Feed Me Weird Things

it takes me back to the mid 90s. I remember bits and pieces of it. whoa …

Classic entry in the Squarepusher lexicon. I will never tire of the Swifty and Tundra

In one word, like all Squarpushers' albums; Weird But like allways a must have, Thanx for a great service. Erik

I would like to tell the general public that their is an way to ease yourself into the intense, dense, complex world of Tom Jenkinson's Squarepusher. Sadly there is none. From there, Squarepusher's music is something that you like or you don't. Sure it takes some time to get past the opaquness of his work(some songs take some getting used to while others are almost immediately accessible), but if you can "get it", Jenkinson's "music" is some of them most rewarding IDM you can get into. That being said, Feed Me Weird Things is probably the best place to start for people with an itching to try Squarepusher. First off, I have to say that Jenkinson makes some of the most detailed and intricate IDM this side of Autechre or Aphex Twin. Layers upon layers of manically crafted drum machines, basslines, and synths are assembled together richly and compellingly. But what separates SP from most artists of this ilk is the light-fast speed of which all of this is done at. Even its more meditated moments, FMWT never sits still for an instant, creating a difficult but involving listen. For what its worth you can never say what Jenkinson does it boring. What I find positivily fascinating is that he samples his own playing (and form the live instrumentation of Music is Rotted One Note, he is truly gifted musician), something really amazing. Another thing that seperates his debut from his later works is that it's a full pallet of what the man is capable of doing. Switching from noise, to ambient, to intense drill and bass, to break beat, even to jazz/fusion, sometimes all one track is truly amazing to listen to. However if there is one pitfall of this CD is that it feels more like a collection of songs rather then a complete work which keeps it from being the quality of Hard Normal Daddy, Music is One Note Rotted and Go Plasitc (which are all postitively brilliant by the way). It would seem as though my praise for Jenkinson is non-ending so you would think that Squarepusher has rapidly become my new favorite artist. And while I love his work, I cannot say that I'm his biggest fan. But on the whole, I dare you to find an artist today that makes music as fasinating as Squarepusher. Its so different from everything else that it just begs to be listened to. Its certainly his most musical based work(some his latter work ventures in to pure noise territory), that alone makes it probably his most accessible work. If Squarepusher could ever be considered accessible....

"The epitome of excellence and variety comes in the form of a Squarepusher album. You never know what you may get or not- jazz, trip-hop, techno, jungle, drum-and-bass, and noise. Without seering into the basics, his first album released on Richard D. James' (Aphex Twin's) Rephlex label is a phenomenal feature in all that is entertaining, imaginative, funky, bass-heavy, and ecletic. While for some this might be as too experimental or too rough on the ears, this album is quite accessible compared to Ultravisitor (which is a classic especially with Iambic 9 Poetry, 50 Cycles, Steinbolt, and other more jazzier/acoustic guitar-heavy tunes) and doesn't feature the whole kind of extreme offbeat moods that accompany the great but difficult album. A few songs here-and-there were featured on a Dutch documentary about drum-and-bass and thus has lead curiosity for me to discover it. This album is just strong given the sense of concentration with all that it has and more and its chaotic mood. It doesn't flow seamlessly like any Squarepusher piece/work but it does function with mastery and complexity like a dream. Don't miss out on his first album, which along with Ultravisitor (difficult yet ambitious), Music is Rotted One Note), Just a Souvenir (psychedelic rock experience), and Go Plastic (just funky and standard at his finest), stand out as his strongest works." BEST SONGS: Theme from Ernest Borgnine (fast, steady, and exciting to listen to). Tundra (chill and intense yet like floating in thin air). Squarepusher Theme (gets you into the mood at an instant as the opening track). The Swifty (what Squarepusher does best, jazz-fusion like Weather Report up the drum-and-bass and techno) SIMILAR ARTISTS AND ALBUMS: Amon Tobin- Bricolage and Permutation (lot of similarities here and there). Herbie Hancock- Future Shock. Aphex Twin- I Care Because You Do. The Prodigy- Fat of the Land.

I ended up getting this disc this last christmas, and it's taken me this long to really absorb what's going on here. When I unwrapped the album, I was at a friends' place for their new years party, and I was basically alone at the time. So I slipped it into their (admittedly way expensive stereo..) and sat back, never hearing Tom before. Whoa. After the first notes of track 1, I had to go back and replay them again. Now, I hate doing this normally, but it struck me as so incredibly perfect I just had to hear it again before moving along on the disc. I was expecting something along the lines of 1.8.7, or Mocean Worker, or any number of drum and bass artists, I was _so_ wrong. What we have here is definitely in the Miles Davis vein moreso than typical drum and bass. Incredibly jazzy for the most part, even my friends' parents liked it. Don't get me wrong, this isn't easy listening or your typical jazz either, it's got enough manic snare rushes to fill an entire u-Ziq or Aphex disc, and enough warm synths to please any Boards of Canada fan. Some of the disc kind of feels like filler, namely track 8, but it's definitely a welcome breather from the intensity of the rest of the album. I just have to wonder if it really belongs or not. Certainly still worth listening to, however. Buy this if you enjoy jazz or electronica, chances are you won't be disappointed. If you like experimental music, or just simply anything that'll give you a challenge, look here as well. One of the better cds I've ever had in my possession.

Tom Jenkinson is so far out of drum n' bass. So it uses kinda weird production techniques and likes to play bass at, well, 400 bpm. But he's too accomplished of a jazz musician.... and too much of a cerebral freak.... to fit so keenly into the genre as some people expect. This is a great album. It is one of the few classics of whatever genre you want to try to fit it into. Is it jazz? Yes, though not as much as 'Music is One Rotted Note'. Is it drum n' bass? Eh, it doesn't sound like Cujo or Plug or even Aphex Twin. It's got to be taken on its own level. And it's something that you have to grow into. If you give it time and listen to it for IT and not as some kinda archetype derived off of some other kind of music, it's almost holy.....

I bought this album in 1996 and instantly warmed to it. It was the first time I had heard drum 'n' bass warped so furiously into many different forms. Each track here is a different mood or style. 'North Circular' is intense and minimalist, 'Squarepusher Theme' is jazzy and funky, 'Tundra' and 'Theme from Ernest Borgnine' are beautifully melancholy, and 'Smedley's melody' is insanely fast and features the sound of a sheep being catapulted! The most amazing thing is Tom's fretless bass playing which features on most of the tracks, so deft and masterful. There is a wealth of ideas on this album which are so well executed it is a joy to listen to. If you are interested in Squarepusher and are wondering which of his records to buy, get this one. It's unlike anything else you'll ever hear and in my opinion the later Squarepusher albums do not gel quite as well.