We were lucky to catch up with Robert Koch recently and have shared our conversation below.

Robert, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

It`s always hard to single out the most meaningful project because they are all meaningful to me. So here is a recent project that was meaningful, as an example:

For my project Sphere which I released in 2018, I created an immersive experience for Planetariums.
The show used custom-made 360 visuals and surround sound, mixed in ambisonics to take the audience to an entirely different realm.
The show was a huge success, sold out Planetariums across the globe, and won several awards for “best immersive experience”

At the time was burned out from playing traditional club shows and festivals and I wanted to do something entirely new and different.

Sphere is the exploration of inner and outer space, the balance between nature and technology, and the quest for the unknown – which is ultimately a search for oneself.

My aim was to establish a new live show that leaves the club and traditional concert venues behind and offers a brand new experience to the audience that expands their perception – visually, musically, and as a whole! It felt really liberating to create something new where the outcome wasn’t totally clear.

And with that show having been such a big success I felt inspired to keep thinking outside the box in regards to how music can be presented outside of traditional concert experiences.

Since then I`ve created other formats, for example, listening experiences in sensory deprivation tanks, where people could float weightlessly to my music. Or even deep listening headphone concerts with eyes closed which allowed the audience to go on a deeply healing inner journey.

Robert, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Robert Koch, I go by Robot Koch and I´m an artist/producer/composer from Berlin, living in Los Angeles.

My music has been described as deep, cinematic, atmospheric, and emotional.

It seems to lend itself to visual media and has been used on numerous TV Shows, Movie Trailers, Feature Films, and Ad campaigns over the last few years.

I started out as a drummer, played in several bands, and eventually (via Djing, and beat-making) became a music producer and recording/touring artist. I kept developing my skills and am also composing for Film, TV, and Video games these days, as well as mixing and mastering my own music.

I`ve been presenting my music live over the last decade, appearing on the lineups of festivals like Coachella, Sonar, and Mutek, and also played Boiler Room several times.

Apart from pursuing my own artistic career, I can sometimes be found working as a producer and writer for both indie and major artists. This work gained several gold and platinum records for songs that I co-wrote and produced.

I love expanding the idea of what a concert is and keep experimenting with different types of experiences in which music can play a transformative role for the audience.

My immersive AV show Sphere sold out in Planetariums and Festivals worldwide, winning several awards for “Best Immersive Experience”.

BBC’s Bobby Friction noted: “It sounds like artificial intelligence discovering religion.”

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Here are a few essentials that played a role in my personal and musical process:

The Music of Life by Hazrat Inayat Khan
The Gene Keys by Richard Rudd
The Science Of Self-Empowerment by Gregg Braden
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I love exploring the bridge between science and spirituality in my music.

The mind is a great tool, we just give it too much emphasis and power in our science-minded, left-brain society. I like to balance logical and intuitive approaches. That`s what I mean by bridging science and spirituality. I want to create a channel for subtle energies to flow through.

We are essentially made up of vibrational energy on the subatomic level. Music too is made up of vibrations and it can affect our emotions, thoughts, and physical state. It can create a sense of harmony and connection, and it can even help us to tune in to the frequencies of the person who created the music, even long after that person has died. So it can be seen as a form of communication that transcends time and space.

The idea of communicating through frequency suggests that we are not separate from the world around us, but rather deeply connected to it.

That´s what I try to do with my music: Communicate something beyond words, that hopefully resonates with those who need to hear it and invoke a sense of union rather than separation.

Deep listening means listening with a deeper receptivity to what is being communicated beyond words.

I want to make music that is not just listened to superficially but deeply. And I want to keep creating experiences where the audience can connect with themselves and others through the channel of music.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.robotsdontsleep.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robotkoch/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfbw6yZAk7FPJz-JJELPgrA

Image Credits
Neil Kryszak