Tracing Lines presents the first recordings of six of Robert Fokkens’ chamber works and one song, all written between 2001 and 2011. Over this ten-year period, his main interest has been the exploration of identity – looking at how musical styles and genres, cultural, social and geographical background, and non- musical personal experiences and interests are all reflected in the music he writes. These issues are, of course, about far more than developing his musical creativity, and for a white South African living in Europe – at least, for him – these have been, and remain, questions which require constant consideration and re- evaluation. It is fortunate that he has a creative musical avenue through which to do this – and if the works on this CD have a sense of being part of a larger project, it is because of this underlying, continuous process of exploration.