INTERVIEW WITH ROBOT KOCH
Interview with electronic music producer Robot Koch
Photos by Jamie Azar
I am very excited to have the opportunity to interview this incredible talent, an award winning producer/composer, from Berlin Robot Koch., and want to thank Juste at Le Tigre Noir for arranging it. His electronic music has been described as emotional, atmospheric, cinematic and inspired by his love for science fiction movies he grew up watching.
His single "Light Through A Canvas", from his upcoming release "Otherwhere", out on 20th September, is a track, in which rhythms and deconstructed instrumental melodies weave together in a warm, organic and thoroughly arresting blend. You can listen to the single and watch the video by Mickael Le Goff here: https://youtu.be/IJTp8XwoODs
Robot Koch and Savannah Jo Lack, who had successfully worked together on an album in the past, but for their newest EP, Otherwhere, both artists were venturing into uncharted territories; the duo would be joined by an orchestra. Approached by Neue Meister label to be a part of its concert series by creating a special piece with the the Deutsche Kammerorchester, Koch was immediately eager to bring the Australian violinist and composer as well as long-time friend, Lack, onboard. Once the material had been written, Koch and Lack had three days of rehearsal with the orchestra before a live performance in Berlin, with the album being recorded on the third day. Writing the music flowed organically - sometimes Lack would propose an idea for a string composition which Koch would add layers of sub bass, percussion and synths to. Other times, Koch would experiment on the piano and Lack would complement his idea with the strings, “we both fed each other’s ideas and bounced them back and forth,” explains Koch.
“I’m fascinated by the unknown. it's something that excites me rather than scares me.”
Koch also recently won the award for the best immersive audio-visual show, the 360-grad-visuals have been shown in the main festivals around the world like Sonar and Mutek. The audiovisual show designed especially for planetariums takes the audience on a trip through space and time, oscillating between dark, synth-driven science-fiction moments and blissful suspension, carried by lush string arrangements. The immersive full-dome show features custom projection visuals and music composed specifically for a 3D sound environment.
Mutek Montreal
http://www.mutek.org/en/montreal/2019/artists/10046-robot-koch
And here you can check out the Sonar performance:
Your greatest inspirations or influences?
I draw inspiration from all sorts of genres and musical styles. I`m also influenced by books, movies and the weather. I´d say nature is my biggest inspiration.
I`m very interested in the evolution of life in general and I think also in music it´s very interesting to cross pollinate between genres, in fact, I think we`re in a post-genre time already. so drawing inspiration from something rather old like orchestral music and fusing it with something more futuristic creates something that I find exciting.
But nothing is more conducive to my creating process then withdrawing in nature. it´s the single most important thing for inspiration.
Most interesting response to your work?
People get really emotional. some people said it was the most impressive thing they`ve ever seen in terms of the live show and AV experiences. Others told me they were flying, others crying. It doesn`t leave you cold. the experience plays with the whole nervous system and is quite powerful I guess.
What would be a dream project for you?
Scoring a sci-fi movie like "Arrival", "Under the skin", "Annihilation" or "Ex Machina". These are all recent intelligent and atmospheric sci-fi movies which I really loved and I can imagine I could contribute a great soundtrack to a movie in that vein.
Thanks for the interview, anything else you’d like to share with us?
Please eat less meat and consider the environment as something you`re part of, rather than something that´s separate from you so you can exploit it. Thank you.
