Baloise Session Archives

Jack Savoretti is a British singer-songwriter and I’ve heard a lot of good things about his live performance. Like so many I haven’t had the chance to see him live although he’s been around for ages. Lucky me he just released his 6th studio record called “Singing to Strangers” which makes him go on tour through Europe. On May 6th he is in Zurich at Volkshaus thanks to Allblues.

Jack Savoretti’s song “Home” is one of his most famous – at least in my eyes. Such a beautiful ballade and with his raspy voice he is transporting just the right kind of sadness. But that was way back in 2014. Fast forward 5 years and we’ve got “Singing to Strangers” to listen to. And I mean how true is that. Next Monday he will definitely singing to strangers… well at least I’ll be a stranger since it’s gonna be my first time listening to him. However my friends from Loads of Music are no strangers at all as you can see by the beautiful headline picture.

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Allgemein, Concerts

The wait is almost over for Walking on Cars fans!

November 10, 2018June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

So this is the last night of the Baloise Session 2018 and it’s “Indie Chartbreakers”-Night! I am super excited to see Walking On Cars for the 5th time! Why? Because they are in the middle of their songwriting process of their 2nd album and yes they are playing new songs!!!! Before they hit the stage LP will warm up the crowd.

LP

I’ve had many chances to see LP live but her style of singing is just not for me. Plus I don’t like if artists whistle all the time. I don’t why but I just don’t think there is any reason why whistling should be put in songs 🙂 However lots of people disagree with me and came to see LP performing at the Baloise Session and let me tell they weren’t disappointed! I might not like her style of music but I do think she’s super nice. She collected lots of fan presents during the fourth song. She took her time and said hi to everyone. I absolutely loved that.

lp_pld965201 — Photo credit: Dominik Plüss

What I loved too is that she came down to us more than once and walked through the audience. She gave absolutely everything during her 1h 15mins set and I can appreciate that even if I’m not a fan of her music.

Walking on Cars

We were so excited to see them like I already mentioned! So when they started with “Tick Tock” we were totally in the groove and it felt like they’ve never been gone. After “As we fly south” Sorcha had some technical problems with her key board. So Patrick tried himself as an entertainer and cracked a joke. However I don’t think it suits him. The joke was pretty bad and only a few laughed. Maybe it was also because of the language barrier that people didn’t really laugh. Luckily after a few mins he got the go ahead and was able to perform “Ship Goes Down”. His dancing shows a lot of passion and to other people it might look weird but it just shows how passionate he is. LOL

Finally three songs were over and we were able to claim our first row spot 🙂 “At Gunpoint” and “Love backs down” were next. The latter is one of my fav songs! The energy, the rhythm.. just everyone makes it so special to hear it live. I also loved that the we had enough space to dance. There were lots of people there to support Walking on Cars but respectful ones. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I saw lots of smiles around.

walking_on_cars_pld0028 — Photo credit: Dominik Plüss

“Flying High” is another incredible song and if you listen closely you can hear the beautiful voice of Sorcha in the background. Lots of “Uhhh’s” and “Hallelujah’s” were sung during “Two Stones” I got goosebumps. The energy was just incredible and that’s the trademark of any Walking on Cars show. Now this next song “Coldest Water” isn’t on their debut record called “Everything this Way” but it’s already on of the fans favourites since they were playing it on their last leg of the tour last year. It’s amazing if you can test new songs live in front of a crowd of people. That’s why I loved watching their reactions and I tried my best making them feel like they did a good job. But before we heard really new song we enjoyed “Always be with u”.

New Songs!

Patrick said that the album is 90% done! So this is good news Walking on Cars fans! 90% is good! I assume we will hear more next year and that’s great! 🙂 “Waiting on the Corner”, “At my door”, “Nothing’s impossible” are the new songs we have been dying to hear. On my instagram account you can listen to some in the highlights section. I have to say they are awesome and fit perfectly into the set and their first album. They are powerful, rhythmic and just incredible – so Walking on Cars 🙂 Guys if you read this, keep up the good work and finish that album! 😀

walking_on_cars_pld0073 — Photo credit: Dominik Plüss

The last songs of this year’s Baloise Session

“Catch me if you can” and “Hand in Hand” were performed by Patrick, Sorcha, Paul, Evan and Ross. Yes, Ross who played the guitar instead of Dan. I can only assume that Dan wasn’t able to travel here so they had to find someone to help them out. It worked out well. He did a good job and fit right in however I did miss Dan LOL I guess it was just me 😉 Off they went for the little encore break.
A piano was brought on stage and Pat played “Coming my way” which is another song we heard before but isn’t on an album yet. Such a beautiful ballade! So moving and I was sooo happy that everyone shut up – we could literally listen to the piano and Pat’s voice and sink into the song – so much that when it finished we needed a sec to gather our thoughts and a huge applause followed. “Don’t mind me” was next but lots of people were waiting for “Speeding Cars”. This song finished the 2018 Baloise Session with the whole audience singing “Heya Heya” 🙂 A very beautiful special moment.

walking_on_cars_pld0247 — Photo credit: Dominik Plüss

Thank you Baloise Session

A huge thank you to Baloise Session! Every year they bring out amazing artists to create special evenings. I already cannot wait for next year so mark your calendars: 13 – 31 October 2019!
Have you been to this year’s Baloise Session? Share your story here 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: Country Night Gstaad, Jason Derulo, John Legend

Allgemein, Concerts

Soulnight with Alina Amuri and John Legend

October 21, 2018June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I visited the Baloise Session the first time ever. It left a lasting impression and I knew I had to come back again so when the line-up was announced I knew I really had to get a move on. So when I got the confirmation to come this Soul Night evening with John Legend and Alina Alina I was over the moon.

Last year Alicia Keys was part of the Baloise Session and as you know before the first act goes on stage they show a concert. I was very happy to watch last’s years gig and it got me in the right mood. I always try to be there very early because there is so much to do. Cafe Royal offers you a yummy coffee, Sprüngli is giving out Luxembourgeli and dark chocolates, there are lots of competitions and of course I always try to get a good seat too.

Alina Amuri

I knew Alina Amuri’s new album Chasing Traces pretty well since I wrote a New Music post about it. Unfortunately I always had other concerts already planned so I never got the chance to see her live with the new album. So tonight I was very excited for both artists and of course Alina Amuri didn’t disappoint. In fact she received standing ovations from the crowd so she must have done a great job warming up the crowd for John Legend.

First up was “Turn to Gold”, followed by “Pioneers”, “Water” and “Won’t Cope with It” which are great for a rainy autumn night (I know It’s now what we’re used to anymore :-)) The beginning of Alina Amuri’s set was very souly but this changed with “Giving up on you”. The electric guitar boomed around the venue and it was a sudden change which I think surprised many. I love it! She changed up the set again when she asked Walter Esposito on stage to sing the title track “Chasing Traces” with her. He not only supports her on stage he also co-wrote the album with her.

