At 8 tracks, 19 minutes 51 seconds long, the new album from Berlin/Dusseldorf unit TO ROCOCO ROT is made (as the title suggests) according to an ‘alphabetical’ sense, rather than musical logic.
Kicking in at track 2 ‘lvx 4’, the spluttering digital noise surfs on a purring drum n’ bass ethos, but the album as a whole screams ‘ambient’. Just a computer, along with a Yamaha vss30 were used to make this improvisational mini-album which saw TRR abandon their usual drums, bass and analogue synths.
So coneptually, we’re talking about a ‘total listening experience that’s absolutely at odds with the listening time’. Musically it’s an awkward series of beeps, bleeps and digital noises. Textures if you like.
There are memorable moments, like the echoing symmetry of ‘zigue zague’, which chimes to a soft, crackling conclusion and ‘enigma’, a track that at least has some sort of pattern in terms of beats and a progression that’s akin (and pretty much essential) to any sort of techno. However, this ‘new alphabet’ way of creating digital ambience is likely to alienate many, and by the group’s own admission, probably took about a day to create.
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Food for thought though….I’m off to give my guitar to next door’s gerbil, with strict instructions to get their little girl to record every sound that’s made. Hmmmm…
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