Airdrop Records, Agency & Blog

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Fritz & Lang is the fresh collaboration between Parisian Francois Touin-Stratigeas and the Argentine Nicolas E. Stofenmacher. The result? An irresistible duo performance bringing together live vocals, guitars, bass, synths and laptops. Music that sits on the periphery between pop music, dancefloor beats, cold electronics, disco sensibilities and slow funk.

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Fritz & Lang reviewed on Resident Advisor

The newly-formed Fritz & Lang consists of N.E. Stofenmacher, whose releases on igloo-rec are often along the lines of what might happen if Yo La Tengo used a sampler, and Francois Touin, a professional synth head. It’s a pairing which lends itself with precious idiosyncrasy to the kind of disco house you might hear in a mix these days from Airdrop regulars Soul Clap.

Generally, the duo meld Benoit and Sergio-esque verses with the soily texture of their meeting point, Lyon’s Infine label. But despite the amount of experience that each track seems to have taken in, they almost seem to have been made by separate people. Whereas the title track is a silky deep house groover centred around honied subversive pop vocals, “Make Me Feel” is markedly more brittle, taking interesting electro patches, building precise rhythmic scaffolding around them then changing them all on a whim. “Room Music,” meanwhile, is low slung Americana with what sounds like a pitched down jew’s harp. It’s always quirky, but never weird.

The dance floor-approved remixes should help get the attention of a wider audience. Maya Jane Coles refix, as usual, is classic and well-formed, as she gives the original more deepness, warmth and a ravey edge. Whereas her style fits in comfortably with Fritz & Lang’s, Feadz reaches out further, taking the listener in a cartoon spaceship to the moon, with only a Hardcore Rave Vol. 3 tape and Blaster from Transformers to play it. It’s a common-sense marketing proposition for an all-digital release. Considering their workmanship, though, a nice vinyl with just the originals would have made even more sense.