Hamburg’s Stimming arrived on the hospitable shores of a freshly cut Audiomatique with the wonderful Buxton Pipes EP.
With releases on Diynamic, Freerange, Terminal M, and Liebe*Detail, Martin Stimming’s career had been boosted by the underground hit Una Pena the previous year and peaked with his debut album Reflections earlier that same year.
Buxton Pipes, the lead track on the EP, was a beautifully reduced, gentle roller that combined textural, shifting filtered percussion, phasing, effected melodies, and a rich sub-room sound design that confirmed Stimming’s talent for working those subliminal zones. Dainty, pretty, and yet totally punchy at the right volumes, it was a genuine slice of ultra-modern micro-post-minimal-house.
Continuing the trippy, time-melting vibe perfectly, Kakusei followed with its pushing array of softened percussion and carefully extended spooky breakdowns. Sliding and squelching through 7 minutes of prime tracky workout territory, it was another stellar addition to the record.
Finally, the skipping Seepferdchen threw a spanner in the otherwise smooth grooves with delicately jacked drum patterns and controlled sub-bassline throwdowns. Super funky, ultimately reduced, and sample-heavy, it made those afterhours carry-ons all the more delicious. Simply superb work from Stimming on Audiomatique.
