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Reviews

Hypercube — The Force for Good
(Bandcamp Neuma 223, 2025, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-07-19

The Force for Good Cover art

It’s been a few years since we last heard from the experimental chamber ensemble called Hypercube. Brain on Fire came out back in 2020, featuring five pieces by five different composers, mostly commissioned by the group. For The Force for Good there are only two pieces, totalling under 29 minutes, so it might be considered an EP — whatever that means in the digital age. First off is Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s “Hout,” a piece dating from 1991. The piece was scored for tenor saxophone, electric guitar, piano, and marimba, and a desire to perform it is what brought about the formation of Hypercube in 2014. “Hout” displays some influence from minimalists such as Philip Glass, being largely built up of arpeggios, but the harmonic structure is more adventurous than most Glass pieces, and you can also hear aspects of European 20th Century composers such as Stravinsky as well as harmonic elements from jazz. It’s an enjoyable ten minutes of constantly shifting moods with a lot of dynamic changes, built up of near-unison lines played by the instruments offset by sixteenth-note durations. They recorded it back in 2017, but this is the first release of their rendition. The ensemble commissioned composer Michael Fiday, a former student of Andriessen, to write “The Force for Good,” which is loosely based on John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” taking harmonic material from the original and modifying it in various ways. Fiday presented it to Hypercube in 2020, and this recording dates from 2023. The piece starts quietly, with percussion and subtle inside-the-piano work, building up in volume and intensity over the course of several minutes. Vibraphone and saxophone join in, followed by the guitar, and some of the arpeggiated figures are an homage to Andriessen, who died in 2021. This is an outstanding example of music that crosses the worlds of what might be called academic composition and jazz, though it’s not at all like the kind of “academic jazz” that is often heard. After an initial climax, marimba and sparse guitar notes introduce another section. While it’s probably true that this music isn’t much like what most people think of as “classical” music, it’s not jarring or dissonant, so I wouldn’t call it difficult listening. I have to express gratitude to Hypercube and the arts organizations whose grants make recordings like this possible. New music of quality needs a platform, and the commercial music business is unlikely to be helpful in this regard.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Hypercube

More info
http://hypercubeensemble.bandcamp.com/album/the-force-for-good

 

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