Zermatt Unplugged 2015: sing, sing, sing.

After last weekend, where I spent my time at one of the most acclaimed electronic music festivals - the Caprices - of Switzerland - the Caprices - , I'm finding myself again travelling back home from another mountain destination, Zermatt. Reason for that was the closing weekend of the Zermatt Unplugged, a little quieter festival this time, with a big focus on acoustic acts, where well established musicians are the main attraction, and new talented artists have a platform to play in a very international environment.

The festival is held in Zermatt, probably one of the most famous mountain townships of Switzerland, and it runs for a whole week. Despite the locations in Zermatt's center, there are several concerts that are played where the snow never melts, like the G hütte, where Jazz superstars from London gave their best every day at lunchtime or the stage at , a space dedicated to the new talents.

I had the pleasure to discover some great talents during the past two days, which I really hope to hear live again soon. After arriving in Zermatt late in the afternoon, we had bite in the centre and headed to one of the late night gigs of the evening. The young german/french band Yalta Club convinced a packed the Pink, that their happy folk can dust away every kind of sadness. Or, Swiss songwriter Tobias Carshey's set outside right next to the Matterhorn Museum was pure magic.

Tobias Carshey at the Matterhorn Museum

Where's the beach?

Personally, one of the greatest discoveries for me was a band founded in France called Sunset Sons. They started playing in the local surf bars there until they were discovered, started touring and made us very, very, happy with their latest EP "The Fall Line", released this March. The British/Australian quartet offers songs that vaguely remind to Kings of Leons sometimes (this could also might be because of the voice of lead singer Rory), but with lighter melodies, that actually made me wanna catch the ocean breeze again (yeah, I'm still suffering from holiday blues...sorry :p) and the refrains are made to stuck into everybodys head. They're hard to forget. Please. Come back. Soon!

Sunset Sons at Foyerzelt



Me, my friend Paulo and lead singer Rory

Sing

Main act of the festival's last day was Travis. The well known scottish band, who is currently recording their 8th studio album, played into the total sold out main tent. Their acoustic set was very enjoyable, there were some unexpected moments here and there, like picking the wrong guitar for a song, but lead singer Fran Healy could make the audience laugh by playing with the fact that the band isn't much used to do live gigs while being in the recording process. They surprisingly started with their massive hit "Sing", which I was more expecting as an encore, and smoothly continued their set until they ended playing another unforgettable hit, "Why Does it always Rain on Me?". Even it's been a while since the release of "Sing", they are still very influencial and an evergreen. Plus: if Travis wouldn't have made music, a great artist like Amy Macdonald wouldn't have been inspired to learn to play guitar and composing worldwide selling albums.

Travis in the Main Tent (photo: Zermatt Unplugged)

"Did you really pay to see me?"

Shocked about his own sold out at the Vernissage was british songwriter Billy Lockett. After supporting Birdy's and Nina Nesbitt's tour, I can imagine that it could be a weird feeling to see people coming for your music, and not for somebody else's. Billy Lockett became famous through his Cellar Sessions on Youtube, before touring around with the ladies. He tells amazing stories and has strong lyrics, like the ones in "Pathways", dedicated to record labels. Another thing I totally appreciated about his 1-hour set was his cover of "Budapest". I love when an artist is also experimental with the songs of others, because they can get a total new sound. Billy was very open to the public, which really enjoyed the show, and was also avalaible for a chat and some photos. His EP is already out for purchase, but we obviously hope to be able to download a full album soon. 

The sold out Location Vernissage (photo: Zermatt Unplugged)

Billy Lockett (photo: Zermatt Unplugged)

Practical Infos

How to get here: Zermatt is reachable by train from Zurich Mainstation in approximately 3:30 hours. Please keep in mind that Zermatt is a carfree town, so I wouldn't reccomend to get there with a vehicle. You can buy your Train tickets here.

Where to sleep: Zermatt has plenty of Hotels for every taste and budget. You'll find the best offers over hotels.com

Zermatt Unplugged: Takes place every year in April. The festival's line up, and so the tickets, are released very soon, mostly in December of the year before. The main acts are sold out very quickly, especially when the concerts are played in smaller venues. More information about Zermatt Unplugged and the ticket purchase is avalaible here.

