A »chamber concert« in which the performer plays every part himself: in electronic music, only a small handful of artists come to mind who might both a) have such an idea and b) carry it through in a meaningful way. One of them is certainly Tom Jenkinson, aka Squarepusher, who for decades has met a kind of inspired dilettantism with musical virtuosity. Admittedly, the opener »Advance« is still irritating, because restlessness and muso excess are its governing principles.
Things become more constructive on »K2 Central«: over a gentle trap beat roll Jenkinson’s familiar late-night bass salvos, joined by brass parts. The track builds tension skilfully without ever releasing it. By the following piece, »K3 Diligence«, it becomes clear that the album title is neither an empty threat nor a humorous disguise: Squarepusher really does draw consistently on classical music here, only to break its gravitas apart and offer a set of concertante miniatures instead.
The will-o’-the-wisp strings of »K4 Fairlands« leave behind a sense of disorientation and fray the nerves. The kind of brilliant moments that emerge from reduction and from the rigorous working-through of a single idea – one thinks of »Iambic 9 Poetry« from 2004 – are not really to be found on Kammerkonzert. What we have instead is an album of impressive craftsmanship, on which concept and radicalism prevail – sometimes to its benefit, sometimes to its detriment.
Kammerkonzert
