Romantiq

Romantiq
Studio album by
Oval
Released12 May 2023 (2023-05-12)
GenreAmbient
Length39:02
LabelThrill Jockey
ProducerMarkus Popp
Oval chronology
Ovidono
(2021)		 Romantiq
(2023)

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

Background

Romantiq is Oval's first studio album since Ovidono (2021). 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. The album draws inspiration from Romantic concepts and works. It incorporates flutes, pianos, trombones, and other period instruments, with digital manipulations. An opera singer's voice is sampled on the opening song, "Zauberwort". The album's cover art is a still image from video work by Seidel.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star
MojoStarStarStarStar
Pitchfork7.4/10
Spectrum Culture65%

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.

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." He added, "Romantiq's compositions manage to be soothing and reflective even as they restlessly pursue unknown sounds and feelings." 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."

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." 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."

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.

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.