Leipzig based Max Stadtfeld isn't just an outstanding drummer and improviser. He's also a warm-hearted optimist, an enthusiastic forward-thinker. In times of multiple crises and facing fundamental challenges, he now ventures with "Fancy Future" to attempt a utopian counter- design. The latest album by his quartet, STAX, will be released on June 14th by Boomslang Records, accompanied by a comic book designed by Ebony Schneeweiß. It distills Max Stadtfeld's essence like never before - his brilliant playing, his unique compositional signature, but also his infectious optimism. "Fancy Future" is both a hopeful plea for more empathy, compassion, and camaraderie, but also a call to recognize that there is still much work and rethinking ahead of us.

While the mood of the title stands in stark contrast to the previous album "Suboptimal" (2022, KLAENGrecords), Max continues the artistic experiments initiated there. At the center is the relaxed-rhythmic, the weird-melodic, the raw-beautiful. All in all: pretty fancy. This also applies to the unique production aesthetic of the album: Alex Binder (here as engineer, otherwise as a bassist for, among others, Dota, Judith Holofernes, Max Prosa) makes the quartet's music resonate with a nonchalant indie sound.