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Q&A: Stimming x Lambert Announce Debut Exodus Album and Tour

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Stimming x Lambert are very unique artists who present the soundtrack of their times by not only quoting their past, but constantly exploring futuristic soundscapes.

Both mix classics with postmodernism and the unexpected with the long-established, in order to create something that fills our needs in a very surprising way: getting excited about very new and astonishing tones while feeling at home with sounds we never really knew we liked. Both artists come from a classic background, studied their instruments from the peak. But whereas Lambert sticks to his piano, stays plain with this diversity of romantic, jazzy, minimal opulence, Stimming mixes digital sounds with field recordings, the rattling of a coffee machine with 18th century music.

All this combined on stage makes it even more exciting – the man with the mask who is not Daft Punk (at all) and the minimal composer, who is not (only) an international House Live act. Together they have combined for Exodus, their first studio collaboration that also heralds a new series of live shows that will see the two combine in front of audiences around the world.

I did most of this production while touring in Asia last year, in an 8 square-meter hotel room in Osaka. On the surface tablet with my Elektron instruments (Rytm & Octatrack). My idea was to combine the kind of grooves from my Liquorice album with the amazing beautiful melodies and harmonies that Lambert was sending me. I always thought: If I would be able to play piano on a high level, I would love to make the music Lambert is doing. – Stimming

One day I saw a documentary about Stimming in which he said: “Perfection is for idiots“. I don’t think music by idiots necessarily is bad, but I wasn’t sure if this statement was just an attitude, a description of the creative process or simply an honest self-criticism. But I knew instantly: I can apply this statement to my own music and life. So I wrote him a mail and he invited me to his studio. We started to improvise and decided to send each other ideas and see what becomes of it. I sent him piano sketches, but also guitar and string stuff. Later I made noises on the wood of my piano and built beats out of these sounds. Martin was touring in Asia at that time and he started to transform my footage into something new in his laptop. Anytime I received mail from him I was so curious to hear what he made, to see where something was added or cut. As I can’t sing but wanted a voice in these tunes I recorded a simple “Uh“ and built an choir out if it. – Lambert

 

Stimming x Lambert made their debut on label Life and Death’s Displaced Soundtracks earlier this year with their initial track, “Trafic AĂ©rien”

Exodus was just released on the new Berlin label Kryptox this past March 9th, 2018. Kryptox is the new label for Neo -Jazz/Kraut/Classical and Ambient music founded by Mathias Munk Modica, who is also behind German Electronica label Gomma and the creative mind who produced/ released early works of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Franz Ferdinand, Daniel Avery, Peaches and other artists from the indie dance world.

We spoke to Lambert about collaborating with Stimming, the release and the forthcoming tour dates:

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Digging Deeper with Wayward

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Wayward is a British production duo consisting of two longtime friends and musical sparring partners, Louis and Lawrence, who emerged last year thanks to a series of well-received releases on the Silver Bear label, one of which, “Transience” has already amassed a frankly astounding 2 million hits on Spotify. We caught up with the duo, touching on everything from the current scene in the UK, the process of choosing remixers and their many, wide-ranging influences.

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Digging Deeper with Stiv Hey

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Stiv Hey focuses on an up-tempo, melody rich style of dark and atmospheric techno, which has been a feature of Dubfire’s SCI+TEC and Uto Karem’s Agile Recordings, amongst others.

Born in Milan, Stiv Hey’s passion for electronic music sparked while immersed in the Italian techno scene of his hometown. Having decided that this was where his future lay, Hey spent the next two years honing his production skills—studying sound design, audio engineering, and music theory—until he was prepared to release his first EP in 2012.That first EP, Walking, immediately received support from techno titans Dubfire and Marco Carola, while Hey’s tracks “Squermus,” “Shifted,” and “Mindshake,” would garner play fromSven VĂ€th, Richie Hawtin, and Adam Beyer, respectively.

We had a chat with the DJ/producer to talk about his recent Memories EP on Loose Records, as well as his studio set-up and more

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Digging Deeper with DEAS

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Karol Mozgawa, known as DEAS, is one of the most expressive artists of the Polish electronic music scene in the recent years.

Born in Greece, living in Krakow, DEAS grew up in a house where music played no important role. As a teenager he spontaneously came into contact with trip hop music and such bands as Portishead and Massive Attack. Exploring music he meets the work of electronic music producers -Dubfire, Plastikman, Lutzenkirchen, Sebastien Leger and later Robert Hood, Kevin Saunderson and Anthony Rother, who change forever his perception of reality. A young man, fascinated by music, develops interest in club culture and DJing. Soon he started playing in clubs as well as exploring the nature of music – what is sound, how it is produced. While analyzing recordings, he learned about music production and began to develop also in this direction.

