Romantiq

Last updated

Romantiq
Romantiq.jpg
Studio album by
Oval
Released12 May 2023 (2023-05-12)
Genre Ambient [1]
Length39:02
Label Thrill Jockey
Producer Markus Popp
Oval chronology
Ovidono
(2021)		Romantiq
(2023)

Romantiq is a studio album by Oval, a project of German record producer Markus Popp. [2] It was released on 12 May 2023 through Thrill Jockey. [3] It received generally favorable reviews from critics. [4]

Contents

Background

Romantiq is Oval's first studio album since Ovidono (2021). [2] The album is based on an audio-visual collaborative project between Oval's Markus Popp and digital artist Robert Seidel for the opening of the German Romantic Museum in Frankfurt. [2] The album draws inspiration from Romantic concepts and works. [5] It incorporates flutes, pianos, trombones, and other period instruments, with digital manipulations. [6] An opera singer's voice is sampled on the opening song, "Zauberwort". [6] The album's cover art is a still image from video work by Seidel. [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 80/100 [4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Pitchfork 7.4/10 [7]
Spectrum Culture65% [10]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Romantiq received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 5 critic scores. [4]

Paul Simpson of AllMusic stated, "Far removed from the exuberant maximalism of 2016's Popp and 2020's Scis , the album sounds closer to the electro-acoustic experiments of his sprawling 2010 comeback O , except this one feels like a more focused work instead of an unruly hard-drive dump." [8] He added, "Romantiq's compositions manage to be soothing and reflective even as they restlessly pursue unknown sounds and feelings." [8] Jeff Terich of Bandcamp Daily called the album "one of Popp's prettiest works, with the lines between its source material and its digital manipulations becoming more blurred than ever." [5]

Stephen Worthy of Mojo stated, "Chords are distorted and jerked out of shape to create powerful percussive tools, but the pioneering glitch artist's music never tumbles into dissonance." [9] Marc Weidenbaum of Pitchfork commented that Oval's instrumentation is "the result not merely of sampling, in the cut-and-paste sense, but of the highly precise reworking and simulation of musical instruments: the ability to craft what can seem real but are, at their core, digital implements." [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Markus Popp.

Romantiq track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Zauberwort"4:06
2."Rytmy"3:12
3."Cresta"3:34
4."Amethyst"4:10
5."Wildwasser"4:17
6."Glockenton"3:38
7."Elektrin"4:32
8."Okno"4:48
9."Touha"4:16
10."Lyriq"2:34
Total length:39:02

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. [11]

References

  1. ↑ Davis, Ted (2 June 2023). "The Best Ambient on Bandcamp: May 2023". Bandcamp Daily . Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Cooper, Sean. "Oval". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  3. ↑ DeVille, Chris (25 January 2023). "Oval – "Touha"". Stereogum . Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Romantiq by Oval". Metacritic . Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  5. 1 2 Terich, Jeff (11 May 2023). "A Guide to Oval's Digital Evolution". Bandcamp Daily . Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  6. 1 2 Monroe, Jazz; Hussey, Allison; Minsker, Evan (12 May 2023). "8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Overmono, RP Boo, Madison McFerrin, and More". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Weidenbaum, Marc (16 May 2023). "Oval: Romantiq". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Simpson, Paul. "Romantiq - Oval". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  9. 1 2 Worthy, Stephen (June 2023). "Mojo Filter". Mojo : 92.
  10. ↑ Hazelwood, Holly (17 May 2023). "Oval: Romantiq". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  11. ↑ Oval (2023). Romantiq (CD booklet). Thrill Jockey.
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