Next was “Don’t/Won’t let them take me under” before Alina Amuri changed her sound again. “On my Way” was already very dancy but this one got topped by “Move Slowly”. She asked everyone to stand up and dance and a few followed her request. It was very 80’s synthie but still in a very soulful way. Hearing Move Slowly live confirmed my notion I had when I listened to the album back in June. For “Your Eyes” Alina Amuri played the German flute at the beginning and I was impressed once again. With the beautiful ballade “Daughter” she finished the night 🙂

John Legend

Only one big black piano got put in the middle of the stage and at 20 past 9 John Legend to his seat with “Made to Love”. John Legend’s beautiful voice accompanied by his skillful play of the piano was enough to sell out the Baloise Session. To be honest with you I thought it could get boring but because he kept sharing little stories throughout the evening and joked and smiled a lot it was very entertaining. John Legend continued with “A Good Night”, “Tonight” and “Love me Now”.

John Legend explained that he worked in a normal 9 to 5 job doing excel sheets and creating power point slides during the day and on the weekends he would play in this small club called the Living Room. Of course he would not be able to play during prime time but at 4 pm. Who wants to listen to Jazz at that time?! 😀 But his room mates cousin happens to be Kanye West who just got his first record deal and was producing The College Dropout and in 2004 John Legend got his first deal as well producing “Get Lifted”. So very early on John Legend worked with big names already. So his next song is from his first his first record “Let’s get lifted”. For “Used to love U” he needed the audience’s support in singing “Holla holla haaa”. It kinda seemed like a gospel choir with the director on stage with the piano. “Save room” and Maxine was next.

John Legend told us a little about how he writes songs. First he starts with a melody and uses a lot of gibberish. Only after he’s got the melody of the song he starts writing the lyrics to it. So he showed us with “Again” how he started out and how it turned out. With every song he showed us a little bit more of his voice range and I was super impressed. After I sat down for the first 30 mins I knew I had to see him up close a bit more so I went up front because hey, when you get the chance to see them so close why don’t you use it? 🙂

He continued his set with “Where did my baby go?” and “PDA”. One of his bigger hits it seems is “Ordinary People”. When he started playing the first chords I heard a lot of “Ohh’s and Ahh’s”. I didn’t think it’s possible to cover Sam Smith and not look stupid doing it. However John Legend managed it. He sang “Lay Me Down” and I had goosebumps listening to it. How good is his voice if he can compete with the very highs of Sam Smith?

It’s time for the world to change. To love each other and fight for peace and justice. So wake up everybody!

With that he introduced his next song “Wake Up Everybody”. Staying in this theme John Legend covered Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”. Another very big name and he did an amazing job with this song! He turned all his covers into a John Legend version without disrespecting the original artist and that’s an art. “You and I” and “Green Light” followed and with the latter he got everyone dancing and moving. Back in 2001 when he wrote “Stay with you” he didn’t know Chrissy but it is a perfect love song for your parter. He admitted that his songs get played a lot at weddings 😀
John Legend said that he grew up in a church because his whole family was involved in his hometown church. But it was his Grandma who told him how to play the piano. And what I loved the most was when he said:

Everything I do here is dedicated to her

And with that he played a wonderful rendition of “Bridge over troubled water”. To finish this beautiful soulful night John Legend played his biggest hit “All of me” and I think everyone at the Baloise Session sang along with him. I had goosebumps and it was a very special moment I enjoyed a lot.

I want to thank the Baloise Session again for inviting me to the event and guys if you are going to this year’s edition you have to participate in this amazing competition where you can win 300 francs for next year’s Baloise Session! All you need to do is follow them on Instagram, Post a pic with your ticket and let them know why YOU are their biggest fan and use the hashtags #Baloisesession and #baloisesessionfan” and you’re in! All you need to do then is hope for as many likes as possible to be crowned Fan of the day! 🙂
Share your Baloise Session memories below or on my instagram account! 🙂

Check out my latest gigs: Jason Derulo, Country Night Gstaad, Walking Papers

Allgemein, Concerts

Herz und Kopf / Heart and Head

November 12, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

Es ist der letzte Abend der diesjährigen Baloise Session und das Motto des Abends ist “Mann singt Deutsch”. Zur Einstimmung ist auf den Leinwänden eine frühere Session mit Silbermond zu sehen, was sehr viel Sinn macht. Silbermond sind unglaublich live! Sie haben so viel Energie auf der Bühne und sie wissen ihren Erfolg zu schätzen, denn sie haben in ihrer eigenen Garage ganz klein angefangen.

Als erster betritt Max Giesinger die Bühne. Er hat in einer Casting-Show angefangen und wurde erst später berühmt. Ich weiss nicht warum, aber irgendwie hatte ich das Gefühl, dass ich seinen Auftritt nicht mögen würde. Ich dachte, dass er nur langsame Lieder spielt und die Nähe zum Publikum nicht sucht. Es ist unglaublich, wie falsch ich lag! Max hatte vier Musiker auf der Bühne, die ihn unterstützten. Sie haben mit “Roulette” und “Barfuss und Allein” angefangen. Ich war super fokussiert am Fotografieren, aber ich merkte schon jetzt, dass ich mochte, was ich sah und hörte. Während des dritten Songs wurde ich fast überrannt von den Fans, die in die erste Reihe stürmten. Da ich noch nicht fertig war mit Fotografieren, stellte ich mich neben die Bühnentreppe in der Mitte. Nach dem dritten Lied merkte ich, dass ich da bleiben und das Konzert von Nahem verfolgen wollte.
Gegen Ende von “Kalifornien” ging Max ins Publikum. Er schüttelte viele Hände und irgendwie schuf er eine tolle familiäre Atmosphäre. Er sprach viel mit dem Publikum und erzählte viele kleine Geschichten. Es fühlte sich an, als ob er nur für 10 Leute spielte – jedoch waren es 100 Mal mehr. Er schaffte es, alle Leute zu berühren, sodass sogar die Leute mit Sitzplätzen aufstanden. Eine seiner Hit-Singles “Wenn Sie Tanzt” kam als nächstes und alle sangen, tanzen und sprangen mit. “Für Dich, Für Mich” ist ein wunderschönes Lied bei dem wir im Chor “Ohh ohh” sangen :-).

