Melbourne-based space-jazz collective Mount Kujo has put a devotional amount of time into developing their composition technique, creative process and live repertoire to produce their second full-length offering, Cosmic Cliffs. The result of these efforts are apparent in the way Mount Kujo has become more than just band to expect riveting orchestration and chaotic dance shows from; it's become a musical fraternity with an ever-developing ideology, working in real time to achieve artistic goals, not unlike other communal projects such as Funkadelic, The Pink Floyd or Embryo.

As the band says “There’s something about the Kujo philosophy - nobody holds on to an idea so tightly that it can't become something else”

The result is the palpable feeling that the second release has taken the band’s impossible melange of influences, from afrobeat to spiritual jazz, psychedelic funk to cinematic soundscapes, and organically formed a solid musical base for their own unique, recognisable and bombastic sound.

This innovative sturdiness is attributed to a greater member stability and curious explorations of the canonical songbook they have amassed since Mount Kujo’s frantic birth in 2019. The increased familiarity and depth has supported their love of embracing dynamic change, accepting last minute mishaps and actively seeking new challenges to see how these conditions affect their music. This resulted in songwriting sessions that were fueled by strong foundations of artistic principles to guide the band’s growth and style.

A key tenet of the Mount Kujo philosophy is “we create the space”. This is found endlessly in the development of the band; from the Cosmic Cliffs songwriting session in the bush near the snowfields of “Bonnie Doon”, where core members extended friendship to the newer members - to the time they took a chance on a kind stranger spontaneously offering to host them at a venue in the in the Grampians. Staying in an off-the-grid, self-sufficient home for the opportunity to perform their songs to the ancient and immense landscape is a perfect example of Mount Kujo practicing their musical beliefs. The result is demonstrated perfectly in the complex and groovy “Change the Changes”, where you can hear playful and challenging mode interruptions, made possible by the increased spatial familiarity of the band.

Another prominent development is the “urbanisation” of the Mount Kujo sound, a cinematic, trip-hop, cool jazz element that wasn't previously there. This is epitomised by the first single “Mr Pink” which was also a breakthrough for the band to produce a film clip based on character work - rather than a band collage - and celebrates “the fantastic laneway graffiti art, dodgy corners and sketchy neighborhoods of Melbourne”, vibes absent on the previous album’s “earthy” feel.

The second single “Indistinct Chatter” is a rolling, pulsing, nonstop hit and is impossible to talk about without acknowledging the sublime vintage synths, Rhodes and Wurlitzer available to the band during their two day session at the infamous Sing Sing studios, closed just days after Mount Kujo’s session. The band made great use of the hallowed space, filling up all 45 channels in the mixer and returning Deepank “Deep” Sheth to the desk to do his distinct work over Cosmic Cliffs; recognizable here in the huge drum sound over the album and the warm and sumptuous live horn sections bleeding into each other.

Several overdubs were performed by the group’s overseas family members, especially notable on the exceptional Afro-Cuban tune “Poolroom”, where Mount Kujo’s tireless creativity is on display as the song was gradually re-recorded in bursts of inspiration after the Sing Sing session into an acoustic version, and the result has some sensational Buena Vista Social Club reflections.

Mount Kujo’s iconoclastic ethos is on display in the title track “Cosmic Cliffs”, turning their back on an unwritten trade secret; namely keeping listeners hooked in a Spotify playlist - by
being bold enough to include a minute-long percussion freakout intro to the song.

The album cover is based on a photograph by the James Webb Space Telescope of the constellation that Cosmic Cliffs is named after and designed by former bassist Andrew Malynowsky, proudly proving the Mount Kujo family bonds exist long after members transit into other parts of their lives. The cosmic theme of the art is meticulously on point for this album and if the quality and complexity of the Mount Kujo vision continues to expand, it is very possible they will make good on their promise to produce Kujo 3 from the Earth’s stratosphere.