I never thought I would hear island influenced electronica until I turned on the latest installment of the Friends of Friends Series (check out our review of the 1st one with Daedelus and Jogger), but I’m glad that I did.

This tropical sound comes from Swiss duo, Larytta. Larytta released their debut album, Difficult Fun, last year to good reviews. FOF was so impressed that they asked them to produce 3 tracks for the latest installment without ever meeting them.

Larytta then asked their fellow Swiss friends, Bauchamp, to do the b-side to the installment. Bauchamp has a similar style as Larytta infusing tropical world sounds into minimal electro.I had never heard of these two artists until I listened to the cd, but I’m glad I did, becasue every single song on this compilation is amazin’.

Larytta really brings it out by making some catchy beats that are simple, but make a statement. The track Play Me Loud has this simple drum beat with a sparse bass line and organ lick that for some reason sticks in my head. The other thing I like about Larytta’s track is that they are very minimal in style, not too complex, but they really fill out the mix with the limited amount of instruments they use.

Bauchamp on the other hand brings some off-beat electro beats, but mix it up by adding island instruments like the steel drum (check out “Calpyso”) and various sound effects. I wouldn’t call their music experimental but it definitely lies outside of the realm of your typical electro track, which is great in my opinion. The highlight track from them was “Sex On the First Date” (listen to the little moaning sample they use throughout)

Overall, I was thoroughly pleased with the 2nd installment and can’t wait to hear what the next one will sound like. Keep it up FOF!

enjoY!