Dutch-born, Finland-based Ruben Kotkamp shared a fascinating new release, fall/winter 19’20, late last month. Over five tracks, Kotkamp has revived multiple past projects meant for dance, visual art, and concert music, weaving the disparate strands into something cohesive and new.
The album traverses moody Tim Hecker-esque dronescapes, spoken word passages, and brief moments of emphatic vocals, but what ties it all together is Kotkamp’s production, which is muscled and granular, ambient music with all the rough edges and prickly thorns left intact. On “Like a Virgin” it almost sounds alive, lurching and breathing like some sightless underground organism burrowing through the topsoil.
In Kotkamp’s words:
“I am trying to approach music as design. Like an Iris van Herpen garment shown from many different angles. The red thread in my work is a desire for the physicality and objectivity of sound.”
The EP features contributions from Line Branchereau, Hedvig Holgersson, and Sarah Abraham (vocals), Sophie Ehling (cello), Davide Fortugno (recording) and Lawrence English (mastering).
fall/winter 19’20 tracklist:
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untitled in chrome 02
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ett litet våld
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untitled in ultraviolence
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like a virgin
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l’ensorcellement
slowbreathingcircuit.com 