In 2001, Squarepusher, aka Tom Jenkinson, released his now-infamous Go Plastic: an album that reportedly was created without the use of a computer. The album went on to be of significance to both the electronic music genre and in Squarepusher’s development. In a video interview given in 2001, Jenkinson told a journalist with Talking Tech that he was, “fed up with real instruments” and that he was excited about being able to “muck around with” samples once they were loaded into sequencers, and the like, because there were ways of creating music that you couldn’t access via “tape machines and instruments.” He stated that that was one of the great things about electronic music of the time, in that you could make things that were “slightly beyond a pair of hands”.
Jenkinson also mentioned “liking taking things and making them do things they are not supposed to do, for example the traditional role of drums and a melody, and making them actually appear that they can swap places.”
We can see these ideas at play in the very development of his conscious digital direction, and in many ways this marked a shift in how electronic music could be thought about from the fan base, press, and labels. Electronic contemporaries of the time were also experimenting in this direction, allowing machines that could create and sample sounds to make music using instrumentation that performed in ways that live players could not, and playing instruments in such a way that were not humanly possible. In this way, Squarepusher’s Go Plastic pushed boundaries—not just electronically, but in terms of experimental practice and form.
Since there were no computers used in this creation, Jenkinson instead used each piece of equipment as its own gateway to a set of sounds—or a way to shape or provide structure to sounds he’s loaded into them—allowing himself a way of playing the machines as instruments, or using the machines as conduits to force an inhuman expression of instruments, in the most human of outlets: as music.
Jenkinson used a variety of equipment of the time to create this record, and below we take a look at some of the gear purportedly used to shape the sounds of Go Plastic. This topic has bubbled up throughout the years, and through the course of multiple interviews and countless internet discussions, some aspects of the album's production have become relatively clear. So, let's take a look at some of the gear behind Go Plastic, positing how each might have contributed to the iconic album's singular sound.
Eventide Processors
Quite the workhorse in its capabilities and functions, the Eventide DSP4000 is a multipurpose machine. It is both a programmable digital audio processor, and has a capacity for pitch changing, delays, glitching effects, and a huge number of distinct audio processing algorithms.
The DSP4000 was, at the time, one of the most up-to-date versions of Eventide's "Harmonizer" concept. Like the H3000 before it, it was a multi-function device with huge potential for customization. It came with built-in patch editors, which helped artists like Squarepusher to formulate unique processing chains, bespoke effects algorithms, and unusual ways of controlling effect processing from external sequencers and MIDI devices. Along with its bank of factory presets, the DSP400 also allowed for audio sampling and digital I/O, and was known for its high-fidelity sound when released in 1994.
Another of Jenkinson's tools from the Eventide family is the Orville, a multichannel dual signal processor. It had 24-bit capability and their “UltraShifter”. It also boasted 4 I/O, both analog and digital—which are capable of being used simultaneously. This particular piece of gear is known for being very flexible with routing, and its multiple simultaneous algorithms can be used in parallel or series, or any other configuration you can dream up. At the time of release, it came with lots of factory programs and presets, but it was also flexible in its design, allowing users to make their own presets. It shipped with a good selection of reverbs, choruses, flanges, delays, pitch shifters, dynamics, EQs/filters, distortion, sampling capabilities, and ring modulation. All of the time-based parameters could be set to sync with the system tempo, and you can access up to 3 minutes of sampling time, with 40 seconds of delay time for both DSPs.
It's not surprising that Jeninkson chose to work with this unit in his creation of Go Plastic, considering how flexible and diverse it is.
Synthesizers & Sampling
One of the most unusual instruments purportedly used on Go Plastic is the Yamaha FS1R. This is a unique one, as it uses both formant synthesis and FM synthesis. For the uninitiated, formant synthesis is a type of synthesis that synthesizes speech-like sounds using additive and acoustic modeling without using samples. In this way, it can create an artificially made waveform that simulates speech. It is surprisingly effective and uncanny.
Again, though, the FS1R had both Formant and FM Synthesis abilities—making it both complex and interesting. It had a very short run, being only in production from around 1998–2000…which puts it squarely in the time period of Go Plastic’s creation. At the time, it was useful for incorporating new timbres with FM synthesis, in a more efficient way than had been previously possible in other units. The FS1R is said to have had editing capabilities with up to 2000+ parameters, and was useful not only in creating speech-like sounds, but also for replicating and simulating sounds like acoustic instruments (with a resonant body) such as acoustic guitar and cello.
