Formed in 2004 by two Swiss guys called Guy Meldem and Christian Pahud, Larytta already produced some particular songs, also included on this album, like "Ya ya ya" or "The money" (included on their first self titled 12"). Those songs increased the interest regarding their first album and Larytta didn't delude the expectations. The thirteen tracks of the album have many influences which go from the 60's (see "Love love odyssey" and "Filthy Jim", songs that sound just like coming from a Beach Boys album of the "Good vibrations" period), tribal music (many songs have percussions and tribal rhythms), hip hop (see the main vocals on "Baunch amp" and "Is this cheese"), techno (see the rhythmic/melodic bleeping section of "Spoiled kids"), just fun (don't tell me that "Souvenir de Chine" is a serious one with those trembling silly synth melodies), funk ("The city walls" has a bumping bass line along with catchy vocal duets), Brasilian folk ("Tout mes amis" sounds like a particular samba tune). The whole album is permeated by a certain dancey atmosphere and for sure you'll find more than a catchy tune but you have to be musically open minded to fully appreciate this. If you are into Metronomy try also Larytta...

On "Rise" the German duo Integral develop a very balanced mixture of ambient and IDM that is both touching and unsettling at the same time. What is really great about the album is that Integral are not afraid to let the ambience drive the tracks, as opposed to a lot of IDM that goes to a bit too overboard with the complex multi time signature beats. And indeed the strength of Integral is its tasteful use IDM beats and effects, as opposed to artists like Otto von Schirach whose music sounds like a rhythmic mess of break beats and bodily noises. For me the standout track on "Rise" is "Doors" which utilizes screeching sounds to create a beautifully evocative effect that I must admit lifted me from the doldrums. All I can say is that it is one of those rare tracks that makes the hair on your arms stand straight up. Similarly, "Back Here Alone" is another beautifully done track that shifts from violent bursts of power to simplistic moments of silence. These two tracks are only a few of the highlights of what is an extremely solid album from start to finish. When listen to "Rise" you get the feeling that this is going to be one of those albums that ages very well and will probably sound as fresh in five or ten years as it does now. Additionally, it’s probably one of the best uses of crustacean on a album cover that we will probably see for a while.

From the outset Endif’s latest release "Carbon" is a hard hitting onslaught of industrial powered electronica. The musical alter-ego of Jason Hollis, Endif is one of the newest additions to the ever increasing Tympanik Audio family, whose releases are no stranger to my reviewing. While Tympanik Audio specializes in dark electronic music, each of its artists approach the aesthetic in different ways. Endif, like its label mate Pneumatic Detach ventures into harder rhythmic territories utilizing heavily distorted beats supplemented by various electronic effects. However, Endif departs from Pneumatic Detach in its incorporation of more traditional synth leads found in mainstream European electronica. This is evident on the tracks "Churl" and "Between Two Worlds." This mixture of influences makes the album much more accessible on the first listen, as opposed to more noise laden albums that need time to grow on you. However, make no mistake, Endif is not some wishy washy techno act, as it is rather abrasive at times which is clearly apparent on such tracks as "Peeling the Layers" which booms, crashes, and hits like a munitions factory and "The Answer" which is a disorienting onslaught of noise that I must admit made feel rather queasy as it blasted on my headphones. If you were a fan of Metropolis Records in its late 90’s early 2000’s glory, then Endif’s Carbon is for you as it offers a much more fluid and updated version of the dark electronic sound popularized by that label.

Berlin based duo playing the free impro salsa, it’s on Creative Sources and it belongs to the category of this label devoted to jazz but just the way a Creative Sources performer can mean/play it. Beside that, consider, as pointed out many times by many improvisers/musicians both coming from the latin area and from the north European scene, improvised music coming from the mittle-upper Europe is more fragmented, choked to the extent it may sound aphasic to an untrained ear. But we’re not untrained and according to our opinion "superimpose" is not aphasic at all, nay it arrives to sound really physical at times, I mean they barely articulate what could be the scrawl of a free-jazz attempt. As many other improvisers on this label they’re not afraid to eliminate every trace of melody and emotion from the crime scene. What’s left is the picture of an intransigent radical performance which have dynamic ups and downs where the duo passes from strangulated notes to autistic nervous playing. The good thing about their "modus improvvisandi" is these two gentleman sometimes focus on a phrase and start exploring it’s significance just as much as they need to give it a "meaning", the bad thing in the other hand is that while refusing every compromise with traditional playing they surrender to some ordinary free-improvising solutions. They are really intense when they catch the right train, but the risk as usual is to sound really ordinary in they rebelling to traditional music, but what happens when the "norm" is not the norm anymore? I think that’s the most interesting question. They offer a great range of sounds which is a great result considering we’re talking about a duo and during this live recording they avoid the use of any additive effect which I’m sure will attract all of the fans of the pure acoustic sound out there.

A year after their debut album The Tenth Stage present to their audience and to the lovers of electro/theatrical goth music a new work titled GRAND GUIGNOL. As on the previous album, the duo formed by John Von Ahlen and Roberto Missaglia, is delivering a perfectly produced album with a top notch graphic work. This time we have a sort of concept album focused on the last decades of the 19th century: the graphic work, the themes and some songs' atmosphere (mostly on the ballads) recall that age. Mixing genres like on the other album, The Tenth Stage for each track use different sets of instruments. They span from ballads with accordions and bass guitar ("Eldorado") to joyful tunes with tambourines and strings ("Cinderella's revenge"), electro pop songs ("Travelogue" and "Early morning prayer"), dark piano ballads with catchy vocals a la Tears For Fears ("The ballad of the decomposing man"), stripped down to clean electric guitars/drums/synth NIN like songs ("Sex is bad Eddie", song that is inspired by Ed Gein. One of the few exceptions to their 19th century theme), dub tunes ("Sends my regards to hell"), etc. Eclecticism is a quality and also a weakness for a first listening, so you need a little of time to fully appreciate GRAND GUIGNOL. The catchy tunes aren't missing, so you can start from those ones first.