Buh Records – BR120
The project to produce this compilation began towards the end of 2016,
with an invitation extended by Chico Dub to visit the festival he
directs, Novas Frequências. There, we would meet the delegation of the
Pro Helvetia Foundation, who had great interest in knowing more about
the experimental music scene in South America. We traveled to Rio de
Janeiro to visit the Novas Frequencias festival, and to Valparaiso to
visit the Tsonami festival. The encounter was rewarding in both
directions, as I also was interested in learning about the Swiss scene.
While exchanging with Tobias Rothfahl (Pro Helvetia), I realized that
the experimental music scene in Switzerland was very active and robust,
and the idea to make this compilation started to develop.
I don’t remember exactly what was my first musical contact with
Switzerland. Perhaps when I discovered The Young Gods through their
records by the end of the 1990s. What I do remember clearly is my first
direct exchange with Swiss experimental musicians. It happened during a
series of concerts that occurred in Lima 10 years ago. Particularly, I
remember the shows put together by Günter Müller, Jason Kahn, Norbert
Möslang (Voice Crack), and Dave Phillips (Schimpfluch). They had arrived
as part of a South American tour, and performed together with many of
Lima’s underground experimental musicians.
After these exchanges, I understood that Swiss artists travelled
frequently. Partly because of the very nature of the international
experimental music circuit, but Swiss artists also travel vastly because
funding is available to promote Swiss culture abroad. Because of
Switzerland’s proximity to many other countries, there is a lot of
communication and cultural activity, especially with France, Germany,
and Italy. At the same time, there is a large number of foreign artists
living in Switzerland, well integrated with the local scene. Considering
the cultural diversity of the country, represented in its four official
languages (French, German, Italian, and Romansh), together with a high
rate of immigration, Switzerland is a country of complex cultural
convergence.
How to forget Cabaret Voltaire, in Zürich, founded by Hugo Ball from
Germany. Cabaret Voltaire was the historic meeting place of the Dadaist
movement, and housed exiled artists from different nationalities, and
different languages. Such a cosmopolitan atmosphere made possible the
emergence of the so-called “verses without words”, a non-language
capable of speaking to the most diverse crowd.
One of the most active labels in the experimental music scene in
Switzerland is Institute of Incoherent Cinematography, from Zürich,
where silent films are screened with live music performed by
experimental musicians. During these screenings, one can find often
‘free improvisation’, a genre deeply rooted in Switzerland, and one
largely practiced by Swiss experimental musicians.
Two notable experimental music venues in Switzerland are Cave 12 in
Geneva, and Misterioso Jazz Club, in Zürich. Equally important are
alternative places like Cabane B, in Bern, as well as festivals such as
LUFF, in Lausanne. LUFF is a festival of extreme music that presents
artists from different parts of the world. Other important festivals
such as Ear We Are, in Biel, and Zoom In, in Bern, are dedicated to free
improvisation.
To me, record labels perhaps are the best way to understand the
different styles and visions of how the experimental music scene has
developed. Many experimental music labels stand out: Everest Records,
Veto Records, three:four records, Präsens Editionen, Cruel Bones, A Tree
in a Field Records, Pulver & Asche Records, Wide Ear Records, and
Bongo Joe Records. Bongo Joe is also a specialized record store worth
highlighting, together with the stores Oor and Plattfon Records.
“Interactions” is a word that refers to a connection between two or more
things that influence each other reciprocally. It is a useful word in
discussing and understanding what is different, and a word that reminds
us that if something must prevail within the experimental music scene,
it is its openness towards what is different.
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