Die Backstage-Crew brachte drei Stühle auf die Bühne und wir durften ein tolles Akustik-Set geniessen. Bevor sie anfingen, erzählte Max eine kleine Geschichte über seinen ersten Besuch in Basel. Damals, als er noch Strassenmusiker war, traf er ein Pärchen aus Basel, welches ihn zum Musik machen in ihre Stadt einluden. Er nahm die Einladung an und spielte die ersten zwei Minuten des nächsten Songs “Alles auf Anfang” – dann stoppte ihn die Polizei. Lars und Paul kamen zurück auf die Bühne, um mit Max, Steffen und Klaus “Der Junge, der rennt” mit einem Country-Musik-Touch zu spielen.

Wir haben nicht nur sehr familiäre Momente mit Max Giesinger erlebt, sondern bekamen auch Reisetipps für Mannheim und Minnesota. Max hat mich als Fan gewonnen und ich weiss nun, dass ich sein Album kaufen und zu seinem nächsten Konzert gehen werde. Ich konnte echt nicht glauben, wie falsch ich lag! Nach dem Akustik-Set wechselten sie wieder zu den normalen Instrumenten mit “Vielleicht im nächsten Leben”. Die Jungs rockten die Bühne und fingen an für “In Balance” synchron zu tanzen. Max holte sogar eine Glückliche auf die Bühne und tanzte mit ihr. Nachher sagte er uns, dass er das schon immer mal machen wollte. Sehr sympathisch! Max setzte sich hinters Piano und für das Intro von “Nicht so schnell” war nur er und sein Piano im Mittelpunkt. Einfach nur wunderschön!

Natürlich konnte Max nicht gehen, ohne seinen Hit 80 Millionen zu singen. Die Leute hatten Riesenspass! Als Zugabe nahm Max drei Girls aus dem Publikum und bat sie, seine Background-Sängerinnen zu sein. Die Jungs und die Mädels sangen eine wunderschöne Ballade “Für immer”. Es war ein wundervoller Moment und ein perfektes Ende für ein tolles Set! Für mich konnte der Abend nicht besser werden. Tim Bendzko wird’s nicht leicht haben…

Ums Vorauszunehmen der Abend wurde nicht besser. Tim Bendzko hatte sehr strenge Regeln für die Fotografen und normalerweise ist das ein Zeichen, dass das Konzert schlecht wird. Er kam auf die Bühne und sang ganz alleine das erste Lied “Das wissen wir beide” – nur er und seine Gitarre – sogar ohne Mikrofon. Dies fand ich toll und es war sehr anders. Die Band kam auf die Bühne, die wie ein Wohnzimmer dekoriert war, um etwas Familiäres zu kreieren, so als ob er in seinem oder deinem Haus spielte. Während “Leichtsinn”, “Ohne zurück zu sehen” und “Hinter dem Meer” konnten wir Bilder schiessen. Und wieder rannten viele weibliche Fans vor die Bühne.

Vor der Treppe von Max platzierte Tim eine schwarze Kiste, damit kein Fan ihm zu Nahe kommen kann. Er hat uns in den ersten Reihen nie richtig angeschaut – nicht wie Max. Tim Bendzko sprach mit uns und erzählte viele lustige Sachen, aber es schien mir alles sehr durchdacht und es fühlte sich nicht an, wie wenn es von Herzen kam. Er spielte weitere langsame Lieder “Am seidenen Faden” und “Ich steh nicht mehr still”. Endlich kam ein Lied, das ich kannte: “Keine Maschine” – Ich mag den Text sehr, aber das nächste ist mein Lieblingslied von Bendzko: “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten”. Das ist bis jetzt sein grösster Hit und man merkte es auch. Es war der längste Song und das Publikum musste natürlich mitsingen.

Das letzte Lied vor der Zugabe war “Keine Zeit”. Viele der Frauen um mich herum kannten den Text und es war sehr süss anzusehen. Er kam zurück mit “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” und Leute, das ist eine wunderschöne Ballade! Schön, konnte ich dieses Lied mal live sehen. “So fühlt es sich an” und “Sag einfach ja” folgten. Die Band ging wieder Backstage, um wieder nach vorne zu kommen und 2 weitere Lieder zu singen. Tim suchte eine Person, die alle seine Lieder kannte und fand auch eine. Ein Mann namens Chris, der seinen Lieblingssong wünschte. Tim und Fabian am Piano sangen dieses Lied ohne Probe! Dies war recht beeindruckend – vor allem der Klavier-Part! Mit dem Lied “Warum ich Lieder singe” endete das Konzert.

Die zwei deutschen Jungs beendeten die diesjährige Baloise Session. Ich kann es kaum erwarten bis die Acts des nächsten Jahres verkündet werden und freue mich jetzt schon riesig auf die nächste Ausgabe der Baloise Session. Ich möchte euch nochmals sagen, wie toll dieses Festival ist und wie freundlich alle Helfer sind. Ich kann es euch nur empfehlen 🙂 Wie ihr wisst, durfte ich vier tolle Abende hier verbringen und jeder einzelne war wunderbar. Seid ihr neugierig geworden, dann lest es doch nach: Clean bandit/Goldfrapp, Kaleo/Asgeir und Dabu Fantastic/Kool & the Gang oder das lustige Interview mit Dabu Fantastic.
Wart ihr an der diesjährigen Baloise Session? Lasst es mich in den Kommentaren wissen 🙂

Tonight’s the last night of this year’s Baloise Session and the motto is “Mann sings Deutsch” which means “Man sings German”. And tonight they show an old Session with Silbermond which makes so much sense. Silbermond is German band and they are seriously incredible live. They’ve got so much energy on stage and they don’t take their success for granted. And just FYI they started out as a band playing in their garage.

First up we got Max Giesinger. He started out with The Voice and turned big after a few years. I don’t know why but I felt like I wouldn’t like his set. I thought he’d be distant and played only slow songs. Unbelievable how wrong I was! Max got 4 musicians to support him on stage. They started with “Roulette” and “Barfuss und Allein”. I was taking pictures and was super focused however I already liked what I was seeing and hearing. During the 3rd song I nearly got run over by fans who wanted to get front row. I took my spot next to the stairs in the middle to finish taking pics and then I realised that I actually wanted to stay here.
At the end of “Kalifornien” Max headed into the audience and shook hands and just created a very nice atmosphere. He also talked a lot and had a lot of stories to tell. It felt like we were just 10 people he was singing to – so intimate – but it actually was a 100 times more. He managed to touch everyone’s hearts and to get even the seated people standing. His hit single “Wenn Sie Tanzt” was next and everyone was singing and dancing and jumping. “Für Dich, Für Mich” is a beautiful song where we were the back up choir singing “ohhh ohhh” :-).

The stage hands came on and brought some chairs. We were about to enjoy a lovely acoustic set. Max explained that he met a nice couple from Basel years and years ago when has busking on the street. They invited him to busk in Basel. He said he took their invite and so he tried to play in the streets of Basel. Two minutes of “Alles auf Anfang” was all he could manage before the police stopped him. Max, Steffen and Klaus were joined by Lars and Paul to sing and play “Der Junge, der rennt” with a country touch.

