Oval (musical project)

German electronic music group

Oval

Markus Popp in 2009

Background information
Origin| Germany
Genres|

* Electronic
* glitch
* ambient
* experimental
* microsound
* IDM

Years active| 1991–present
Labels|

* Ata Tak
* Mille Plateaux
* Thrill Jockey
* Uovooo

Members| Markus Popp
Past members|

* Sebastian Oschatz
* Frank Metzger
* Holger Lindmüller

Website| oval.bandcamp.com

Oval is a German electronic music project founded in 1991 by Markus Popp, Sebastian Oschatz, Frank Metzger, and Holger Lindmüller.[1] The group pioneered glitch music, writing on CDs to damage them and produce music with the resulting fragments.[1] The project has been a solo venture by Popp since the departure of other members in 1995.[1]

## History

[edit]

Oval was founded in 1991 by Markus Popp, Sebastian Oschatz, Frank Metzger, and Holger Lindmüller.[2] Lindmüller left about 1993, and Oval became a trio at that time.[2] The group's debut studio album, Wohnton, was released in 1993.[3]

Oval released Systemisch in 1994,[4] and 94 Diskont in 1995.[5] Oschatz and Metzger left the group in 1995, with Popp continuing under the Oval name.[6]

After releasing Ovalcommers in 2001, Oval went on hiatus for nearly a decade.[2] In 2010, he returned with an EP, Oh, and a studio album, O.[7] In 2011, he released a compilation album, OvalDNA.[8]

In 2013, Oval released Calidostópia!, a project funded by the Goethe Institute and the Cultural Foundation of the State of Bahia.[9] Recorded over ten days in a Brazil studio, it includes collaborations with seven singers from across South America.[10]

In 2016, Oval released a studio album, Popp, through Popp's own record label Uovooo.[11] He released an EP, Eksploio, in 2019,[6] and a studio album, Scis, in 2020.[12]

In 2023, Oval released a studio album, Romantiq.[13] It is based on an audio-visual collaborative project between Popp and digital artist Robert Seidel for the opening of the German Romantic Museum in Frankfurt.[2]

## Other works

[edit]

Markus Popp contributed to the creation of Gastr del Sol's 1998 studio album, Camoufleur.[14] He is a member of the duo So, along with Eriko Toyoda.[15] The duo released a studio album, So, in 2003.[15] He is also a member of the duo Microstoria, along with Mouse on Mars' Jan St. Werner.[16]

Frank Metzger was a member of the group Steno, along with Rossano Polidoro and Emiliano Romanelli.[17] They released Second-Hand Furniture in 2007.[18] They were active from 2003 to 2011.[19]

Sebastian Oschatz is the founder of Meso, a German media design collective.[20]

## Artistry

[edit]

Disdaining the use of synthesizers, the early Oval instead deliberately mutilated CDs by writing on them with felt pens, then processed samples of fragmented sounds to create a very rhythmic electronic style.[1]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Award/organization  | Year  | Nominee/work  | Category  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Prix Ars Electronica | 2001  | Oval  | Distinction  | Won  |

[21]

Prix Ars Electronica  | 2011  | Oval  | Honorable Mention  | Won  |

[21]

Qwartz Electronic Music Awards | 2013  | Oval  | Best Experimental Music  | Won  |

[22]

Qwartz Electronic Music Awards  | 2015  | Oval  | Lifetime Achievement Award  | Won  |

[23]

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio albums

[edit]

* Wohnton (Ata Tak, 1993)
* Systemisch (Mille Plateaux, 1994)
* 94 Diskont (Mille Plateaux, 1995)
* Dok (Thrill Jockey, 1998)
* Ovalprocess (Thrill Jockey, 2000)
* Pre/Commers (Tokuma Japan, 2001)
* Ovalcommers (Thrill Jockey, 2001)
* O (Thrill Jockey, 2010)
* Calidostópia! (Goethe Institute, 2013)
* Voa (self-released, 2013)
* Popp (Uovooo, 2016)
* Scis (Thrill Jockey, 2020)
* Ovidono (Uovooo, 2021)
* Romantiq (Thrill Jockey, 2023)

### Compilation albums

[edit]

* Iso Fabric (Tokuma Japan, 1997)
* OvalDNA (Shitkatapult, 2011)

### EPs

[edit]

* Aero Deko (Tokuma Japan, 1998)
* Szenariodisk (Thrill Jockey, 1999)
* Oh (Thrill Jockey, 2010)
* Eksploio (Thrill Jockey, 2019)

### Compilation album appearances

[edit]

* I Said No Doctors! ("ISND", Dymaxion Groove, 2017)

## See also

[edit]

* List of noise musicians

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Cooper, Sean. "Oval". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
2. ^ a b c d Terich, Jeff (11 May 2023). "A Guide to Oval's Digital Evolution". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
3. ^ Bush, John. "Wohnton - Oval". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
4. ^ Cooper, Sean. "Systemisch - Oval". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
5. ^ Richardson, Mark (5 October 2015). "A Glitch in Time: How Oval's 1995 Ambient Masterpiece Predicted Our Digital Present". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
6. ^ a b Ingalls, Chris (11 November 2019). "Beats, Glitches and Melody: Oval's 'Eksploio' Is a Rich, Modern Treat for the Ears". PopMatters. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
7. ^ Breihan, Tom (13 May 2010). "Oval Returns With New EP and Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
8. ^ Adams, Gregory (12 October 2011). "Oval Outlines 'OvalDNA' Collection". Exclaim!. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
9. ^ Pelly, Jenn (6 March 2013). "Download a New Album From Oval for Free". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
10. ^ Finlayson, Angus (22 March 2013). "Oval: Calidostópia!". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
11. ^ Strauss, Matthew (24 August 2016). "Oval Announces New Album Popp". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
12. ^ Bowe, Miles (1 February 2020). "Oval: Scis". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
13. ^ Weidenbaum, Marc (16 May 2023). "Oval: Romantiq". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
14. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 1998". Pitchfork. 12 February 1998. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
15. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (26 August 2003). "So: So". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
16. ^ Cooper, Sean. "Microstoria". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
17. ^ "Second-Hand Furniture | Steno". Bandcamp. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
18. ^ "Steno - Second-Hand Furniture". TU M. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
19. ^ "Steno". TU M. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
20. ^ "Sebastian Oschatz". Meso. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
21. ^ a b "Prix Ars Electronica". Ars Electronica. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
22. ^ "Qwartz Music Awards". Qwartz. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
23. ^ "Qwartz Music Awards". Qwartz. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Weidenbaum, Marc (15 August 1997). "Popp Music". Disquiet.
* Inglis, Sam (October 2002). "Markus Popp: Music As Software". Sound on Sound.
* Sullivan, David (7 November 2016). "Oval: "I always considered what I do to be pop."". Cyclic Defrost.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oval (musical project).

* Oval discography at Discogs
* Oval at Thrill Jockey

* v
* t
* e

Oval

* Markus Popp

* Holger Lindmüller
* Frank Metzger
* Sebastian Oschatz

Studio albums|

* Systemisch (1994)
* 94 Diskont (1995)
* O (2010)
* Scis (2020)
* Romantiq (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
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