Squarepusher Solo Electric Bass 1

• Words: Cameron Macdonald
• Label: Warp
• XLR8R Rating: 7/10

Recorded at an ’07 show in Paris, Solo Electric Bass 1 finds jack-of-all-trades Tom Jenkinson, a.k.a. Squarepusher, playing nothing but a six-string bass. There are no jungle beats malformed in surgical perfection, no murderous rampages through DSP effects, and no guzzles from a pub glass (as far as I know). SEB is perhaps the soberest the ‘pusher man has ever been and his batting average is high. While Jenkins can’t stand still for too long, occasionally prompting him to fall into jagged funk riffs recalling his idol, Jaco Pastorius, he mainly treats his bass like a classical guitar, strumming mature, candlelit jazz improvs. It’s refreshing to see him reaching for simple music rather than hiding behind his public image as the lovable madman in Warp’s basement.