KUBUSSCHNITT

Kubusschnitt was one of many obscure and unknown progressive electronic bands from the 1990s to the 2010s. Kubient II is their ninth studio album and one of their more recent albums. It's also one of their many albums with no reviews or ratings whatsoever. As for a rundown of the band and its history, there isn't much. The three partly constant members of the band are Andy Bloyce, Tom Coppens, and Ruud Heij. As I've mentioned, the history of this band, apart from line up changes, isn't entirely unearthed. What I do know is that a lot of their more recent albums were made by looking at archived recordings and bootlegs from fans and working on them into new albums. I can't confirm that this album is in the same case, but there is a high chance that it is indeed an inspired work. Unlike most progressive electronic, I heard a much more unique sound compared to other bands in the similar field. It's entirely one long, 37-minute song with a sound much more akin to sleep noise than electronic music. It just takes you on this long journey through Kubusschnitt's sound while still having enough uniqueness to keep you awake and the mind at ease. The song also draws influences from pure space music along with Berlin School and a low, constant concentration on the noise.    

The song opens with a continuous ambiance that will stay intact throughout the entire song. We get some actual electronic music within this opening, with distorted keyboard sounds completely different from other electronic bands. It has an almost metallic feel, with the songs inside moving in dynamics between scratchy and clean music multiple times. Most of the next parts up until some minutes later are just more ambient noises with very little accompanying ideas based around it. Kubusschnitt seems to be aiming for an experience rather than an actual album, which can be enjoyable but can drag when the song barely changes over it's full length. As for the experience I mentioned that they were going for, it's a nice journey that can reach into your mind. It flows nice; technically, nothing that can be defined as bad in my opinion; it just needs an extra twist of change within its borders. Around the twelve-minute mark, however, a new electronic system is implanted in the song, and it feels nice with it actually putting something in stone throughout the album. This area of the song can drag a little because they repeat the same structures a couple of times before moving on. We get more of the quiet atmosphere based around this project so far until right before the nineteen minute mark where the band begins to play some authentic electronic stuff with real yet almost unheard solos in the electronic systems. I quite like this part of the song as it follows a cobbled up but realistic idea of progressive electronic, which an enjoy a lot more than plain ambiance. This passage moves into the chirps of birds for brief moments, similar to the silent chirps on Phaedra by Tangerine Dream. Eventually the band ends this progression and moves back into the ambiance. The next actual bursts on this record are briefly at the twenty-seven minute mark, where there's a distorted synth solo accompanied by more of the bird chirps I mentioned, and at the thirty three minute mark where some strange mechanical noises echo into the realm of the song that strangely sound wet. It sounds pretty experimental, with the band somehow finding a sense of rhythm within these passages, and it continues until the end of the album.      

Kubient II can sort of sound like the description of a downer, so to speak. The song is entirely a soothing experience with no interruption between the thirty-seven minutes on the album. It's really relaxing in the album's confined boundaries, not really reaching anywhere within a progressive sense but staying within a mode of peace. Overall, it can just be narrowed down to an okay album. I can see no way where this song becomes really popular, and it's most likely to stay in the confines of the minuscule fan base of Kubusschnitt. It's an alright song; it fits in pretty well with the genre it's listed in, but far from essential. I'd say this is a light 3/5.

Back in 1999 there was a duo called wEirD who released an electronic record called "A Different Kind Of Normal". That same year they buried that band and started this new one called KUBUSSCHNITT adding two more members. The two originals were from the UK and Germany(guitar/electronics) while they added two more electronic musicians, one from The Netherlands and another from Belgium. This band has had members come and go over the years, and with this release from 2010 called "Entropy's Evolution" the two original guys are gone, but the two original add ons are still here. Still a four piece of three electronic musicians and a guitarist.

I've always said "Give me some warmth with my electronics" as in drums, mellotron, bass, guitar etc. So the guitar is a nice touch here. This album is listed as Berlin School and Space Ambient, and this is a majestic work that is usually moving. Right from the very first spin I was drawn to their sound. I remember I had this record before the band was even on this site, not sure why I got this particular album of the over 20 they have released between live, studio and rehearsals, but I'm glad I own it. Four long tracks here worth over 65 minutes. Tracks range between almost 14 minutes and over 19 minutes.

The over 18 minute opener is my favourite. Just a feel good piece with the atmosphere that can be so uplifting. With three guys playing synths we actually get three different styles of synths at times, with the guitarist taking less of a role. Guitar arrives after 5 minutes on the opener, lasting a few minutes. Same with track two as far as how long the guitar hangs out, it just arrives later this time. The third song is a good example of the three different synths coming at us. I like that dark atmosphere after 10 minutes. Synths can be growly, or dropping like rain, or so spacey and drifting, to the plastic beats, to the melancholy.

A solid 4 stars and it was good to spend last week with it, a nice change.