It’s been a decade since the last Lufth (aka Joerg Schuster of Sensual Physics) release, but Distanz Und Nähe makes a strong argument that you should be listening to some dubtech right now.

Lufth caught my attention during initial listens because I sensed a similarity to Thomas Bücker’s Bersarin Quartett or Wolfgang Voigt’s Gas. As the album plays on, and over repeated listens, that similarity gets ground down, but there is a stripped-down, hyper-focused Bücker living somewhere within Distanz Und Nähe. Which gets to the album’s main strength: it’s staunch consistency and unwavering sound. Schuster really digs into his dubtech sound and irons out a liveable quarter; others (like Bücker) use it more as a base or accent to their electronic meanderings — some are likely afraid that it’s become a dated sound — but Lufth captures the genre with a contemporary air and makes everything sound fresh and exciting again. Distanz Und Nähe touts a high replay value and instantaneously puts Schuster back on the map.

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