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ROBERT LIPPOK & BARBARA MORGENSTERN
Tesri Monika
***

A collaboration between To Rococo Rot's Robert Lippok and prolific Berlin electronic figurehead Barbara Morgenstern is naturally one to anticipate. Both have played starring roles in the German capital's current pre-eminence when it comes to innovative, chin-scratching sounds, so the vibrant, colourful punch and pout of this album provides many delights. It's none too closely related to either musician's day jobs, though there are some minor traces of the imaginative acoustic soul of Morgenstern's last album, Nichts Muss, to be found here. Tracks such as the shining Summer and the quietly assured Gammelpop provide reasons to cheer. Telefon Tel Aviv's Damon Aaron and Japanese vocalist Mieko Shimizo provide some lyrical interplay, but it's the overall hum and hop of the collaborative spirit that really sends this album on its way. www.monika-enterprise.de

Jim Carroll