Martin Stürtzer
„Antares Station“
Black Vinyl, Album, Ambient, Electro. 2025.

And once again, Bandcamp is to blame for my stumbling across Martin Stürtzer while searching for spacey ambient music. The Wuppertal native has been making electronic music for 20 years, making "Antares Station," released in 2025, one of his more recent works. The real stars, however, are the instruments themselves, such as the Mini-Moog and the Sub37, which I greatly admire. Other instruments featured on this album include: Matriarch, Sequential Prophet 10, Oberheim Xpander & OB-6, Expressive-E Osmose, Udo Super 6, Roland Juno 60, Access Virus TI, Waldorf Microwave & Iridium, Omnisphere, and Zebra.

For this album, emphasis was placed on the vinyl edition; the mix was done by Martin, and the mastering was done by Leon Bölting. To put it simply: the LP sounds fantastic and lies perfectly flat on the turntable. Just as it should be.

Since 2020, there has been a home concert on the first Sunday of every month. It's worth tuning in. Home Concert 66

I love reading in bed or listening to music intently. Since I enjoy reading science fiction, calm, spacey music is perfect for me. It doesn't distract me and simply dissolves into a feeling of contentment. Concentrated listening evokes the same sense of well-being. There are so many subtle sounds to be heard, which even at low volumes constantly surprise. "Antares Station" deserves immense praise for its impeccable sound quality alone. The two long tracks, "Antares Station" (17:44) on side A and "Long Range Signal" (17:07) on side B, both come from his home concerts. They are complemented by the two shorter songs "Exo Habitat" (06:38, side A) and "Solar Flare" (06:51, side B). It's not a concept album in the strictest sense, but it sounds like one to me, and that's how I treat it.

The two long tracks, in particular, develop subtly, and there's always something new to discover. We're transported directly into space; some of the sounds could easily be from Blade Runner or other films. It truly sparks the imagination. The two "short" tracks add dynamism and perfectly round out "Antares Station." The verdict? A must-have for all ambient music lovers. And for those unfamiliar with ambient, be warned: this can be addictive! The sound quality is impeccable.

The photos are all from my LP. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.

No AI was used in the making of this Review.
©27.01.2026