I’m kind of ambivalent to the music of Squarepusher. I mean, dude’s got some chops as a writer, but it’s never really connected with me.

Here’s the thing: I think sometimes it’s OK to appreciate art for the technical feats it accomplishes, regardless of how it engages you emotionally. At this point, it becomes more of an exercise or etude, a study and not a masterpiece.

I think that’s the connection I’m forming with what’s been previewed of ‘Music for Robots,’ which launches tomorrow.

The idea of blending electronics and acoustic instruments – in all its permutations – is nothing new. Nor is the idea of producing acoustic music – music that no human can play – by mechanical means.

I mean, Conlon Nancarrow was doing this in the middle of the last century:

And Pat Metheny’s great Orchestrion Project predates this by a few years:

But there’s something intriguing about this Squarepusher project. Perhaps it’s that he starts from a place that’s more Daft Punk than it is Schoenberg or Stravinsky, John Scofield or Mike Stern.

We’ll see.

Either way, the technical wizardry required to make this music happen is pretty fascinating. I could see installments of this type of instrument at an event – how cool would that be?!