New Releases
Rykka vows Lovebug audiences
After an exhilarating trek through Switzerland supporting Lovebugs, Rykka goes it alone with her own tour.
Rykka may be a new name even to her audiences in Switzerland, but she has a history. Long before she became Rykka, Vancouver-born and raised Swiss Christina Maria was a singer-songwriter with folky leanings and a somewhat quirky muse. Three well-received albums were released under that name. However, with her latest batch of songs, the singularity of her vision became even more pronounced. The electric guitars became jagged and distorted, from the synths sprang newly danceable grooves, and the name Christina Maria no longer seemed appropriate for the music. Re-naming herself Rykka, she began to sing with fresh abandon without forgetting the tunes that had made her songs so memorable before. "For the last year, I’ve been writing in seclusion, really far away," she says of her exploratory creative burst. "The music has evolved so much from where it was."
Released in 2012 in Switzerland, 2013 elsewhere, Rykka’s new album Kodiak, her fourth, garnered excellent reviews both in mainstream and alternative media (20 Minuten, loop, Radio DRS3, Couleur 3). It clearly marks out Rykka as an original voice who is not afraid of doing her own thing. Recorded in Vancouver’s Mushroom Studios and District Four Recordings, engineer Sean Penner (You Say Party! We Say Die!), mixer Warne Livesey (Matthew Good Band, 54:40), and producer Ryan Guldemond (Mother Mother, Hannah Georgas) all helped Rykka in translating her artistic vision into music. All of Kodiak’s tracks are sung from the perspective of different animals — "Blackie" a murder of crows, "Down in the Depths" deep sea fish — but they carry unquestionably human themes and concerns.
Touring Switzerland in support of Lovebugs was the perfect way for Rykka to road-test her new material. Lovebugs fans are fond of songs that offer more than just catchy choruses, and they lapped up Rykka´s brand of post-P.J. Harvey grooves. In February and March, Rykka will be undertaking a 23-date tour of her own in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Poland. She will be playing loops, synth and guitar. Guitar and backing vocals will be supplied by her musical partner, Timothy Jaromir.
*****
Fiona Daniel album release
Fiona Daniel´s second album Backyard is released in Austria.
Her debut album Drowning, released in 2010, marked out Fiona Daniel as an exceptionally talented singer/songwriter with a sharp ear for subtle and unusual arrangements. Her new album, Backyard, proves that the debut was no fluke. Released in Switzerland in autumn 2012, the new collection of songs demonstrates that Fiona possesses a rich imagination never short of a memorable turn of melody or phrase. Already, Fiona Daniel is a strong draw on the Swiss live circuit. Now, she is spreading her wings. Following the realease of Backyard in Austria on 15 February, she will also be playing a series of dates in that country. The album will be released in Germany and other territories in the autumn.
*****
OY with new album
OY´s second album Kokokyinaka is released in March.
OY – aka Joy Frempong – is unquestionably one of the most striking, original and courageous voices in Switzerland. Joy´s first holler was heard in Bolgatanga, Ghana in 1978. She hasn´t stopped singing since, slipping into all kinds of different personae and styles, ranging from gospel to hip-hop, from jazz to the taut free-form experimentalism of Phall Fatale. She is currently performing with several bands, all of them fascinatingly different, including Lauschangriff, Infinte Livez & Stade, Filewile and Phall Fatale.
Joy´s second album under her guise as OY is released in March by Lausanne-based label Creaked Records. Drawing upon jazz, electronica and improvisation, she creates a beguiling chemistry made up kiddy-toy sounds, scraps of hip-hop, and various paeans of scat. Blending her voice with the mechanical utterances from samplers and other sound machines, OY is inventing new and original ways of using the vocal chords.
Kokokyninaka will be released in March in Switzerland and worldwide in April. Distribution: Switzerland – Namskeio; France –Modulor; Germany – Groove Attack/Rough Trade via Modulor; Holland, Spain, Belgium – TBC; UK and USA – Cargo.
*****
Navel are back
One of the most popular and original Swiss bands of the last decade is back with a new line-up and a fresh sound.
