Interview with Mord Fuzztang
Photo credit: Alrick
I can still remember the time I saw Mord Fuzztang live three years ago at Club Variété in Zurich as part of a concert organised by Kombinat. Straight away, I was a big fan of the krautrock mixed with psychedelic rock sounds that the band unleashed in the dimly lit venue and it left a lasting impression.
The band had already released the great Live at G5 in 2023, a year before I started Reverb Dream. Although, the vinyl with its own “scratch and sniff” sleeve is sold out, I have listened to the album quite a few times online over the last few months.
In November 2024, Mord Fuzztang released their latest album, Air Gélatine, which was produced by Remo Agovic, who also recorded and produced the singles from willibald (interview about the songs here) and introduced me to Mario from High on the Sound (interview number one here). The album is a really enjoyable listen from start to finish and is a very cohesive album as a whole. The band take it to the next level whilst staying true to their krautrock/neo-psychedelic sound. There is a feeling of playfulness and the sensation of floating away at times throughout the album, hence the name “jelly (or wobbly) air” in English, and the vocals sung in many different languages adds a unique feel. The album would eventually go on to deservedly win the Jury Prize for album of 2024 at the gds.fm awards show.
I would like to thank the band for taking the time to reply to my questions, and giving me more of an insight into the writing and recording of Air Gélatine, as well as their reaction to winning the gds.fm Jury Prize for Album of 2024. I would also like to thank the band’s drummer, Jeffrey San Diego, for coordinating the communication between Reverb Dream and the band.
Tell us first of all about the band.
During a concert where Jeremy was working as a photographer, he met Lucien. Despite Jeremy's limited musical experience and his self-described mediocre guitar skills, Lucien convinced/inspired him to start a musical project together. Jeremy and Jeffrey knew each other already a while back from Davos and were also roommates when they moved to Zurich. Both being big music enthusiasts, their admiration for live concerts grew when moving to Zurich. Jeffrey started learning the drums by himself and when the opportunity arose, Jeremy insisted on bringing Jeffrey in. Lucien brought Ben Geiser on bass to the first rehearsal, and it clicked—it was a lot of fun and we were very grateful to have played a handful of great first shows like Beton Chilbi in Glarus and gather experience playing as a band.
In 2019 Ben had left the band and Lucien’s mami connected us with Mario, who she knew from concerts, and turned out to be a perfect fit from the start. Shortly after, Mathilde joined. Jeremy knew her from attending the same concerts and after recognizing her great passion and love for music, he asked her if she was interested in singing, writing, and playing keys with Mord Fuzztang. Thankfully, she said yes and joined the band. For Mathilde, this was also her first experience in a band, but as most of us, we just learned ‘on the job’ and got better and more experienced over time (with still room for improvement). Since then, the group has grown very fond of this constellation. As individuals, we have different tastes in music, come from different places, and possess different skill sets. Yet everything naturally blends together into the music we are creating today.
Lucien plays in other projects such as Fiona Fiasco, Velvet Underwear, MT Bottles and in his own solo project called “Badoux”. Jeffrey plays in a bedroom pop band called daycap. Mario used to play in a band called “Ten Volt Shock”, that played a few years back.
Left: Receiving the Jury-vote award for Best Album Right: Performing at GDS FM Awards in Baby Angel ZH with Special Guest Monique (Photo credits: Philip Frowein)
How does it feel to have won the GDS.fm jury prize?
Well first we were pretty honoured that the album was nominated - and in such great company! There was some pretty amazing stuff there, Okvsho, Klaus Johann Grobe, our friends from EMZYG (who won the Publikumspreis, bravo to them). We also really liked “Sun Exposure” from Ziska Staubli, who won the jury price for best EP.
But winning took us by surprise. We were so far from expecting it, we sat in the backstage, joking, saying stuff like “Boo mord fuzztang” and “don’t listen to our album!”. What an incredible moment! It’ll be a nice memory. And of course it is an amazing recognition! We were just happy to have this record out and to get this “Seal of Quality” from people active in the CH-Music scene is a big blessing and we feel very honored and thankful to have gotten this price.
We are also very thankful for gds.fm to be organising these events. It’s just great that it exists, it’s really a work of passion and love.
In front of Cima Città Ticino (Photo credit: Mia)
How was the writing process in Cima Città Ticino? Why did you choose this location? How did you find out about it?
Cima Città marked, what we now know, a pivotal moment for us, offering the first opportunity to immerse ourselves in music for 10 consecutive days.
