DnB Advent Calendar: Day 17




Squarepusher - Venus No. 17 (Acid Mix) (Warp Records, 2004)

So far this blog hasn't really touched on Drill'n'Bass, a sub-genre of IDM that takes Drum & Bass and Jungle to extremes, but it's a style I've always enjoyed. Hyper-edited drum breaks are blended with anything from Jazz, Classical, Glitch, Ambient and beyond to make music that just can't sit still for a second, music for the ADHD generation. Alongside Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert and ยต-Ziq (who cropped up here yesterday), Squarepusher AKA Tom Jenkinson has been one of the principal exponents of this sound. Although some consider Drill'n'Bass to be something of a parody of DnB it is clear that Jenkinson has a deep love of the genre. He told XLR8R in 2012:
"The hardcore, jungle, and drum & bass which stretched from one end of the '90s to the other has had so much impact on my work that I pretty much owe my career to it."
'Venus No. 17', a standalone single from 2004, attests to this. The original mix is good but I prefer the Acid Mix which takes things a step further. It opens with a vocal stating "So you are Americanos. Well today I build you three coffins" (possibly referencing A Fistful Of Dollars). This introduces some typically mental Amen with a junglistic bassline, dub sirens, video game bleeps and a vocal sample used in loads of tunes including The Dream Team's 'Stamina' and DJ Gunshot's 'Wheel 'N' Deal', the "Hey Hey Hey" from Capleton's 'Everybody'. As the track progresses a meandering acid line comes in with dramatic synths before the track returns to its jungle origins. Mindbending material from a maverick producer.

Check out this Squarepusher mix for FACT that pays respect to hardcore pioneers Shut Up & Dance:



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