Swissdisc

News of the 2007 Alpentöne Music Festival in Altdorf
It may be remembered that a working community made up of the Migros Cultural Percentage, the Swiss-German Radio DRS, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the SUISA Foundation for Music, the House of Folk Music and the Society for Traditional Folk Music in Switzerland joined forces to produce a new series devoted to today’s traditional music in Switzerland. The venture is an extremely interesting one, and will certainly meet with great success. >>>

21.03.2008

A very successful Afro-Cuban cocktail from Palatimba
«Lo mas duro», a new release by the group Palatimba from Yverdon comprises Afro-Cuban vibes and rhythms by mixing timba, salsa and funk music. Here and there you can hear other musical influences too, like a touch of jazz from time to time. The whole recording is an excellent cocktail of urban Latino music, whose quality owes a lot to Dampierret Mesa Martinez. >>>

20.11.2007

«La Musique Populaire Suisse à travers le Temps» (Swiss Traditional Music throughout the Ages)
One can but be delighted about this new release which provides such a magnificent and extensive survey of Swiss traditional music in all its diversity. The impetus for this project was finally given at the tenth Federal Traditional music Festival at Stans in 2007. >>>

12.11.2007

Handsome Hank and His Lonesome Boys: «Live at murmansk»
Handsome Hank and his Lonesome Boys have to be taken with a good pinch of salt. The six gentlemen have an inclination to bend the truth. In the booklet accompanying their latest CD, «Live at murmansk», the sixtet claims they were sent to Murmansk to perform in 1962. They didn’t know they were on a secret mission. >>>

14.04.2007

Tuning into the Gruyère region
The Chœur des Armaillis de la Gruyère (a famous folk choir from the Gruyère district of the canton of Fribourg), conducted by Michel Corpataux, has just released a new recording intended «both as a tribute to the Gruyère region and to the Abbé Joseph Bovet who made this land into a land of song». What better way to sum up the contents of this recording entitled «Ecoute Gruyère» (Listen Gruyère), and its magnificent panorama of Fribourg’s tradition of choral singing! >>>

20.03.2007

Andreas Vollenweider: «Midnight Clear»
In anlgo-saxon countries, even rockstars with a bad-boy image can do modern interpretations of Christmas carols: over here though, it’s still unusual. Still, it is hardly surprising for Andreas Vollenweider to release a Christmas album: «Midnight Clear». His previous albums were already contemplative: the Zurich harpist has offered his fans countless interior acoustic quests for meaning and happiness. >>>

07.02.2007

Zugluft blows a wind of vivifying folk
The album starts with a frenzied folk track which is slightly reminiscent of balkanic music. The Zurich band «Zugluft» brings us a breath of – predominantly folk-musical – fresh air. Quite appropriately, since in English, Zugluft means a draught. >>>

07.02.2007

Top Chors: Romansch choral music
Radio Rumantsch, as everyone knows, throws itself heart and soul into the preservation of Romansch culture. The producer Giusep G. Decurtins is also one of its fervent supporters. He has proved this more than once, and his most recent recording features choral renderings of the best-loved Rhaeto-romanic songs. >>>

18.12.2006

«Us Stefans Rucksack»
Stefan Schwarz is one of the dominant figures on the Swiss folk music scene. He has just recently turned forty, and to celebrate this event, a recording of sixteen of his compositions by eight different groups has just been released. >>>

14.08.2006

AlpPan Duo: «Alpenglühen»
From time to time you come across a recording that could be qualified as «unclassifiable». This is one of them, because it associates three instruments that at first glance seem to have absolutely nothing in common: the Alphorn, the Panpipes and the organ. >>>

20.07.2006

40 x s’Bescht : «Jodle, Jutze, Örgele»
The recording company Turicaphon, very active in the production of nearly every musical genre, has released a new recording of Swiss popular music: a double CD entitled «Jodle, Jutze, Örgele». >>>

12.03.2006

The Zurich Jazz Orchestra mixes jazz and folk.
Here we are, listening to the first few beats of «Sur nos monts quand le soleil…», the Swiss national anthem, when suddenly jazz takes over completely. With its new recording «Beyond Swiss tradition», the Zurich Jazz orchestra has mixed Swiss folk music and jazz. >>>

12.03.2006

Ländlermusig: 20x Chugelrund
It’s fashionable today to publish «Best of» compilations at regular intervals. Fans of popular music will therefore appreciate this recent Corema Records release containing a compilation of the greatest popular music hits. >>>

26.01.2006

Dusty Boots: «Sidetrack»
Lovers of Country and Western music will be delighted to discover the new album by the group Dusty Boots, hailing from the canton of Schwyz. This group has been active on the Country and Western scene for over ten years and can be considered one of the major representatives of country and western in Switzerland. >>>

16.01.2006

«So tönt’s bi eus»
The label, “Elite Special” has just released a rich folk music collection of five CD’s containing 100 sprightly country waltzes and yodels. The first CD has 20 tracks of the kind you would hear in earthy, rural parlours («En urchigi Ländler-Stubete»). The second CD contains 20 pieces under the motto «Niene geits so schön und luschtig…» (noone has it better…). >>>

27.09.2005

40 Marches
Elite Special has just released a double CD with 40 marches for amateurs of marching-music. The CD contains tracks like the «Seebacher Marsch», «Feurig Blut», or «Posaunen voran!». >>>

28.04.2005

Walter Grob is awarded the «Goldener Violinschlüssel»
At the General Meeting of the Goldener Violinschlüssel Association, it was decided to award accordionist Walter Grob the Goldenen Violinschlüssel for 2005. The Goldenen Violinschlüssel is the highest folklore award and is regarded as being the Oscar of folk music. >>>

