Anjunadeep’s younger sibling Reflections welcomes new Roth’s LP
Electronic music heavyweight Martin Roth has just released his second full-length, piano-driven album, “Mono No Aware” on Reflections, Anjunadeep’s new sister label. Roth is known for his ability to slip between genres while maintaining a distinctive and immediately identifiable style, and his new release is no exception.
With this 13-track album, Roth moves away from the club space and into his classical piano training to explore themes of impermanence, parenthood and simplicity. The LP is about the sad beauty of watching time pass – the painful awareness of impermanence – but also about gratitude for being blessed with beautiful moments.
Reflections’ second release
‘Mono No Aware’ is the second album released on Reflections, and is a further exploration of Roth’s analog past. Martin released his first low-tempo LP ‘An Analog Guy In A Digital World’ in 2020 and says it’s no coincidence his two full-length albums are classical-leaning. His emotions pour out his hands and into the piano, and ‘Mono No Aware’ is an amalgamation of these stories and experiences.
He began the writing process in mid-2021 while the world was still under COVID’s thumb, and says lockdown in Germany was the perfect backdrop to write an album steeped in melancholia. The nostalgia and impermanence even extends to the name – ‘Mono No Aware’ is a Japanese phrase which translates to ‘an awareness that everything fades away.’
A new foothold
Roth’s ambition for ‘Mono No Aware’ is that it touches the listener in the same way his first album did. “When I released An Analog Guy In A Digital World, suddenly I received messages from people all over the world,” Roth says: “They were long, heartfelt, heartbreaking messages, about how a certain track supported them through the hardest moments of their lives. The people who write these messages have no idea how much they are supporting me, so I hope the music on Mono No Aware touches people in the same way.”
Roth prefers to describe the album as minimalistic rather than ambient with each track stripped back to create space for one leading sound, instrument or melody. This results in an immersive listening experience, and instead of being pulled in multiple directions, we’re gently led to wherever Roth wants us to go.
Inspiration behind
Regarding the process behind the album, Martin comments: “Over the years I swam through many styles and directions. It seemed like I couldn’t rest anywhere for long, always restless and on the hunt for the perfect island I felt comfortable with to reside – and sometimes my followers were not able to keep track anymore…”
“I kept swimming through sunny bays and heavy storms, and found my missing puzzle piece in between teaching myself how to turn the right knobs of life. I was given beautiful kids who made me finally grow up, and I found peace in simplicity and became ‘An Analog Guy in a Digital World’.” – Purchase your copy in different formats through the Anjuna Music Store. Link here.
