Interview with High on the Sound (pt. 1)
A couple of months after starting Reverb Dream, I came across High on the Sound’s page on Instagram. It’s a physical magazine which runs features about bands across Switzerland and when each edition is released, there is a concert organised to coincide with the publication of the magazine.
Having only formed my knowledge about the magazine through the photos on Instagram and event posters, I was curious and eager to find out more about High on the Sound. I got in contact with Mario Scialdone, who founded the magazine with Lena Eberhard, to organise an interview. Being based in Lucerne, having organised several concerts in the city and with his involvement in the music community, he was the ideal candidate for the “Tell us about the scene in Lucerne”.
On one Sunday afternoon, we had a face-to-face interview, a first for Reverb Dream, to talk in detail about High on the Sound. The interview will be published in two parts - this first part will focus on the background and the history of High on the Sound as well as the process of putting the magazine together. The second part will focus more on the concerts and the music scene in Switzerland.
The ninth edition of the magazine will be released this Friday (7th March) with the concert featuring performances from oze and STRUKTURSTRUKTUR at Südpol in Lucerne (event details here).
I would like to thank Mario for the fantastic interview and Lena for providing additional written replies. Their input really helped understand High on the Sound a lot. I hope you enjoy this article (and the follow-up article) too.
How did you first get into music?
I think that the first album I ever listened to was Nervous Breakdown from Black Flag. From Black Flag I went on to the whole grunge scene and there I discovered a different approach to music. Before, I was listening to the radio and mainstream music. Then I focused on the music taste of Kurt Cobain which was really interesting because I remember bands like the Shaggs which is a really cool band, really difficult to listen to at the beginning, but once you figure out what they were doing I realised it was very creative and few bands were doing that back then. Daniel Johnston is also influential in the sense of the purity of the music, you could just do your thing and sing the way you want - even if the notes aren’t right or even if you can’t really play your instrument.
Do you see that your music taste has evolved over the years? Do you come back to these bands every now and again?
Daniel Johnston for sure. I always come back to the 80s scene but more the underground scene - no wave for example like Lydia Lunch, bands like DNA, Mars. Also free jazz guitar-based bands.
In my early twenties, I discovered electronic music from the 90s - Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, I’m still a huge fan of them to this day and I think was something new for me coming from a guitar-based approach to music. It was really influential for what I am doing right now.
What are your listening habits? How do you find new bands to listen to?
I think that when I was studying I was listening to music daily, like really a lot of music. I would even listen to pop albums. I was interested in the production. I was asking myself, “how was this record produced? How are they doing the sound design?”
Nowadays, it’s more difficult because of work, you have to find ways to listen to music. I think that YouTube was the main channel where I discovered music and I still belong to this generation. I don’t even have Spotify. I go mostly on Bandcamp if I want to listen to indie bands from Switzerland or underground stuff.
What inspired you to create High on the Sound?
I think that it was spontaneous, it was a really quick idea but I didn’t know anything or I didn’t know how to do it. I didn’t know many bands, I had some friends in Lausanne. One of my best friends lived there and I would always go there to jam. We would meet other musicians and I found their bands really cool. I wanted to do something with this knowledge but what could do I do? It came to me one day, “Is there a magazine for up-and-coming musicians in Switzerland?” Another observation was that musicians in Lausanne didn’t know what was happening musically in other parts of Switzerland. At first, I had no idea how to take good photos, I went straight into with very little knowledge. The project just resonated with the bands.
The first feature I did was with Dirty Sound Magnet. I said to them, “Hey, I’m just starting this magazine, my name is Mario, would you like to be featured?” And they said, “Yes, let’s do it”. It started with one of the top acts.
Tell us about your photography skills. Did you learn that along the way?
I had a camera but I never really liked to take pictures before starting the magazine. I have Lena who does the graphic design but I have to do something as well. And I can’t have five people for five different tasks, so I have to do it! The first photos were horrible. I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. It was really learning by doing, I just went to concerts, I would see what I liked with the photos and I would take so many photos just to have ten useful photos. It was a very punk approach to photography at the beginning.
How did you feel with the build up to the first edition?
