Since reading Stefan Goldmann’s diatribe for Little White Earbuds against the current woeful state of the music industry I’ve had enormous respect for the German artist. Goldmann was well placed to speak on these concerns being a man of many talents: house/techno producer, DJ, owner of the Macro Recordings label, producer of experimental electroacoustic works including a collaged remix of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and son of modernist classical composer Friedrich Goldmann. It’s his house/techno guise that’s most commonly known, yet he’s regularly pushing these codes to their limit. Even his earliest tracks are marked by a particularly fine understanding of structure, function and effect, doubtless a result from his broader musical interests.
Parameter, a DVD interview with/overview of Goldmann, is in keeping with his and Macro’s open-minded approach to releases and seems targeted to those already familiar with his work and stance in relation to the industry. It presents the many facets of Goldmann, albeit briefly and without much depth: as DJ performing at Soju Bar; as experimental electroacoustic producer/composer discussing Stravinsky, Bitches Brew, and his own ‘The Grand Hemiola’; and as label owner/producer/DJ/consumer chatting to interviewer Tobias Fischer at Hard Wax and Dubplates and Mastering. In addition there are a number of brief audio passages featuring excerpts of his music over shots of Berlin street life. I’d like to have seen more of Goldmann in the process of producing, and learn more of his attitude to the industry now, and what the future might hold for producers and label owners like Goldmann. Perhaps Parameter is his answer to that.
Joshua Meggitt
