Track Listing

1. Chunk-S
2. Don't Go Plastic
3. Dust Switch
4. Curve 1
5. 137 (Rinse)
6. Parallelogram Bin
7. Circular Flexing
8. Ill Descent
9. My Sound
10. Drunken Style
11. Theme From Vertical Hold
12. Ruin
13. Shin Triad
14. Step 1
15. Last Ap Roach

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #167628 in Music
• Released on: 1998-10-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
A perpetual workaholic, Squarepusher (a.k.a. Tom Jenkinson) released three albums in rapid-fire succession in 1997. While his complex compositions stayed admirably fresh over each disc, by the end of the series it was evident that he had exhausted every trick in the abstract drum & bass book. On Music Is Rotted One Note, Squarepusher wisely expands his musical palette by sidestepping the conventions of electronic music. Relying primarily on minimalist jazz patterns and contemplative rhythms, he creates a low-key freeform soundtrack that is accented beautifully by electric guitars and moody bass lines. --Aidin Vaziri

Alternative Press
This 15-track LP is a brave ... departure from Squarepusher's patented hyperkinetic fusion/jungle antics.... The main difference with Music: Squarepusher ... plays all the instruments live, leaving out the samplers and sequencers.

New Musical Express
From the seemingly haphazard song titles ("Chunk- S", "Last Ap Roach") and impenetrable gray graphics to its raw, considered content, 'Music Is Rotted One Note' says, quite simply, "artist." And then, softly, "jazz." It's a natural, organically overgrown tangle of rubbery bass arpeggios, fondly molested keyboards and outrageous snare drum capers.

Customer Reviews

I hear Tom's working on a punk album
OK, so it's jazz. I had read that this was a jazz record, but I insisted to myself that it was the usual Squarepusher jungle mixed with a little psuedo jazziness tossed in to differentiate it from all the generic electronic stuff being cranked out these days.

Boyo, I was mistaken! This is absolutely jazz; almost entirely free-form abstract jams that leave you disoriented. Just try to hum one of these tracks! With the exception of "My Sound," there is nothing here that sustains an easily recognized structure for more than a minute or two.

Is it good jazz? 'Ell-if-I-no. I don't own any 'real' jazz albums, until now, so I can't critique it intelligently. I do know that I'm drawn to what Tom's done here, and that I like the fact that it forces me to pay attention to what's going on. As background music, this is a stinker. As a potential commercial hit, I'd give it a negative 5 on a 1 to 10 scale.

It's already driven my wife and mother in law out of the room howling, so that's one star for it! I'll give it another for being such a departure from previous Squarepusher albums, another for being made up of actual instruments (there are some minimal electronic flourishes, but they're not the meat here), and two more because I'm really a Squarepusher fan. Take one away for me not knowing good jazz from my left nut, and you've got a surprising, challenging, engaging, and bizarre 4-star album.

Brilliant Electronic Jazz as Squarepusher Abandons D'N'B
Tom Jenkinson (AKA Squarepusher) is that rare bird in Electronica: a performing musician of great talent as well as a wizard with the machinery. His earlier albums and singles have bounced between ultra-high-speed Drum 'n' Bass and Jazz Fusion in the manner of '70s Weather Report--along with some Aphex-Twinnish electronic noodling. His drum-machine programming has always had a "natural" quality (though often at superhuman beats per minute). With this album we hear why: Jenkinson is a jazz drummer of the first order. We've already heard his awe-inspiring fretless basswork on earlier albums, and it, too, is heard in abundance. But what we don't hear is the intricate sequencing of earlier albums; instead, Tom uses drumsticks, not drum machines. Through the wonders of multitrack, he layers his bass (sometimes several deep) and keyboards over those drums. Then he processes the result, sometimes heavily, bending acoustic space and time. The result is highly reminiscent of Miles Davis' more experimental works of the '70s. Punctuating the album are brief bursts of pure tape-based analog electronica, but it all works seamlessly.

Many fans of earlier Squarepusher albums will be turned off by this one. Even fans of his earlier Jazz Fusion tracks might find this far too experimental. And fans of experimental Jazz might resent the audacity of his explorations into their territory. But those who are able to put aside their preconceived notions might find this album to be an amazing work of genius from an artist who (at 23) is just starting what could be a very long and interesting journey.

Purely genious
Squarepusher's old style is great. His break beat play is incredibly entertaining and his song writing skill is up there also. But this is crazy. I was not expecting this. It is wonderful! Angry, ambient, drugged-up jazz. Upon first listen to have to wonder what he was doing. It sounds like a drunk monkey on crank played a sizable portion of the album (this being a good thing). The drum rolls, the bass play, the processing. Everything gives this album a unique-as-hell fell.

In my opinion it is his greatest accomplishment. A masterpiece. I agree with a review below. I can't believe some people don't get it. It is really a shame. If you like mainstream anything you will not like this album. If you like intelligent, deeply experimental music pick this up NOW.

Best Tracks: Chunk-S, Don't Go Plastic, Rinse(137), Shin Triad