Apart from working on his own tracks, which were remixed by such artists as Pig & Dan, Harvey McKay, and Martin Eyerer, he also remixes other artists – including Carl Cox or Inner City. In 2016 he released his first album – Community LP for Bush Records that collected positive reviews from many artists such as Paul Ritch, Pierre Deutschmann, Drumcomplex, Len Faki and many others.

In February he released his Mentality EP (available on Beatport) on Andre Crom’s OFF Recordings, his second release on the label.

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Digging Deeper with DJ Cream

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Has the Italian house music scene ever been in better shape? Maybe that’s an argument for another time, but what’s absolutely not for debate right now is the staggering amount of good music currently emitting from the country. One man who personifies Italy – and his city’s – love for eclectic 4/4 is DJ Cream. The owner of the Smile & Stay High label, Cream is exactly the sort of individual to give us some insight into the goings on in his native city.

What’s more, he’s an expert musician in his own right, as anyone who’s sampled (sampling incidentally, is something he’s quite good at) his own body of fantastic work. A producer who seems destined for big things, we decided to put some Qs to him recently. Here’s what he had to say:

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Digging Deeper with London Fields

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After making his debut with Find Our Love EP earlier this year, London Fields (aka Joel Edwards of Deepest Blue fame) returns to the Friday Fox den with a superb new slice of indie-fused underground House titled Colour To My Life. Centered around a smoldering deep house groove that’s underpinned by a brooding bass, “Colour To My Life” is charged with an infectious and beautifully candid vocal from Joel.

We caught up with Joel to discuss the release, discuss his career and learn more about the man behind the artist known in the music world as London Fields.

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Digging Deeper with Superfreq Bosses Mr.C and David Scuba

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This Friday, February 9th, esteemed label Superfreq lands back in Los Angeles for a special night in the underground featuring Lee Curtiss, Dance Spirit and imprint bosses Mr.C and David Scuba. The night, which is presented in collaboration with Cyclone, goes from 11pm until 6am and promises to be the kind of acid warehouse affair you do not want to miss!

Head here for more info on how to attend and read on for our exclusive interview with Mr.C and David Scuba where we discuss everything Superfreq and more!

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Digging Deeper with Anton Kubikov

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Russia might be home to a burgeoning electronic music scene, and although it too offers a healthy dose of 4/4, there’s no doubting that Prague is a city that lags behind the likes of Moscow and St. Petersburg when it comes to discerning electronica.

So the fact that one of Russia’s most celebrated producers, Anton Kubikov, has relocated from Moscow to Prague is news in itself. That said, it’s a move that’s clearly treating him well. Having released his last album (a brilliant ambient release) on Michael Mayer’s Kompakt, he’s kicked off 2018 with his brilliant Ten Days Past Acid release for the fledgling Mayak label, and it’s one that speaks volumes of his diversity and his ability to effortlessly switch genres.

With all this in mind, we decided to put some questions Anton’s way. Here’s what he had to say for himself.

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Digging Deeper with Yamen & EDA

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Yamen & EDA have been friends since they were kids, and anyone who’s experience their music won’t be too surprised to learn this. Boasting an almost telepathic understanding of one another’s musical thoughts, their tracks play out like grandiose statements, regardless of whether they veer toward minimal planes or more peak-time pastures.

Born and raised in Montpellier, France, theirs is a sound that is every bit as sophisticated as the country they call home. Recently, the guys have set up their own label, Maison mere, a home for music they love which caught our ear recently courtesy of their most-excellent Retrospect EP.

We put a few questions their way recently to see what they had to say about it all, and here’s what went down:

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Digging Deeper with Tony Hopkins

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Finland has long enjoyed a positive relationship with electronic music. From DJ/producers such as Sasse, Jori Hulkonnen and the Deep Space Helsinki boys, theirs is a musical community that’s not lacking in influential names. Contemporary stars such as Lil Tony would seem to suggest that the current scene is no less exciting either. Another such man to make his mark in Finland recently is Mood of the Era label boss, Tony Hopkins.

Tony might not possess a Finnish name (indeed, he’s half American but was born and raised in Turku, Finland), but he’s most definitely a man who’s helping to push the local scene. With the latest release from his label, Mood of the Era, about to drop soon, we decided to put a few questions to the man in question


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