one way or another, I personally think that including in the Anarlods series too (for sequencing purposes)

[Guest hahathhat]

i'm still kind of vague on what this ineffable quality that sets drukqs and go plastic apart from everything else is. what did people say before these albums were around? they didn't emerge from a vacuum. if this thread had been made just before these albums came out... what albums would you have picked instead, pissflaps?

 

whatever it is, look at where those two albums came from, how they were different (esp. regarding this magic you speak of) from what was already there... then try to extrapolate to current day. if you were to go that far ahead again, what would it sound like? establish a trajectory.

 

personally, i hear far better music than go plastic/drunkqs in my head all the time... i'm just not as good at getting it into the computer as pusher/afx. maybe this is the magic of which you speak?

 

or do you just mean music that makes you feel the same way flooring you car's accelerator does? :grin:

[Berk]

personally, i hear far better music than go plastic/drunkqs in my head all the time...

 

far better music than drukqs? that is saying something sir!

[Guest David R James]

Id /take drukqs/ over go plastic any day, i dont think go plastic is that amazing.

 

 

*ducks for cover*

[Guest hahathhat]

personally, i hear far better music than go plastic/drunkqs in my head all the time...

 

far better music than drukqs? that is saying something sir!

 

well, better to me, maybe not you or afx.

[Berk]

Id /take drukqs/ over go plastic any day, i dont think go plastic is that amazing.

 

 

*ducks for cover*

 

word indeed

[Bubba69]

Id /take drukqs/ over go plastic any day, i dont think go plastic is that amazing.

 

 

*ducks for cover*

 

I agree on the first point, but go plastic is way harder for me to listen to in general, but I think there are still aspects of it I don't understand, whereas drukqs I do understand and can jive with most of it. Go plastic is far more jagged and fucked up to me, so in some ways I would say it is more amazing than drukqs just as far as the digestion rate goes. At least this is the case for me.

 

But I have probably listened to drukqs 10-15 times more than go plastic, and I'm sure I've listened to go plastic something like close to 60 times.

[Guest David R James]

 

I agree on the first point, but go plastic is way harder for me to listen to in general, but I think there are still aspects of it I don't understand, whereas drukqs I do understand and can jive with most of it. Go plastic is far more jagged and fucked up to me, so in some ways I would say it is more amazing than drukqs just as far as the digestion rate goes. At least this is the case for me.

 

But I have probably listened to drukqs 10-15 times more than go plastic, and I'm sure I've listened to go plastic something like close to 60 times.

 

Yeah ive listened to drukqs more than GP to, and Its all just a matter of taste isnt it. i quess because i find drukqs to be so much more complex i enjoy it more, it mite be the reason why i like it more. Drukqs is its own entity, i feel go plastic kinda has to much of a tie with jungle and d n b to make it 100% original to me.

[Guest hahathhat]

i should probably get around to listening to go plastic.

[pissflaps]

i'm still kind of vague on what this ineffable quality that sets drukqs and go plastic apart from everything else is. what did people say before these albums were around? they didn't emerge from a vacuum. if this thread had been made just before these albums came out... what albums would you have picked instead, pissflaps?

 

whatever it is, look at where those two albums came from, how they were different (esp. regarding this magic you speak of) from what was already there... then try to extrapolate to current day. if you were to go that far ahead again, what would it sound like? establish a trajectory.

 

personally, i hear far better music than go plastic/drunkqs in my head all the time... i'm just not as good at getting it into the computer as pusher/afx. maybe this is the magic of which you speak?

 

or do you just mean music that makes you feel the same way flooring you car's accelerator does? grin.png

 

 

I don't remember what I was into or what were all the latest records, so I don't know what albums would I have picked instead. Of course musical ideas never come as something 100% original not being based on anything already done, but that applies to everything. The point is these two albums are a huge step ahead if you compare them to their previous albums, and to any other music really. Just try to find a record released before 2001 that pushed drum programming as far as these two did. And again, still today, try to find someone with the skill to come up with something near the quality. If you are not deaf, you could totally see the huge difference between, for example, anything else done by other artists like Venetian Snares and these two records. What im saying is, if Go Plastic and Drukqs were to be released tomorrow, it would be as amazing for me as it was in 2001, considering every single electronic music record released until today.

 

About you earing better music than Drukqs/Go Plastic in your head... I don't want to offend you, but I extremely doubt it. The magic I talk about is both things, being able to ear in your head what you want to listen to in a sound system, then to translate it into the real word, or speakers.

 

 

I agree on the first point, but go plastic is way harder for me to listen to in general, but I think there are still aspects of it I don't understand, whereas drukqs I do understand and can jive with most of it. Go plastic is far more jagged and fucked up to me, so in some ways I would say it is more amazing than drukqs just as far as the digestion rate goes. At least this is the case for me.

 

But I have probably listened to drukqs 10-15 times more than go plastic, and I'm sure I've listened to go plastic something like close to 60 times.

 

Yeah ive listened to drukqs more than GP to, and Its all just a matter of taste isnt it. i quess because i find drukqs to be so much more complex i enjoy it more, it mite be the reason why i like it more. Drukqs is its own entity, i feel go plastic kinda has to much of a tie with jungle and d n b to make it 100% original to me.

 

They are both very complex, but I would say Go Plastic goes a bit beyond. They are very different styles anyway. Both albums need relistenings, but yeah, Go Plastic gets really fucked up near the end, digestion rate is top here, and that makes it awesome.

 

I also agree on the sound thing, Drukqs has a very characteristic sound and mood in the tracks, while Go Plastic sounds like jungle taken to the year 3000, but I don't care much about this really, as long as a track has quality and is entertaining, it doesn't matter if you use the amen break in every single track, so to speak (actual fact in Go Plastic).

[Guest Dirty Protest]

Go Plasitic is Sp's most 1 dimensional album. I realise its very good, but it sits beside some very high standards. I would say theres more invention is JAS and I would much rather play Ultravisitor or One Note than Go Plastic. Fortunately theres no algorithm to disprove this or anyone else views, so we'll all have to content ourselves with being right/wrong. Im just glad Sp and AFX are still making music which has more funk, soul and intelligence than 99.99999999999% of all other media.

[Guest hahathhat]

If you are not deaf, you could totally see the huge difference between, for example, anything else done by other artists like Venetian Snares and these two records.

 

Venetian Snares vs. Drukqs I get what you mean... the most amount of detail in audio while having it hold together in something coherent and listenable. Drukqs totally wins there, VSnares is more what I meant by "flooring the accelerator" music, not as good in slo-mo but really gets my adrenaline going.

 

The ear only moves so quickly, perhaps Drukqs etc is at the limit of that, yes. First intuition -- if your opponent is faster than you are, perhaps outsmart him? Detail at a strategic level instead of in the moment. Then you're in the arena of Beethoven and such, maybe that's why RDJ keeps getting compared?

 

About you earing better music than Drukqs/Go Plastic in your head... I don't want to offend you, but I extremely doubt it. The magic I talk about is both things, being able to ear in your head what you want to listen to in a sound system, then to translate it into the real word, or speakers.

 

ok, sorry, what i meant was "music i like more" i should have been more clear. drukqs is brilliant at what it does, but i'm really more into celtic folk.