What made this experience truly special was the absence of expectations. We didn't know what would happen, but through those days, we discovered so much about ourselves and how our constellation works as a unit. We started to learn what resonates with us, what could be possible if we are able to put more undistracted time in this project and how it blends together. This understanding generated a lot of motivation, and it made us feel good about what we were doing because it made us happy and eager to explore more.
So after getting settled in there and feeling comfortable with the setup, we just jammed and took out the bits we liked and started building a song-structure around that. So each day we would maybe get 2-3 ideas down, and the next day we’d do the same. And if we weren’t having bursts of inspiration we’d work on the ideas/songs from the previous days. At the end we had 10x songs that we really liked but we were still changing structures/melodies after that period in Ticino, since over time ideas/opinions changed on certain songs.
We found out about Cima Citta through a contact Mario knew, so we have to thank him for setting everything up.
(photo credits: Remo Agovic)
What are your memories of recording the album? (Musical and non-musical)
Like a parenthesis in the middle of summer. Outside the scorching sun, and us locked up inside, losing sense of time. The whole day and night revolved around music making. It was a very filling experience, to put all our energy and focus into making this record. There were moments where everything else became kind of secondary. But some short-words to sum up our experience there:
Smelly bandroom, Best Producer, constantly eating coop food sucks, Lack of oxygen, Amp wall, Chicken Schauerman, mmmmm trash, yum yum trash
You had previously recorded the "Live at G5" which featured recordings done in one or two takes - how was it to record your first "conventional" studio album together?
This album was more time-consuming and demanding. With Live at G5 we were mostly aiming to get a take with the right feel while having the least amount of errors. Once we felt comfortable with the setup and playing, it ended up that all takes for that EP were done on the same day. With Air Gélatine, the basis was recording the drums and bass, though the 2x guitars were playing along, but could be re-recorded in case the sound was not right. So for Jeffrey and Mario the initial phase was quite important to get the rhythm section down as a proper basis. Once that was set, the overdubs started which was the main difference on this record, since it highlighted the vocals much more. And certain parts where the guitar sound had to stand out, could be easily overdubbed. Though in the end we didn’t have too much time for overdubs in that week, we were able to finish the rhythm section, a few guitar-parts and the vocals. Synths, Guitar-Solos and percussions were recorded at home or at Remo’s rehearsal space in Bern.
The whole Recording with Air Gélatine was a lesson on how demanding it can be and what can be done in the future to make it less challenging. Remo was the glue, having a great feel when to stop trying to make things better, when to be fun and when to be serious. Having someone like him with us was a gift and plays a huge role in how it turned out to be and how the experience for each one of us personally during that time was.
The song Death Set Table appears on Live at G5 and on Air Gélatine, was it always a song that you wanted to re-record for the LP?
It was not the idea to re-record Death Set Table, cause Table Death Set from Air Gélatine is in itself a different song. The similarity between the songs is that it’s in the same key. Table Death Set was recorded with the intention to be our ‘jam-song’ of the record and giving a lot of room for overdubs. While recording Remo orchestrated us like a conductor for when we should get louder, slow down, have instruments fall out or etc. The similar name is just an indication that it’s the same key as Death Set Table from Live at G5. Our future goal for this song-name is to always have a different version of it on any upcoming albums/EPs. The main theme of this song accompanied us since the very first rehearsal we ever did together. It changed a lot over the years but at the same time stayed the same and at shows we often mix the songs together and switch between the versions however we feel.
How was it to work with Remo Agovic? How did you decide to work together?
We met Remo when he was playing with his band called Giant Moa. We were all very fond of their sound, and after getting to meet Remo a bit better, we’ve grown also very close as friends. He was for himself already recording his own stuff, but when Jeffrey recorded with Remo for daycap, Jeffrey was extremely fond of recording with him, mentioning we have to record with Remo.
He has quite standard gear and some gems, but what made him crucial for recording was his taste in music. He knew what we were kind of going for, and he knew/learned while recording with us how to get the sound we wanted. It was one of his first few experiences to record a full album, so we were all learning from this process.
From Mathilde’s perspective, it was really a game changer to have the possibility to take her time recording the vocals. Remo was very patient, she felt very safe and dared to try out different things. He was also very supportive and respectful.
Remo as a producer, musician and person was one of the key elements of recording Air Gélatine. He really was the perfect fit and he is just a very very enjoyable person to be around, everybody we’ve ever known feels comfortable to be around him. Great sense of humour, very talented in everything he does and you can feel his passion every second of working with him.
