Every generation brings new innovators to the music scene. With the rise of electronic music production, the level of sonic evolution has risen exponentially, but no artist has stretched the boundaries of auditory experimentation to the extent of the artist Qebrus [KAY-brus]. On April 5th of this year, he released the album entitled ᐔ ᐌ ᐂ ᐍ ᐚ.

Qebrus’ music is indefinable. It sounds as if all the audio is generated from the mind of an omniscient AI who has the intention of augmenting human consciousness through the production of sound waves. One should not try to confine this music into known genres, but for the sake of practical explanation I would align it somewhere in between IDM (intelligent dance music) and Future Beat. However, Qebrus expands beyond anything that has been created before in terms of experimentation. The key to the enlightened state of his sound lay in his creation of new compositional conventions. Through history, most music has been composed from simple musical conventions such as tonal harmonic progressions, intuitive melodic and rhythmic sequences, all played through traditional-sounding instruments. Qebrus exists on the other side of the musical spectrum, utilizing atonality, complex rhythmic and melodic phrases, and incredibly warped sound choices.

ᐔ ᐌ ᐂ ᐍ ᐚ

Song 1: ⊶⊚⊖⬚⊟⊑∷༜⊚༜∷⊒⊞⬚⊖⊚⊷

https://exophobiaorgqebrus.bandcamp.com/track/–7

This album starts with a lofi ambient phrase that quickly becomes the background of a chaotic glitchy breakbeat texture. This introduction, soon to be devoured in complete organic mayhem, serves as a light peek into what the next forty minutes will evoke in its listeners: auditory enlightenment and a beautifully crafted overload of stimulation. After a minute and a half, the first beat drops, surrounding the listener in a bass-heavy liquidus texture in 11/8. Following this passage, Qebrus creates a calmer soundscape, only to fade in the next phrase. The rest of this first song is consumed by an indecipherable beat constructed on many quickly changing organic textures, all of which are unimaginably foreign to our human ears.

Song 2: ᐛᢰXᒣ ᐂ Mᒷᢳᐉ

https://exophobiaorgqebrus.bandcamp.com/track/x-m

Moving through a collection of otherworldly artifacts, the introduction to this second tune slowly transitions into a more minimalistic and straightforward beat. This phrase is pierced and scattered in automated motion, consistently being dismantled and rearranged through sequences of sci-fi glitches and squelches. Following this, Qebrus provides some emotional relief through a melodic passage of spacious synth-drum hits. This song concludes with two more phrases, utilizing very creative compositional techniques. For one, layers of samples are continually retriggered in a slowing tempo, giving a sense of diminishing time. In the outro, choral voices are sent through interesting effects, giving this extraterrestrial soundscape a human inhabitation.

Song 3: ᗛ ꕢ ꔮ ᕳ≒ᐍ ꔆ ᐂ≓ᕲ ꔮ ꕢ ᗘ

https://exophobiaorgqebrus.bandcamp.com/track/–13

This song begins with a new realm of aggression and speed, utilizing a very percussive and rapid sequence of watery stutters. This creates a different emotional space, one of great intensity, only to be contorted through the interlude of ambience and granular effects. The last minute moves into an array of pitch shifting and field samples, lightly returning the listener into a calm yet dissonant headspace.

Song 4: ⊶⊑ ♉ ♋ ☮ ♋ ♉⊒⊷

https://exophobiaorgqebrus.bandcamp.com/track/–18

This is probably the most conventional song on this album in terms of general composition and structure. It contains a more Earthly tone, beginning with an introduction of spacious bells and tame metallic strikes. The main beat in this song uses a conventional ‘kick and snare’ pattern in 4/4, however these tonal functions are not coming from drums. Instead, Qebrus composites percussive content from the motion of abstract textures and sequences. Throughout the different variations of this beat, a dissonant and unsettling melody is occurring, adding to the intentful discomfort.

Song 5: ┌ ∴༶༜࿀⊖࿀༜༶∴ ┐

https://exophobiaorgqebrus.bandcamp.com/track/–20

After an eerie soundscape of alien jargon, this song moves into a series of drum-based phrases. Emotionally and rhythmically, these have a primal, tribal sound. The main rhythmic components are constructed from bass strikes and crunchy glitch textures, giving the aura of an extraterrestrial drum circle. Behind this, we find a subtle ebb and flow of ambience that eventually lead into the second repetition of the main phrase. Qebrus creates complex layers of lo-fi and granular effects that move through this second variation, morphing into an atmosphere that concludes this piece.

Song 6: █ ͇͇͇͇͇͇̿̿̿̿ ͇͇͇̿̿ ̿̿̿̿▄█▀▄ ͇͇͇͇͇̿̿̿█ ͇͇͇̿̿ ̿̿̿̿̿̿▐▄┌

https://exophobiaorgqebrus.bandcamp.com/track/–19

The final work on this album is probably the most emotionally experimental song on this album. It passes through multiple rhythmic and melodic organizations, all of which carry different emotional connotations and capacities of expression. These verses are composed of mechanical effects along with dynamic bass attacks. Behind this, an ominous melody in a harmonic minor mode resonates through Qebrus’ machine composite. Then, a layer of faster, high-pitched subdivisions are added over the main phase. A new emotional fabric is laid behind this, giving it a different context. This morphs into a beautiful soundscape of shimmering strings and light metallic strikes, concluding this album.