Tube Jerk | en

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It's all too easy for an artist to get pigeonholed. Especially one trading in electronic music. Despite the myriad of possibilities open to musicians courtesy of modern technology, the dictionary worth of various sub genres means that it's only a matter of time before some know-it-all consigns particular artists to a certain category. Enter Tim Wright, the York based multi-genre-ist who can skip from style to style with apparent ease, fusing sounds and styles that apparently seem totally incompatible. Never afraid to take the mix and match approach, Wright's musical magpie act comes to fruition on April 26th 2004 with the release of his debut album for novamute, Thirst.
Tim Wright's ascent from bedroom enthusiast to acclaimed artist was, as you'd probably expect, far from conventional. An early musical tutoring courtesy of his parents classic pop collection (Pet Sounds, Revolver, Tubular Bells) soon gave way to a far more exploratory sense of adventure as Wright began unearthing gems from the outer reaches of the musical stratosphere. By his teenage years the likes of Captain Beefheart, The Fall, Psychic TV and Test Department ruled in his musical world. Enhanced by his classical leanings it was always safe to assume that he would tend towards the extreme.

By the time he started his Physics degree at Manchester University in 1988 the confrontational and overtly political howl of the anarcho Crass / Conflict axis and the genre busting fusion of dub rhythms and punk attitude of the On-U-Sound Collective (Tackhead / African headcharge / Bim Sherman) had begun to make an impact. Concurrently the explosion of dance music in the Manchester and Wright's frequent visits to local illegal parties saw him begin the process of moving from the fringes towards a point where he would start recording tracks of his own boyed by his rich and varied musical past.

Like most kids of his age he had been involved in a series of rudimentary bands in his teenage years, always hampered by the time-honoured lack of drummer problem. Always a central figure in these local groups courtesy of his classical training, it wasn't until he started at Manchester University that he began to take his musical aspirations a little more seriously. A series of experimental forays using a basic set up that combined the organic and electronic and a couple of gigs eventually led Wright to ditch his Stephen Hawkin aspirations and take up a place on a music technology course at York university in 1992.

The move to York proved to be the catalyst Wright needed. His introduction to computer technology saw him retreat to his bedroom exploring the myriad of possibilities these new musical avenues offered. At the same time he became acquainted with a brood of liked minded individuals, united by their patronage of local record emporium Depth Charge, who were setting up a small studio in York, Finsbury park Studios, geared towards the production of electronic music.

Taking his rudimentary ideas into the studio in early 1993 his rough ideas were honed by studio engineer John Dalby, the resultant tracks were strong enough to form the basis of his first release under the guise of Germ on the local Resource label. Within weeks fellow York resident Beaumont Hannant had introduced Wright to the lauded GPR label. Wright would go on to record a number of EPs and a brace of albums under the Germ alias for GPR.

By the mid 90's GPR had hit the rocks, the resultant financial and legal fall-out had left Wright unable to record for anyone else until the situation had been resolved. A solo project under the name of Pin had seen him release a couple of singles during the Germ period yet it wasn't until the formation of Sand that Wright began recording again.

Formed with Hilary (who had played trombone on some Germ tracks) Sand's manifesto is to weld the sound of organic and electronic instruments in a credible and unique way. Signing to the Soul Jazz offshoot Satellite, they have released a number of singles and an two albums to enviable praise. Wright's Sand project runs concurrently with his solo venutres, another of which is Moondog on his own Melt label, a project which seeks to find the middle ground between house and techno.

By 1997 and still suffering the hangover from the GPR affair, Wright was offered a lifeline courtesy of PIAS recordings via their ILL offshoot. With a tendency towards the dancefloor, Wright started recording under the moniker of Tube Jerk producing an album and handful of singles that more than fulfilled the brief. By the end of 2002 he had worked his way through an unimaginable number of labels and guises producing some of the most innovative, rich and varied electronic music to emerge in the UK. Coming to the attention of novamute through a reworking of Cristian Vogel's Whipaspank, it wasn't long before the London based label offered Wright the opportunity to explore the musical directions in which he was heading.

Dropping the aliases, preferring to trade under his own name, Wright released a brace of singles for novamute in 2002/ 2003. Searcher and Going Down proved to be radical marriages between the majestic sweep of classic techno and the anglicised beats of UK garage. The combination of the two sounds worked, with Searcher rapidly becoming a success with techno and garage heads alike. By the start of 2003 Wright had bolted himself into the Finsbury Park studios in York to begin work on what would become his debut album for the label, Thirst.

Starting recording in January 2003, the album was eventually completed in October of the same year with vocal contributions from Juice Aleem (Thirst) and Toastie Tailor (The Ride) who had previously worked with Wright on their New Flesh project. Tracks on the album feaure Tim's trademark sound from electro-techo (Kick The Door In, Shine) and punk 4/4 filth (Oxygen, Control Freak) to a full-on experiment in drum n' bass (Killergod). A hidden extra bonus track on the cd album also strangely features saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft who played on both the Bladerunner soundtrack. The 11 tracks expand upon the theme explored on his brace of singles for novamute, combining apparently polar styles and genres with startling effect. Inspired in equal parts by electro,techno, jazz, ragga and the bounce of UK garage, Thirst is a unique proposition. Varied and original, Thirst is a perfect summation of Wright's rich and diverse sound.
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