PLAID 'SQUANCE' - PLAID 'SQUANCE'

MAY 28 2001 · 12:00

PLAID 'SQUANCE' - PLAID 'SQUANCE' (2001) Director: ladypat Era: Post-IDM Internet Age (2001) - Early bitmap/Flash animation aesthetic coinciding with the peak of Warp Records' IDM output and the nascent web-native music video format High curatorial value as both the debut work of a significant UK music video director (ladypat) and a rare surviving example of bitmap-native, web-first electronic music video production from 2001. Documents a transitional media moment between broadcast MTV aesthetics and internet-native visual culture, and serves as a primary visual artefact of Warp Records' IDM era at its commercial and critical peak. Context: Released in 2001 on Warp Records as part of Plaid's fourth studio album 'Double Figure,' 'Squance' sits at the intersection of peak UK IDM culture and the emergent web-native music video format. Plaid, comprising Ed Handley and Andy Turner, were central figures in the Warp ecosystem alongside Autechre and Aphex Twin. The video, directed by ladypat as their debut commission, reflects a micro-moment when bitmap and Flash animation became viable DIY video tools before YouTube standardised distribution. The track itself was described by Plaid as a 'square-dance' homage, deliberately bombastic and anti-intellectual, contrasting with IDM's cerebral reputation. Director notes: Per ladypat's own website, 'Squance' was their very first music video commission, produced in bitmap format. A secondary vector version was later made for web distribution. The director notes it was a formative work made at the same time they relocated to London and established their creative practice in 2001. The video aligns with ladypat's characteristic lo-fi digital animation aesthetic and web-native production methodology, predating YouTube and produced in Flash for direct website publication.