Swiss electronic artist Henri de Saussure performs under the name Lärmheim, producing a very impressive form of experimental electronica that conjures striking atmospheres and melodically stirring developments. Lärmheim’s past experience in a variety of instruments and styles – from learning drums at age 6 to studying Tabla music and jazz as a teen – has contributed to a sweepingly diverse sound that takes advantage of tech-laden music. While in Bern, Switzerland, he discovered how electronics and computers could enhance his musical ideas and take them to new levels, especially as the technological age embraces customization and innovation, which is ideal for a talented musician with an appreciation for many styles and instruments.
Lärmheim’s colorful track “Video Game Soundtrack” is blissfully nostalgic, starting with hectic chiptune-like synths that generates memories of SNES and Sega Genesis. As the track progresses with more sophisticated synthesizer work and sweepingly beautiful arpeggios, it advances past nostalgic video game territory and into a masterful composition, which pays ode to video game soundtracks of the past while embracing synth-pop modernity. The percussion and synths all increase in simultaneously riveting fashion, leading the track’s second section just after the three-minute mark, where it expands into an arpeggio-led space of serenity before descending out in a tranquil trickle of fading synths. It’s a fantastic track that makes me excited for whatever Henri de Saussure puts out next.
I was feeling those Arpeggios!