Where to eat: There are plenty of places to have a good bite in Zermatt. For the young and the lovers of simple things, Sparky's Bar is your choice. The restaurant is located into the Matterhorn Hostel and offers a small choice of food for a reasonable price. A Reservation is reccomended, due the small size of the Restaurant.

The Cuckoo Club is a high end live music and cigar lounge at night, and offers a great choice of breakfast until 2PM duringt the day. To relieve my holiday blues I chose the classic egg benedict, just because they smell like breakfast in Hawaii for me :)

If you like views and want to enjoy some Swiss cuisine, you totally should sit on Hotel Alpenrose's terrace. Their Menue doesen't leave any wish open: Spätzli, Röst, Cheese Fondue, Raclette, Table Grill and various salads are avalaible. The biggest plus: the sun shining bright on your plate and a great panorama, Matterhorn included.

A Special thank you to Zermatt Unplugged for having me

Caprices Festival 2015: When a Bass Melts the Snow

I had pretty much some quietness when it comes to party feeling and my love for electronic music, another reason for me to forget my post travelling depression and head to the Swiss Alps and attend the Caprices Festival in Crans-Montana.

Caprices belongs to the legendary events when it comes to music here in Switzerland: it has reached its 11th edition already, and it combines finely bands and live DJs. This festival collected a proud list of headliners in the past few years, including names like Paolo Nutini, Deep Purple, Erykah Badu, Amy Macdonald, Carl Cox, Stromae or Martin Solveig.

Photo: caprices.ch

The big surprise of this year's event was a line up filled with mostly electronic acts, despite the opening night that had urban and soulful acts like Swiss Rapper Stress or Ayo. I headed up on Friday afternoon, to fully enjoy the basses pumping in the different locations, especially the ones in the main hall Le Moon and some midday intros at Bar7. As you can assume already, the festival is held in different location, and not really in walking distance from each other. We had our problems by getting the shuttles, but overall came around pretty well and enjoyed some sweet spots in town.

Caprices is divided into 4 locations, all different from each other: and I can assure you, every of these places will leave you some great memories.

MDRNTY

MDRNTY was a total sold out, like most of the time. Held where there's still snow in spring and the sporty, winter charme is still palpable, it has always the finest acts playing during daytime from 12 to 7. If you'll ever plan to get here and have an unforgettable dance in a transparent tent, then be quick by buying your tickets! The line up this year was to die for (Luciano, Ricardo Villlalobos, Art Department, Apollonia, Christian Burkhardt, Sven Väth), and I don't think you'll ever experience another place while you enjoy the best deep house tunes by looking at a breathtaking panorama. This is the sky high point of the festival, and the view is unbeatable, isn't it?

MDRNTY - Photo: caprices.ch

Bar7

Bar7 offers a free first class DJing line up for those who are waiting to get up the hill for MDRNTY, for those who can't get enough after, and maybe for the ones who didn't get the chance to grab a ticket. This place is conveniently located at MDRNTY's feet.  Artists like Chic Miniature, Magda and Gianni Callipari offered the finest tunes to start the day, where you can enjoy a typical cheese fondue or simply try one of the fine wines. Shows start at 12 until midnight.

Espace Valais

More quiet, family friendly, and for cuisine lovers, the Espace Valais sets on local bands during daytime since last year. A good spot located quite in the middle of town, perfect to esplore this wonderful place and all the charme it has to offer.

Fondue!

Le Moon

Le Moon is the bigger, louder version of daytime MDRNTY, and I was looking so forward to this! I had the honour to enjoy amazing visuals, while listening to great artists like Kollektiv Turmstrasse, Solomun, Digitalism and Dubfire, who had the most aesthethic stage of all, in my opinion. The guests were all laid back and enjoying a great party, the venue also offered some spots hosted by H&M Switzerland where everybody could try their DJ skills, get some professional photographs or simply have a spectacular view from the lounge over the stage.

