Music for Robots EP
7 April 2014
Warp
4.5 stars out of 5
Back in September, this happened. Tom Jenkinson (aka
Squarepusher) wrote some music, and three robots (the Japanese ensemble
Z-Machines) performed it. It was robot music. It is important to make a
distinction here: this is not music written or conceived of by robots; it is
very human, very emotional music, that just happens to be played by robots. Live. All of the sounds you hear are organic
sounds made by organic instruments, either strummed, picked, or hit by robots
using robot hands and fingers. Mind you, the guitarist has 78 fingers and the
drummer has 22 arms, but that’s just nitpicking, isn’t it? Now, in April,
there’s a full five-song EP of this robot jazz, and holy fuck is it good.
The above-linked “Sad Robot Goes Funny” is, as you can see
for yourself, nutso. It is instantly recognizable as a Squarepusher jazz track,
though here Jenkinson is no longer limited by the restraints presented by
appendages of a merely human construction. These robot dudes can shred at light
speed. But in addition to being an impressive display of mad skillz, this song
is emotionally moving and engaging in a very human way. “Dissolver” is a
slow-building piece that straddles multiple borders: rock/jazz,
pop/neo-classical. Jenkinson dives headlong into exploring the musical
possibilities offered by the sheer speed with which these robots can play. By
the five-minute point the guitarist is soloing so fast it sounds like Crystal
Castles sped up by 300 times.
Although the robots aren’t capable (yet) of varying their amplitude
or improvising, they do provide the composer with exciting new means of
expression. All gimmicks aside, this is some of the best songwriting of
Jenkinson’s more than two decades of pushing the boundaries of both electronica
and jazz. I can’t wait to hear more.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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