To Rococo Rot today present the second cut from their new album ‘Instrument’, set for release on July 21^st via City Slang.

Over the course of 18 years, Berlin-Duesseldorf trio To Rococo Rot have carved an identifiable niche for themselves, and one which has crossed a variety of styles; neither wholly in the realms of ambient or pure electronics. The late 1990s albums of Veiculo and The Amateur View brought their fundamental and innovative landscapes of sound to the fore, whilst 2001’s collaboration with I-Sound, Music is a Hungry Ghost, showed their ability to blend disparate influences into something cohesive. Remixed by Four Tet and Daniel Miller and heralded by the likes of Modeselektor, their influence extends as far as their unique approach deserves.

The music of brothers Robert and Ronald Lippok and Stefan Schneider has always existed in its own world and ‘Instrument’ is a landmark record for the group. The serenely soft melodies of No Wave pioneer Arto Lindsay adorn three tracks, offering up a new perspective.  Though melodies have always been a big part of their sound, the inclusion of a human voice is a distinctive modification.

Last month they revealed the record’s first single ‘, and today they follow it with woozy new track ‘Classify’ in which Lindsay appears once more.

Here Lindsay offers up soothing and rhythmic proclamations in the verse and an effortlessly-sung chorus, all among Schneider’s crawling bass chords and Ronald Lippok’s mellow drumming; itself a hugely prominent aspect of the record.

“I think maybe we’ve come in a way back to where we started. We’ve been through a lot of experimenting, buying new gear, trying this and that with electronic and non-electronic stuff,” says Lippok. Yet Instrument is by no means a regression; the process this time has merely been a vehicle for To Rococo Rot to reaffirm and even advance their relevance and status as one of ambient electronic music’s great innovators.

Instrument tracklist:

2. Besides
3. Down in the traffic
4. Classify (featuring Arto Lindsay)
5. Baritone
6. Spreading the strings out
7. Pro Model
8. Sunrise
9. Gitter
10. Longest escalator in the world (featuring Arto Lindsay)

To Rococo Rot play London’s Café Oto on July 21st (tickets)