Foam & Sand releases his new album “Quieter”
Foam & Sand, the ambient alias of successful producer Robert Koch, is charting a new course in sound, one focused entirely on reduction, contemplation, and achieving a state of “deep rest”. This distinct identity emerged from a desire to move past the broad container of his previous work as Robot Koch—which included electronic music, film scores, and rhythmic work—allowing him to focus on the quieter, more contemplative side of his relationship with sound. The “essential gesture” of Foam & Sand is defined by reduction: “Not asking what can be added, but what can be removed”. This profound philosophy forms the bedrock of the new album, Quieter, a project perfect for afternoon chills, melancholy and a focused approach to art..
Quieter sits firmly at the intersection of artistic intuition and rigorous research. Foam & Sand’s commitment to creating music that shapes “inner states, attention, and emotional experience” has involved collaborations with groundbreaking organizations, including the Monroe Institute (exploring brainwave entrainment), Seeded Sound (EEG-based research on neural regulation), and the Berkley Foundation / Berkley Psytech (clinical research into psychedelic-assisted therapy). The album’s core sound is intentionally distilled, built from analog elements like synthesizers, live vibraphone, chimes, and bells, and then processed through tape for warmth.
We spoke to Robert, the producer and creative behind Foam & Sand about the new album – his creative approach and how his music takes on a new purpose..
You treat “Patience and simplicity” as compositional tools intended to “restore continuity of attention”. How did you practically apply these concepts during the creation of Quieter, and what does that mean for the structure or arc of an individual track?
A: I think we’re living in a time where much of the music around us is competing for attention. There can sometimes be a tendency to introduce new information quickly to keep the listener engaged constantly. With Quieter, I became interested in the opposite question: what happens when a piece doesn’t need to justify itself every few seconds? What happens when a sound is allowed to simply exist long enough for us to actually hear it?
Practically, that meant removing a lot. Fewer layers, fewer harmonic changes, fewer events. Many of the tracks are built around a single gesture that unfolds slowly over time. Rather than moving toward a climax, they often deepen into themselves. The arc becomes about the relationship to the sound, spending enough time with a sound that it reveals something of its inner life. Patience and simplicity is an invitation into a different mode of listening on this album.
The core sound of the album is built from distilled elements—primarily analog synthesizers, live vibraphone, chimes, and bells—which are then shaped through tape processing for warmth and saturation. What role does this commitment to analog processing play in achieving the feeling of “deep rest” mentioned in the release?
A: I’ve always been drawn to sounds that feel natural, organic, and human, even when they’re electronic. Tape introduces subtle instability, softness, and imperfection. It rounds off edges around harsher frequencies, creates a sense of depth, and allows sounds to sit together in a more organic way. Digital often tends toward precision, whereas tape introduces a certain unpredictability that feels closer to the natural world. For me, deep rest isn’t only about slow tempos or spacious arrangements. It’s also about the choice of sounds.
You’ve had a successful career as Robot Koch. How does adopting the Foam & Sand moniker allow you to explore a different kind of subtlety or compositional space compared to your previous work, and how would you define the “essential gestures” of this distinct ambient identity?
A: Robot Koch has always been a broad container. It includes electronic music, film scores, immersive installations, and more rhythmic work. Foam and Sand emerged from a desire to focus on a very specific aspect of my relationship with sound, the quieter, more contemplative side. The essential gesture of Foam and Sand is reduction. Not asking what can be added, but what can be removed. It’s music that creates a space where the listener can bring their own memories, emotions, and associations.
Your music has been featured in collaborations with organizations operating at the forefront of sound and neuroscience. How do you bridge artistic intuition with a research-informed approach when starting a new composition that is specifically intended to “shape inner states, attention, and emotional experience”?
A: For me, science is incredibly valuable, but it tends to come later in the process. The initial spark is almost always intuitive. I follow a feeling, a texture, a state I want to explore. Research helps me better understand why certain approaches may have the effects they do, but it rarely tells me what to create. I think the most interesting space is where intuition and research inform each other. Science can help explain certain mechanisms, but art remains concerned with mystery, meaning, and subjective experience.
Quieter sits firmly at the intersection of music and science. Having worked with the Monroe Institute (exploring brainwave entrainment), Seeded Sound (EEG-based research on neural regulation), and the Beckley Foundation / Beckley Psytech (clinical research into psychedelic-assisted therapy), what is the most surprising or profound thing you’ve learned about the brain’s reaction to your compositions?
A: One of the most interesting things I’ve encountered is that science often ends up confirming something I had already sensed intuitively through making music. The most effective music for nervous system regulation is not music that overwhelms the listener, but music that creates enough safety, familiarity, spaciousness, and subtle variation for attention to soften and deepen.
So in a way, the biggest surprise hasn’t been discovering that music can influence attention, stress, emotional processing, or nervous system regulation. As a musician and listener, I’ve witnessed that firsthand for years. What’s been remarkable is seeing those experiences reflected back through data, whether that’s changes in cortisol, shifts in brain activity, or markers associated with relaxation and connection. What has become increasingly clear is that music isn’t just entertainment. It’s a way of shaping internal states. The sounds we surround ourselves with influence how we feel, how we think, and even how we relate to one another.
The album features returning collaborators, including vocalists Peia and Priscilla Ahn, and violinist Masha Brodskaya. How do their specific contributions fit into the album’s “reduced soundscape,” ensuring their presence enhances the deep rest without demanding focus?
A: One of the things I admire most about all three artists is their sensitivity. None of them approached the music from a place of performance. They approached it from a place of listening. Peia and Priscilla’s voices often function more like extensions of the harmonic field than traditional lead vocals. They appear almost as another texture within the landscape. Masha’s violin works in a similar way. Rather than drawing attention to itself, it helps deepen the emotional atmosphere of the piece. Everyone involved understood that the power of the album is in restraint. Their contributions don’t sit above the music, but merge with it.
Beyond the album release, you are developing a complementary series of immersive spatial audio experiences designed for “nervous system regulation” in intimate architectural contexts. How do these deep listening works translate the aims of Quieter into a shared, collective physical experience?
A: The album and the listening experiences emerged alongside one another. What interests me about these gatherings is that they transform listening from a private activity into a shared practice. People enter a space together, slow down together, and spend an hour giving their attention to something without distraction. The deeper intention behind both the album and the listening experiences is the same: to create spaces where people can reconnect with themselves, with one another, and with the subtle beauty that is often overlooked in everyday life.
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