We not only got very intimate moments but also travel tipps for Mannheim and Minnesota. Max Giesinger won me over by then and I knew that I will buy his record and will come back to a full gig. I really couldn’t believe how wrong I was. After the acoustic set they went back to normal with “Vielleicht im nächsten Leben”. The guys were absolutely rocking the stage too and now they got their dance moves out for “In Balance”. Max even took a lucky lady on stage to dance with her. At the end he said I always wanted to try this. So cute! Max now sat down behind a piano and the intro of “Nicht so schnell” was just him and his piano. Just beautiful!

Obviously he couldn’t leave without singing this hit “80 Millionen”. Everyone went crazy! As an encore Max asked three girls on stage to help them out as a backing choir. All the lads and the girls sang a beautiful ballade called “Für immer”. It was a wonderful moment and very brilliant end to an amazing set! To me the evening couldn’t get any better so Tim Bendzko had big shoes to fill.

Let me tell you this already he didn’t fill them. Tim Bendzko had some very strict photographers rules and usually that’s an indication of bad performances. So he came on stage alone and sang the first song “Das wissen wir beide” with his guitar and no microphone. This I quite liked and I thought it was quite different. The band came on stage which was decorated like a living room since he tried to make it as intimate as if he would play in his or your living room. “Leichtsinn”, “Ohne zurück zu sehen” and “Hinter dem Meer” were the songs we could capture in pictures. Again lots of mainly female fans were running towards the stage.

Where Max had his stairs Tim put a small black box there so that no fan will be able to get close to him. He never looked at us properly – not like Max. Tim did talk to us and also told a lot of jokes but it felt like it was well thought out and it didn’t feel like it came from his heart. He continued with mainly slow songs “Am seidenen Faden” and “Ich steh nicht mehr still”. Finally a song I knew “Keine Maschine” – I quite like the lyrics of that song but my favourite came now: “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten. It’s his biggest hit so far and you could deffo see it. It was the longest song and the audience had to sing along to.

The last song before his first encore was “Keine Zeit”. A lot of the ladies around me knew the lyrics and it was quite lovely to see. He came back with “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” and let me tell you that this is one beautiful ballade! I enjoyed seeing it live. “So fühlt es sich an” and “Sag einfach ja” followed. The band went backstage again only to come back to sing another 2. Tim was looking for the one person who knows all his songs and he found one. A guy called Chris who wished for his favourite song and Tim and his band mate Fabian on the keys were singing it without any rehearsal. This was quite impressive – Especially the piano part! The final song “Warum ich Lieder singe” finished this quiet set.

The two German lads finished this years Baloise Session in style and I cannot wait to see who the organisers get to perform next year! Again I want to tell you how amazing this festival is and the staff is just super friendly. I can deffo recommend it. As you know I enjoyed 4 evenings here and I loved each and everyone of them. Have a read of Clean bandit/Goldfrapp, Kaleo/Asgeir and Dabu Fantastic/Kool & the Gang or the funny interview with Dabu Fantastic.
Have you been at this years Baloise Session? Leave a comment below 🙂

Allgemein, Interviews

Dabu Fantastic's Träume und offene Geheimnisse / Dabu Fantastic's dreams and open secrets

November 5, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

Vor dem tollen Konzert an der Baloise Session traf ich Dabu und DJ Arts von Dabu Fanstastic für ein kurzes Interview. Wie das Konzert war erfährt ihr hier.
Please scroll down for the English translation.
Ihr habt ein Konzert im Seebad Enge 2015 gegeben und ich war dort.
DJ Arts: Ja?! Warst du dort?
Ja, es war sehr cool!
Dabu: Er hatte einen guten Abend.
DJ Arts: Ja, da hatte ich ein All-time-high an diesem Abend. Ich weiss nicht warum.
Dies war ja ein sehr spezieller Ort und heute an der Baloise Session auch. In welchem Venue habt ihr sonst noch gespielt, das sehr speziell ist oder in dem ihr mal spielen möchtet?
Dabu: In der Schweiz gibt es unfassbar viele kleine Festivals, für die wir jetzt fast schon zu gross sind, um da zu spielen. Die Leute geben sich dort immer sehr viel Mühe. Solche Gigs waren immer toll. Es gibt auch grosse Venues, in denen ich noch spielen möchte, z.B. das Volkshaus in Zürich.
DJ Arts: Ich fände es toll, wenn wir in die Westschweiz gehen würden. Das Paléo Festival z.B. oder auch ins Tessin wäre super. Sie verstehen es dann nicht oder nur ein wenig. Wir würden dann versuchen, etwas zu sagen und das leider eher schlecht als recht. Das fände ich cool, weil im Moment ist dies noch ein schwarzer Fleck. Wenn du auf Mundart Musik machst, ist es sehr schwierig.
Dabu: Für uns ist es auch ein Traum, nach Deutschland und Österreich zu gehen. Einfach mal zum Ausprobieren und schauen was passiert, wenn wir ins Ausland gehen würden. Patent Ochsner hat es probiert, aber sonst macht es fast niemand.
Man muss es ja nicht immer verstehen. Tokio Hotel und die Toten Hosen spielen auch Konzerte auf der ganzen Welt.
DJ Arts: Ja genau. Wenn wir ehrlich sind, 90 % der Leute die Musik, vor allem auch Rap, auf Englisch konsumieren, verstehen den Text auch nicht und es funktioniert trotzdem.
Eure Live-Shows sind speziell und immer voller Energie. Bemerkt ihr Unterschiede des Publikums zwischen den Kantonen?
Dabu: Es gibt tatsächlich Unterschiede, die man spürt. Es ist aber heikel, wenn wir gleich mit dem Klischee anfangen. Wir hatten lange das Gefühl, dass die Bündner ein anstrengendes Publikum sind, weil sie viel reden. Aber das ist doch nicht überall der Fall. Wir haben auch immer gehört, dass es eine Weile braucht bis die Walliser mitmachen, aber bei uns waren sie schon nach 2 Minuten dabei.
DJ Arts: Volltrunken von der Bar heruntergefallen!
Es ist halt auch je nach Band unterschiedlich.
DJ Arts: Ja schon. Aber es ist schon lustig, wenn wir immer Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag in meistens gleich grossen Venues auftreten, das gleiche Programm spielen, die gleiche Band dabei haben, dann ist es zweimal komplett anders. Das ist schon extrem spannend. Es sind z.T. nur so kleine Mikrosachen wie man einen Gig empfindet, und ohne das wäre es glaube ich sehr langweilig! Wenn du nur noch so riesig spielst – stadionmässig – dann bekommst du nichts mehr mit vom Publikum und das stelle ich mir komisch vor. Weil so spielst du 2 Jahre lang und es ist jedesmal das gleiche. Da bin ich froh, ist das bei uns nicht so.
Dabu: Letzten Freitag haben wir im Bierhübeli gespielt und da war viel Liebe. Das habe ich gespürt auf der Bühne. Es war so warm und irgendwie ein umarmendes Gefühl. Lustigerweise haben wir dies öfters in Bern, z.B. in der Mühle oder auf dem Gurten. Irgendwie ist im Moment ein guter Vibe da.
Ihr habt verschiedene Einflüsse in eurer Musik. Wer sind eure Vorbilder, die euch inspirieren?
Dabu: Das ändert natürlich im Monatetakt. Man hört dies den Alben auch an. Beim Drinks-Album war die österreichische Band Bilderbuch sehr wichtig. Wenn man genau hinhört, merkt man den Einfluss. Insgesamt ist mein Musikgeschmack sehr breit gefächert, auch viel Black Music.
DJ Arts: Alles soulige, funkige und wenn es nicht gerade eine plumpe Melodie hat, dann finden wir das geil – ob es jetzt Hip Hop, Rock oder Pop ist.
2016 habt ihr ein Konzert gegeben mit nur Übersetzungen der Fanta 4 Songs. Hat die Band euch ein Feedback dazu gegeben?
DJ Arts: So halb.
Dabu: Es war eine sehr erfreuliche Geschichte, weil uns dies viel Spass gemacht hat. Wir haben sie auch vorher getroffen und sie haben uns gesagt, wir seien eine gute Live-Band. Der Wermutstropfen an dieser ganzen Geschichte ist, dass wir von Ihnen eigentlich nie ein richtiges, ernsthaftes Feedback bekommen haben. Via Seven haben sie ausrichten lassen, wir haben es gehört und dass sie es cool finden. Wenn eine Band unsere Lieder auf Maori interpretiert, dann würde ich schon genau hinhören und ihnen schreiben: „Ey, ist geil!“ oder auch wenn es uns nicht gefällt.
DJ Arts: Andererseits hat Thomas D eine Videobotschaft geschickt, die wir auch gezeigt haben. Sie waren schon committed, aber sie haben glaube ich einfach viel zu tun.
Ich war vor kurzem auf Korfu und habe einen eurer Drinks-Kleber gesehen.
DJ Arts: Hmmm…
Dabu lacht.
Also habt ihr Fans auf der ganzen Welt oder war es sogar einer von euch?
DJ Arts: Ja, vielleicht.
Dabu: Meine Challenge ist immer, ob irgendein Mensch die Kleber sieht, die ich auf der ganzen Welt verteile. In Korfu war es tatsächlich ich. Das finde ich jetzt sehr geil. Ich war in Tel Aviv, habe ca. 5 Kleber verteilt und jemand hat dies auch gesehen. Ich bin fast durchgedreht und jetzt hat es jemand auch in Korfu gesehen. Da waren es auch nicht mehr wie 5!
Ja, ich fand es auch lustig. Ich bin vom Markt Richtung Hauptshoppingmeile geschlendert und plötzlich habe ich den Kleber gesehen. Natürlich habe ich ein Foto gemacht. Ich musste wirklich schmunzeln.

