If I had a nickel for every time an electronic breakcore artist blended classical music with electronic, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Kammerkonzert is the latest album from Squarepusher, which was a total surprise for me. Not because I wasn’t expecting a new album, but coming in blind, I wasn’t quite expecting the melding of classical, funky bass, and Squarepusher’s signature breakcore style. It did, however, have me instantly compare it to a slightly similar record; Venetian Snares’ Rossz csillag alatt született.
There’s something fairly pleasant about the melding of two almost completely contrasting styles of music. One wouldn’t expect someone who listens to classical compositions and orchestral performances really find the bleeps and bloops of electronic music that appealing, and vice versa, yet somehow when the two come together, it works so well.
Squarepusher’s foray into this amalgamation of genres, however, doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. Tom (Squarepusher) has an insane amount of talent, and as a fellow bass player, I can appreciate tracks such as K2 Central with his signature plucky bass, but it’s not quite enough to keep me hooked.
There is a level of whimsical charm to some of the songs, with tracks like K7 Museum providing a haunted folk circus vibe and K10 Teerminus switching gears to a jazzy soul fusion jam, which I did enjoy, but I feel as a whole composition, it feels a little messy and chaotic… and maybe that’s the point, but more often than not, it just wasn’t for me and I found myself skipping over tracks from time to time.
Maybe it’s because KAMMERKONZERT is fully composed by Tom and not a well-sliced selection of samples like Snares’ Rossz csillag. Maybe because for the most part, this album is more of a jazz fusion album and not a breakcore album? I’ve got to hand it to Squarepusher here, finding that this album was fully self composed is impressive, and for those who enjoy classical jazz fusion might find this album a delight. It’s just not for me, especially looking at it as a Squarepusher album. I was hoping for more electronic funky breaks.
Overall, Kammerkonzert is an interesting record that brings together elements of classical, funk, jazz fusion, folk, and electronic, but doesn’t quite do enough to capture me as other electronic-fusion albums have in the past. There’s an immense level of talent on show here which shouldn’t be ignored, but as someone who prefers Squarepusher’s breakcore sound, this one was a bit of a dud.
Score: 3/10
Squarepusher released KAMMERKONZERT on April 10 via Warp Records.