Personne’s attention economy

Newly out on Irascible records and Two Gentlemen records is the first sign of recorded life from Personne, an exciting new outfit formed in a blaze of creativity by three musicians not usually associated with each other.

Zurich-based singer and pianist Anna Girsberger was last heard of in these pages when she released a much-admired album as a singer/songwriter under the name Anna Rey last autumn (not to be confused, by the way, with her London-based namesake!). She has also collaborated with Andrina Bollinger, Rob Luft and To Athena. Bassist Paul Studer has played with various jazz and pop bands in Zurich (including Fräulein Luise), whilst drummer Basil Schreyer, although based in Lucerne for several years, is an integral part of the “scene” around Hummus Records in the French part of Switzerland. Together, they create a fascinatingly dense and elegantly syncopated weave of sound dominated by piano and voice. Girsberger’s lyrics, meanwhile, revolve around complex subjects including modern day sensory overload (“synesthesia”) or Sylvia Plath (“mad girl”).

Personne
Irascible records
Two Gentlemen records