Approx Twelve

Second full-length release by Christoph Döhne, AKA Le Rok. Every single track on this album has an individual history, starting out with the idea for a song in the classical sense of the word. Going on from this solid foundation, Le Rok rather casually collects the elements from which the tracks are put together like mosaics. This results in a specifically relaxed setting (not necessarily slow or quiet) while lots of little things cling themselves tightly around the spine that is the basic song. This method only works when the necessary time is taken for those small pieces to grow together into a whole. In the end, everything is one unit comprising all the elements from the initial song to the final beat. Although the tracks take shape as a construction of digital bits and cuts, the songs never lose themselves inside the technical devices from which they derive. In between all the tight textures remains a slight sense of melancholy. All the while the beats may stay up front, but do not consume. Döhne hails from Hanover in northern Germany, and perhaps this non-urban setting is the reason for his relaxation. Karaoke Kalk. 2007.