📚 Homework Alert: Lets Dig into Hard Normal Daddy by Squarepusher!

Dive Into IDM History, Decode Squarepusher’s Wildest Riffs, and Sharpen Your Ears Before the Episode Drops

This week, we're rewinding to 1997 and diving headfirst into a brain-melting blend of breakbeats, jazz fusion, and IDM weirdness with Squarepusher’s Hard Normal Daddy—a pick straight from the eclectic taste of DMO Union member Patrick Testa, who’ll be joining us on the pod to break it all down.

Never heard of Squarepusher? Picture this: If Aphex Twin and Jaco Pastorius had a hyperactive robot child raised on drum & bass, jazz records, and late-night raves, you’d get Tom Jenkinson, a.k.a. Squarepusher. Hard Normal Daddy is equal parts groovy and glitchy, chaotic and melodic. It’s the sound of a 90s bedroom producer going full mad scientist with a fretless bass, a sampler, and zero rules.

📀 Some fun facts before you press play:

• Released in 1997 on Warp Records, Hard Normal Daddy dropped during the golden age of experimental electronic music.

• Jenkinson played most of the instruments himself—including some jaw-dropping bass work that'll have you questioning reality.

• The album artwork? Inspired by his hometown of Chelmsford, England—industrial, bleak, and oddly beautiful, much like the album itself.

• While it was a left-field choice at the time, it’s now considered a seminal release in the IDM scene.

📝 Your Homework Assignment (don’t worry, it’s the fun kind):

1. 🎧 Listen to the Album: Hard Normal Daddy is on all the usual streaming suspects. Give it a spin (or two), preferably with headphones and an open mind.

2. 📚 Do a Little Research: Check out Squarepusher’s Wikipedia page to learn more about Tom Jenkinson’s musical journey, influences, and discography. There’s some wild stuff in there.

3. 💭 Come Ready to Debate: Think about what works for you on this album. What doesn’t? Is this controlled chaos your cup of tea, or are you still recovering from the sonic whiplash?

We're stoked to revisit this adventurous album with Patrick, and we’d love for you to join us on the ride. So buckle up—this one’s gonna be a wild trip.

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