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Interview with Robot Koch (Foam & Sand) on Blending Music and Neuroscience on His Upcoming Album 'Quieter'

An Interview with Robot Koch on blending music and neuroscience on his upcoming album 'Quieter'.

By Eimear O SullivanMusicngear Editor

Eimear O Sullivan, Musicngear: Could you talk about the process of creating your upcoming album, ‘Quieter’?

‘Quieter’ came out of a desire to reduce, to take things away until only what feels essential remains. Something subtle.

The process was a kind of distillation. I worked with a very small sonic palette, analog synths, vibraphone, bells, often recorded onto tape and shaped through its natural imperfections. I was often removing elements that I recorded, allowing a core idea to emerge, and then carefully shaping space around it.

Most pieces began from a single drone or a gentle harmonic movement. From there, it became a process of listening, making very small adjustments, and refining.

There are also some beautiful contributions from close collaborators on this album. I recorded vibraphone with Clemens Ohlendorf from the Detect Ensemble. Vocals by Peia and Priscilla Ahn are gently woven into the textures, and on one piece, violinist Masha Brodskaya contributes a delicate performance that mirrors the minimalist sensibility of the record.

The beautiful watercolor artwork by Kathi Hendrick follows a similar approach, understated, textural, and closely aligned with the atmosphere of the music.

Overall, it was less about composing in a traditional sense and more about shaping a space the listener can enter, feel held by, and gradually relax into.

Musicngear: The soundscapes in the album are so rich and plush. Could you tell us a bit about your sound design process?

A lot of the richness comes from layering very subtle sound sources in a delicate way. For example, the imperfections of a tape machine playing back the compressed reverb tail of a vibraphone I recorded at slow speed, and layering that with the sound of water, also slowed down.

So field recordings also played a big role, sometimes almost imperceptible. They introduce a kind of irregularity and life that is hard to synthesise. 

The spatial aspect is important as well. I recommend listening to it on headphones.

And Richard Burki did an amazing job mixing the album for spatial audio. I will present the album inside of 360° spatial audio environments on the upcoming tour. The first stop will be at Polygon Portal in London on May 10th. I've always felt that music can be more than something we consume, more than entertainment. This is what the album and the live experiences are about.

Musicngear: How did your interest in the neuroscience of music come about?

It started with observing how sound affects me.

Certain sounds would bring me into a very deep state of relaxation, almost immediately. I became curious about that, not from a theoretical place at first, but from direct experience, noticing how my body would respond, how my breathing would slow, how my attention would shift inward.

Over time, especially in live settings, I began to see similar responses in others. Sound and music, which is essentially an intentional weaving of frequency, would affect people not just emotionally, but physically. You could sense a change in the room, people settling, becoming more present, sometimes even visibly softer in their posture and expression.

That curiosity led me to explore the science behind it, how sound interacts with the nervous system, brainwave activity, and sensory processing. I started collaborating with people and organisations working in that space, which helped deepen the understanding.

But the starting point was always experiential, noticing how sound can influence my own nervous system, and how it can feel deeply restorative.

Musicngear: Could you speak on how your knowledge of neuroscience was used in the creation of this album?

It's less about applying a fixed formula and more about creating the right conditions for the nervous system to settle.

With ‘Quieter’, I was interested in supporting a gentle shift from a more alert, externally focused state into something slower and more inward. In physiological terms, that often relates to moving from sympathetic activation toward a more parasympathetic state, where the body can rest, repair, and integrate.

That translated musically into slower harmonic pacing, fewer abrupt changes, and a reduced amount of high-frequency or transient-heavy material, which can be more stimulating to the auditory system. Instead, I leaned into sustained tones and low-frequency foundations, which tend to be perceived as more grounding and can influence breathing and heart rate over time.

There are also very subtle pulsing elements in some pieces. These are not overt rhythms, but gentle modulations that sit closer to slower brainwave ranges, more in the delta and theta spectrum. 

Another important aspect is cognitive load. The brain is constantly trying to predict and process incoming information. Music with a lot of change, complexity, or unresolved tension keeps that system active. By simplifying structure and allowing sounds to unfold slowly, the need for constant prediction is reduced, which can support a sense of safety and ease.

There's also a spatial dimension. When sound is placed in a more immersive field, especially with slow movement, it engages our sense of orientation and can shift attention away from analytical listening toward a more embodied experience.

So in a way, the album is designed less as something to follow, and more as something to be inside of, a space where the nervous system can gradually let go of effort.

Musicngear: Listening to ‘Quieter’ is like a balm for the listener. Did it feel this way while creating it?

There were moments where the process was very quiet and almost meditative, especially when working with sustained tones and long decays. 

But there are also long periods of just putting in the work, recording, editing, distilling things to their essence, crafting the sound and the mix.

What helped was staying with a piece long enough until it settled into something that felt honest and that I felt I could relax into. That often required patience inside the process.

So while the end result may feel calm, the process itself moved through many states. 

Musicngear: For anyone who is interested in learning more about sound and neuroscience, are there any resources you would recommend?

I would start with listening, really paying attention to how different sounds affect your body and state. That's the most immediate way in.

Beyond that, there are some interesting entry points. Work around brainwave entrainment and auditory perception can be helpful. Organizations like the Monroe Institute explore these areas in a more experiential way.

There are also books on psychoacoustics and how we perceive sound that give a good foundation. But I think it's important to balance theory with direct experience.

I also published a short article on sound and frequency healing, just as an overview or starting point, where I provide a bunch of links that lead down that rabbit hole.

'Quieter' is out May 29th. Pre-save here.

Connect with Robot Koch (Foam & Sand)
Website / Instagram / Bandcamp / X  / Facebook

About Eimear O Sullivan

Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)

Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com

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