Wolff Parkinson White

German-born, New York-based jazz drummer Jochen Rückert programs highly complex electronic music, often using the quarter-tone scale, as Wolff Parkinson White. Rarely incorporating his own drumming, his dense, dizzying productions explore impossibly fast tempos and shifting time signatures, and often exhibit an immature sense of humor. Improbably, he's also managed to incorporate vocals into his work, with 2020's Favours featuring unexpected guests like Norah Jones and Gabriel Kahane, and 2021's Off World being a full collaboration with composer Hayden Chisholm. Born in Cologne, Rückert moved to New York in 1995, and subsequently played in groups led by Nils Wogram, Florian Ross, Marc Copland, and many others, in addition to playing in trip-hop group Wax Poetic. Inspired by breakcore/IDM producers like Venetian Snares and Binray, he decided to start making complex electronic music, but with more of a harmonic emphasis than those artists. Naming the project Wolff Parkinson White after a heart disorder he suffered from, he debuted the alias with his gabber-influenced remix of Kudu's 2005 single "Bar Star," then released the full-length Ride the Rueckert in 2007. Rest from What appeared in 2010, and third full-length Forlorn followed in 2012. The dub-influenced Gonaïve EP, the rare WPW release to include samples of Rückert's own drumming, appeared in 2014, and Detroit Underground released the ErSieIhnum EP the same year. The project returned in 2020 with Favours, a microtonal avant-pop album featuring Norah Jones, Gabriel Kahane, Becca Stevens, and many other guest vocalists. Burnt Friedman's Nonplace label released six of the album's songs on a vinyl EP, Small Favours. In 2021, WPW issued Veritable Rapunzel, one of his most unhinged, absurdist records yet, as well as Off World, a full vocal collaboration with composer and multi-instrumentalist Hayden Chisholm.
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