30.03.2005

American ballads from the Moondog Show
The Moondog Show’s third album, “Evergreen”, takes you on a musical journey down South. The members of the group guide the listener on a tour from country music to soul, including folk, rock ‘n roll and rhythm ‘n blues. >>>

27.01.2005

« Des sons de la montagne » released by « Musiques Suisses » with a booklet also in Japanese
In the booklet, musicologist Thomas Gartmann, who also happens to be head of the music department of Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Foundation for culture, recalls the history and raison d’être of « Musiques Suisses ». The label’s current release presents Swiss folk music from several different regions freely blended with contemporary music. >>>

29.11.2004

ELITE special hits a home run !
Under Hans Oestreicher’s tight management, Turicaphon AG has banked on Swiss folk music from year one and has now hit another home run with its three latest double CD releases. >>>

22.10.2004

Brent Moyer: «Global Cowboy»
«Global Cowboy» contains a lively selection of Brent Moyer’s own songs in a broad spectrum ranging from Cajun and Tex-Mex to Americana and Country Rock. The musician – originally from Wyoming – has recorded good old honky tonk and Tex-Mex numbers for the CD released by Brambus Records. >>>

23.06.2004

s Guggerzytli – Swiss evergreens
Amateurs of old Swiss Hits take note: the label Elite special has released a double CD with old favourites from the 40’s and 50’s. The album contains Evergreens by the Geschwister Schmid, Marthely Mumenthaler and Vrenely Pfyl, the song and yodel trio Kessler-Israng-Ruckstuhl, the singing duo Bumm and Schrumm, Vico Torriani and many others. >>>

23.06.2004

Ringgenberg-Goldswil Yodel Club: «Am Burgseeli»
The label Ethno Elite Special has just released «Am Burgseeli», a CD by the Ringgenberg-Goldswil yodel club. The CD opens with an atmospheric alphorn trio by Adolf, Daniel and Walter Zobrist followed by yodelling songs in alternation with country dances. >>>

18.05.2004

«O Müeti» - Yodel Duet Rüedi-Rüegsegger
«O Müeti», a Corema Records release, is an album of original recordings from the period from 1954 to 1965 by yodel duet Rüedi-Rüegsegger. In all, the duet was active from 1949 to 1965. «O Müeti» is a compilation of twelve original yodel songs and twelve country music recordings. >>>

10.02.2004

Paul Mac Bonvin: «Ainsi va la vie»
His new album «Ainsi va la vie» (That’s Life) takes Paul Mac Bonvin to Canada, but he remains faithful to his well-tested mix of country, cajun and rock’n’roll. >>>

09.12.2003

Jeff Turner: «Every Song A Story»
Jeff Turner has released his new album just in time for his Christmas tour with John Brack. On «Every Song a Story», a classical «unplugged» album in singer-songwriter style, Jeff Turner tells thirteen amusing yet deep stories. >>>

09.12.2003

Glen Of Guinness: «Back & Side»
Switzerland’s favourite Irish folkmusic band is back with an arche-typical album. At the end of the 90s, with the single «Here Comes The Rain», Glen of Guinness, the band from French-speaking Switzerland, managed to stir interest in German-speaking Switzerland too. >>>

24.10.2003

Marianne Racine Quartet: «Sångbook»
With «Sångbook», the Zurich-based singer Marianne Racine has compiled a choice selection of Swedish folk songs, favourite American songbook classics and jazz songs. Not that Swedish folk songs have any direct connection with jazz, but such is their melodious quality that they can be beautifully built into soft jazz arrangements – as Marianne Racine impressively demonstrates on this album. >>>

23.09.2003

Traditional Music from French-speaking Switzerland
The «Fondation pour les Musiques Traditionnelles Romandes» was established in September 2002 with the aim of introducing a broader public to the traditional music, songs and dances of west Switzerland. The Foundation is conceived as a platform for collecting information and documents and making them available to interested parties. >>>

19.08.2003

Handsome Hank and his Lonesome Boys: «Greatest Hits»
What would an old disco hit like «Daddy Cool» sound like played on the banjo and violin? Or a punk classic like «Blitzkrieg Bop» sung in a broad southern drawl and dis-arranged by a bluegrass combo? Great! or at least they do when Handsome Hank and his Lonesome Boys are at work. >>>

01.07.2003

Pippo Pollina: «Racconti Brevi»
Where does the man get all that energy? For years Pippo Pollina has been constantly on the road, cropping up anywhere between north Germany and Sicily, an indefatigable representative in the matter of Italianità. In his backpack, a brand new, expensively produced CD, «Racconti Brevi», created over a long period of time in Toggenburg and in London. >>>

16.05.2003

The Moondog Show: «Bonne Espérance»
Americana from Basel? Yes, it exists. Two years ago, Moondog Show's first album «Far Beyond», highly praised by the German edition of «Rolling Stone», already created an enthusiastic stir. >>>

31.10.2002

J. Kirby's Band
The drummer, singer and songwriter J. Kirby Bivans grew up in the States. After his music studies, he moved to Nashville, to work with country singers like Vassar Clements, Nicolette Larson. Carl Perkins and Lorrie Morgan. On a European tour, he «got stuck» in Switzerland where he formed his own band, J. Kirby’s Band. >>>

01.05.2002

Corin Curschellas: contemporary folklore
«Music Loves Me» was the title Corin Curschellas playfully gave her first solo album in 1992 – and that title could apply like a Credo to her whole musical work. With remarkable assurance, the singer from the Grisons masters large leaps in tone as well as in style. >>>

02.04.2002