8 February sees the release of the 3d album by Basle-based Navel. Loverboy marks a new departure for the band based on the songwriting and guitar playing skills of Jari Altermatt. A second guitar as well as an organ has been added to the line-up, adding a new and Country-ish depth and warmth to their sound. Navel are one of the most successful musical exports of Switzerland, appearing at festivals like South By Southwest, Eurockeennes and Greenfield and supporting Queens of the Stone Age on their tour of Germany.
After their dark and abrasive last album Neo Noir, Loverboy shows the band from their sunnier side. The album is released by the Berlin-based Noise-O-Lution label.
http://www.navelband.com
http://www.noisolution.de
*****
Sun of Moon with debut double
The new band formed by Pola singer Lleluja-Ha debuts in grand style with a double album.
Sun of Moon is a collective rather than a band. Every one of the five members has a distinct voice of his or her own. Four of the five members are well known for their contributions to other musical projects. Thus, Lleluja-Ha, a leader of sorts, is the singer of the group Pola as well as a member of Joy Frempong´s OY outfit. Frempong herself contributes samples, voice and keyboard. Flo Götte from Evelinn Trouble´s band Television Religion plays guitar and bass, drummer Domi Chansorn is also a member of Sophie Hunger´s band. The band is completed by Sophia Baltatzi on viola. Recorded in Berlin where Lleluja-Ha now resides, theirs is a highly melodic, multi-layered style of chamber pop rich in melody and detail. The album "Original Motion Film Soundtrack" was released digitally on 18 January, followed by a physical release on double CD on 1 February.
*****
Le Twan EP release
Geneva-born DJ Antoine Gautier releases new "Lunar Bliss" EP
DJ Le Twan describes his music as "sensitive electro with an epic streak and menacing undertones". Given his unusual background it comes as no surprise to find that this description still doesn’t quite do justice to the unusual mixture of influences that permeates his idiosyncratic post-techno vision. Gautier grew up in Geneva but spent many years as a rock drummer in Los Angeles before starting off as a DJ in 2003. Towards the end of the decade he moved to Romania, working with various local musicians and producers. His debut EP "Shredder" was released in 2010 by the Canadian label Jexonex. After a brief period in London, Le Twan returned to live in Geneva in December 2011. "Lunar Bliss", released by Sheeva Records, is his third release.
http://www.facebook.com/letwanmusic/info
*****
Junior Tshaka
New Album: "Boosted by the sound" (Echo Prod / PIAS)
Out in France: February 18, 2013
On tour in 2013
After three years of touring that led to the four corners of the world (South America, North Africa, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, even becoming the first reggae artist to give a concert in Iran), Junior Tshaka is back with a third album.
For the production and realization, it takes collaboration already started on his first album with Mike D’Inca (leader of Sinsemilia).
To play and arrange instrumental he composed is the cream of French reggae that accompanies this disc with musicians Dub Inc. .. in full force and the participation of some members of Sinsemilia and Leroy "Horsemouth Wallace" (drummer legendary hero of the film "Rockers").
Firmly but totally modern reggae, this album is a reflection of the artist:
Conscious but positive, committed, but peaceful.
This is a new chapter in the career of Junior Tshaka.
*****
Headman
Release Date: February 1st 2013
Robi Insinna AKA Headman revives underground classic ‘It Rough’ for 2013 with a package that includes the anthemic original Chicken Lips remix as well as new mixes from Headman and remixes from Scott Fraser and Remain.
Now almost a decade on Headman don and Relish Recordings label boss Robi Insinna has decided to re-release this much sought after record, introducing it to a younger audience who may well not have been around for it’s original release.
Robi Insinna gets to grips with his own composition for a ‘2013 version’ and a ‘2013 reprise’ which sees the song morphed into an updated version keeping the funky post punk disco vibe with rich analogue synth lines, heavily delayed percussion and the distinct vocal refrain. The reprise sees Robi venture into acidic territory with a superb moog bassline that bubbles and mutates throughout the track adding another enticing layer to this already superb track.
For the remixes Robi turns to two of his favourite producers of the moment, both of whom have collaborated on the Relish label before, Scott Fraser and Remain. Scott takes the original and twists it into a brooding and emotive slice of electronica that delves into deep and techy territory whilst Remain delivers a wonderfully spacious & stripped version that wraps itself around a simple and infectious bassline.
A true classic revived for 2013 in the best possible way!
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