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Frank Rothkamm is a composer & conceptual artist who started as an actor at the German castle theatre in Moers. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles in The Wilshire Royale, a former hotel. Guided by the “quasi-mystical principles of a philosopher-cum-musician”, he is the progenitor of the aesthetics of supermodernism, sci-fi serialism, and IFORMM; the tri-fold unity of tuning system, synthesis method and physical instrument. His “charmingly eccentric” and “enigmatically unpigeonholeable” semiautobiographical work probes notions of the hidden within the dialectics of commercial and underground culture, a concept that critically clones and multi-tracks the role of the composer in society and give testament to a new, utopian-scientific artform. For tax purposes, Rothkamm now considers christening it a new religion.
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Cosmological_Constant - Vibrö 5
(track 04)
Cosmological Constant, the 8th piece on the “FB03 - E Pluribus Unum” album which is the 3rd part
of the FB01 machine trilogy, was generated algorithmically with a set of uniform random distributions
that work off a constant pulse. It is both mathematical and psychedelic. The title refers to Einstein’s
modification of his original theory of general relativity. Frightened by the notion of a universe that is either
continually expanding into infinity or indefinitely shrinking into nothingness, Einstein proposed the notion
of a cosmological constant which would guarantee a God-like static universe, forever unchanging. This
points directly to another reference in the title: Kant’s System of Cosmological Ideas, as put forth in
his “Critique of Pure Reason.” There he states, “that it is from the understanding alone that pure and
transcendental conceptions take their origin.” Thus, from logical, mathematical reasoning springs forth
transcendence. |
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Cosmological Constant was recorded using the same method as all my “utopian-scientific” works:
during the course of many nights in a state of semi-consciousness, half-asleep and half-awake. It is
possible to create work in this state because of my invention of the IFORMM data-processing instrument
system. The mathematics, or the serialism, is done via this dual nature or dialectic black box. Human
input is transformed and human input changes the processes in the black box. Thus, the concept of
“sci-fi serialism” refers to a human/machine hybrid of trans- or sub-consciousness, not unlike the semiautomatic
writing which led Breton to pen down POISSON SOLUBLE, or “Soluble Fish”. In this case,
however, the pen is IFORMM, which simply works with the physical laws of quantum-mechanics, or, as I
wrote consciously in the FB01 manifesto: “instruments are spacecrafts, vehicles to manifest the reaches
of the cosmological ideas.” |
FULL BIOGRAPHY...
frank ROTHKAMM (born Frank Holger Rothkamm on July 2nd, 1965 in Gütersloh, Germany) is a composer & conceptual artist who started as an actor at the German castle theatre in Moers. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles in The Wilshire Royale, a former hotel.
Guided by the "quasi-mystical principles of a philosopher-cum-musician" (e|i), he is the progenitor of the aesthetics of supermodernism, sci-fi serialism, and IFORMM; the tri-fold unity of tuning system, synthesis method and physical instrument. His "charmingly eccentric" (Rare Frequency) and "enigmatically unpigeonholeable" (Touching Extremes) semi-autobiographical work probes notions of the hidden within the dialectics of commercial and underground culture, a concept that critically clones and multi-tracks the role of the composer in society and gives testament to a new, utopian-scientific artform.
For tax purposes, Rothkamm now considers christening it a new religion.
Until 2002 ROTHKAMM provided rhythm synthesis for a.o. the Hardkiss Bros., Peter Scherer, Corin Curschellas, Elliott Sharp, Alfred 23 Harth, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Lesa Carlson, and DJ Spooky; sonic concepts to a.o. Rodney Graham, Harald Fuchs, Diane Thater & T. Kelly Mason and DJ Glove; remixes for a.o. the Cranberries, Zeena Parkins, Tyrants in Therapy, and Rebekka Bakken, commercial underscores for a.o. Levi Strauss, Sears, and Philips; web integration for a.o. Warner Bros., Hewlett-Packard, Ford, BMC, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Philharmonic; track licensing under the Mrs. Blowpop, Speed Genius Overdose, Frank Genius, and Flux Records moniker; and produced soundtracks to film experiments in 3-D projection technology, among them George Lucas' "Star Wars".
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Following an epiphany in Hollywood during the summer of 2002, ROTHKAMM designed the Turing Machine of sci-fi serialism : IFORMM ; that descended from his software emulation of Iannis Xenakis' UPIC for Science World of British Columbia in 1988.
Since 2005 his prototypical works have been published in a series of compact disc concepts: the teenage tape recovery of "Moers Works (1982-1984)", the machine trilogy of "FB01","FB02 (Astronaut of Inner Space)"& "FB03 (E Pluribus Unum)" (2002-2007), the Y2K reenactment in LAX (1998-2007), the story and long-player of "just 3 organs" (2003-2008), the piano-forte "Opus Spongebobicum" (2005-2008) and his latest digital cantata "Frank Genius is Star Struck" (1990-2009).
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Zahra Fugues
Flux Records, 2009
The Birth of Primary Cinema from the Spirit of Sound
Flux Records, 2009
ALT
Baskaru, 2009
Ghost of New York
Flux Records, 2009
Frank Genius is Star Struck
Flux Records, 2009
Opus Spongebobicum
Flux Records, 2008
just 3 organs
Flux Records, 2008
LAX
Flux Records, 2007
FB03
Flux Records, 2007
Moers Works
Monochrome Vision, 2006
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FB02
Flux Records, 2006
FB01
Flux Records, 2005
Mystery of the Leaping Fish
Flux Records, 1997
Planet Genius
Flux Records, 1994
Commercial Reel
Suite Zero, 1992
Xtasea
All Lives All Dances All Is Loud
Frank Genius, 1991
Killer Disco Eternal RecurrenceKult Productions,
Frank Genius 1991
Fisch IV
White Label, 1989
Fisch III-3+4
White Label, 1987
Music after Sculptures
Maria Bonk Gallery, 1986
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