After last year`s release “Death Star Droid” Berlin stromtrooper Robot Koch kept himself busy. He finished off the new Jahcoozi album “Barefoot Wanderer” which is coming out on Bpitch Control this spring. Coinciding with the release of his “Death Star Droid Remix EP” (incl fresh mixes by Loops Haunt, Blue Daisy etc). Robot Koch was on tour in the USA and Mexico, stopping by in LA for a stunning gig at Low End Theory and finally settled down for 2 months in Mexcio City, where he found time to work on new material with his girlfriend and singer Grace . Visiting some ancient Maya and Atztec sites and Pyramids sure added to the spaced out magic of the new EP. The new material is dark, percussive and surreal. Like an audible painting my leonora carrington. Its dubby but not dubstep, rather next step maybe. The songs are heavy and dripping with analog and organic sounds…. Lo Fi field recording mashed up with heavy bass and unquantized grooves. Live sounds like guitars work like samples. Vocal talent Grace, that was already featured on the Death Star Droid album and the last EP brings in a dark and yet soulful gospel vibe over Koch’s twisted beat concoctions. This EP is only a taster of the new album that should be ready to drop in october on Project: Mooncircle.
Robot Koch was kind enough to answer a few questions about himself and his work.Why do you call yourself Robot Koch?:
Why a Robot? my real name is Robert, people just nickname me Robot because I don't sleep and make beats like a machine apparently.
Where are you from?:
Berlin.
How long have you been doing what you do?:
Started making music at the age of 15. Now I am 32, so do the math. ;)
You have a very rich earthy sound that seems to stray into glitched out tangents and back again. But in a Zen like way. Who or what are your
inspirations for the music you make?:
Music inspires me, everything from Moondog to Slayer, from John
Coltrane over Radiohead, to weird folk stuff, and back to Hip-Hop...I
listen to a lot of different stuff.
But also art inspires me... The EP "Listen to Them Fade" was sort of
done under the influence of painter Leonora Carringtion which I
discovered in a bookshop in Mexico City. Sometimes its just clouds and
the way the light looks that inspires me.
Tell us something about this EP that you haven't told anybody yet.:
I made most of it in the kitchen in our flat in Mexico City, when I
lived there in February/March, some of it on a plane and it was the first
time i made music again after a 2 month break.
What's next?:
I`m involved in a project called NRBLN with Jahcoozi, Gebrüder
Teichmann and Modeslektor. Its a cross culture project with artists from
Berlin and from Nairobi in Kenya. We went there twice already to work
with the local musician and vocalists and do some sort world music 2.0.
Dubstep meets traditional African chants, African rap meet Techno beats
and 11 year old kids from the biggest slum in Nairobi prove that they
got more fire than all the MCs in the US Hip-Hop charts combined.
Also I will be working on my album which should drop in late 2010. I am
working on new stuff with my singer grace for her album too, which is
gonna be amazing!
-Robot Koch.
Take some time to see and hear more of Robot Koch's work:
Website:
http://robotsdontsleep.com
Myspace:
robotkoch
Discogs:
Robot+Koch
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