SELECTION: BEST EMERGING CATEGORY

A=F/M

The story is simple. Two students of the Bern University of the Arts start meet once a week to do the one thing they don’t teach them at school: write bold and reckless pop songs. Without much discussion Belia Winnewisser and Rolf Laureijs agree on a fast and impulsive working method with simple tools: their laptops, a few microphones and a small stock of the University’s synthesizer classics. Six weeks and six songs later their debut EP «Aporien» is finished. Following their working credo the duo wants to release it immediately and move on writing new material. But α=f/m are not easily recognizable as the young D.I.Y. project they are – the production sounds surprisingly full – blown as if there actually was a budget behind it. At the same time you can sense their fearless yet unspoilt „Sturm und Drang” approach to music. We would even go so far as to say that Switzerland hasn’t seen such uncompromising contemporary pop music in quite some time.

ALL XS

No restrictions! All XS is the new band from Oh, Sister Records, which opens a multifaceted new chapter of indie pop with their debut album « Soma Fortuna United ». A synthesis of individual talents, influences and inspirations, created with great attention to detail. The listener gets captivated by light synth pop, influences from early British Rave to Ethiopian pop music, as well as smooth vocals inspired by R’n’B. « Soma Fortuna United » confidently demonstrates how fresh pop can still sound and catch the spirit of the times if it doesn’t submit to a dictation.

ALL XS

No restrictions! All XS is the new band from Oh, Sister Records, which opens a multifaceted new chapter of indie pop with their debut album « Soma Fortuna United ». A synthesis of individual talents, influences and inspirations, created with great attention to detail. The listener gets captivated by light synth pop, influences from early British Rave to Ethiopian pop music, as well as smooth vocals inspired by R’n’B. « Soma Fortuna United » confidently demonstrates how fresh pop can still sound and catch the spirit of the times if it doesn’t submit to a dictation.

LONG TALL JEFFERSON

Long Tall Jefferson is a wanderer by trade. Living as a professional musician for the last couple of years he toured and travelled A lot. He worked and lived in different cities around Europe – Berlin, Brussels, Zurich and Leipzig among others – documenting his experiences and observations in a pile of songs, which eventually found an output on his debut album ‘I Want My Honey Back’.

PANDOUR

After experiences DJing, Luc Bersier and Michael Francey have pushed their sound exploration a bit further through production. They have integrated another dimension to their live performances : The Fribourg based band expands as they add two guitars to their line-up. With this addition, namely Adrien Clot and Simon Mozer, the equation is complete and Pandour was created. In April 2016, they will release their highly anticipated first EP Ursa Minor (Cheptel Records) : beats inspired by Deep House, are enriched with elements of Gnawa music, Jazz, Kraut and Afro funk for an enchanting result that will get you dancing.

PANDOUR

After experiences DJing, Luc Bersier and Michael Francey have pushed their sound exploration a bit further through production. They have integrated another dimension to their live performances : The Fribourg based band expands as they add two guitars to their line-up. With this addition, namely Adrien Clot and Simon Mozer, the equation is complete and Pandour was created. In April 2016, they will release their highly anticipated first EP Ursa Minor (Cheptel Records) : beats inspired by Deep House, are enriched with elements of Gnawa music, Jazz, Kraut and Afro funk for an enchanting result that will get you dancing.

VERONICA FUSARO

All she had left was a pen, some paper and her thoughts. Thoughts fulfilled with melodies. Thoughts fulfilled with words. And that is all she really needed. So she kept floating in galaxies of abstract kind, knowing that this was her home.

Veronica Fusaro (born April 23, 1997) is a Swiss singer and songwriter. With her calm yet intense voice, Veronica sings about life and the world, and with a little help of a few instruments, she makes them sound big. She started writing songs at a young age, and after canceling her guitar lessons, Veronica taught herself everything she needed to self-produce and -write her first EP in her parent’s basement. This resulted in «Lost in Thought» – a  collection of five songs about hope, fear, the world and life – calmly played but with a big impact on everyone who listens to it.

Veronica Fusaro is currently working on her next project and is touring around Switzerland with her band. After winning in two categories at the M4Music Festival 2016 in Zurich («Pop» and «Demo of the Year») and the honor to be the «Song of the Day» at the Radio Station «SRF 3», there sure are more big news to come.