Cubic: An Ominous "Thud" on the Dark Streets of St. Petersburg

Cubic is an outfit that values simplicity very highly. Its members - who remain virtually anonymous - are contained within the MixGalaxy project that operates out of St Petersburg. The label has thus far produced a couple of very interesting compilations, which are not in any way generically defined or constrained. Quite the opposite; each track offers no indication of what the following three minutes might bring.

This kind of deliberate eclecticism, throwing fiscal caution to the wind, is very welcome.

If the label does have a modus operandi or any kind of programmatic plan, it finds partial expression in the following text (which we've polished a little): "MixGalaxy Records is a Russian net-label formed in 2009 by the users of a MixGalaxy.ru forum with the aim of delivering diverse music to its listeners. The initial goals were to foster a sense of dialog and mutual aid among musicians. Over time, though, enough interesting - and good! - material was gathered that the idea emerged of distributing it. Now the prime objective of MixGalaxy Records is to develop music written by independent Russian (and foreign) composers; in addition we hope to find a committed audience for those same musicians, too. This is all done according to the key principles of variety and a maximally broad range of genres."

Where, within that variety, does the Cubic project position itself? It transpires that the outfit is, in essence, Dmitrii Kostenkov, one of the founders of MixGalaxy. Born in 1983, he only started writing and performing this year(!), so Cubic embodies a real sense of maximum speed and minimal baggage. In the same stripped-down spirit, the MixGalaxy website has almost no graphics, and - as can be seen from the doodled CD covers to the label's first three releases - the time and money spent on decoration is close to zero. Movement and mobility are valued highest of all. A sense of modesty is also palpable, in that the PR text quoted in the previous paragraph is dismissed as too heavy in "pathos" by Kostenkov on one net-venue. Standing still and pontificating is not a good idea.

With these emphases front and center, Kostenkov and Cubic have produced a big-beat/ breakcore/ ragga EP of six tracks and a running time of 23 minutes. The small promo blurb accompanying the recording, perhaps equally guilty of pathos, reads as follows: "The music of Cubic [Kostenkov] is always rich in energy and expressiveness... His unique style has earned him the honor of composing and releasing MixGalaxy's first EP. It has turned out to be a mix of frolicking D&B, evil-sounding darkstep, and some breaks... including a collaboration with another wicked artist from MixGalaxy – TContenental - so one thing is sure. The EP is not gonna be boring!"

The central thrust of the EP comes from its title, "Thud." The artwork, as ever, is almost ridiculously simple; a block of solid material dropped onto a white background. If we look at Cubic's homepage on PromoDJ, we can see a corresponding, similarly uncomplicated image; Kostenkov fills the space for his avatar with a black square, a direct reference, no doubt, to the 1915 "Black Square" painting by Kazimir Malevich that was designed to wipe clean the slate of old, 19th-century art. A worrying abyss was revealed, against the backdrop of which innovators were invited to plot new milestones. The death of tradition meant an end to security. Kostenkov's initial building block of new enterprise falls with a "thud" onto an equally empty piece of nothingness.

In order for that novelty to begin - and survive - it must endure the torpor or death of contemporary norms. This theme of death, viral infection, and demise colors the first few tracks of the EP, specifically with samples from some very nasty films or TV shows. The first of them comes from Danny Boyle's 2002 post-apocalyptic zombie flick, "28 Days Later."

Here, as we see, speed and mobility are also fairly important.

The section of the screenplay sampled by Kostenkov comes from the following monologue: "It started as rioting. But right from the beginning you knew this was different. Because it was happening in small villages, market towns. And then it wasn't on the TV any more. It was in the street outside. It was coming in through your windows. It was a virus. An infection. You didn't need a doctor to tell you that. It was the blood. It was something in the blood."

"By the time they tried to evacuate the cities it was already too late. Army blockades were overrun. And that's when the exodus started. Before the TV and radio stopped broadcasting there were reports of infection in Paris and New York. We didn't hear anything more after that..."

By the time they tried to evacuate the cities it was already too late. Army blockades were overrun. And that's when the exodus started. Before the TV and radio stopped broadcasting there were reports of infection in Paris and New York. We didn't hear anything more after that...

The vague and ever-nearing threat described here gradually manifests itself as a virus that leaves a very small number of survivors. Thrown - with a "thud" - into a horrifically unpredictable environment, they start mapping the ground rules for new forms of survival from scratch.

Another of the samples is taken from the animated tales of 12.oz Mouse, shown below, which also take place in another environment where prior stability is under threat - or already removed. The plot is underwritten by a rambling, often nonsensical conspiracy theory that makes secure, reliable knowledge an impossibility. The quote used on the EP to evoke this ubiquitous feeling of doubt is: "Sometimes, Mouse, you think you know people and... you don't. Then you wonder, 'Have I met them before?' But it doesn't matter. You're just information. That's what we keep inside our heads."

Under the influence of certain liquids.

In this way, Kostenkov dramatizes the death of the old, slowly occurring against his black and/or white perspectiveless domain. After two tracks entitled "Toll" and "No Way" we're left only with the strong impression that the near future will involve a high price to be paid - or, perhaps, a complete dead end. The penultimate instrumental of "Thud" (below) attempts some jollity, but Kostenkov dismisses any thoughts of positive progression with some very kitsch melodies.

Any drive towards positive, consequential creativity will have to start with a modicum of self-confidence. Hence, no doubt, the following (tiny) move from modesty to assertion at PromoDJ. "I'm cool," says Kostentkov in a self-deprecating quip. "You're cool," comes an unexpected answer from the darkness, turning a joke into something more serious. "I am cool," he repeats, swayed by the opinion of a stranger.

But then that stranger wants some of the same treatment, too: "What about me?!" "You're cool, too," he/she is told by Kostenkov.  Thumbs up all round, but not in any convincing manner. Smiles are nowhere to be seen.

And indeed, soon enough the small "thuds" of incipient dialog doubt themselves - and the self-mockery resumes: "That's cool!" says one of them about the conversation, leading a third party to join in - which simply accelerates the silliness. "All of this means that I'm cool, too!" And so, flip-flopping back and forth between tentative confidence and discernible self-doubt, these young musicians forge and upload their early compositions into the empty spaces of the internet, both unassisted by tradition and unaware of their precise audience.

All of this means that I'm cool, too!

These are the hopes and fears that inspire MixGalaxy's artwork. Their CD covers leave a few pencil lines on an otherwise white backdrop, making a graphic statement. Fearing, though, the dangers of "pathos," they don't dare to claim any lasting, "adult" significance for their efforts. Life, after all, is seemingly unpredictable on the dark streets of St Petersburg. Viruses and zombies await; minimal baggage remains a wise option.