Tom Jenkinson, known to the world as Squarepusher, releases Ultravisitor – his ninth album – on the Warp Records label. Exploring his passion of drumming, bass guitar and computer sequencing, Jenkinson has apparently included several live tracks on the album. Clocking in at just under 80 minutes, Jenkinson uses the time to present an album with many facets, from super-chilled lounge jazz drumming and guitar strumming to slickly produced drill and bass workouts.
Ultravisitor is a varied album of calm yet electronically enhanced experimental jazz pitted against furious but beautifully formed drill and bass. Opening with the lengthy title track, Jenkinson immediately hits with the breaks but does so in a way that is powerful and uplifting but not harsh or abstract for the sake of it. Following the opener is a bass guitar workout in the form of “I Fulcrum” and the mellow lounge jazz drumming of “Iambic 9 Poetry.” We then have “Andrei,” 2 minutes of Spanish guitar with bass accompaniment. It is at this point where Jenkinson turns scary with “50 Cycles,” a dark tensely sinister track with effect-laiden spoken word vocals, steady plodding breaks and a funky guitar backing. After a short foray into precision drill and bass territory with “Menelec,” Jenkinson presents the electronically enhanced jazz funk guitar exploration of “C-Town Smash” before turning up the guitar sampling drill and bass experimentalism with “Steinbolt.” “An Arched Pathway” gets even more experimental with grating buzzes, guitar workout samples and electronic manipulation before “Telluric Place” slows things down with dark tonal ambience. Fusing the forms of dark ambience and experimental drill and bass, “District Line II” switches styles smoothly and effectively to create a rollercoaster ride of electronic dissent. Then it is off for a smooth jazz drum and organ interlude in the form of “Circlewave” before the percussive guitar ambience of “Tetra-sync” gives way to an increasingly anxious cinematic pace imposed by Jenkinson. The resultant track builds steadily and deliberately from gentle flowing ambience to become an equally absorbing experimental rework of itself prefixed by some brief audience interaction by Jenkinson himself. Closing the album is a gently reflective guitar piece titled “Tommib Help Buss” and a more upbeat yet equally pensive Spanish guitar track “Every Day I Love.”
The length of the Ultravisitor album gives Jenkinson time to explore the entire spectrum of his interests, from jazz through to dark abstract hip-hop and just about every stage between the two. There are several jazz tinged tracks included on Ultravisitor but they act as an interlude to the bass and beat heavy electronics, offering Jenkinson the opportunity to showcase his other musical passions in the meantime. Some of the calmer jazzier tracks may not to be everyone’s taste but this album is undeniably quite brilliant, the electronic tracks (live or not) are so smoothly produced it is no wonder Jenkinson is held in as high regard as his cohort Richard D James (Aphex Twin) by the electronic underground.
As an added bonus Warp also offered a limited edition version of Ultravisitor. Housed in a hardback book style cover, the album also includes a 3-inch CD single only available with orders placed direct with WarpMart. This EP is titled Square Window, has Jenkinson’s own artwork printed on the slipcase and contains 5 exclusive tracks totaling 20 minutes duration. The opening title track is structured around a steady beat and catchy slightly cinematic melodies. “Abacus 2” is a bouncy breaks track with a TV theme air while “Venus No.17” returns to more familiar Squarepusher territory in true style. After the very brief jazz interlude of “Irri-Fack,” “Melt 14.6” closes the EP with what can only be described as electronically created jungle effects. The Square Window EP is a mini triumph in itself, but “Square Window” and especially “Venus No.17″ are the standout tracks. Unfortunately, the 3” CD soon sold out at WarpMart and is no longer available.
Ultravisitor is out now on Warp Records. [Bandcamp]
