German teenager with widescreen vision
Who they?
Somebody you’re going to be hearing about for a long time to come. Luis Maximilian Schmechta, known as LuMax to his parents, LMX being a short form of his short form name, is a champion of panoramic electronica, his music embracing elements of electro, techno, synthpop, trap, assorted waves, some old-fashioned mech-funk and a whole lot more. He’s from the German city of Münster and he’s now released his second album, ‘CTRL+S’, which is quite a feat considering he’s only 17 years old. He was 15 when the first one came out.
Why LMX?
‘CTRL+S’ is big in every way possible. There’s so much depth and weight, it’s probably what the inside of a black hole sounds like. With extra crunch for the sheer hell of it. But then with track titles such as ‘Bleak’, ‘Glare’, ‘Pernicious’ and ‘Freakshow’, you should know what you’re getting. It’s a significant step on from ‘Dimension Shift’, LMX’s 2019 debut, not only sonically, but also because of the vocals that pepper the album. They’re robotic yet oddly emotional, slathered in effects to the extent that it’s hard to make out most of the words, but that all adds to the unsettling atmosphere. Which isn’t to say there aren’t brighter moments here and there, it’s just that they’re quite unsettling too.
Tell us more…
LMX has this music thing in his blood. He’s the son of André Schmechta and Stefanie Eckmann, the two core members of German EBM pioneers X Marks The Pedwalk, and his dad is credited as the co-producer of ‘CTRL+S’. That’s quite a secret weapon to have in your armoury. But his chief asset is his age, of course. Bearing in mind what he’s already achieved, his potential is both thrilling and slightly terrifying. And with the expected advances in medical science and technology in the coming decades, there is a chance that LMX will still be making records in the 22nd century, which is a headfuck and a half. If you’re looking for a direct line to the future, this is the guy to back.
‘CTRL+S’ is out on Meshwork
