Switzerland Meets Linecheck
A festival/conference with a genuinely fearless and idiosyncratic music programme, Linecheck has established itself over its ten years of existence as a place to discover music – often experimentally electronic – that rarely gets a look-in at the more conventional European business get-togethers. This year, the programme ranges from the anarchic style-mash-up of Kenyan producer […]
At Last – Meimuna’s Debut Album
It’s been taking a while – but here it is, the debut album from Meimuna, the singer/songwriter from the Canton of Valais who has created more than just a ripple of excitement with a series of five beautiful and well-received EPs. Entitled “c’est demain que je meurs”, it is out now via Radicalis Music. The […]
Mel D is Not Crazy – and Not a Newcomer Either
Out now from Two Gentlemen is “Not Crazy”, the striking debut EP from Zurich-based singer-songwriter Mel D. Not to be confused with a certain ex-Spice Girl, this particular Mel D has been part of Zurich’s rich musical tapestry for quite some time. She was previously known as half of mischgewebe, a duo born from a […]
La Nefera Learning to Live
“Aprendi a Vivir” (“learning to live”) is the award-winning Basel-based rapper La Nefera’s second album in two years. Available now, it documents her struggle to come to terms with various fundamental changes in her life, including her decision to devote her considerable energies exclusively to music. Featuring a six-piece line-up for her gigs which at […]
Arthur Hnatek Adrift – Well, Not Really…
Entitled “Adrift”, the first full-length electronic album from Arthur Hnatek, percussionist extraordinaire, is out now on Mouthwatering Records. There is nothing Arthur Hnatek likes more than the challenge of throwing himself adrift – and finding himself anew! – in a new collaboration. Thus, his CV includes work with the Erik Truffaz Quartet as well as […]
James Gruntz Caught Blinking Twice
After a gap of seven years, James Gruntz returns with a new album, his seventh. Entitled “Blink Twice”, it was released by muve Recordings at the beginning of November. James Gruntz is an award-winning song writer in the classic pop mode: often dealing with the cruel turns of love, his songs pour balm over the […]
Andrea Bignasca Dealing With a Stranger
“Stranger”, the fourth solo album from Springsteenesque singer-songwriter Andrea Bignasca, is available now on Radicalis Music. Bignasca, hailing from the Southern, Italian part of Switzerland, clearly is a fan of guitar- and pathos-driven songs in the classic American mode of big choruses, big vocals and big sentiments. These, for obvious reasons, evolve around impending fatherhood. […]
Luce and her Blue Star Soft Eyes
Luce is the solo-guise of Lucerne-based multi-instrumentalist Tiziana Greco. Her second album, “Blue Star Soft Eyes” is out now on Red Brick Records. Perhaps best to let Tiziana describe her musical ride herself: “(it) began as kid on a mini-keyboard, where I’d just spend hours and hours playing around”, she writes. “Since then, I’ve been […]
Lost in Lona Scared of Guns and – maybe – Mothers?
The mysteriously named Lost in Lona are the duo of Konstantin Aebli and Lidia Beck. “Scared Like a Mother and Her Gun“ is the equally mysterious title of their debut album, out now via Mouthwatering Records. Konstantin Aebli, once of a much punkier persuasion, was only recently involved in a slightly more electric outfit named […]
Šuma Čovjek Jumping on the Ringišpil
Quite possibly the most multilingual band in the world, Šuma Čovjek have moulded all the languages spoken by their many members into one new album. Entitled “Ringišpil“ (“carousel”), it is their third, out now. Jumping backwards and forwards between French, Croatian, English, Arabic, Spanish, Romanes and German in their lyrics (sometimes within the same line), […]
