Cargo (ZOHARUM ZOHAR 374-1) by Łubin is something to do with rail travel. The duo drew inspiration from trains, made field recordings of them, worked with electronic devices and made compositions, all over the course of one year. They were looking at train rhythms, but also reflecting on the “cultural, social and symbolic meanings” of trains. Listeners expecting a Polish take on the themes of Trans-Europe Express may be surprised at how subdued and static is the music on Cargo, but that might not be the point; rather than a prosaic depiction of the action of driving like a demon from station to station, Cargo is a series of amorphous sound-scapes, and intended to convey something faintly surreal and nocturnal, through ambiguity and uncertain audio forms. A suitable soundtrack perhaps for certain paintings of Giorgio de Chirico, especially the ones inspired by railway stations. The players are the ubiquitous Rafał Kołacki from Hati and Grzegorz Kaźmierski, and this is their third foray under the name Łubin.
