LARMO interview: ‘I’m stepping beyond fixed frames, mixing genres and connecting different scenes’
LARMO (Photo by Karolina Kratochwil)
With LARMO, Mirosław Matyasik distills more than two decades of movement through Poland’s independent underground into something at once heavier, broader, and more self-defined. Known from earlier projects such as C.H. District and Godzilla, the Upper Silesian artist has long explored the space where industrial discipline, mechanical repetition, and electronic physicality meet. But LARMO feels like a particularly direct statement: rooted in the sounds, atmosphere, and industrial memory of Upper Silesia, yet open to techno, rhythmic noise, bass music, and other forms that stretch beyond narrow genre borders. Following the strong reception of the debut full-length ‘Alarm’ and a powerful live appearance at Elektroanschlag, LARMO is clearly gaining momentum. We spoke with Mirosław about regional identity, noise as language, collaboration, rhythmic obsession, and what may be coming next.
LARMO interview
Karo: You have been active on the Polish independent scene for more than two decades through projects such as C.H. District and Godzilla. Looking at LARMO today, what does this project allow you to express that perhaps needed exactly this moment in your artistic life to fully emerge?
LARMO: A lot of time has passed, that’s true. I started in the mid-1990s, and back then it was classic industrial-adjacent activity, drawing heavily from the foundations of the genre: electro-acoustic recordings, manipulated tape, analogue synthesizers. I have always been fascinated by rhythm and by the possibilities offered by technology, so later I moved further in that direction and spent the following years exploring mechanical music in a somewhat milder and more dance-oriented form with C.H. District. LARMO is a relatively new matter, I have been working under this name for only a few years. To answer your question directly, it is the result of everything that has accumulated in me musically over all those years. It is a kind of tribute to what gave me the foundations for my work, but above all it is an attempt to move beyond the stylistic limits I used to impose on myself. I think I simply matured into communicating with the world as LARMO.
Karo: LARMO is described as “rhythms and noises from Upper Silesia,” which gives the project a very strong sense of place. How deeply is Upper Silesia present in your music, not just as scenery or biography, but as a real structural force behind the sound?
LARMO: I was born, raised, and still live and create in Upper Silesia. I grew up surrounded by mines and heavy industry, so I absorbed what is unique to this region almost unconsciously. I also became deeply shaped by Silesian tradition, which I value a lot, and I clearly see its diversity and uniqueness. Of course all of this has left its mark on my music, although it does not determine it one hundred percent. The industrial aesthetic, the sounds of this specific environment, are definitely something I want people to hear in my productions.
Karo: The name itself is very direct, almost programmatic: “LARMO means noise.” What does noise mean to you in this context, as pure intensity, as resistance, as communication, or as a way of telling truths that more conventional musical language cannot carry?
LARMO: In the regional dialect, larmo simply means “noise,” and that is where this, as you called it, “programmatic manifesto” comes from. At the same time, it is not just a catchy slogan, but a kind of motto that has accompanied me for as long as I can remember. This form of expression through loud, non-obvious, or unwanted sounds is something that has always been with me, and I feel that this is the way in which I have the most to say.
Karo: Your music clearly draws from the classic industrial tradition, but ‘Alarm’ also absorbs elements of rhythmic noise, techno, illbient, and bass music. How do you keep this wide range of influences focused, so that the result sounds unified rather than merely eclectic?
LARMO: I’m glad you see Alarm as a unified work. That was exactly my intention while I was working on the album. I wanted to move beyond my own limitations and “glue together” ideas that might seem distant from one another into something coherent, but also into something I would genuinely enjoy listening to myself. I’m fascinated by very different kinds of music, film, literature, and art, and none of that is neutral in relation to what I create. Earlier, though, I was afraid of too much variety in my music. Today I’m no longer afraid of that, and LARMO allows me to release it.
Karo: The album title ‘Alarm’ immediately suggests warning, urgency, disturbance, but also alertness and awakening. What kind of alarm did you want this record to sound, and what exactly was demanding to be heard so loudly?
LARMO: Alarm is not a random title. It is my way of telling everyone that I am stepping beyond fixed frames, reaching for different styles, mixing genres, and wanting to connect different scenes. Maybe that sounds a little banal, but I hope readers will understand my intentions very well. We have reached a time in which, especially younger listeners, though not only them, no longer care much about conventions or genre boundaries. That makes me very happy, and I wanted that to happen for a long time. I want to be part of that, and I believe that I am.
Karo: One of the strengths of ‘Alarm’ is that it feels heavy and mechanical, but never static. There is movement, rupture, and a real sense of internal tension. When you build a track, what usually comes first, rhythm, texture, concept, or the physical sensation you want the listener to experience?
LARMO: The rhythmic layer is usually the part I start with when working on a new track. Even when it is a composition without a clearly defined beat, I usually look for some point of reference, some form of repetition. Repetition in music is the key for me. Around rhythm I build everything else. For me it is the element that pulls the whole thing forward, builds the dramaturgy, and carries the track.
Karo: The album features several guests, including Gosia, IHS, Paula, Pachu, and MONYA. What drew you toward these particular collaborations, and how did these outside voices expand or challenge the sonic identity of LARMO?
LARMO: Collaborations on the independent scene are something very natural. It is a relatively small environment of people connected by similar ideas, tastes, worldviews, and approaches to creativity. Usually we know each other, we are colleagues, friends, and that was also the case here.At the same time, I wanted to follow what has already appeared in my previous answers: to move in a less obvious direction. So I invited, among others, vocalists connected to the HC/punk scene, the frontman of the metal and broadly understood electronics, namely IHS. One of the tracks was remixed by MONYA, and for me that was a natural choice, because I wanted to close the album with something more technoid, maybe even dancefloor-oriented. Monika did that perfectly. I should also add that I really enjoy working with someone else’s sounds or voice and building a composition around them, so these kinds of collaborations will definitely remain an inseparable part of LARMO.
Karo: After several smaller releases, splits, and enthusiastically received concerts, ‘Alarm’ arrived as the first full-length LARMO statement. Did working on a longer format change your understanding of the project itself, perhaps showing you its scope more clearly?
LARMO: A full-length album is a kind of closure to a certain period in my work. Like probably most people dealing with this kind of material, I have dozens of unfinished ideas or loose compositions resting in the proverbial drawer. It is very important to keep moving forward, to close a given stage, and continue working. Releasing Alarm was a very important moment for me. It fully justified the existence of this project and gave it a solid foundation from which I can continue my search.
Karo: Your performance at Elektroanschlag placed LARMO in front of an audience particularly sensitive to sonic intensity, authenticity, and physical impact. How did that show feel from your perspective, and what does the live setting reveal about LARMO that the studio versions cannot fully contain?
LARMO: I am lucky enough to play live relatively often, and because of that I can honestly say that the audience I had the pleasure of meeting at Elektroanschlag was one of the best. I agree with you, they are definitely people who are aware of what they want, sensitive, and authentic. For me it is extremely important when I meet an audience that, through the interaction created between them and the artist, actually drives the performer forward and creates a mutual exchange. My performances are improvised to a large extent. They are based on a general framework, but their final shape comes precisely from that interaction with the audience. At Elektroanschlag, playing felt fantastic, and I had the impression that people were enjoying themselves as well. I had some concerns, because I was opening the second day of the festival at a rather early hour, but after a few seconds that feeling gave way to pure joy from performing. I felt that magical thread of understanding.
Karo: With ‘Alarm’ having been so well received in Poland and abroad, and with LARMO clearly gaining momentum, what is currently waiting in the shadows? Are there new releases, new collaborations, or new directions already taking shape behind the scenes?
LARMO: It’s nice to hear that. Alarm really did receive quite a lot of positive reviews. At the moment I’m working on new material in parallel. One of those things should appear in the near future, while the other belongs more to the slightly more distant future. There are also some concert plans, although that side of things is always very dynamic. I have no intention of resting on my laurels. I still want to do as much as possible, and where that leads me, we will see.
Based in Wrocław, I work as a music journalist and photographer covering electro, industrial, EBM, gothic, and darkwave. My work includes features and live coverage, as well as concert, portrait, promo, and theater photography. What interests me most is the connection between artistic intention, what the work communicates, and what unfolds live on stage, all in pursuit of the bigger picture behind the music.
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