Track by track with Squarepusher

Squarepusher Theme

“The guitar chords were sampled from an Applause acoustic guitar that I’d had since I was 11. And this was the first piece I recorded using the Fostex M80 8-track, which I think gives the solos a tangible sense of liberation from the gruelling live-to-DAT process.

“The bass solos were performed on my Ibanez Roadstar II bass which I had bought at the age of 14 and was my mainstay instrument right up into this period and beyond.

“This was also an early example of trying to programme drums in a way that blurred the hallmarks of live drumming and breakbeats, trying to cultivate an ambiguous region between the two where the respective distinctions fall away.”

Tundra

“I wanted to hear a hardstep track that was as emotive as it was hard. I loved all the jungle of he time. It was a big inspiration, and an exciting period of music. I wanted to hear the emotive side of it expanded.

“I wanted to explore material that was harmonically elaborate, and see how that could be integrated into that hard breakbeat framework. That intention reaches right back into the Stereotype EP and before.

“The ‘cello’ sound was made by rubbing a plectrum on a bass guitar string. I was attempting to emulate the fast bowing vibrato of a violin family instrument. As you hear the pitch changing of the note you can hear the plectrum scraping slowing down and speeding up.”

The Swifty

“This was recorded back in the days when I didn’t have access to a multi-track. So, there’s live bass on that track playing song-sequenced material. It was done like a live take, all in one go, playing the bassline as well as running the sequenced material and recording it all onto 2-track, to a DAT machine.

“There was no opportunity for any kinda edit. If there’s something wrong with it you have to play it from the start. It wasn’t a recipe for an easy recording session.

“I was also searching for influences outside the immediate realm of bass players for my bass playing. Around this time I was taking a lot of inspiration from wind players, in particular saxophonists.”

Dimotane Co

“This was the oldest track that ended up on the record. I think it exemplifies something that is also found on the Stereotype EP, explored further: these sort of assaults of noise, alternating with breaks.

“I remember the first time I played that out at a show. It was such an amazing experience. Funnily enough it was at the The George Robey gig which is referred to by Richard James on the original sleeve notes. I played this at the soundcheck, and just saw the beer glasses rattling above the bar. It was quite an exciting moment. I thought, ‘This is going to be a good gig. This is going to be fun.’”

Smedleys Melody

“This was quite a technical bass guitar challenge – trying to do a line which was bass, but with chords and melody happening at the same time, with no overdubs. It was also exploring different time signatures, running at the same time. So, if you slow the record down, you’ll hear what sounds like just an assault of chaos, in terms of the breakbeat programming. But, it’s actually quite strictly organised.

“They’re super-fast tempos. But, because of the speed they’re running, you don’t really perceive it as a rhythm in the conventional sense. There’s quite a lot of different meters and tempos happening at the same time. For however lighthearted it sounds, it was primarily a technical exploration in various different ways in the piece.”

Windscale 2

“This was named after the power station. My favourite topic in study was always physics. So, buildings like power stations embodied, on the one hand, these principles of applied science in terms of power generation, which was a thing that fascinated me. But, also the buildings themselves, were quite awesome.

“And, in the case of nuclear power stations, they had that atmosphere of doom around them. They are imposing, fascinating, and scary, at the same time. I think some of those feelings were being evoked, for me, by this piece of music.

“Again, it features more attempts to emulate the cello in a similar fashion to how I did on Tundra. But, using a 50p coin, in this case.”

North Circular

“In tribute to the A406. That road, we all love…[laughs]

“Travel is an interesting reference for me, because it’s tangential, but still quite central to how I experience music, you know? It’s been an abiding fascination to me, trying to make music that conveys a sense of motion. It’s certainly not the only

“I don’t think the original issue of the LP was flawless. Not at all. It became apparent, when we remastered it, how strange the record sounded. A lot of the 1-2K band removed. I believe that the mastering engineer was trying to unite the pieces, because some of the music on there does sound pretty harsh. But, it meant it took a lot of the energy out the mix. So, this time around, we’ve gone how the DAT tapes originally sounded.”

Squarepusher’s Feed Me Weird Things turns 25 this month. To celebrate, Warp are reissuing the album on double vinyl, CD, and in digital formats. Besides a remastering job, taken from the original DAT tapes, the release also comes with a lengthy booklet, and the two bonus tracks from the era – Theme from Goodbye Renaldo and Deep Fried Pizza. “It’s a lot closer to the original tapes than the first issue was,” says Tom. “And the vinyl, in particular, is sounding a lot, lot, better as well.”