Robot Koch: The Other Side (2LP, 12 Inch, Gatefold Cover)
Berlin producer Robot Koch is back for his third full length release, “The Other Side”.
Although Robot Koch has an international reputation as being “One of Europe`s finest producers of the beat generation“ (Low End Theory), he is much more than just a beatmaker… “(Post)-dubstep infused Electronic Hip Hop“ is far too constrained a label to understand what this producer is all about. Instead of following the sound of his previous albums “Death Star Droid” (“Essential listening” – Bobby Friction BBC) and “Songs For Trees and Cyborgs“ (“Music for a modern age that has rarely sounded so good” – Boomkat), Koch takes the genre defying ingredients from these previous records to another level. There still are some of those “Galactic ten ton beats and space age melodies“ (Dazed and Confused) that made the previous albums staple drops in the playlists of Mary Anne Hobbs, Starkey, Daedelus and Gaslamp Killer to name a few, but there is a new dimension to Koch`s production and songwriting that didn’t show on his previous records.
The cinematic vibe of tracks like “Nitesky”, the quirky and moody feel of “Bugs” and the electricity of “Tapedeck” show how Koch more than ever manages to create intimate and timeless pieces of music that are soulful, deep, mysterious and that will appeal to fans of cutting edge Electronica and modern pop music alike. This is the most personal record of Robot Koch to date. Instead of going for big name features Koch teamed up with lesser know artists like Kansas based vocal talent John LaMonica, long time friend and theatre composer Nielson and mexican singer/songwriter Graciela Maria to find the right voices for his compositions. John LaMonica infuses his whimsical and heartfelt melodies that breathe an air of darkness and nostalgia with Koch`s fresh and forward thinking instrumentals to create something that fans of Radiohead, The XX and Jamie Lidell should not sleep on.
”I`m glad John contacted me, we were thinking of collaborating on one song for my album but it ended up being five songs, they were all fantastic and helped me find the right direction for ‘The Other Side’.”
After the release of the John Robinson collaboration album (“Robot Robinson” – Project Mooncircle) earlier this year, it seems surprising how extensive Robert’s output is, but don’t be mistaken, this album is a longer term project than just releasing the songs Koch made in the last year. Some of the songs found on “The Other Side” were made seven years ago.
”I didn’t know what to do with songs like ‘Bugs’ back then. Now it felt like the time has come to release them, they just made sense with of the most recent stuff I’ve been making and it all fell into place. But it was not an easy album for me to make. The previous albums just came together rather quick but this one was a real mission, something I’ve been trying to do for years and I could never really get it together until now.”
Legendary John Peel (BBC) knew in 2003 already when he said about Koch`s productions “Wonderful and strange, pop music from the future“.
You can pre order the vinyl version at hhv.de | Rush Hour | Access HipHop | Cargo UK | Diskunion | Jet Set Records | Crosstalk | Juno and more.
Digital download at Itunes | Juno | Zero Inch | Beatport | Amazon | Bandcamp | Musicload and more.
“Lights” DOWNLOAD ► XLR8R!
Excerpts of press or air play outcomes:
BBC1 June 29, 2011 by Gilles Peterson with the song Midnight On The Moon – LISTEN. GeorgeFM – Ear Shot Sunday – September 4, 2011 by Cian with the song Glassdrops – LISTEN. XFM Saturday, September 17th, 2011 Mary Anne Hobbs with the song Heal – LISTEN. UP FM, 107.5fm Auckland Monday, September 27th, 2011 Propa Radio Show with the song Heal – LISTEN. Play.FM Sunday, September 18th, 2011 Bogaloo Radio Show with the song Heal – LISTEN. Play.FM Monday, September 16th, 2011 Basic Soul Radio Show with the song Lights – LISTEN. KISS FM Monday, September 16th, 2011 Eine Stunde mit Visa Vie Interview – LISTEN. FLUX FM November 3rd, 2011 Electronic Beats Interview / Mix – LISTEN.
DJ / Artist Comments:
Really feeling this, especially Lights and Heal. (Dj No Names – Foregin Beggars/Various – UK)
This man or machine sould i say,..kills it,..love,.. Robot Koch pure heavy dancomatic vibes. (Guy Carlos – The Bees/Gorillaz Soundsystem – UK)
This is AWESOME! Loving Heal, Tapedeck, Feel, all 6 tracks are great in fact but those 3 are my top picks. Respect to Project Mooncircle – it appears I have become a fan and need to check out more of the back catalogue… (Dj Flight – Metalheadz/Rinse Fm/Wax Jambu/Various – UK)
Really really dope, subtle n space out as well as bangin, feeling this!!! Mr Koch is a badman. (Kidkanevil – First Word/RBMA/Various – UK)
ll sounds lovely to me – especially like that fact that his voice doesn’t overdo the whole mournful (blubstep?) thing – just sounds true to itself. (Palmskin – MoWax/Various – UK)
I really like this album, can be played in clubs, radio and at home. (Ahu – Brownswood/RBMA/Dinamo Fm – Turkey)
This is great, I will be playing ‘Heal’ on the show. (Mary Anne Hobbs – XFM/Planet Mu/Sonar/Various – UK)
Tracklist
| Title | Artist | |
|---|---|---|
| A01 | Heal Featuring John LaMonica | Robot Koch |
| A02 | Nitesky Featuring John LaMonica | Robot Koch |
| A03 | The Other Side | Robot Koch |
| A04 | Island Featuring John LaMonica | Robot Koch |
| B05 | Lights | Robot Koch |
| B06 | Glassdrops Featuring John LaMonica | Robot Koch |
| B07 | Backwards | Robot Koch |
| C08 | Autodreams | Robot Koch |
| C09 | Midnight On The Moon Featuring Sneaky | Robot Koch |
| C10 | Tapedeck Featuring John LaMonica | Robot Koch |
| D11 | Feel Featuring Graciela Maria | Robot Koch |
| D12 | Bugs Featuring Nielson | Robot Koch |
| D13 | Love | Robot Koch |
| D14 - Bonus Digital | Tapedeck Featuring John LaMonica (Pavel Dovgal Remix) |




