KUBUS 5 - set me free!

From the 80s I frequently witnessed amazingly “free” musical events - sometimes I’d experience this as an “installation” or “musical architecture” in often special places - sometimes perceiving the musicians as communicating and exploring parallel spaces or worlds. I recall relaxing on long white mattrasses on dark wooden floors at the FMP-Festival in Berlin while singer/poet Shelley Hirsch would be inventing and improvising abstract lyrics and while powerful free energy emerges from Saxophones, Accordions, Double Bass, drums and more. I recall super creatively build acoustic and semi-electric instruments by genius Hans Reichel in Wuppertal and I recall Han Bennink exploring the boundaries of performing-potentials with drums and cymbals and - most importantly -himself in Theater Frascati in Amsterdam… and I cannot even estimate, how much the creative approaches of multi-dimensional artist Laurie Anderson and her surrounding musicians have affected me - with her records, movie pictures or live in Gasteig in Munich… . Exploring creativity - not only in music and arts - has always attracted me - and yet … or maybe just by that - I always go for the more continuos rhythmical and melodical approaches - for earcatching melodies and rhythmical cycles - often from the african, arabic or indian worlds. And then… in 2018 - Ludolf Kuchenbuch showed up in my life. Already arrived in his late 70s he announced: “no time to waste” and invited for a music session. And while having more than one academic dayjob, he has always been part of the free-scene… was around, when Berlins importand free label “FMP” (free music production) was a steady carrierwave for enormously powerful free-jazzing. This is the vibe, he gave my already with first notes played on his saxophone. and what a chance he offered me - living in quite different fields of music today - to reconnect with quite some deep expieriences of my musical youth. He - evenly enjoying - took care of the project - organizing some public concerts and recordings (thoroughly taken by Paul Kuchenbuch - super great studio-technician and producer). I really enjoy the recordings of our encounters. Not to forget to point out the brilliant playing of Oliver Potratz on Bass, and not to forget the intelligent ideas, words, ultra-short-stories of Ludolf - preparing imaginary cityscapes for our guided improvs. KUBUS 5 can be heard and followed for free on YouTube!

Thanks for reading, ENJOY!!

Ludolf Kuchenbuch, Olver Potratz, Christoph Hillmann - Location: Artist Holmes in 2018 (©O.Potratz)