Only a short while ago I reviewed Juraj Stumberger’s “Redemption LP” on Deep in Dub and recommended it as a highly versatile and smartly composed release with plenty of potential of developping into a unique blend of the producer’s various influences. His latest digital output seems to contradict that statement in the eclecticism-department, while staying on par in terms of quality.

The opening title piece is a good indication of the route Stumberger takes on these four new Liquid Level-tracks: Reverb almost to the point of hillarious dimensions is awarded a musical function in its own right, before an insistent bass drum, clitter-clattering hihatchains and a dry rimshot kick in and the piece is propelled by the power of wave upon wave of delayed synthesizer-basses and “Aliens”-samples.

It is a far more obviously Dub-oriented sound that Stumberger presents on “Movement”, but as the EP progresses, he does manage to twist it into unlikely shapes and deep, futuristic forms. “Input” does without the percussive foundation, gliding by like an abandoned landing pod, orbiting a far-away moon with electronic screaking and claustrophobic screams, washes of left-to.right pannings and a one-note bass line. On “Kopcha”, then, almost nothing but echo, delay and reverb has survived, loose threads and torn textures bound by a magnetic beat.

The gradual dissolution of structures, rather than the intricate formation of new ones, is at the heart of “Movement” – two concepts, which on this occasion are constantly on the verge of intersecting. By treating rhythm and reverb in an essentially similar way as he did melody on “Redemption”, Stumberger reaches the same sensation of offering something distinct and recognisable in the field of minimalism as he did with the more lush arrangements of his previous outing.

On the grander scale of things, therefore, “Movement” does chime in nicely with the Liquid Level backcatalogue. While it constitutes a more closed version of Stumberger’s vocabulary, it complements the notion that he is searching for a coherent kind of virtuosity in treating his material regardless of what his stylistic outreach may be. Imagine compiling all of his tracks into a single, long-form release – the sheer expressive width would be remarkable.

By Tobias Fischer

Homepage: Juraj Stumberger/Liquid Level
Homepage: Inoquo Netlabel