The Swiss duo “Schrödingers Katze” explores uncharted musical realms once again.

The new album by the band kicks off with a track titled “Electrons,” an extensive piece that stretches forward for eight minutes, or perhaps even sideways. It initiates with a form of musical Morse code, driven by a menacing electronic bass and rhythmic drums, creating the sensation that Simon Althaus and Manuel Pasquinelli are guiding the intrigued audience on a musical odyssey. Like tectonic plates, musical elements, fragments of sound, and rhythmic patterns shift and intermingle, culminating in an almost conventional keyboard solo accompanied by a fusion of sounds after six minutes. However, this too lasts only a few bars; ideas shoot around like electrons in space.

“Electrons” sets the tone for an outstanding album, the duo’s second, continuing the sonic journey of their first work, “Superposition.” The album goes by the name “Unscharf,” which can be envisioned as a Polaroid photograph, where images gradually come into focus over time. Initially, it may confound when a keyboard waltz pattern is rhythmically intercepted by the drums. But with time, this music transcends the ordinary and begins to make profound sense, or, even better, it evokes a sense of the unheard. However, it’s crucial to note that this isn’t an exercise in abstraction; it’s a playful, atmospheric, and above all, groove-laden experience. At times, it harkens back to the sonic landscapes of the German seventies, with a more intricate rhythmic twist. But beware, this is not cerebral; it’s playful, atmospheric, and, above all, groovy. At times, it evokes the sounds of the German seventies, electronic sonic landscapes rendered with more intricate rhythms.

So, what do you call this? Is it jazz, rock, jazz-rock, or electronica – or perhaps a fusion of them all? In the eyes of the two musicians, it doesn’t really matter, as they firmly believe that true artistic freedom transcends labels.

© & by ℗ 2023 by Schrödingers Katze & Everest Records