Random Circuits

STL - “Invisibility” Ep - [Something Records] (buy)

STL AKA Stephan Laubner is a mysterious German techno producer who you may know from his few and far between releases on Perlon, or maybe if your a bit of a crate digger & have one eye on the ball you might have picked up some of his work via his own, quite mysterious [Something Records]. Maybe you might not of heard of him, if this is so hopefully i can bring some of his quite amazing, jaw dropping music to your attention. His sound is a variation of expertly crafted house & techno but he will also take in dub and more ambient sounds along the way. His forte without a doubt is his fantastic ability to make some of the most sublime & quite inspiring melodies your ever likely to hear. He also works with live elements which he goes out & records himself. Take the “Rain Interpretations” EP for the best example of this, with which on the B side he went out and recorded a live field recording of thunderstorms & rain samples then went back to the lab, edited it down to 22 minutes & got it pressed to vinyl. I’m sure you’ll all agree this in itself is something quite special. Also with many of his releases he will usually put a set of invaluable loops in with the vinyl package this itself is enough for some to go out and track his work down Quite a producer and definitely someone i want to see spin. I hear his sets at places like Panoramar bar in Berlin are those sets that will stay with you for life, you know the kind like your first experience seeing Carl Craig or your first trip to DC10 in Ibiza, one of those kind of moments.

He starts things off with “Birdart” this is one of the best tracks your likely to hear this year, big statement i know but it’s just such a sublime piece of music from start to finish. He works around a fantastic rhythm and an old skool Roland 707 drum machine, which is on loop constantly, it’s the melody that will take your breath away it’s hard to describe the sound but for some reason it reminds of the fairground it has quite a dreary drawn back approach but at the same time there is a lot of warmth. It’s titled “Birdart” for a reason as he uses what maybe a live recording of what sound like seagulls at the beach crowing to each other whilst their on the prowl looking for food. The melody though! i mean WOW it’s happy & sad at the same time and not necessarily in that order, it’s just so mesmerizing & hypnotic & will take you where ever you want to go.

“Invisibilty” goes down low on more of an experimental tip it sounds like he has recorded thunder and processed it along with a constant whining that will scratch away at you until you bleed. Only 2 Min’s long this is more of a tool, like the loops that he has included, ten in all these are short (not minutes but seconds!) snippets of his quite priceless loops.

Back with the more dance floor friendly, playable pieces Where he finishes in style with “Secret Place” & “Do The Undo” first up is Secret Place. Now this is quite an experimental techno piece strange and trippy this is the sort of music you would be expecting to hear in around 50 years time (on daytime radio). Very futuristic, with strange pulsing noises and weird clicks. After the inspiring sounds of “Birdart, ”Do The Undo” is closely followed, by being my second favourite piece on the EP. Much more rough and more obscure than the rest this goes for a aural delight that will test your senses to the maximum, stripped back & scratchy with a consistent waling sound that will crawl under your skin and refuse to leave. Such a wonderful EP from STL if you like the sounds of this or in particular “Birdart” be sure to look up his last release on Perlon the ”Lost In Brown Eyes” Ep this is on par with Birdart in fact it may just tip the scales, either way go out and look up both EP’s you wont be disappointed.



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