Little River

With the label's 10th anniversary celebrations now done and dusted, Claremont 56 returns to action with something rather special: a magical debut single from a previously unknown talent.

There's not much we can tell you about Ferdi Schuster, other than that he is a talented young producer from Augsburg in Germany. As Claremont 56 is one of his favourite labels, he speculatively submitted some tracks for consideration. Label founder Paul Murphy was astonished by what he heard and believes the two tracks showcased on this 12" are amongst the best things the label has released for some time.

A-side "Little River" is breathtakingly good. Opening with the sound of a babbling brook, it sees Schuster wrap plucked, sun-kissed acoustic guitar licks and jaunty vintage synthesizer motifs around a languid, samba-influenced groove. As the track progresses, further magical musical elements come to the fore, including blissful electric piano solos and more mazy synthesizer solos, seemingly played on battered old equipment from the turn of the '80s.

Schuster's love of the acoustic guitar is explored further on similarly impressive B-side "Befreit". Here, gently strummed chords and fluid Spanish guitar motifs catch the ear, as hushed cymbals and gentle hand percussion lap at your feet like the sea at sunrise. The German producer adds atmosphere through a combination of leisurely Hammond organ solos and a touch of Jew's Harp. When all of these immaculate elements combine, the results are little less than spellbinding.

Schuster may be taking his first steps into releasing music, but his compositional, playing and production skills are already finely tuned. We can surely expect to hear more inspired music from him in the years to come.