Kubusschnitt (& related) ~ Europe

---May 2005

Rock solid sequencer / guitar based EM music. Hodgepodge Euro group. Four members adds a lot of synergy. Both their titles are easily recommended to RMI fans (and others similar). Some great driving the Interstate music.

---12/8/23

And I did sell the other one (The Cube), falling in the "too much of the same thing" category. At first I thought that's where The Singularity was going as well, but it began to capture my imagination. An electronic album made up from a quartet is rare enough, and there's plenty of great guitar to offset the sequencers. The group sounds inspired here, and I get the impression this is considered one of their best albums, if not the best. And they have many releases, including recently. I need to put up an Under the Radar page as well.  Released during the heyday of the Berlin School Revival. This album makes the cut and will likely be the sole representation of Kubusschnitt in my physical collection. Interesting for me, that in those same 2005 notes, I called out The Cube as the better album. Tastes evolve.

Ownership: 2001 Neu Harmony (CD). Acquired in 2005.

5//05 (notes); 12/7/23 (review)

Weird - A Different Kind of Normal (1999)

Weird (stylized as wEirD) were the duo of Andy Blyce and Jens Peschke, under a couple of silly pseudonyms. Though it's not really meant to hide the artists, as it's pretty clear in the booklet who is doing the heavy lifting here. Both gentlemen are the founders of the Berlin School band Kubusschnitt, so if you're already familiar with their albums, then A Different Kind of Normal won't be too much of a surprise. Primarily Weird sets out to perform a homage to the early 70s Krautrock movement, that of course was also heavily engaged in electronic music. And they took a page from the Electric Orange playbook with the fun song titles 'Klaus to the Edge', 'Manuel Gearchange', etc... Just as with the Cosmic Couriers before them, there's shedloads of psychedelic guitar and mellotron (likely simulated), along with the usual sequencers. There's also some beats, so it's not entirely retro in that sense. The 90s really were the heydey of the retro Berlin School movement, and Weird also gives us some classic Krautrock to enjoy as well. An album that still needs discovery.

Ownership: 1999 New Harmony (CD). Acquired in 2006.

3//06; 3/19/20 (review)

3/19/20 (new entry)