Die nächste Frage habt ihr eigentlich schon beantwortet. Ihr würdet gerne nach Deutschland und Österreich expandieren.
DJ Arts: Ja, sowieso! Das wäre geil.
Dabu: Wir sind sowieso eine Band, die immer Neues ausprobieren möchte und sich möglichst nicht wiederholen will. Das war schon immer so. Wir haben noch nie gesagt: „Komm wir gehen ins Ausland und spielen wieder die kleinen Festivals!“
Oder nach Korfu 🙂
Dabu: Ja, oder nach Korfu. Wobei, da hat es sicher viele Deutsche und Schweizer, die uns verstehen würden. Wir würden gerne irgendwohin, wo wir noch nie waren und ausprobieren, was dort passiert. Vielleicht zerstört uns dies, weil wir nach 10 Shows merken, es interessiert sich niemand für uns oder vielleicht ist es auch so, dass sie doch etwas verstehen und sie es lustig finden. Wir müssen das mal ausprobieren.
Die letzte Frage: Was muss passieren, dass ihr sagen könnt, ihr habt es mit der Musik geschafft, oder ist dies schon passiert und was war dieser Zeitpunkt?
DJ Arts: Ich glaube, das darfst du im Leben nie sagen. Klar haben wir mittlerweile einen Erfolg, den nicht viele Bands haben und das ist geil. Ich habe es geschafft heisst für mich immer es geht bis hier und nicht weiter. Unser Ziel ist es einfach, dass es immer weitergeht, und dass es, wenn möglich, nicht wieder abwärts geht. Ob du es dann wirklich geschafft hast mit deiner Musik zeigt sich, wenn du nicht mehr auf dieser Welt bist.
Dabu: Bei mir sind es kleine Sachen: Letztes Wochenende der Platinaward für „Angelina“, und zu hören, in welchen exklusiven Kreis wir aufgenommen worden sind, dann haben wir es schon irgendwie geschafft.
DJ Arts: Ja, das ist schon mega geil!
Dabu: Aber gleichzeitig denke ich morgens, wenn ich aufstehe: „Yes, wir haben es geschafft“. Aber am Mittag, denke ich schon: „Shit, ich muss etwas Neues machen!“. Es geht bei uns immer weiter.
Als allerletztes habe ich noch eine Leserfrage von meiner treuen Leserin Anna. Was ist euer Lieblingsdessert?
Beide lachen.
Dabu: Wie geil, über Essen reden wir gerne. Lieblingsdessert, hmm? Ich bin recht ein Süsser. Ich finde, fast alles geil. Ich esse sehr viel „Schoggi“ oder so ein richtiges frisches gut gemachtes Panna cotta.
DJ Arts: Ein geiler „Schoggi“-Kuchen mit flüssigem Kern und Rahm und Krokant oben drauf.
Super! Danke vielmals. Das wärs.
Dabu: Danke dir!

