Pax 6 by The Kandinsky Effect

With Pax 6, The Kandinsky Effect capture their evolving vision of a dark, rhythmic landscape.The album was recorded in Chamonix, France during April of 2016 and advances the compositional ideas founded on 2015’s Somnambulist, 2013’s Synesthesia, and 2010’s self-titled. Originally formed as a project to blend electronics and jazz, The Kandinsky Effect has matured over its 10 years span to develop a truly unique sound that is hard to compare. As a group, the band is heavily influenced by artists like Kneebody, Jaga Jazzist, and Bonobo, but the broader range of styles and influences in the music can be attributed to the fact that everyone in the band is a composer and approaches writing from a very different place. Warren Walker is very into electronic producers like Flying Lotus, Gael Petrina is into projects like Death Grips and Bon Iver, and Caleb Dolister often listens to piano driven projects like Hauska or metal bands like Meshuggah. More often than not, each song begins as an individual sketch with the intention of finishing the idea and arrangement with the rest of the band. This allows the broader influence sphere to directly affect each composition.

One of the larger milestones achieved with Pax 6 was the ability to spend a longer time working on the album in the studio. As a band that is based in both Paris, France and New York, USA, it’s not always the easiest task to schedule rehearsals and writing sessions. Previous records were often recorded with small two-three day studio budget and roughly one week of rehearsal time. On Pax 6, there was a lot more time to explore creative options in the studio thanks to the arrangement with studio Maison des Artistes in Chamonix, France. The band spent an entire week living at the studio, working in the middle of the night or early in the morning to fine tune the design of each song. The result is an album that captures exploration of each composition, and that’s exactly what the band is seeking.