Le Moon, Entrance - Photo: caprices.ch

Kollektiv Turmstrasse

Digitalism

Dubfire

Practical Infos

Getting here: Crans-Montana is located around 3 hours away by train from Zurich Main Station. Purchasing your ticket online can have its benefits because of some great deals from time to time. You can book your tickets here.

Where to sleep: because everything happened quite spontaneous, and the over-planner in me was almost crying, we had to book two different hotels, due the total sell out of part of the festival. I would reccomend the Hotel Le Mont-Paisible locationwise: it's on walking distance from Bar7/MDRNTY and not far away from Le Moon.

The Festival: Try to keep an eye on the ticket releases, especially if you wanna enjoy more venues! You'll find all the information on the Caprices Website.

Where to eat: When you might have enough of festival food, you might should try the restaurant Panorama, which was also my second hotel. Located in Mollens, a small village near Crans-Montana, the restaurant offers amazing views, great service and delicious food.

A special thank you to the Caprices Festival for having me, and to my friend Paulo for his photo/videographic assistance

Zürich Openair 2014 - Summer Festival closing

Holding a ticket for a festival that takes place in Switzerland around the end of August, leaves a bittersweet feeling in my heart everytime: that means that summer is definetly about to say goodbye and the festival season is closing. Zürich Openair (ZOA) is one of the youngest festivals here in my country. The first Edition made its debut in 2010, and remained pretty faithful to an alternative line up, which is great. Most of the acts have an indie or electronic background, are already settled in the scene or are the discovery and shining stars of the year. In addition to that, there are several DJs playing Friday and Saturday night, so that the whole festival area gets transformed into a Dance Circus. This years big headliner were Röyksopp & Robyn, Paolo Nutini, Deadmau5 and the Parov Stelar Band. Compared to the last couple of times the festival wasn't sold out or even overpacked, which could have been related to the bad forecasted weather. Basically not tragic for me: more space for dancing :)

Zürich Open Air is smaller than some other famous Festivals here in Switzerland, but to be honest, we became pretty proud that we finally got one, and yes, it has smaller acts, but it's also one with the less mainstream music held here in the country. The amenties are pretty great for being that tiny: cute camping site by the entrance, a food court with stuff from all over the world and even a market corner with some shops. The local second Hand store Fizzen was also there to offer Long skirts, Lumberjack Shirts and Accessoires to complete every Festival look.

Entrance

Main Stage and Jägermeister Hangar

Tent Stage

Fizzen Store

Since I am very interested in working in the event sector one day, especially for a concert or Festival Organisation, I decided to work at Zürich Openair as a volunteer. I was assigned for bartending, which was quite easy for me because of my Club Job on Weekends. Unfortunately I didn't really had the Chance to have an insight to the whole organisation as I wanted to, but the job was fun and I got a good team on my back. There was also time to chat with the guests from time to time or go on a break to hear some DJs playing (I was running nightshifts), 'cause, as I mentioned, there where loads of bars like ours and the Festival wasn't sold out. That was obviously another plus for me as a volunteer.

So here's a short recap of what happened in these four amazing days.

Thursday - Paolo Nutini

It was a great move to choose Paolo Nutini for the first evening in my opinion. Switzerland has a huge crush on Scottish Songwriters, and obviously a very good taste ;). Acts like Paolo or Amy Macdonald are usually sold out or need additional dates when they're touring solo here. Bringing some soulful and funky Music was a great intro to get into the festival mood and maybe move later to hear the first DJ gigs. I was a bit disappointed about the acoustic though, I couldn't hear Paolo's amazing voice very well over the instruments of the band. That changed after he was playing in acoustic at the end of the Show. This was just my thought I guess, maybe beacuse I've heard him playing 10 times already and in different venues, the crowd didn't seem to care and was loving the Show from minute one. After 90 minutes of sweetness and lovesongs, we switched to the Winston Tent to have a drink and see a Swiss female duo on the decks called ME & HER. They were my discovery of the evening, talking about electronic Music, and I've also learned that there are some great deephouse remixes of Morcheeba Songs that I didn't even knew would exist.

