It is easy to get caught up in the romanticism of various periods of jazz, whether it be the swinging sounds of 40s bebop, 60s cool or the 70s spiritual and edgier period. Imagery of musicians making their treks between St. Louis and Chicago, on over to bustling Harlem nights prompt vivid flashes of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis jamming on stage with the skillful drumming of Max Roach powering behind them. Whilst for some these moments hold dear with a strong arm protection like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, if you’re a jazz band from Switzerland, it would almost seem rational to work extra hard to remotely follow-up behind some of the legacies that were left in the genre. However with Swiss group Kaos Protokoll’s latest LP Everyone Nowhere, the band have opted to simply do their own thing, making a journey into their truths about a sound that they simply love to play.

Back in April of this year Kaos Protokoll released their New Chapter EP, an atmospheric offering of moody and at times spiritual jazz that floated gently down its own streaming lane in a dominant sea of scattered pop and rumbling trap. Everyone Nowhere is a continued extension of the band delivering tender and intimate jazz that is easing and thoughtful. ‘Flash Frame’ sets off the LP, finding the band launching into astro travels with spacious gaps in the track consisting of otherworldly synth layers that are peaceful and meditative. ‘Warteraum’ transitions into hazy minimalism, fostering more of a traditional sound that evokes the feeling of a smokey jazz venue attended by those in the know. It is tracks like ‘Story Line’ where Kaos really find themselves creating a nice alchemy, crafting more boundary pushing moments of experimentalism giving the sound their own European twist. ‘The Cosmos In My Backyard’ weaves between airy sax flows, momentary militant drum play and spacey, interplanetary threading to tie it all together. ‘TXL 645’ begins with a haunting and skeletal soundscape playing for almost 2 minutes before kicking into whirling instrumentation, with the band almost creating a harmonious dance between one another. The song ‘Kaos’ is a punchy drive of shifting and semi-glitchy drum patterns and free form playing which breaks up the album in a good way, showcasing their willingness to somewhat step out of their atmospheric jazz comfort zone to a degree. Included on the LP is the tune ‘SunRaColtraneSolar’ featuring the poetry of Mr. Are Dot. While the song rounds out the album, it is arguably one of the best cuts on here as Mr.Are Dot’s vocals give the mood-driven instrumentation a concise and spearheaded direction, jolting between the dreamy and jagged, pushing Kaos into more of a future jazz to almost electronica territory which truly spawns a refreshing moment.

Everyone Nowhere is a modern jazz album that becomes a true listening experience when all reservations of expectations are off the table and there is a still sitting of open-mindedness to allow the band to just deliver their take on the sound. Whilst it would have been nice to see the band venture into more experimental grounds of grit, this LP is a musical cleansing of sorts, a soundtrack to deep meditations, directs lines to a universe above. Perhaps Kaos Protokoll have looked beyond the obvious, giving us a tender space and moment of time to just…be.

Everyone Nowhere is out now on Prolog Music.