“The string mute had disintegrated, so I stuck a piece of scouring pad to whatever was left”: How Squarepusher found a signature sound with a 1979 Rickenbacker bass, a DIY string mute and some heavy EQ

Squarepusher performing live as part of an All Tomorrows Parties event, held on December 19 2008 in Butlins, Minehead.; Job: 58076; Ref: EWT; Non-Exclusive .

Variously described as a drum and bass trailblazer, art-rocker, electronic music visionary, and world-class bass player, Tom ‘Squarepusher’ Jenkinson delights in subverting clichés and hopping unashamedly between genres.

Take, for example, Iambic 5 Poetry, which opens the 1999 mini-album Budakhan Mindphone. Though the track may lack the visceral immediacy that characterizes much of the Squarepusher oeuvre, its irony-free simplicity and quiet, hypnotic intensity help it linger long in the memory.