Markus Popp’s Oval project has been active since the early 1990s, but the pivotally important electronic artist still finds new reasons for inspiration. Romantiq, his latest recording, began as an audio-visual collaboration with artist Robert Seidel for the grand opening of the German Romantic Museum in Frankfurt. Refracted through a postmodern lens, Romantiq ponders the ideals of eighteenth and nineteenth century art. Even without the visual element, the adaption of the work into an album creates a compelling document.
Romantic blends digital electronica and organic elements. “Zauberwort” includes a distressed sample, collected by Seidel, of an opera singer performing an aria from The Magic Flute (hence the title). Alongside it are electric guitar, trombone, and diaphanous synthesizers. “Cresta” consists of overlapping chimes, keyboards, and whorling synths, which occasionally move through the middle of phrases. As frequently happens on Romantiq, Popp sets up a harmonic ground that is more or less constant. These patternings are seldom symmetrical and never simple, composed of unconventional chord progressions placed in syncopated time frames.
“Rytmy” is a standout. It recalls the post-minimalism of John Adams, chugging along in breakneck ostinatos. “Wildwasser” sets up another repeating pattern, through which multiple melodies flit, some deliberately naive in their patches to recall earlier technology. As one might expect from the title, “Glockenton” plays with pitched percussion in overlaid swaths of various timbres.
“Amethyst” combines a chromatic chord progression with harp-like arpeggiations and a repeated note riff. Partway through, a downtempo beat appears, submerged beneath the other textures. “Elektrin” plays with polyrhythms of glassine and string sounds, with whistling glissandos giving the piece vintage sci-fi adornments. In one of the more adventurous cuts, “Okno” combines pitched percussion and glissando-filled synth harmonies to create a curious, dissonant palette. Eventually, repeated thwacks of a bell take center stage with a shipboard vibe, as the synth part devolves still further. Pitched percussion is taken even further on “Touha,” where polymeter and super-fast flurries are foregrounded. Just a whiff of synth strings provides harmonic context.
The recording closes with “Lyriq,” where an intricate rhythmic sequence led by mbira-like sounds leads the charge, while solo synth interjections serve as an angular counterweight. At the very end, both textures unwind in a brief coda. Romantiq is a strong addition to Popp’s compendious catalog, one that unifies certain sound selections and approaches while providing ample variety. Wish I’d been in Frankfurt.
