When it comes to sound there are no boundaries for Stimming. Sources in his productions have included a Coke can, a coffee machine, children’s toys, keys, marbles, a rubbish bin, loose change and an Ikea pizza cutter. His intricate beats and rhythm are testament to his long-running drumming skills, and his productions are rooted in his classical training. Born in Giessen in 1983, Stimming became accomplished at the violin, piano and drums by the age of 10, giving him a solid musical education and ability. In the beginning of June, he will release a new album called Stimming at DIYnamic.
In our interview with Stimming we talked about music by Solomun, Cypress Hill, Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave, Florence and the Machine and Mark OH. More after the jump.
Solomun Hypnotize
A very beautiful House track back from the time when Solomun was still searching for his sound. There are many classical House elements, such as this timelessly beautiful string sequence. I would enjoy listening to this in a club again. And there is this funky and very catchy bass line that immediately lift your spirits. He just knows how to do bass lines.
Stimming November Morning (Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Version)
Well, naturally it is hard to say something even partly neutral about this… The cello that plays the main melody suffers so much, and whenever I hear it, it takes me back to the time I made the original version. The cellist really did it wonderfully. After half a year I think it is remarkable to see how fast the orchestra learned this piece and how smooth they played it afterwards. But as I said: the suffering and melancholy of this song is so intense, that it really brought me down when I was working on it. Back then, I was almost happy when I finished it.
By the way: Valentino used this song as a soundtrack for his Spring / Summer 2013 Haute Couture collection. For me, it is interesting to see how this track gets a certain grace by combining it with his dresses, which is a facet I was not aware before.
Mark OH Love Song
I think I have to throw up. I was never into this kind of commercialized Techno. Melodies from children’s songs meet fast 909 bass drums. In every mini break we are advised that this is actually supposed to be a love song, even though the atmosphere of it is not like that at all. To me, this is a kind of electronic pop music that is nothing but embarrassing.
But other colleagues from that time are not any better. Snap, Scooter, Sash! – Germany was really much ahead in producing unbelievable bad commercial techno. However, I somehow enjoy some English tracks from that time. For instance, Children by Robert Miles always catches me, which I am actually somehow embarrassed about.
Cypress Hill Insane In The Brain
I love this groove. It immediately makes me nodding my head to it. And this voice is so great as well. It is pot smoking music par excellence, spiced with a good deal of aggression. I remember celebrating this piece with my friends back in Butzbach with a bong in our middle. Luckily, these times are over.
Apart from that I still enjoy this kind of Hip Hop which is based on “real” drum grooves (in fact they are not real, but at one point they used to be, before they got sampled and re-sampled a million times). On the contrary, this contemporary kind of edgy, non-groovy Electro Rap is not for me.
Florence and the Machine Dog days are over
Beautiful voice, beautiful harmonies. It is simple, but effective. The ukulele that responds with a delay from the right side is great. And the claps of the groove are awesome. I always enjoy it when a real sound creates an organic form that a machine could never do.
I like her voice, but only when she does not sing too high (like in the second part of the chorus). This should evoke something joyful and hopeful, but I can not respond to it. It is interesting to hear how the harmony stays the same in the whole track, and there is climax which is evoked by the instruments and her voice. She manages the higher notes easily, but I still like her voice better in the beginning, when it is more intimate and closer. Generally, I enjoy the video better than the song.
Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave Where the Wild Roses Grow
What an epic song. Two fantastic artists in a duet. There is the soft and airy Kylie and there is Nick with his earthy, almost dirty voice. He even sings out of tune at 1:37 – isn’t that great? I always enjoy these kind of things. There must have been long discussions between the record company and the producer. The company must have wanted the song to be 100% tight, plastic-fantastic, and the producers must have known that Kylie would gleam even more when Mr. Cave sings with character, but out of tune. By the way: Nick Cave also wrote a great book called The Death of Bunny Munro – it is really worth reading it.
