- After a few disappointing releases, it was an open question as to whether Stimming was a mere one-trick production pony. His contribution to Buzzin Fly's 50th release doesn't help to clear things up: The percussion flourishes, gloopy bass and mark-it-down-because-you-know-you're-going-to-hear-it-now breakdowns are all present and accounted for. But Ben Watt and Julia Biel seem to have coaxed something out of him that allows questions of progression to be shelved for the time being.
"Bright Star" comes in two flavors. The Sunset mix is the upfront version. It pushes his typically fat bass to a place where you can hardly ignore it, and Biel's improvised lyrics are largely shuttled to the backburner in favor of a punishing beat. It's classic Stimming, and nothing remarkably special. The Sunrise mix, however, is a marvel. Its dance floor utility is likely slighter than its predecessor, but this track isn't so much about dance music as it is about music full stop. The four-four beat is incidental. Biel takes center stage, while wild fluttering sounds crackle in the background, a small wind section lifts things up when she disappears and an organ offers a bed for all of it.
It's hard to describe what Stimming has done here that wasn't captured on his LP from last year. It's as though he's hollowed out everything, and left only the essential (and random and inessential) bits that are required to carry the track to its conclusion. Maybe Watt was behind him, urging him to edit things down further and further. Whatever happened here, though, it'd be nice to hear some more.
Tracklist A Bright Star (Sunset Mix)
B Bright Star (Sunrise Mix)