Album: FB02
Author: Matt Howarth
Publication: SONIC CURIOSITY (source)
Date: 11/26/2006

This release from 2006 offers 34 minutes of abstract electronics.

Rothkamm's music is comprised of ethereal tones and sporadic pulsations that pursue a nonmelodic structure. The compositions delve into inner space, seeking connections between the id and abstract realms. Harmonic applications strive for order in chaos, channeling erratic patterns into an astral terrain that is highly evocative of an interstellar medium.

Keys are struck seemingly at random, yet the result ebbs into a strange cohesion that harkens to the early days of electronic music, akin to Stockhausen or John Cage. Diodes are tweaked and cybernetic circuits are coaxed to generate grating sounds that are then aligned with softer tonalities that echo the sentiments of sci-fi movie effects from the 1950s.

The overall sound is often eerie with a strong mechanical edge. Although generally atonal in nature, a modicum of abstract structure emerges that is reminiscent of a primitive form of musique concrete filtered through an array of nostalgic machinery.

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