Recording Air Gélatine (Photo credit: Remo Agovic)
How did you come up with the theme to Air Gélatine?
From when we were recording the “Live at G5” EP actually, during some very creative, playful few days. We joked around the expression “wabbelige Luft”, as best describing our music - there was also some incense burning, and one of us coined the phrase “wabbelige Luft”. As Mario asked how that would translate into French, Mathilde came up with “Air gélatine”, actually a more “creative” translation of the phrase.
There are several different languages used for the vocals throughout the album - for those that haven't heard the album - which languages? And how it happen to make the album multilingual?
Most of us have German or Swiss German as a native language, except for Mathilde who is a native French speaker. All together, we have a way of playing with words and languages, it is one of the ways we connect, besides while making music. As we share a sensitivity for creative writing - and a dorky sense of humour sometimes - it is reflected in our lyrics: we write in English, French, and to a lesser extent, also in German. Some of the lyrics are co-written, although most of it is a more personal work.
For Mathilde, it’s a rather instinctive thing: She tries to go for what feels the most natural. And sometimes it is English, although French will often be more personal, closer. She just tries and keeps it as free as possible.
Air Gélatine's record is wrapped in bubble wrap, Live at G5 has a "scratch and sniff" cover - where did these ideas come from? What are your thoughts about them?
The ideas came from Ronny Hunger. Designer and Padre from La Suisse Primitive Label. With Live at G5 we didn’t have any idea or concept. We had these 4x songs and we wrote a few labels, and (thankfully) Ronny was the only one who wrote back. We gave him full freedom to do whatever he wanted. So his idea of each song being linked to a fragrance and have each song be a cover for a perfume, was fully his concept.
With Air Gélatine, we only gave Ronny the name of the record. When he thought of Air, he came up with the idea to wrap it in bubble wraps. Most of these ideas are things Ronny always wanted to do and in general La Suisse Primitive creates more unconventional vinyl-formats. They value the artwork as much as the music, so if you look through their catalogue, you’ll for sure find something that fits your eyes & ears.
We’re all personally very fond of the vinyl-format, but since we had the possibility to create our own, we were very interested in doing something more ‘unconventional’ since it gives the format a bit more glow, rather than just having the ‘basic’ format. We were also very lucky to have such a creative person like Ronny help out on this. Getting those ideas into a physical format is something, we wouldn’t have managed ourselves. So thanks Padre!
When you started and finished recording the album - what were your expectations of the album?
We didn’t really have any expectations. What we though knew for sure is that it would add credibility to us as a band to have a full album out. We were mostly known as a live-band, but didn’t really have any studio-recordings to represent what kind of music we actually make. It was, and kind of still is, very tricky to ask for gigs further away from Zurich. So we hoped this album would help out. Our personal opinion is.. one should always release their music with no expectations, as long as it’s true to yourself, that’s what counts.
gds.fm jury prize winner for Best Album in 2024
What are your thoughts on the music scene in Switzerland?
It’s amazing how many great bands there are. We are lucky to be able to experience all of this music, much of it happening live. Though it is a pity to think that if we weren’t in the “scene”, we probably wouldn’t know so much about the music scene here. So go check out their music and try to see these bands/artists live.
Shoutouts to bands/musicians we admire (We apologize if we forgot any):
Konomono, Kush K, Fiona Fiasco, Réka Csiszér aka Víz, Vague Visions, Good Life Service, Cocon Javel, Palme Cadelli, R. Daneel Olivaw, Mnevis, Palinstar, Walter Frosch, Bodoh, Augenwasser, Leopardo, SGATV, Cosmic Vomit, Ewige Geræte, Hyperculte, Massicot, Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, Tout bleu, Giant Moa.
What are your plans for the near future?
We’re gonna record new music with a different approach than the previous releases. So not putting ourselves into a studio for a limited amount of days, but rather recording it ourselves and work on songs over a longer time. We’ve never recorded anything in this way, so we’re very excited for this approach. Regarding concerts, we have a handful of great shows in the german-part of Switzerland that we’re very much looking forward to. We though would love to play more shows outside of Switzerland or outside of the german-part of CH. Maybe even plan a tour with another band, but let’s see. We’ll record new music first, since the focus for us is always on the music.
Links:
Live at GDS FM (Rearranged Set) (audio)
Live at TapTab (video)