Of Flying Raclettes and Closet Disco Queens

We did mention that Louis Jucker is a busy man, didn’t we? Well, here goes again. 3 September 2021 sees the release of another album via his Hummus Records label, this one provided by a bunch of pals with the unlikely moniker of Closet Disco Queen & the Flying Raclettes. It is called – naturally! – “Omelette du Fromage”.

Heaven knows how this bunch of lunatics arrived at their name. Their music, needless to say, has nothing to do with either closets, disco, or, indeed, raclette. In fact, the project began as a tongue-in-cheek attempt by the two initiators, Luc Hess and Jona Nido (both members of Coilgun and close collaborators of Louis Jucker), to launch a “talentless version” of the Mars Volta. It could be said that they failed abysmally, their quest for talentlessness leading to tours as far afield as Russia, China, Australia, and New Zealand. They also released two EPs and an album.

Seven years later, Hess and Nido have been joined by Kevin Galland and Chadi Messmer, aka the Flying Raclettes, to become a proper band, at last.

Initiated by the Palp Festival which is spread across various villages and towns in Canton Valais, the first album with the expanded line-up was recorded in a three-week burst of intense creativity in an old school in the Valais mountains. “Omelette du Fromage” serves up a dense and dynamic collection of instrumental prog rock that sparkles with the obvious joy the band had in making this record.

Closet Disco Queen & the Flying Raclettes
Hummus Records