Name: Oscar Robertson aka SHOLTO
Occupation: Composer, drummer, multi instrumentalist, producer
Nationality: British
Current release: SHOLTO's new album The Sirens is out via DeepMatter.
Shoutouts: I think everyone should know about the drummer and producer Malcom Catto of The Heliocentrics. His work is cinematic, spiritual, experimental and rhythmically hypnotic. Perfect for listeners who enjoy trippy grooves, global influences and experimental production.  
Recommendation for London, UK: Visit Dalston Curve Garden, The Photographer’s Gallery, Total Refreshment Centre, and SpaceTalk.

If you enjoyed reading this SHOLTO interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, threads, and bandcamp.



How would you describe your personal relationship with Krautrock? When and how did it start?

My personal journey with krautrock started when I was about 17 and introduced to Can's ‘Vitamin C’ whilst working with a producer named Mr Chop.

He was doing a remix of it, running it through Ampex 351 Tape Machines, and modular synths.



He had managed to isolate the drums and I was fixated, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had heard funk beats and breakbeats before but nothing as stuttered yet flowing as Jaki Liebezeit's drumming.

It was gnarly, complex yet made so much sense. It pulls you in and whirls you around, having a perfect balance between human feel, funk and machine.



Being a drummer, this kickstarted an obsession into delving deeper into this sort of feel.

I loved the concept of jazz / syncopated drumming but had never heard it orchestrated in this non pretentious way.

Tell me about one or two of your favourite Krautrock records please.
 
Two of my favourite krautrock records are Future Days by Can and Infinity Of Now By The Heliocentrics.



But I also love Silver Apples and Faust.
 
Many of the original Kraut musicians loved blues, rock, and psychedelia; they were intrigued by electronics and improvisation; they rebelled against virtuosity, classical education and the superficiality of Schlager on German radio. How much of that do you recognise in your own creative preferences and interests?
 
I relate to this question as I've always been drawn to music that sits between discipline and wildness.

Like those guys I grew up loving blues rock, soul, and psychedelia - but what I respond to isn’t the virtuosity, it’s the hypnotic trance and mood they pull you into. The beat being the mantra. Something almost meditative in this level of restraint.

I also relate to the rebellion against conservatoire thinking, purely because I never had that type of formal education - a bit allergic to the academic polish. I’d much rather chase and embrace the mistake that could become the hook than obsess over perfection, especially in the age of AI where things can be so easily perfect.

Embracing humanity - i.e. imperfections.

Tell me a bit about the role that improvisation and inventive arrangement techniques (like cut-up) play for your work?

The improvisation element is a big part of SHOLTO, finding a texture or pocket and letting it reveal whatever tension or emotion is sitting underneath.

As well as electronics. I love how machines and humans can interact, using a drum machine or an arpeggiating synth that sets a pulse and how you play around with it.

Both in the music and the way it was made, Krautrock was about imagining different worlds. What is the experience of listening to this music like for you and what kinds of worlds is it taking you to? What is your preferred way of listening to it?

Krautrock pulls me into a world that's equally ancient and futuristic. It sort of transcends an era, it's not so much a genre and more an approach.

My brain stops analysing and starts to drift. A constant shifting landscape that doesn’t break the spell but has a trance like forward motion.

What, to you, are the main elements that make something “Kraut?” What are the practises of the musicians from the 70s that inspire your own practise today?

Practices I’ve adopted in my own work from kraut are long form looping and repetition, especially with the rhythm section whilst the top line can be more random and searching - soft and free.

Improvising, capturing ideas in the moment and letting them dictate where you go - it feels authentic.

What instruments or equipment are you using to create your music? Are there any vintage instruments that you find essential to get your sound right?

Using tape and analogue gear - Gretsch round badge kit, tube pre amps, old cheap guitars - all give huge character, and the moment you put your fingers to them they seem to want to tell a story, and have personality not all modern gear does.

I also try to not let the grid or the computer dictate where to go. Whilst not rejecting it altogether, I use it as another instrument, not just software.

Making loops, sequences and cutting and pasting things in a patchwork way, as well as combining electronics subtly and live instruments such as harp and vibraphone create a nice juxtaposition.
 
Tell me about one or two of your own early Kraut pieces that you're still proud of (or satisfied with) – and why you're content with them.

I have another project called “SFJ”, and an album called Refractions that very much follows this ethos. Please check it out.



Did you ever visit one of the birthplaces of the genre – Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich – or any spaces related to the history of Kraut? Do you own any paraphernalia from the era?

I was recently in Berlin. I love the energy, and can feel the ghosts of kraut there - from the brutalist architecture to the rise of industrial and techno music, a lot of it incorporates the same principles.

I’ve also toured and played all over Germany many times, and it’s always fun.