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Music

Studio Barnhus' Baba Stiltz is Back with a Next Level New EP

Check out an exclusive cut of super-wonky, submerged piano house from a Swedish stunner.

In recent years, Studio Barnhus have become one of our favourite labels here at THUMP. The imprint, run by the top-notch trio of Axel Boman, Kornél Kovács and Petter Nordkvis, has become synonymous with the weirder, more playful end of the house spectrum. Incredible singles like Kovács' seminal "Down Since '92" and the sublimely wonked-out "Fransson" by Jesper Dahlbäck, ‎don't look like leaving our Rekordbox anytime soon, Boman's Family Vacation is one of those rare as hen's teeth dance artists albums that actually, y'know, works as an album, and the core-gang's wider network, which includes HNNY and Boksa, is pretty formidable.

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A new blast from the Barnhus always calls for a celebration, so the arrival of Baba Stiltz's Die Hard + 2 EP in our inbox late last week had us nipping over the road for a few cheery tinnies, some party poppers, and a pack of wagon wheels. Stiltz, who's dropped a slew of great singles and a pretty nifty album on the label over the years, has quietly become a fan favourite; showing himself to be a master of delicacy, of wooze, of the kind of oddly downbeat-but-hopeful Uber jams that sound perfect when your own buzz and hum's getting you through a particularly bleak journey home.

On this new four tracker, Stiltz's traded soft-focus subtlety for an intoxicating blend of just-post-peaktime thud (the airy, effervescent "DEI2" and the crunchily warped disco-not-disco of "Lil' High") piano belters ("Born2Live") and soul-sampling, sugary sweet, avant-R&B ("L is L") — and it's as great as all that sounds .

We can't get enough of it, but if you don't want to just take our word for it, you can stream "Born2Live" below and buy the whole EP here.

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