Today, this type of synthesis is not used extensively, as there have since been many great strides made in sampling and synthesis.
Loved largely for some of its preset bass sounds, the TX81Z was in production only briefly in the late 1980s. A keyboard-less, rack-mounted FM synth, it was one of the first to offer multiple oscillator waveforms. A multitimbral instrument, it offered 128 factory preset patches, and additional space for user patches, up to 32. Historically, it is said that most people didn’t use it much for their own patch creation because they found that the interface was very limiting. It was, at the time of release, considered to be affordable and was popular with producers who were on a budget. It quickly became common with the House and Acid House genres of that time.
A highly-regarded sampler to this day, the Akai S6000 was found in many recording studios, prized for its user interface—which had a lot more in common with computer menu environments of the time that it did with contemporary samplers.
Some of the main features were 128 voices of polyphony, a selection of 26 different filter types, 20-bit effects, and analog outputs. It also had two sets of MIDI I/O ports. It was known for having a well-thought-out workflow, making musical organization simpler for users. Some stand-out features were its phase-coherent time stretch and waveform edit display.
The controls on the front were also organized in a way that made editing accessible—especially functions like bookmarking certain pages that one might want a shortcut to, and having a few user-added keys for more flexible functionality. It was also capable of recording samples in mono or stereo, sample looping, and had a chop edit feature, which allowed portions from the middle of a sample to be omitted, thus opening up a much more flexible way of editing and sampling for creative expression.
At its time of release, its bigger screen, new menu options, and proprietary operating system also gave it a unique edge. These specialized and musical editing features would be integral to the creation of Go Plastic, and one can easily imagine the types of creative flexibility and control that Jenkinson must have employed with it.
Sequencing Secret Weapon: the Yamaha QY-700
When it was released, this music sequencer was marketed chiefly towards independent musicians, rather than recording studios. It was purported to be full of features, and had a large, descriptive display (making it indispensable for musicians wanting to take it on tour and use it live).
It had a fine degree of resolution for editing rhythmic elements, allowing one to really zoom pretty far in, even so far as to smooth out human idiosyncratic meanderings. Additionally, it had a special Quantization Strength feature. This particular piece of gear may have been attractive to people with more traditional music backgrounds, as a lot of the buttons were labeled with symbols associated with traditional Western music notation.
Ultimately, the QY-700 provides a tremendous degree of detail, and allows for sequencing of all sorts of MIDI data, including CCs, program changes, and even Sysex data—which many have suggested may be responsible for some of the especially dynamic effect processing in Go Plastic.
The QY-700 also features a built-in sound engine. The integrated GM/XG voice module added a new layer of flexibility for that era, along with General MIDI—increasing voicing options, parameter control, musicality, tone color, and control. The unit’s Tone Generator was designed to make MIDI playback much more life-like. With 32 part multitimbral synthesis, three built-in effects, and the ability to generate 48 channels of MIDI (but with the limitation of 16 of those being from internal sounds), it was highly-regarded at the time as one of the best sequencers. Today its a bit clunky for most people’s workflows, but it’s easy to see why Jenkinson would choose this for his arsenal.
Pushing Boundaries
The ability to sample, tweak, and re-arrange afforded by these classic pieces of equipment contributed to the sound of Go Plastic, allowing Jenkinson to make an impressively dense and deeply experimental electronic music record without the use of a computer.
Jenkinson was able to draw from classic vocal samples, experiment with rhythms and arrangements that were outside of the genre’s musical tendencies, both technologically and stylistically. The programming allowed for much wilder and weirder ventures with tracks like “Greenways Trajectory”, which brought experimental applications of time stretching to the fore.
In many ways, these instruments' capabilities allowed Jenkinson to experiment with a subversion of all things melodic and rhythmic, while both bending and blurring stylistic elements of Jazz and Electronic music in his own unique way. They freed him from the trappings of traditional instruments and provided a hands-on workflow that allowed a remarkable degree of complexity without sacrificing cohesion.
Jenkinson, originally a drummer and bassist with a jazz background, utilized electronic equipment to push arrangements and inhuman playing to a different realm. The subversion of the roles played by the bass lines and drum parts, for instance, is more jazz-influenced than first meets the ear—letting them, in many cases, account for what would typically be the melodic focus. Jenkinson used the technological tools at his disposal to push the bounds of rhythmic construction and to stretch textural depths past stylistic expectations.
