Stimming, one of Germany’s most credible techno artists, and Lambert, known as ‘the piano man with the mask,’ came together for the making of their new album “Positive,” combining their different musical backgrounds. In 2019, Stimming x Lambert had completed their album and were discussing its release, but after lockdown arrived Stimming revisited their work and decided to throw out a few tracks detracting from the others. “The world was changing, and the music had to reflect that somehow,” Lambert says about their decision. He stepped back from what he calls his “safe and cosy piano sound,” embracing his few lo-fi analogue synths. Stimming experimented with new rhythmic techniques, exploiting his versatile understanding of synthesised sound to explore uncharted electro-acoustic territory. It’s taken the best part of 3.5 years to complete “Positive,” so named partially to reflect the word’s changed implications in a world full of rapid testing. “Nowadays,” Stimming reminds us, “positive is the new negative.” The album also provided a source of connection, a goal to keep them motivated, and light at the end of the tunnel. More ambitious, complex, extravagant and sophisticated than their first collection, with far broader horizons, it embraces multiple styles–electronica, ambient, jazz, downtempo, classical, the avant-garde, often simultaneously–voyaging into exotic, exhilarating territory, distinguished by Lambert’s remarkable melodies and Stimming’s meticulous production.