Maybe it’s the desire to experiment freely, away from market rules, maybe it’s the vague mammalian resemblance between the Apparel Music logo and Siriusmo’s canine/wolfish alter ego, a persistent ambassador of his visionary sound. Whatever the reason, the truth is that the one writing has been a fan of the Berliner producer since the first record. Call this a disclaimer or not, it hardly matters. Fans are often their idols’ toughest critics anyway.

But the real deal is that Moritz Friedrich is back, carrying with him “Buletten & Blumen” (Meatballs [in Berlin slang] and Flowers). The title alone drops us right back into his world of irony and sideways humor, his capability to slash and caress. All-in-all, his gift for never taking himself too seriously. And yet, despite the album’s familiar traits, his classic harmonic turns, the mythic “bridges” he built some bangers on, his oneiric-german-like progressions, the mischievous frequency modulations, the furious craftsmanship in vocal manipulation, this time he also feels a bit more serious, more focused, more rhythm-forward. Go listen to “Dummdidumm”, to see what I’m talking about. And then let me explain. Siriusmo’s sound has always lived in that liminal dance between rule and exception, technical precision and imagination. That tension has long made him, to me, the perfect ambassador of Berlin itself, a city built on that exact mix, constantly negotiating the line between order and impulse, the rational and the illogical. But what makes this record different is that he lets his foggy side wander freely, shaping a sequence of chiaroscuro moods that feel extremely contemporary.

The rhythms constantly shift and surprise at every corner. “Liquid” flirts with something almost rhythmically Latin before mutating into the “broken" madness of “In Der Klemme”, with its stabbing synth lines and a kick which’s waveform must be shaped like a brick. And the pauses, the void… deeply unsettling, but the kind of “unsettling" that feels magnificent. Still, the journey isn’t all shadow. There are plenty of sunny clearings: the single “Hongkong House” and “Ok So”, two slices of old-school Siriusmo flair. Both playful but restrained, allegro ma non troppo, in his most classic fashion. The true statement of intent might be the opener, “That Could Function As a Song”, a clever fusion of past and present that stitches together all the hints of the treasure hunt. The idea of pairing the hi-hats with chopped vocals is brilliant, and you know that Moritz always shows up with some new goods… Take the tiny rhythmic ideas, for instance. They’re constantly evolving, never obvious, and have always been one of Siriusmo’s real, perhaps underrated, strengths. They’re never loud or self-indulgent, unlike his grand harmonic builds or keyboard virtuosity, perhaps the two more perceivable pillars of his musical identity. “Baum”? Is a balm, massaging some tired temples before the drunken-synth ballad “The Synthesizer Has Been Drinking”, a piece that nods to the cabarets of early twentieth-century Berlin, those vibrant, hedonistic, at times transgressive spaces. The ancestors of today’s more famous clubs, where art, pleasure, irony and seriousness still coexist. Then there’s “Koko”, the first single that opened the wait for Buletten & Blumen, a gentle yet powerful voyage arranged with almost orchestral sensibility. Here is where S showcases another of his virtues, his ability to layer sounds delicately, sweetly, never intrusively, structuring them so that multiple levels of listening synchronise at once. And, let’s not forget the innate talent for writing subtle melodies, lines that are suggested rather than spelled out. It’s one of the few things in music you can’t learn by studying; you either have it or you don’t. Not every track here leans on melody though. Some are nearly a-melodic, little sketches, short stylistic exercises. He always felt comfy on that terrain. 

What about “Der Uhrturm”, love it!

Let’s say that, in B&B, Siriusmo depicts again his dreamlike world, but reshuffles the deck. It’s a rollercoaster that feels, should we say it, mature. In essence, it’s a great record, not a nerdy indulgence for long-time fans looking for those familiar sounds we all love. It is a rather complex album from start to finish, with peaks and valleys, made by someone who may remain a mystical figure to many, but who clearly listens, understands the present and stays sharp without abandoning his identity. It’s almost as if he went more radical yet ended up sounding more current. His music has always required you to listen closely to fully get it, although you can also skim the surface and enjoy it anyway. But the sensory paradox here, at least for who’s writing, is that by leaning toward radicalism, he has created something strikingly accessible. Siriusmo’s strength is his ability to produce subtle variations of himself, staying true to his sound without ever drifting into self-reference. He remains relevant, curious and consistently interesting. Yes. In the end, the keyboard, whether from a synth or a piano, still sits at the center of the artwork, like the church in the middle of the village, to quote a French football coach’s slightly medieval metaphor. But as Siriusmo would want us to, let’s not take ourselves too seriously. After all, if the titles suggests anything, it’s that he’s both the flower... and the meatball.