Before the brilliant concert at the Baloise Session on Friday night I’ve met Dabu and DJ Arts from Dabu Fanstastic for a short interview. Please click here to read the review of the gig.
You’ve played a gig at Seebad Enge in 2015 and I was there.
DJ Arts: Oh yeah, you were there?!
Yes, it was really cool!
Dabu: He had a good night.
DJ Arts: Yeah, I had a all-time-high that night and I don’t know why.
It was a very special location and tonight at the Baloise Session as well. So what’s your most special venue you’ve played in or you want to play in?
Dabu: There are so many little festivals in Switzerland for which we are almost too big now. But the people there always make a huge effort. Those gigs are always great. There are also bigger venues we’d like to play in such as the Volkshaus in Zurich.
DJ Arts: I would love to play in the west of Switzerland, e.g. Paléo Festival. Or we’d love to go to the Italian Part of Switzerland (Ticino). They wouldn’t understand much but we would try to say something which would be a challenge for us too. I’d really like that because at the moment it’s still a black area for us. If you sing in Swiss German it is quite difficult.
Dabu: It is a dream for us to go to Germany or Austria. Just to try and see what happens if we’d go abroad. Patent Ochsner tried it but no-one else does it.
You don’t always have to understand it. Tokio Hotel or die Toten Hosen play concerts all over the world.
DJ Arts: Exactly. To be honest 90% of the people who listen to English music, especially rap, don’t understand the lyrics and it still works out great.
Your live shows are always special and full of energy. Do you see differences between the cantons (regions) of Switzerland?
Dabu: In fact there are differences you can feel on stage. It’s a bit tricky if we start with the cliché. For a long time we felt like the people from Graubünden are exhausting because they talk a lot. But then we found out that it wasn’t always the case. We also heard that the people from Wallis are taking their time to go crazy but for us it has only taken us 2 mins.
DJ Arts: Drunk and falling off the bar!
Every band is different.
DJ Arts: Yeah. But it’s really funny to see that even if we play the exact same on Thursday, Friday, Saturday with the same band in similar type of venues it is still not the same. That is extremely interesting. It’s the little things that make a gig different to the one before but without it, it would be incredibly boring. If you only play the big venues – stadiums – then you don’t get to feel the audience and that I think it’s very weird. Because then you play 2 years and every time it feels exactly the same. That’s why I am glad it is different for us.
Dabu: Last Friday we played the Bierhübeli (in Berne) and there was a lot of love. I felt it on stage. It was very hot and just an embracing feeling. Funny enough we always have this at our gigs in Berne, e.g. in the Mühle oder the Gurten. There is a very good vibe there.
You have different influences in your music. Who is your idol which is inspires you?
Dabu: That changes on a monthly basis. You will hear that in each record. The Austrian band Bilderbuch was super important for the Drinks record. If you listen carefully you can hear their influence. Generally our range is quite big but we also love black music.
DJ Arts: We dig the soul funky stuff and all songs that have a good melody. It doesn’t matter if it’s hip hop, rock or pop.
In 2016 you’ve played a gig with only Fanta 4 songs translated into Swiss German. Did the band give you any feedback?
DJ Arts: More or less.
Dabu: It was generally speaking a good thing because we had a lot of fun. We met them beforehand and they told us that we are a good live band. The only fly in the ointment was that we never really got a serious feedback from them. Through Seven (Swiss musician) they told us that they’ve heard it and that they liked it. But when a band translates our songs into Maori then I would listen carefully and write them: “Hey, awesome!” or we didn’t like it.
DJ Arts: On the other hand Thomas D sent us a video message which we were showing at the gig. They were committed so I just think they have a lot on their plates.
I went to corfu recently and I saw one of your Drinks stickers.
DJ Arts: Hmmm…
Dabu laughs.
So you have fans all over the world or was it one of you two?
DJ Arts: Yes, maybe.
Dabu: My challenge is if anyone sees the stickers which I scattered around the world. The Corfu sticker was in fact me. That is so cool right now. I was in Tel Aviv and put up around 5 stickers and someone saw them and went nuts! And now you saw the one in Corfu! I didn’t put up more than 5 there either!
It was also funny for me. I walked down from the market to the shopping main street and then suddenly I saw your sticker. Obviously I took a picture. I had to laugh.

The next question you actually already answered. You would like to go to Germany and Austria.
DJ Arts: Yes! That’d be great!
Dabu: We’re a band who wants to try new things and we don’t want to repeat ourselves. It was always like that. We’ve never said: “Let’s go abroad and play all the small Festivals!”
Or you could go to Corfu! 🙂
Dabu: Yeah, to Corfu. I bet there are a lot of Swiss or Germans who could understand us. We would love to go somewhere where we have never been and see what happens there. Maybe it will destroy us because we realise after 10 shows that they don’t care about us or we see that they understand us and love us. We just have to try.
Last question: What needs to happen that you would say “Yup I made it with my music!” or has it already happened and what was that point?
DJ Arts: I think that you can’t say that ever in life. Of course we are quite successfull and a lot of bands will never be and that’s quite cool. But making it means to me that you can go that far and no further. Our goal is to always go further and hopefully never down hill. And if you really made it is for the people to decide when we are not on this earth anymore.
Dabu: For me it’s more the little things: Last weekend we got a platinum record for “Angelina” and to hear in what an exclusive circle we got in is a little bit like saying we made it.
DJ Arts: Yeah, that was awesome!
Dabu: But at the same time when I wake up in the morning I’m like “Yes, we made it!” and then at lunch time I go “Shit I have to do something new!”. It always goes on and on.
Last but not least I have a question from a loyal reader Anna. What’s your favourite dessert?
Both laugh.
Dabu: How cool to talk about food! Favourite dessert, hmm? I’ve got a sweet tooth. I love almost anything sweet. I eat a lot of chocolate or a really well made fresh Panna cotta.
DJ Arts: An awesome chocolate cake with a melted core and whipped cream and brittle on top.
Brilliant! Thank you. That’s it.
Dabu: Thank you!

Allgemein, Concerts

Party Night at Baloise Session with Kool & the Gang and Dabu Fantastic

November 4, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

It’s Friday night and it’s party time! That’s why tonight’s motto “Let’s celebrate” fits perfectly and is a perfect match for these two artists: Kool & the Gang and Dabu Fantastic. Please click here to read more of my interview with the latter. Again I’d like to mention that the staff at Baloise Session is incredibly friendly and helpful! Plus the concerts shown on the screen is a treat. They chose Parov Stelar again who will be coming to Samsung Hall on 9th March!

First up was Dabu Fantastic. They are a band from Zurich singing in Swiss German. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics you gotta see them live. Their energy is off the chain and they are super entertaining. Unfortunately it’s only been the 2nd time I’ve seen them live. The first time was at a free concert on a float at Badi Enge. It was an magical gig and a lot of fun. They started with “Autobahn” and “Grosse MC” which was mixed with one of my favourites “Vo Vorn”. This song is perfect for a gig! “Vo Vorn” means to start again so it makes perfect sense to say let’s start again.

The 3rd song was “MsG” – Mir seget Grüezi which is a translation of the German Fanta 4 song “MfG”. They did a whole set with those kinda song and in my interview you’ll hear about Fanta 4’s reaction. Next up was “Schön” and “Fredi” before they got a bit quieter and mellowed down a bit for “Min Ort”/ “My place”. It is a beautiful ballade about Dabu’s hometown. You don’t expect these guys to be able to do slow but they really can do slow! Just before they suddenly vanished they played a song called “Maybach”.

Suddenly Dabu and DJ Arts showed up on a B-stage in the middle of the room. They had a short old school break where just the two of them were doing their thing 🙂 On the way back they were dancing with the audience. Another favourite moment of mine was when they remixed Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of you” and KRS-One “Sound of da Police” and replaced it with Jeans and made it to their own song. Such a funny song! Before the next song “Hässlich”/”Ugly” they announced that either we have to dance really bad or really good and the best people get a shirt for free! 🙂 And yes, people were dancing or the posh people sitting where trying their best. One lady won and she put the shirt right on and stood on a chair. How great is that??!!

Just before the encore we enjoyed “Paradiis and Het Sie Xeh”. They came back just to say “Gang Jetz” which means “Off you go” and they remixed it with another Swiss artists “Brütigam” by Dodo. And lastly the song a lot of people have been waiting for – their “Angelina”. It basically is about a relationship where it’s working on top of each other but not next to each other if you know what I mean 😉

Will mir händ so viel Liebi zge
Als wär das öppis wos Läbe lang hebt
Aber morn bisch wider weg
Will ufenand gats aber näbenand nöd

I was ready to take pictures of Kool & the Gang but I wasn’t really ready for this! The 11 musicians took the stage and their energy just blew me away! But I wasn’t the only one within seconds they’ve managed to get the people standing and the security had problems keeping them back for the first 3 songs. They started with “Fresh” and I took pictures but I was also singing. I guess that looked quite funny so the lads on stage smiled at me a few times. A singing photographer must be new to them too 😉

Shawn McQuiller and Lavell Evans and Walter Anderson switched the lead vocals between each other. Plus the latter took to play the keys a few times. It is incredible how versatile all these musicians are. I expected old men on stage but they managed to bring on the new generation too! In “Tonight” and “Too Hot” the guys showed off their dancing skills and the people in the audience were too. As soon as the security released them onto the dancing floor I had to flee! I’ve never experienced anything like it and thankfully there was a tiny space left out for the camera which I fled into. I really didn’t envy the camera guys’ job that night! 🙂

The crowd was on fire that night. We were dancing, singing and just having a good time. These incredible musicians were giving it their best and you could sense it. “Joanna” and “Open Sesame” was next and during “Jungle Boogie” I found myself way back onto the dance floor. The boys were dancing in sync to Hollywood Swinging and it just looked incredible and by then I knew that it was going to be a very good gig. For all the lovers in the house Kool & the Gang played their huge hit “Cherish” and the lights of the phone and lighters went up.

What followed can only be described as a huge party and everyone joined in to celebrate this wonderful evening. With “Let’s Go Dancing” we were turned into a big backing choir to sing the “Oh la la la’s”. Now the next song they sang for all the beautiful ladies in the house:

Oh, yes, it’s Ladies’ Night
And the feeling’s right
Oh, yes, it’s Ladies’ Night
Oh, what a night (oh, what a night)

And the feeling was really right! I think by then everyone at Baloise Session was standing or should I say dancing. “Get Down on it” was so so cool and it was amazing to see these Legends on stage. All those songs were written in the 80’s and I still know them and they can travel the world singing it. This must be the dream of every musician. The final song of the night was of course “Celebration”. What impressed me the most was that the band stayed on stage and shook a lot of hands and said thank you. They do not need to this anymore. They are huge stars and still they thank every person who came out that night.

Those are real musicians and are well worth supporting and seeing. I adore artists who show their appreciation and I tend to see those kinda artists more than once. For example Naturally 7 are like that too and they are coming to Zurich next week! After the 3rd night at the Baloise Session I can tell that I am in love with this festival. If you want to read about my first two nights check out Clean Bandit/Goldfrapp and Asgeir/Kaleo.

Have you been to the Baloise Session? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

Allgemein, Concerts

Two cool Icelandic voices warmed the Swiss hearts

October 30, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

Again I am at the wonderful Baloise Session listening to the amazing Kaleo and in our regions Newcomer Asgeir – Iceland Calling. As soon as I stepped into the venue they showed the old Session of the Kaiser Chiefs. What a show it was, you gotta love them. I really love this concept of showing past concerts especially if they are that good!

First up is Asgeir. I meant to see him at Gurtenfestival but you know how it is at festivals.. So when I read that he will play the Baloise Session I knew I had to go. Let me tell you he didn’t disappoint! Asgeir’s got a beautiful – high pitched at times – voice which is just incredible live. During the first three songs “Hold”, “Fennir Yfir”, “Higher” I was able to take pictures and the songs were very psychedelic and so different to what I expected. I did like it though and the beautiful red lights for “Here comes the wave in” were great. After “Underneath it” one of my highlights came on: “New day” is a beautiful ballade and I listened to it with my eyes closed. Beatrice Stirnimann – the organiser – said at the beginning we should turn on our “Kopfkino” which doesn’t translate literally into English. It means to turn on our imagination and enjoy our own movie in our head.
She was very right. “Head in the Snow” and “Dreaming” were next after which Asgeir said his first words: Thank you! We wouldn’t hear any more words out of him which is a bit of a pity. I would have loved to know more about his songs but I get it – it’s the Scandinavian Coolness…

“In Harmony” is another one of my favourites. Just an absolutely wonderful song to dream to. His incredible voice came out perfectly in this song and made this song another highlight. During the next song “Afterglow” Asgeir brought out the Icelandic fires. It looked amazing! We stayed in the warm regions of the colours and for “I know you know” we were transported into the jungle. For me the instruments created jungle noises and the lighting was in warm colours. This is quite special from a musician born in the cold regions of the world 🙂

“King and Kross” was the first song that came up when I YouTubed him and I quite liked the song. “Unbound” and “Going Home” went by really quickly and I was completely lost in my thoughts until “Stardust” happened. Jesus! The whole earth was shaking from the bass and the lights were supporting it. So people started to go to the dance floor just before the encore and what an encore it was. “Torrent” is the only up-tempo song Asgeir had in his repertoire. This song was my highlight of his set but he had to make way for his fellow countrymen Kaleo.

I knew Kaleo from their hit “Way Down” which is a slow rock ballade so I was utterly surprised when I realised they are basically a rock/ blues/ country band! I love this style and I adored their show! I am so so happy that Baloise Session made this happen. But first things first. Lots of fans were already waiting to hit the dance floor even before the band came on stage. For the first three songs the photographers took up the dance floor but I already noticed a few singing along to “Broken Bones”. Jokull – the lead singer – started to whistle beautifully for “I Can’t Go On Without You”.

When the third song “Save Yourself” started I had to stop photographing because I liked the music so much that I couldn’t focus and didn’t want to anymore. Plus I had some great shots of this beautiful man and his fellow musicians! Yes, you heard me – Jokull is gorgeous! That’s why half of the fans were young women and the other half were older men rocking out. I loved this mix! It made for a great crowd who were dancing, jumping and clapping. David on drums and Daniel on bass made sure of that. They were animating the crowd and Daniel was running around and jumping up and down himself. You could fell that they were enjoying themselves a lot!
I joined the crowd in front of the stage when they played “Alter Ego” and “Pour Sugar on Me”. Rubin Pollock on guitar did an amazing job and Thorleifur normally on keys showed off his harmonica skills in a few songs and that was just incredible to witness. It is such an underrated instrument but it creates an amazing sound. “Automobile” is a country song and I couldn’t stop dancing! “Hot blood” and “No Good” followed just before Kaleo introduced us to their language. The beautiful ballade “Vor i Vaglasogi” was enchanting. Jokulls voice in perfect harmony with David’s accompanied by just a guitar was just pure bliss.

They covered Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” and wow it was really really good. It’s so special and interesting to me that a band from Iceland is doing so well in this country music genre that they could as well be born and raised in Nashville. Jokull did dress his part at yesterday’s Baloise Session however if you would see him you wouldn’t put him into this genre which makes this band even more appealing. “Back Door” and “Texas” made sure that I would definitely see them again. I also think that quite a few people at that event would go see them again. Us fans made sure that Kaleo knows that we love them and that they have to come back.
You could see that they didn’t expect us to be this good. A few times they said thank you and you were a wonderful crowd tonight and to be honest I have to agree. It was wonderful to be part of this evening. With “Way Down” they finally played their – so far – biggest hit. It sounded completely different live – for me it was even better. You know that I am a fan of live music and usually prefer the live versions over the record one. Way too fast Kaleo went off stage before the encore.

After a little over an hour Kaleo finished their set with “Rock N Roller” and the crowd went mental. Maybe not the people sitting but definitely the people in front of the stage. I have to thank the Baloise Session again for inviting these two artists and for letting me cover such amazing talent from a little island called Iceland.
I am very much looking forward to see Kool and the Gang/Dabu Fantastic and Tim Bendzko/Max Giesinger at this brilliant festival. So keep following me here on WordPress or via my social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Have a look at my past review of Clean Bandit/Goldfrapp.
Have you been at this amazing concert? Please share your opinion in the comments below.

Allgemein, Concerts

Electro times 2! The lovely Clean Bandit and the mysterious Goldfrapp

October 26, 2017June 23, 2019 kekoaskorner

I’ve never been to the Baloise Session before and I was positively surprised when I entered the venue. It is a super classy location and the people dress their part. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. So if you haven’t been to this amazing festival you’ve definitely missed something.

Clean Bandit opened the evening which surprised me quite a bit since they are huge at the moment. Luckily I was able to see them this summer at the Summertime Ball in London. Back then they had two singers who were changing for each song. Today, instead of the second singer Grace herself sang a few times which surprised me even more since she seemed very shy in London. You might not know this but Clean Bandit is just an instrumental group formed by the brothers Luke on drums and Jack on keys and Grace on cello. They get supported during their live performances by Sam on bass, Stephanie on violin and as previously mentioned Yasmin on vocals.
They started with a funny intro where we were transported into a rainforest. The electro dance vibe was there and after 3 songs the audience couldn’t be kept on their seats anymore so the dance floor in front of the stage was opened. Of course the majority stayed at the beautifully candle-lit tables and enjoyed the concert seated. However I felt that there was a great atmosphere and everyone was happy. The 4th song was already “Symphony” a huge hit and brilliant live – especially sung with a great voice such as Yasmin has.

Clean Bandit mixed slow songs where the singer could show her talent with dance songs where they got everyone jumping and dancing. The band got also a Reggae song called “Come Over” and I haven’t mentioned it on my blog yet but I love this genre. So this song was a lovely surprise and one of my highlights of the night. “Rockabye” followed which features Sean Paul and Anne Marie (who is coming to the Energy Star Night as well as to Kaufleuten on April, 18th) and had to be included in the set. Unfortunately today without the original singers of the song. This makes me realise how lucky I was in June!
With “Should have known better” Yasmin got everyone singing. “Disconnect” came after which is originally sang by Marina from Marina and the Diamonds. Her voice suits this songs incredibly well. The last song before the encore was “Real Love” another dancy song and one of their biggest hits. The first encore song was “Tears” originally sang by Louisa Johnson who is more or less unknown in Switzerland but in the UK she’s a rising star. And finally the song everyone knew was “Rather Be”. I was dancing and singing and this song is just brilliant. I’ve heard it at a small fair in a village in London sang by a choir and I adored what they did with it.

After an hour the lovely British musicians left the stage to make way to their fellow countryman or should I say woman. Goldfrapp took the stage after a short break and what a start it was. It was all dark and you could only see her features. I assumed this would change after a while and the light would shine on her but I made a wrong assumption. For the whole hour she stayed in the dark. Lots of lights in different colours were shining behind her and it looked quite impressive. During the set Alison didn’t talk to the audience much and because she was so distant I didn’t really connect with her.

A few people had the same issue and left the Baloise Session early. However I’d say the majority loved it. The dance floor was opened again and many people were dancing not only there but also next to their tables. Funny enough out of the blue I recognised a song which I quite like called “Train”. It was played on the radio a lot as well as the encore but let’s not go there yet.
Someone described her sound to me as a mix of mellow tunes and electro beats which is so accurate that I had to mention it here. She went through her set quite quickly and professionally. Goldfrapp’s “dance” moves are quite special and in hindsight it reminds me a bit of the German electro band 2Raumwohnung who I got to see and review for the music magazine ARTNOIR. The set finished just before 11 with “Strict Machine”. Another song I knew and enjoyed seeing it live.

During the break we got to see a previous concert of the Baloise Session with Parov Stelar. Obviously I was quite intrigued and started to pay attention more closely. I quite enjoyed their performance and their lead singer seemed super nice and talented. Suddenly “All Night” came on and I bet you know that song! Lucky for us they are coming back on March, 9th 2018. Get your tickets here.
Lastly I can only recommend this brilliant venue and I should have come here sooner! Fortunately I get to come here another 3 times this year to cover the Islandic Night Kaleo/Asgeir, Kool and the Gang/Dabu Fantastic and finally the German night with Tim Bendzko/Max Giesinger. There’s a lot more to come so keep following Kekoas Korner and stay up to date with my social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Did you enjoy Clean Bandit and Goldfrapp? Share your opinion in the comments below.

Tag: Baloise Session

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