Review
Squarepusher
Ultravisitor
2004
19/09/24
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The euphoric feeling of constant change.

As electronic music sprinted towards the new millenium, and its experimental sub-genres drove further into the depths of avant garde and free-jazz-esque records, less structured and further driven by DSP and generative music, Squarepusher would drive himself towards the world of Jazz with Music Is Rotted One Note a Jazz record by all means, wherein he eschewed the structured nature of his previous records, towards a sequencer-less, live performance-esque record. And towards DSP-lead, though more conventional drill n' bass with Go Plastic. By 2004, as a further step into his experiments with DSP and the desire to abandon the studio album feel, this would culminate with nearly-live-album Ultravisitor.

For starters, this record is closer to a follow-up to Music Is Rotted One Note than Go Plastic, the euhoric blur feel present in that record is ever more amplified and involving here, with immensely eclectic contents, ranging from the blissful and intimate 'Iambic 9 Poetry' to drifting towards jam-like, constantly evolving tracks such as 'Tetra-Sync,' to, compared to its peers, quaint acoustic guitar and bass tracks such as 'Andrei' and album closer 'Every Day I Love,' yet incredibly this wide range of sounds flows smoothly as a single coherent work. The record contributes to its blurry and jam-like feel via having a number of its tracks be recorded live, with natural reverb and all, to an audience, including their reactions to the unrelenting barrage of fragmented drum breaks, distorted TR-909 drums, Tom Jenkinson's brilliant and highly processed bass playing, which in this record presents itself in its most innovative and avant-garde phase, all this seeming akin to an endurance test, rewarding you with a breath in the form of 'Tommib Help Buss.'

Ultravisitor stands as Squarepusher's most avant-garde and complex record, his Drill n' Bass sound finding its apex in terms of complexity, fragmentation, and modulation, though which at the same time presents itself as a weakness of it, the improvisational, constantly modulating and evolving nature of the record, which, while undeniably great, demands your attention, otherwise causing the record to sound unorganized and frustrating, but once it falls in place, rewards you with Tom Jenkinson's most incredible (in the literal sense) record.