Loop 2.4.3 creates original music steeped in percussion and electronics. Upon release of the debut album in 2007, NPR called Loop 2.4.3 an original voice that "sounds like part of a well-thought-out tradition. Only the tradition has never existed until now." This idea of simultaneous familiarity and experimentation has been at the heart of Loop 2.4.3 since its inception in 2004. Loop's founder, percussionist/composer Thomas Kozumplik (also a member of Clogs), has created a flexible ensemble that rotates players and varies in size, but a powerful sense of exploration and freedom is constant.
Praised for "taut compositions with a stunning improvisational sense" (Time Out Chicago) and "intricate, energetic performances" (New York Times), Loop 2.4.3's compositions are rooted in the classical chamber music tradition. However, the music has an undeniable psychedelic edge with strong improvisatory [sic] jazz and rock foundations. Incorporating a full range of traditional percussion and innovative electro-acoustic instruments, voices, strings, and found sounds, the music embraces the notion of journeyed story-telling -- creating a kind of alternate universe. Loop 2.4.3's concerts and recordings are an immersive experience.
In 2009, Loop 2.4.3 released Zodiac Dust, which received wide college and listener-supported radio play. The music spurred collaborations with Dafnis Prieto in NYC, and Bryce Dessner at the Barbican in London as part of the festival, Reverberations: the influence of Steve Reich. The group continued to collaborate with an off-beat community in the New York underground, including performance artist, singer, and puppeteer, James Godwin; poet and improvising musician/performer, Tom Burnett; and painter/visual artist, Jon Waldo.
Described as "brand-new yet iconic" (Gramophone) and "a refreshing combination of rigor, complexity and force" (The Big City), 2012's contemporary song cycle American Dreamland prompted collaborations with operatic baritone Scott Bearden, indie rock starlet Shara Warden, and new music guitar hero Jon Catler (veterean of La Monte Young's Forever Blues Band). Dreamland was Loop 2.4.3's most ambitious set to date, and it's cross-over influence and appeal was noted by critics as "attractive and exciting...the band clearly has a lot of power that they keep just under the surface, giving them a slight flavor of threat that there should be a hell of a lot more of in rock and pop music" (The Big City).
Kozumplik overhauled the Loop 2.4.3 performance set-up in late-2013 to create a new body of work. Expanded integration of electronic sounds, samples, and "ghost musicians" via waves of delay took the music into new terrain. Loop 2.4.3 toured the US creating hour-long structured improvisations on this new set-up. Kozumplik harnessed the essence of these performances to create 2015's Time-Machine_music.
"Visceral and satisfying...an astonishing variety of brand-new yet iconic sounds that create a riveting aura, a genuine time warp - all in astonishingly intimate and dynamic, demonstration-quality sound." -Gramophone
"...intricate, energetic performances." -The New York Times
“A fascinating percussion ensemble...richly-detailed, hypnotic new [music]” -Time Out New York
“...mesmerizing... the group mingles taut compositions with a stunning improvisational sense” -Time Out Chicago
“If Partch had been warmer, more linear and had a better sense of dramatic narrative, he might have made music like this...Kozumplik and Watson never sound arbitrary or like makers of novelty music. There are action adventures and reveries on Batterie, and it all sounds like part of a well-thought-out tradition. Only the tradition has never existed until now.” -NPR Fresh Air
“...transportive percussion odysseys” -The Boston Phoenix
“A percussion ensemble that exists to demonstrate that these instruments can show color, shape, and nuance as easy as they can pop and explode...Even their primal pounding is marked by depth and subtlety.”
“[Loop2.4.3] take their audiences on a journey that shows the true power of percussion.” -Alarm Magazine
“Compelling music that is not readily categorized, is never pretentiously inaccessible, and sustains a sympathetic and approachable mannerism... Persuasively demonstrates that rhythm instruments can direct melodic lines, execute choruses, and engage listeners’ imagination.” -Audiophile Audition
“Loop inhabits areas of tentative, quieted exploration and propulsive rhythmic excess” -All About Jazz
“A feast of sounds for the mind’s eye,...the songs are dramatic, layered, colorful and brilliantly constructed...imaginative and compelling...epic, lush, works of art...Truly miraculous.” -First Coast News.com
“The real revelation is how emotive and evocative Loop 2.4.3's playing is. The two of them...suggest worlds of feeling, almost entirely with percussion.” -New Haven Advocate
“Interesting. Very, very, very interesting. This is experimental music with a difference...they are by no means unlistenable. Actually and in fact, quite the opposite...These two guys are doing everything right...Incredible stuff.” -LMNOP.com
“A thrilling percussive ride...an unqualified treat from start to finish...startling, kinetic and entrancing. Something quite enrapturing and truly alive indeed. -New- Noise.NET
“...incredibly talented musicians...Their string and percussion [music] is absolutely beautiful. ” -WHOTV.com
“...reveals a percussion duo...committed to telling musical stories through rhythm and color.” -Pittsburg Post-Gazette
“...a stunning adventure in percussion and sound.” -Orange Alert
“...dynamic, creative percussion work” -The Grand Rapids Press