Review: The Singularity by Kubusschnitt

Artist: Kubusschnitt
Album: The Singularity

Kubusschnitt consists of Andy Bloyce, Jens Peschke, Tom Coppens and Ruud Heij. Their third album is entitled The Singularity and contains all the classic elements of cosmic music first laid down by the Berlin-School of EM that emerged out of Germany in the 1970s. Although inspired by music over 30 years old, Kubusschnitt provides the listener with a cerebral voyage as enjoyable as it is original. The genre came into being through a spirit of exploration and Kubusschnitt continues this legacy admirably.

The Singularity is a success on many levels, but primarily due to Kubusschnitt's informed sensibilities when it comes to contour and dynamics. Good spacemusic follows an arc over time, the music and listener traveling together through many phases, terrains and zones. This album is a well conceived journey throughout its 73 minutes and combines the energy and spontaneity of a live performance with the articulation and refinement of a studio production.

For Kubusschnitt, synth chords are the foundation upon which sequencer tone patterns gallop interlocked through spacetime with improvised guitar and keyboard melodies evoking the mysteries of the universe. The album also has its share of abstract interludes which function as more than a means of transition between the more active areas of Kubusschnitt's electronic pulse music.

These realizations are meant to explore timbre, the color and character of sound and offer us a few moments of drift and an opportunity to peer into the music and ourselves. This points out the interesting relationship between these musicians and their audience. Kubusschnitt brings the music only so far, you the listener, through the act of comprehension, complete the process.

- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 12 December 2001

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