Audiopile Review: In the late 90s, Berlin’s To Rococo Rot had the extremely good idea of combining Tortoise-style post-rock with the glitched-out electronics of Mego/Mille Plateaux/Raster-Noton. TRR was primarily a collaboration between Stefan Schneider (also of Kreidler, who had a similar idea) and sometime Raster-Noton recording artiste Robert Lippok. Together with Robert’s brother Ronald, they made truly beautiful music, mixing Mouse on Mars’ fidgety detail with Kraftwerk’s melodic grace. Their finest moment was probably 1999’s ‘The Amateur View’, which leaned on the jauntily electronic side of the group’s sound. We are delighted to see ‘The Amateur View’ back in print on vinyl with an extra LP of bonus tracks. Worth getting even if you have an original. Aside from the bonus cuts, this is a record you’ll play a LOT – instantly likeable but always with more to discover. So, there’s a decent chance any OGs are gonna be pretty worn by now. TBH, this repress will likely continue delighting you until it too is worn to a crisp. What the heck, get two!

To Rococo Rot’s The Amateur View is one of the greatest records of its time. It was made in an optimistic moment of new sounds, new combinations, on the cusp of a new century – it belongs somewhere between Stereolab’s Dots And Loops and Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 1, between Tortoise’s TNT and Boards Of Canada’s Music Has The Right To Children. It’s the equal of all of those records, even after all this time it still sounds new.

I think the first time I heard them was in 1997 just outside Edinburgh. We (The Pastels) were playing a show in London the next night and it was a late set-off as our guitarist, Jonathan, was working in the university and we’d gone through to pick him up. I remember we also stopped for a couple of bottles of wine to get the journey off to a good start and as we settled back in some style we started to listen to the John Peel show. To Rococo Rot were in session and we all thought it perfect late night travel music. Soon after, I picked up their first two records and started the inevitable process of information gathering that comes with liking something new.

It was the last days of the pre-internet world for us, we didn’t own a computer and their story took a while for us to gather together, allowing an extended and enjoyable amount of speculation which we’ve carried on through the years. The group featured two brothers from Berlin, Ronald and Robert Lippok who had grown up in East Germany where access to instruments was not always possible and where tapes from the John Peel show were traded around between friends.

To Rococo Rot’s music has always had a sense of belonging to different worlds, it’s hard to know where they fit in. They never seem like one thing, instead they move fluently in and out of genres, from place to place. Some of the nice sounds, the attention to detail suggests an affinity with minimalist techno – you can easily play a Maurizio or Monolake side then move on to To Rococo Rot for a bit more action or colour, or melody.

The Amateur View arrived as if out of nowhere, unexpected but just right for the times. I feel it’s a masterpiece, I’m sure they don’t. These are different times for sure but one thing – it’s really great to see this one back in print.