- People seem to get excited about Stephan Laubner's diligent fascination with sound. Given the habitual singularity of the end product, it's understandable. Laubner himself makes no bones about its importance to his work and frequently uses every inch of vinyl space to squeeze on mini catalogues of single-bar loops. The tracks proper are deliberately long and mesmerising so that his adept programming can be afforded its dues. No waveform is an island, however. Music would of course be nothing without sound, but the reverse is also true and it is a consummate understanding of this symbiosis that prevails on STL's latest record for Something.
The sound, for the most part, is certainly not pretty. The unkempt kicks and grubby trebles in "Fast Forward" are rather ruggedly handsome. Eccentric melodies in the bass and upper ends are similarly unsubtle but at once adroit. It might be daringly haywire, but there's no pussyfooting on this jam. The track paves the way for Laubner's evident improvisation to be contorted further on tracks "Easy Morning" and "The Something Like"—both of which owe as much to Miles Davis as they do to Dr. Moog—but not without a couple of less spontaneous interludes.
The A-side's mini track "Juggle It" is a teasing workout in P-Funk. With its jellified bassline and rusty string pings, it sounds like a Dr. Dre sample you wish would go on just a bit longer. But that would be easy; it's too much like something you've already heard before. "Seductive Temptation"—although it plies more traditional harmonies—is anything but. Chords descend a minor scale like a slinky over organ pipes stuffed with feathers, while all sorts of metallic hits are arranged into a beat that jack built. Laubner likes to string things out and fair enough: This could go on all day.
Tracklist A1 Fast Forward
A2 Juggle It
A3 Easy Morning
B1 Seductive Temptation
B2 The Something Like
B3 Loops 1-4