{"id":188639,"date":"2018-10-08T15:48:09","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T13:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/?p=188639"},"modified":"2018-10-08T15:48:09","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T13:48:09","slug":"robot-koch-ich-wuerd-jetzt-nicht-nach-berlin-zurueckziehen-wollen-aber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/2018\/10\/08\/robot-koch-ich-wuerd-jetzt-nicht-nach-berlin-zurueckziehen-wollen-aber\/","title":{"rendered":"Robot Koch: “In Berlin, it eventually felt like wading through mud.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Producer Robert ‘Robot’ Koch moved from beneath the shadows of the Kassel Hills into the urban wilderness of Berlin during the nineties. There, in the early noughties\u2014amidst the WMF scene\u2014he rose to become a hyped act with his band Jahcoozi. With their blend of broken beats, hip-hop elements and electronica, the trio attracted attention well beyond Berlin. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Jahcoozi is now a thing of the past. In 2013, Koch\u2014who’d worked as a producer for Marteria and OK KID\u2014turned his back on the German capital. “Berlin was like a hammock, where people just rested. It all felt a bit sluggish to me. I just wanted to do more than go out partying.” Since 2013, the now 41-year-old has lived in Los Angeles, focusing on his career as a film music producer. And with success: US series such as ‘The Blacklist’ starring James Spader, or ‘How to Get Away With Murder’, have tapped into his musical artistry. For Koch, “movement and dynamism in life” are important. His new album ‘Sphere’ is, in a sense, also about that. After all, without those factors, getting into space would be a bit tricky. His sonic spheres are at once epic, cinematic, dark, and melodic. An intriguing journey through the Robot Koch universe. Fittingly, Koch is taking his live programme to the one place an ordinary earthling might really get a sense of space\u2019s vastness: the planetarium.<\/p>\n

\"Robot,
Prefers to stay in the background and let his music speak for itself: Robot Koch. – Photo: \u00a9 Neil Kryszak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Live at the planetarium: Heading for the stars<\/h3>\n

The idea behind Koch\u2019s live concept was developed together with Berlin\u2019s Zeiss Major Planetarium. Artist Mickael Le Goff joined the project to realise the visuals. The result is a gripping live show \u2014 with 360-degree visuals and surround sound. The music was specifically mixed for 3D spatial presentations and combined with visuals specially programmed for this kind of dome projection. The choice of the planetarium was no accident: after a year of intense work, visuals and sound will actually transport the audience into space \u2014 the journey unites locations which could represent either the inside of a spaceship or the intricate branches and veins of a living organism. The premiere takes place on 8th and 11th October at Berlin\u2019s Zeiss Major Planetarium. A global planetarium tour is being planned for 2019, as well as performances at selected festivals technically equipped for such dome projection shows.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the show, we spoke to Robert about why he left Berlin, his fresh start in LA, his love for film music and how his new album \u2014 released on 5 October on his own label, Trees and Cyborgs \u2014 came about.<\/em><\/p>\n

Robert, you\u2019ve been living in Los Angeles for five years now. <\/strong>Do you feel at home there these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, that\u2019s definitely enough time to really settle in and feel at home. But I actually keep away from the areas you see in films. I live in the east, not what outsiders imagine \u2014 no Venice, Beverly Hills or Hollywood. It\u2019s completely different there. Much quieter and more creative.<\/p>\n

After some years away, how do you now view your old home, Berlin?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t move back to Berlin now, but I still think it\u2019s great here. I didn\u2019t leave the city with any bitter feelings. It was more after 13 years I\u2019d just developed a sort of Berlin fatigue. Then on top of that, my relationship ended, and lots of things, including in music, just came to a close.<\/p>\n

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2013 was one of those years of change, when I realised it was time life gave me a real kick up the backside.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I was stuck in a comfort zone where I hadn\u2019t felt comfortable for a long time. I just had to get out. Looking back, jumping into the unknown was a really positive change for me.<\/p>\n

Was it easy enough to work out there? Didn\u2019t you need one of those so-called Green Cards?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luckily, I had the O1 visa. That\u2019s valid for touring and lets you work without restriction.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d built up a good reputation in Berlin, both with Jahcoozi and solo. And then you arrive in LA and you\u2019re a nobody. Was it like that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mainly, I just wanted to go somewhere nobody knew me. LA specifically was just a gut feeling. But you\u2019re right, in LA it did feel a bit like that \u2014 you lack the network. But I was definitely at a different stage in my career than when I first arrived in Berlin in the 90s and no one had heard of Robot Koch. This time it was a bit easier.<\/p>\n

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In LA, some already knew my name, and \u201celectronic producer from Berlin\u201d doesn\u2019t sound too shabby either.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How did you approach things on the ground? Did you throw yourself into work to get a foothold in the scene quickly?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not at all. At first I went on a road trip, to see the country \u2014 especially California. Up and down the coast. I was genuinely open and curious about what might happen. That made it easier to get chatting, too, as I had no expectations. So one thing led to another. I quickly got the sense that if it kept going like this, I was definitely in the right place.<\/p>\n

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In Berlin, it eventually felt like wading through mud. In LA, everything just flowed. That\u2019s when I thought: this really is the right moment for me to be here.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So, not just because your personal life was changing, but from an artistic perspective too?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. Berlin had just become too slow for me. I wanted to do things, to make things happen. It often felt like, “If not today, then maybe tomorrow”. We\u2019d go out, talk about projects, but there was never any need to actually make them happen. The financial pressure wasn\u2019t that big, either. Berlin was like a hammock everyone just lounged around in. Eventually, that sluggishness just got to me. I wanted more than endless partying. If you settle into that kind of comfort and rest on your laurels, it just ends up being frustrating and stagnant.<\/p>\n