We were calm, we had nothing to prove, it was just an experiment. We didn’t have high expectations for the first edition. We were just like “let’s try and see what happens”.
The first problem we encountered was “now we have this magazine, what do we do with it?” It’s so difficult to sell or to give a printed magazine to someone. Who are the right people to give this magazine to?
Our first release show in a ship container was very DIY. It was very cool, we had a great feeling when the event was done. Especially bringing people together or organising something. It was like a chain reaction, it’s your idea and then it goes out into the World, people look at it and share their thoughts, it’s such a great process.
Did you do much travelling for the first edition?
Yes, it was really intense. I went fully into it. I was probably seeing three to four bands every week. When I wasn’t studying I just was on the road. I would take the train, meet the band and then go back to Lucerne. Or sometimes I had to sleep somewhere if there wasn’t a train back.
Dirty Sound Magnet were really influential at the beginning of the project and they really supported the project. I also have a really good friendship with them, but now because they’re touring internationally, I don’t see them very often. They would invite me to the festivals they were playing at and I could just go and take some photos. I slept a couple of times at their place when I didn’t have a train back. At the beginning of the project, they were really supportive. They noticed that I was touching a nerve or was close to a problem in Switzerland that bands are not too well connected.
What’s a regular timeline for producing an edition of the magazine?
The first thing is putting together a collection of bands and make sure that the bands fit well together or that there is a connection between them.
Afterwards, I would contact the bands to do a photoshoot and the video interview (at the venue before and after their concert). I contact them again and I ask them for a written interview. As soon as they send (the replies) to me then we can start the whole layout process.
How do you decide on which bands to feature? Do you have a shortlist? How do you discover them?
I think it depends on the genre and where they are based. The mission of the magazine is to create an interregional scene. I have to make sure that in every magazine we have bands from different parts of Switzerland. It is something that we have to consider along with visibility for FINTA people.
Do you find easy or difficult to find this balance?
That’s why we release the magazine every three months or even more because it’s difficult to find the right balance. Sometimes it can happen that a band or musician we already started the featuring process with, doesn’t fit to the current edition of the magazine, so unfortunately we have to make them wait for the next one.
So there’s content that you hold on to for future editions?
Yes. The next magazine will feature eleven bands - that’s a lot. Our plan was six bands at the beginning of the magazine, we got too obsessed.
How do you choose the themes and locations for the photos?
Usually, I tell the bands or musicians that we can do a photoshoot at either at one of their concerts, at their rehearsal space or if they have another idea. From very casual street photoshoots to big festivals. It’s nice to have these different settings and scenarios. I’m really open to a lot of possibilities, it’s what fits best for the band
How do you prepare the questions for the bands?
The questions are the same for every band - I would say it’s between superficial and in depth. It’s not directly what they are doing right now but what the project is about, who is in the band, where they come from, how they see the music scene.
At the beginning we liked to have interviews in different languages in the magazine but it makes it difficult for the audience to read the magazine. After the first four or five editions, we eventually went with English.
How do you do the translations?
ChatGPT is the first option right now, and if something comes out wrong, then we check. It’s the fastest way.
How do you do research into the bands?
We noticed that it’s difficult to have this amount of bands and to research every band very closely. I think that would be a great format: just doing one band, discussing their whole discography and everything. We also don’t have so many pages.
Do you only interview artists or people behind the scenes?
It’s funny that you mention this as we’re starting a new segment with young, Swiss producers.
We are thinking of starting a segment with an international band to open it up. An artist that would be coming to Switzerland and they tell us about the scene from where they are form. I think it’s always nice to have a change from time to time and test new segments and ideas.
Tell us about Lena’s role with the magazine
She is the main graphic designer but she is also involved in the project. We discuss stuff together like what bands we want to feature, we are working together.
I would say I am the main person on the road and she is the main person behind the scenes.
I just give Lena all the raw material - interviews, photos and then she does the layout and everything including making decisions about the choice of photos.
How do you work with the raw material? (interviews and photos)
Lena: First, I look through everything and read all the material. Then, I make a preliminary selection. Based on this, I consider different possible sequences and combinations and experiment until I find something that works for me.
