2024 - Year in review (part 2)

Here is the second part to my review of 2024. In case you haven’t read the first part - check it out here.

Whilst writing this blog entry, I noticed that the article got a bit too long and the year in review will be split into three parts!

For 2025, I will also try harder to get everything done for December.

July:

July began with a reflective article following the record release concert of the Supersonic Travel Agency at the El Lokal in Zurich the month before. It was an evening in which a lot of memories came flooding back whilst the final chapter of the band was written. I was thrilled to be a part of the journey and still look back at the time fondly, and I’m also very happy that Eversun was released in the end after all the blood, sweat and effort they put into the concept album.

I also began to dig deeper into the live sessions which are currently (or were until recently) produced in Switzerland. It was interesting to see the diverse productions which allow bands to showcase a few songs and be interviewed.

One of my favourite articles so far - in terms of questions and the creation of their own mystical musical universe - was with Kalkas. I was already hooked by twists and turns in their music with very little repetition, the soundscapes which they created and the sombre, baritone vocals of the narrator. I am looking to see how they build on last year’s EP, Ciel en feu, and continue to grow in the near future.

August:

The month of August was expectedly quiet before the summer holidays. It includes two very different interviews.

The interview with Radiana Basso has been one of the articles that I am most proud of so far and the one which has required the most effort. It’s the only interview so far that came about from a video interview which took place one sunny Sunday morning a few weeks before. The interview was so convivial that we kept moving away from the questions, jumping to other subjects and time just flew by. In the end, I had to transform a long audio file into a written article and taking note of what was said at what moment. I would definitely do things differently next time but it was a really enjoyable interview and Radiana’s story was a very interesting one, she has given a lot to Lugano and to the music scene in Switzerland and I am looking forward to hear about the next chapter. There’s also a bonus part to the interview which I hope to have up online sometime in the near future.

I also enjoyed the short and playful interview with Felix from Binary Sunset about their album les grandes vacances. Their music - the EPs, the new album, the Mitschnitt live session with Radio 3Fach - was a large part of my soundtrack for the summer of 2024. I hope to have some more quick interviews in the near future too to mix it up a bit more on the blog.

Shortly after wrapping up the interview, I met Felix at the Winterthur Music Week. Lola Boum had an extra guitarist, having seen the music videos and especially with the collaboration, Pas de fleurs, with Nurit from the band, it was obvious that Felix was the extra guitarist. I didn’t know he produced and mixed their album Cheesy Songs.

In any case, the day at the festival was really enjoyable, even if the Lola Boum live set was very short and that I missed the beginning of the Moonpools’ set. I hope to catch them both soon at an indoor venue sometime in the near future. The summer holidays started a few days later and it allowed me a break to think of the upcoming articles.

September:

The month was quite productive in terms of output and networking during the holidays. It started off with the third instalment of “Tell us about the music scene in…” with Jacob Atkinson/Jean L’Asticot from Fomies/&Friends (formerly known as Chacho & Friends). It was an informative article and I delved deep into one of the recommendations’ discography and had the pleasure of interviewing them for the blog later on. It was great to know more about Vevey, having been there once in 2021, and I hope I will be back there soon and to check out the music scene first hand.

I was also very happy to interview Kevin Galland, bassist in Coilguns and having a hand in the production of many records, including many bands on Humus Records record label. His name was often appearing when I was reading about the album’s or EP’s credits and Kevin pretty much had carte blanche for the article after working on a few ideas together. It was fascinating to find out more about his background, personalities and personal journeys form a lot of a person’s music, and also to hear more about four records, all very different from one another, which he had worked on. The idea for a photo wearing a chef’s hat for the article was however vetoed.

There were also a couple of memorable concerts - going to the Konzerthaus Schüür to be at the record release concert from Binary Sunset. One notable moment is when one band member (sorry, forgot who) comes up to me and goes “you’re the one from the…” *air typing on a keyboard* “…blog”. It was great to have met them all and see Felix again. No song was left unplayed - the whole discography in one evening!

Speaking of second encounters, I was surprised that Ueli and his band members from Dawns Mystery were playing at a local pub in my neighbourhood, with Storm who I saw once before on the same bill with Jëkoff Sedofski. It was a very enjoyable concert, they played the whole of the new album, Hot Showers, the location of the stage wasn’t too ideal as it also meant that people had to walk through the band to get to the toilets.

Somehow, I was able to wrap up September with two big interviews as well. The interview with Renato from Echolot shed a lot of light on the band’s 10 year history before their anniversary concert. It was interesting to know how they were able to have such longevity whilst each of their albums displays an evolution in their sound.

The interview with Valentin from Foucoupe took a little bit of time but it’s understandable with the amount of excellent videos they worked on and released this year, not to mention that they celebrated five years at the School of Stained Glass and Creation in Monthey - which I only found out after starting the article. I found the story behind the association to be inspiring, how they started off with concerts in their living rooms before moving towards filming live sessions. I have also made a lot of great musical discoveries through their videos and I can’t wait to see what they have planned for this year in terms of videos and concerts.

Part 3 soon