As of right now, there are eleven albums on the Kubusschnitt Bandcamp page, with a twelfth imminent as I listen through the Jodrell Bank Rehearsal tracks, whilst I’m typing this – and there is a lot of material there.
The most interesting thing (for me) has been looking at what’s been popular, and whether it is just about price. Well, price obviously plays a big part as the wEirD album had 450 downloads really quickly when I offered it at “Name Your Price”, as I hadn’t remastered it. I have subsequently put the price up to a token £1. Rarity is the other factor – the biggest selling album is “Rarities Vol. 1”, which collects up material that was never issued formally.
I could go on to undertake a full analysis, however I think it’s fair to say that the obvious combination of low price and/or rarity is what swings it. Of course, some people buy it all straight away, and I thank them most heartily, it is really appreciated. I think the next issue (“The Jodrell Bank Rehearsals”) will hit both of those, so I’ve got the luxury yacht on order right now.
It’s been a pleasure listening back to all of this material. I thought it would be more of a chore, but no there is some great music and wonderful times buried in those albums. I am surprised that we did quite so much. I have also been amazed at how much detail I have been able to pull out of the masters. I have tried to balance keeping the vintage sound with allowing the listener to hear more of what’s in there.
The biggest find so far has been the NSC Rehearsals. I had totally forgotten that as part of the fun for that gig, Tom and I burned one copy of our rehearsal from the night before as a prize. We had burned 50 copies of the “Exeter” CDR, each numbered, and then drew a number – the person with that number CDR won the rehearsal CDR. Simple, really. I had forgotten, but Geoff Mason (who had attended with his daughter that evening) reminded me and asked if there was any chance of releasing it. Fortunately, Tom found a copy, transferred across the files and now there it is. I edited it slightly (too many bum notes, Herr Mozart) and then improved the sound. It’s been a popular release.
Tom and I always worked well together as we both had (and likely still do have) the same outlook on music and life in general. We have agreed to work on some new material (which may, or may not be called Kubusschnitt), its speed of delivery is currently entirely down to me working with some excellent files that Tom sent to me, and finding some appropriate ones to send back to him.
I shall return to the Jodrell Bank Rehearsals and hopefully that will appear on the Bandcamp page very soon.
UPDATE:
The Jodrell Bank Rehearsals are up. There is over two hours of the various run-throughs that we did in the days leading up to the concert. It was a bit more regimented than some of our later concerts, so whilst the instrumentation and improvisiation is fresh in each “take”, the basic setup is quite similar.
Still, it’s all unique music and available at a decent price (IMO, of course). Enjoy it.
Kubusschnitt - Electronic Music 