Siriusmo, Mosaik

By Emily Carney

In the last decade and a half, electronic dance music has been hijacked by French artists, the most famous of whom are likely Daft Punk. “French touch” music—originally associated with funked-up 1970s guitar flourishes, synth swoops, and thumping beats—morphed into something wholly futuristic sounding (for example, “Derezzed” from Daft Punk’s soundtrack to Tron: Legacy, and Digitalism’s “Zdarlight,” which was also a paean to Cassius’ producer Philippe Zdar). Although Digitalism originated in Germany, in many cases that country’s contributions to electronic music tended to be overlooked while French touch music took over everything.

Save for now. Siriusmo is a Berlin-based graffiti artist and producer named Moritz Friedrich. Mosaik is his debut album, one that has been in the pipeline for at least two years. Friedrich is previously known for his remixes of other artists, including Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo, Digitalism (!), and Scissor Sisters. Siriusmo’s Mosaik runs the gamut from circa mid-1990s French House (“Hung Together” sounds like a Thomas Bangalter-style thumping dance floor filler) to minimalist Detroit techno house tracks (“Sirimande”).

Perhaps the best track on the album is the hypnotic, menacing “Einmal in der Woche schreien” (which appropriately and chaotically translates to “shout one time a week”). It’s seriously funky sounding bass groove and detached, otherworldly feminine vocal flourishes show Siriusmo to be the possible heir to the musical legacy of other slightly off-kilter electronic artists like Robert Rental or Aphex Twin. Interestingly enough, what I enjoy most about this track is how it is borderline unlistenable but somehow chained together by an irresistible beat. You can watch the video here.

Siriusmo’s Mosaik is an excellent introduction to contemporary German electronic music, and is a welcome addition to a range of other eclectic works such as Rough Trade Electronic 01 and Neue Heimat (a CD series from a few years back dedicated to modern German electronic music).

Mosaik was released by Monkeytown Records on March 1. Check out the official site on Facebook or listen to and purchase the album from Soundcloud.