- Those interviews where artists recount their influences often end up being an exercise in one-upmanship. But a recent piece with Stimming was revealing. He talked about sidechain compression and squarewaves, while showing a love for sound design and music with complex beat structures. He's a man who takes his vocation seriously.
Ever since "Kleine Nachtmusik" in 2008, the Hamburg producer has favored mood, texture and space over 4/4 bangers—so it was only a matter of time before DJ Koze called. That's not to say "China Tree," the first of two tracks featuring the cutey-pie voice of Piper Davis, is some freeform jam. Instead it's a complex mesh of percussion where melody, in the shape of glacial, mournful keys, makes only the briefest of visits. It eventually disintegrates in a melee of feedback and unholy discord.
That same melancholia also hangs above "Southern Sun" and its digital-only "Dub" mix, but its textures are soft to the touch, led by fluttering piano phrases and jumpy synth squiggles. While too many labels indulge in a pile 'em high approach, every release on Pampa continues to feel like an event in its own right.
トラックリストA1 China Tree feat. Piper Davis
B1 Southern Sun feat. Piper Davis