How do you choose the graphic design theme of the magazine?
Lena: For me, design is always about presenting the content as authentically as possible, providing a platform, and conveying a feeling. I let myself be guided by the content (images, texts, music, etc.) and try to find the best way to communicate it through my design.
How do you choose the layout of the magazine?
Lena: Here, too, I start with the bigger picture—considering the feeling I want to convey to the readers—and then move toward the details. I align my design decisions with this concept. I think about which typography fits the idea, which layout supports what I want to express, etc.
What’s the process behind it?
Lena: The magazines I have designed follow a basic structure, which I slightly adapt for each issue. To do this, I first create different “template pages” for various types of content, defining font sizes, image placement, and other parameters. Then, I can put together each magazine like a building kit. This approach has saved me from having to go through the steps described in the two previous questions for each individual issue.
Do you go through the magazine page by page together before sending it off to be printed?
We check to see if everything is correct and if it works, and then we just go to print. It’s more the preparation that takes a lot of time - to see if the interviews are written correctly or if some interviews need translating.
Can we expect anything different for the upcoming edition?
Mario: For the next edition, Lena, couldn’t do the magazine, so we will have a new format and we will have two graphic designers. It’s going to be a bit different.
How was it for you to collaborate with the two graphic designers for the next magazine?
Lena: It was a great experience, and I am very happy with the result. I was no longer directly involved in the design process but instead took on more of an advisory role. Joel and Dennis were free to redesign the magazine according to their own ideas. This resulted in a kind of redesign for High on the Sound, with many great new design elements. I really welcome this and find it exciting to see what other designers do with the same starting material.
How many copies do you print out per edition?
Normally we print between 100 and 200 depending on the budget. If we have a smaller issue, the more the better. This edition will have 88 pages, so we will probably print less copies.
How do you print the copies?
We used to print in Italy but now we print it in Switzerland due to time restraints.
What’s the price for a magazine?
We try to keep the price as low as we possibly can, but it also depends on the printing costs we have to cover. So the price varies, but it’s usually between 10 and 20 Francs. When the copies are all gone, we print them again, it’s ongoing. From the first five editions, we have very few left, we would have to reprint everything.
How can people get a copy?
The best way is by Instagram DM, and we will send you a copy per post. We are working on an online shop, but it’s still in the works. We have to find someone to manage the shop. We need to find more people.
We also talked with Ablette Records in Fribourg, they’re very cool. They said that we can give them some magazines but we’re not looking to make money. It’s more that people enjoy it and that there is visibility for musicians in Switzerland. We have to pay for the magazines, they’re self-produced. We reached out to several cultural associations but it’s very difficult for us to get money to print.
Are there additional volunteers?
It’s us two (Lena and I). There is also a friend of mine who started very recently to do video interviews because before I would do both - video interviews and photos but it was too much work. For the videos we once launched a YouTube Channel but it’s not working yet as smooth as we wish.
Have you thought about expanding?
We are working on that. We have to find the right people that are also happy to help. We definitely would love to expand.
How does it feel after printing the latest copy of the magazine?
It’s a great feeling, it’s like an accomplishment. It’s like when you put on a great performance at a concert. It’s the same feeling. We did something cool and we brought people together. It’s always a great feeling to have the physical magazine.
How do you time the release of a magazine with the concert?
We have an unofficial contact with Südpol, we have a spot in their programme. It’s more or less every three months and they give us a date. At that point we know we have to have the bands and certain things like band interviews and we have to be ready for that date. It’s pretty stressful before the magazine is printed. So far it’s always worked out.
With plenty of time before the concert or does it get very tight?
This time it’s going to be real tight. We are expecting the magazine next week (editor’s note: interview took place on Sunday 23rd February), we hope. This time it’s a bit more stressful but usually we normally have the magazine a month before.
The bands in the edition, are they two of the bands at the release party?
That depends a lot on the bands. We always try to have somebody from the magazine but it’s difficult due to scheduling. We also have to make sure we have a local act and then we can go crazy with a band from another part of Switzerland. We also make sure it’s a good mix of genres and genders.
Links: