'Llyria' is the third album from Nik Bärtsch's Ronin and follows on from 'Stoa' and 'Holon', the ECM recordings that established the exciting young Swiss band on the international scene. Leader and pianist Nik Bärtsch's "modular" pieces still define the context of the group's music but the committed input of the individual Ronin members has lifted the work to the next level, blurring the distinctions between composition, improvisation and interpretation.

The music has become more open, moving on from its early "Zen funk" and "ritual groove music" formulas. Reed player Sha shines brightly here, and lyrical melodic themes make themselves felt. But this is, Nik Bärtsch suggests, more than its predecessors a drummer's record. Its beats are lovingly crafted by Kaspar Rast and percussionist Andi Pupato.

The new album is named for Llyrìa, the luminous, mysterious creatures that live in the ocean's depths, for Bärtsch a metaphor for the music: "We keep casting our nets in the same waters - and sometimes we find forms that are completely surprising, even to us."