Sputters by LNS & DJ Sotofett

Stefan Alvin Mitterer (DJ Sotofett) and Laura Sparrow (LNS) have collaborated before, back in 2017, for a series of four lauded EPs on Wania that combined their love of Tribal Techno, Electro and Dub. Fat basslines, chugging, Acid-inflected rhythms and affecting synths, essentially the very elements that characterise their debut long player. Four years in the making and released on Tresor, it feels like a culmination and a homecoming.

Kicking things off in style, the pair collaborate with Wania label mate E-GZR resulting in a squelchy bass that kicks hard, before their defining sound is captured in perfection on El Dubbing, a blend of Dubby vibes and swooning synths making this an early highlight. What follows may be called Dúnn Dubbing but the involuntary head-nodding doesn't end here; the dubs level simply rises a notch with the Electro-fuelled bass and melodic top-line on Ziggurat. Vitri-Oil swiftly scrubs that with downbeat rhythms and a delicious dubby bassline, the varied pace tightly retaining attention.

Shim is all about the melody, popping bass like Martyn at his best, and guides us perfectly to the ten minute centrepiece The 606. Call it their Paranoid Android, or even their Bohemian Rhapsody, this relentless beast builds diligently with rugged beats and a swirling keyboard melody but as we approach the halfway mark a two-minute breakdown with Tom-Toms and improvised piano lines emerge before things slowly transform into pure Dub territory (thus expertly avoiding a cliched 'drop').

Tidbit by name, sustaining morsel by nature; this quiet interlude, unlike the four bolting snippets used for continuity throughout the fourteen tracks, is well sequenced respite (after The 606). Thereafter the last three tracks go Electro: Synchronic Bass Blort, title track Sputtering and Cellular Coolant all carry a distinct Detroit Techno sci-fi air, that feels both familiar and comforting; a good note on which to end a strong album.