lufth: distanz & nahe

Lufth's Distanz und Nähe on Oktaf Records accompanies the return of German experimental-dubtech and electronica producer Joerg Schuster. With his unique trademark sound and former releases on Source Records, Thinner and Archipel as Digitalverein and Sensual Physics, Schuster has already established a loyal and enthusiastic fan-crowd all around the world. His debut album as Lufth now introduces us to his most personal and experimental release so far -- a 55 minute-long collection of nine tracks that have been created over the past decade. As already done on other releases, Schuster makes a strong reference to the German Ruhr area, the former industrial area where he lives, whereas other tracks make reference to inner states and personal developments. The opening tune "Democracy Is Dead Like Printed Matter" combines crispy beat-fragments with cineastic Pink Floyd-like synthesizer pads. "Methan on Mars" incorporates downtempo beats with experimental noises and "Duisburg Links" slows down even more for some subtle and tricky dub melodies. The title-track reveals the most beats within this album -- a nice electronica track with floating hook-lines. Extremely slowed-down and filtered dubs can be heard again on "Rotes Dortmund," which is one of the most touching tracks on this album. "Motion- Emotion" displays a futuristic version of abstracted tango. "Nicht ohne Dich (Not Without You)" and "Ebbe und Flut (Ebb and Flow)" conquer the listener with tricky beats and super-nice melodies. The album is closed with the beautiful 10-minute epos "Zwischen uns der Mund (Between Us the Mouth)." All in all, Schuster once again convinces with his abstract trademark sounds and a super-futuristic interpretation of today's dub-electronica.