Available on: Diynamic 12″

There are few things more divisive than house music with a spoken word vocal. Sometimes they’re the icing on the cake, sometimes they just turn a decent instrumental into something resembling a gym advert.

‘Change’, the new single by Hamburg’s Martin Stimming, features someone called Lazarusman talking about it being time to make a change. You probably think you’ve heard that all before, and you’re doubtless right, but it actually sounds pretty great – especially when you remove it from its intended context (which I guess is war: “jump out of the same aeroplane and shoot the same guy they shot last week in their dreams and nightmares and expect change”) and apply it to everyday life. Man.

But none of this would mean squat if it wasn’t for Stimming’s backing, which features sawn-off drums creaking at a steady 120-ish bpm, reverberating pastel synths and washes of warm rain. There are breakdowns, but they’re subtle to the point where they’re barely noticeable – it’s only when you stop to look around that you realise that those drums have suddenly deserted you, and you’ve lost your place again. The overall effect is like Mount Kimbie applying themselves to long form, Parrish-esque house music, which frankly is something that needs to happen more often.

Anna Russell