Swiss. Bern-based keyboard player Oli Kuster and British, London-based alto sax player Dee Byrne have collaborated previously in the Swiss-British sextet MoonMot and the trio Motherboard Pinball with Swiss guitarist Cyrill Ferrari, form the duo.
The DOX trio was born out of Kuster’s COVID-19 pandemic-era experiments with modular synths. This trio brings together Kuster and Byrne with Swiss, Berlin-based drummer Xavier Kaeser, known for his sharp, kinetic energy. DOX’ aesthetic enriches Kuster, who focused here on modular synths, and Byrne’s free jazz and free improvised music with ambient landscapes and glitch-laden beats.
The seven pieces on DOX’ debut album, Drowned Circuits, were spontaneously improvised and instantly composed. All the chord sequences, fleeting melodies, memorable grooves, pop hooks, and beats were improvised organically in the moment, often leaning into atonality, dissonance, chaos, and sonic experimentation. The outcome is intense, risk-taking, unpredictable, and restless, attempting to bring modern jazz back to the dance floors. It demands a full surrender, and clearly blurs the distinction between jazz, free improvisation, and electronic music.
Eyal Hareuveni
Oli Kuster (synthesizers), Dee Byrne (alto saxophone), Xavier Kaeser (drums)
