Robot Koch – The Next Billion Years (Sand and Foam Reworks)

By starrymag | August 24, 2022

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

 

Q) Where did the decision or idea come from to record your latest album The Next Billion Years (Sand and Foam Reworks)? 

 

A) In 2019 I recorded my album The Next Billion Years in Estonia, together with conductor Kristjan Järvi and his orchestra the Nordic Pulse Ensemble. It was an album that, at its core, asks what the future of our species might look like.

 

When I released it in the spring of 2020, we had a full tour already booked with the full orchestra to perform the album live. But, of course, none of this happened as with the pandemic everything came to a stop. There were no shows and I couldn`t support the album with live shows, but the lockdown gave birth to a new side project of mine: Foam and Sand.

 

Unable to tour and with lots of time available in my studio, I started making ambient music with tape loops just for myself as I found the process really soothing and healing. I released a few tracks under the radar, without anyone knowing it was me and the project started to have a life of its own for a while until I revealed it in 2021 as an official project of mine.

 

And then I had the idea to revisit my Next Billion Years album. I felt that there was so much potential in it still. Even when I first made it, I felt like I could have made at least two albums out of the material I recorded in Estonia.

 

So, I decided to revisit it through the lens of my ambient project foam and sand. Foam and Sand has its own signature sound. It`s a different musical language that is close to the one I use when I write as Robot Koch, but it is also its own unique expression.

 

Q) In what ways do the Sand and Foam Reworks differ from the original album The Next Billion Years?

 

A) It`s an even more intimate musical approach. Instead of these larger orchestral arrangements that I used on the original album, these new compositions are more minimal, more micro than macro. They are about simplicity, slicing off anything that is not essential. One of the sonic hallmarks of Foam and Sand is that I embrace the unsteady beauty of tapes in the sound creation process.

 

Q) Since its release in May, what has been the overall feedback from fans on this album?

 

A) It´s been really, really positive. A lot of people used the word “transcendental experience,” especially those who attended my immersive listening events in Berlin, London and Los Angeles.

 

Q) With the release of The Next Billion Years (Sand and Foam Reworks), are there any plans to tour? 

 

A) Yes, I spoke with Kristjan Järvi about it. Hopefully, these plans will manifest sometime soon. But apart from “traditional” live shows I also wanna continue to explore the field of immersive listening experiences, using spatial sound with multi-speaker setups to make the listening experience even more immersive and memorable.

 

Q) The original album The Next Billion Yearshas twelve tracks, while the Sand and Foam Reworksare only seven tracks. What was the process in selecting which tracks you wanted to include on this new album? 

 

A) t was really intuitive. I reworked the ones that wanted to be reworked. There was no mental concept behind it.

 

Q) With creating electronic orchestral music, what are the greatest challenges in crafting these intricate, instrumental pieces that don’t use words to convey the message? 

 

A) I don´t think of them as challenges, but as opportunities instead. Working with an orchestra is an exciting color palette to paint with so to speak.

 

Q) As your music is described as “an intriguing dialogue between technology and nature,” what are some of the ways you try to keep your connection with nature so that you can convey that style through your music?   

 

A) I go for nature walks almost every day. I love hiking, both in forests and mountains, or spending some time by the ocean. Being in nature is the biggest source of inspiration for me.

 

Q) Aside from writing and producing your own music, you also write and produce for other artists. What do you enjoy most about stepping away from the microphone and taking that behind-the-scenes approach? 

 

A) It`s beautiful to help someone else in the process to let his or her vision come alive. It can be more of a guide-type role or be really hands-on in terms of co-writing and producing the track. It´s just a different perspective. And working with other people is always inspiring.

 

Q) Of those artists you have written and produced for, are there any upcoming releases from them that you are looking forward to people hearing? 

 

A) I worked with Finnegan Tui. Make sure you check him out and we got some more music coming out that we worked on together. Same with Delhia de France. There is some amazing stuff in the pipeline.

 

Q) What do you hope fans take away from The Next Billion Years (Sand and Foam Reworks)? 

 

A) I hope they feel more connected to themselves and to others.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the music you make?

 

A) Thank you so much for listening, it means a lot!