Front row at Paolo Nutini's gig

Winston Tent - day

Winston Tent - night

Me and friends, day one

Friday - It's all about work (... and a DJ night)

Friday was the day where I basically was running from one place to another and missed a lot of good acts. Working during the day and switching almost immediately to my nightshift at 7 made me miss uprising Swiss stars Kadebostany, a band from Geneva that has a lead singer sounding very similar to Adele. However, I got my break exactly during Richie Hartwin's gig at the Dance Circus, so I got my hour of glory by having a Dance with a co-worker of mine :)

I was a 10 :)

Co-Workers

Saturday - Röyksopp and Robyn, White Lies and some Deephouse Superstars

Saturday was the big day! When I looked to the Festival schedule I had really some issues by deciding what acts I wanted to see. I was having my late shift at 11pm, so I was totally in for a meal first. After that I went to the main stage for the White Lies and I wasn't disappointed: the voice of lead singer Harry McVeigh wraps you on the first tone. It was nice to discover more Songs of the band, until that Moment they were popular in my mind only because of the hit single "Bigger than Us", which was played up and down in the Swiss radio stations a while ago.
The most Special act was for sure DJ duo Röyksopp and swedish sweetheart Robyn. The result of their work together was an amazing mini EP called "Do it again", which contains tracks for every taste direction when it comes to electronic music: from the quiet "Monument", talking about death in a beautiful way like only Robyn could do, to the more EDM inspired "Do it again", played on the mainstream channels. Their 2 hours Show was splitted into Röyksopp's set first, Robyn solo after and then both on one stage to rock the audience with their collaborations (it's not their first time recording together, that's also a reason for their EP title). Robyn isn't only great to hear, she's a blessing for the eyes: I know just few artist capable to inscene themselves in terrific costumes and act on stage like they're just in their own livingroom. They just were breathtaking and the crowd did confirm that by having a dance the whole time.
I had to work right after the concert, but I was thrilled because I knew that I was allowed to do my break exactly during Sascha Braemer's Dj set. It was the perfect ending of my Saturday night, even if I worked at the bar until 6 am.



Sunday - Parov Stelar Band

Sunday was cold. Compared to the past three days, where Zurich had between 20 and 25 degrees celsius with sunshine, it was like an October morning. Pouring rain and 12 degrees. I have to admit, I had my problems by crawling out of bed after coming home at 8 in the morning, but I didn't really want to miss the last day! I was off and the festival would have been closing with a swing. So, no, I didn't get back to bed: I took out some warm clothes instead and headed out into the rain to hear the Parov Stelar Band, our last headliner for this ZOA edition. Lucky us, the rain stopped exactly when the band started to play. So we put away all our umbrellas (those who had one) and danced until the concert was over. For those who don't know the band, have a look when they are in your town! Parov Stelar is mentioned a lot for being one of the first electro swing inventors, a kind of music that is made only for dancing and having a good time. He is on tour as a trio or as a band, in the last case in company of the wonderful singer Cleo Panther: such a powerful lady!

Rainy Sunday

Rainy Sunday and a pizza

Not raining anymore ;)

Practical Infos

Zürich Openair: Held on the last weekend of August, from Thursday to Sunday. Early bird ticket is around 170 CHF, regular around 220 CHF. Acts on Friday and Saturday night until 5 am. The festival takes place in Rümlang, close to Zurich Airport.

Where to sleep: If you're not a tent friend, any hotel in the airport area would be convenient. Tram number 10 takes you directly to the festival site. Public transportation is included in your festival ticket.

Volunteering: There's the chance every year to apply as a volunteer. The jobs are different and suit also non-german speakers. Your "salary" will be a ticket for the whole festival, a shirt, staff pass and food vouchers. You usually work two days of four.

Thank you to ZOA for closing amazingly my summer festival season.

Coachella 2012

Being a festival fanatic took me to book a trip oversea. Me and my friend Maria were thinking about where to go for our spring vacation of almost 3 weeks, and decided to go and see what the Coachella Festival in California is all about.

Line up: Courtesy of Coachella

Since we had a long trip in front of us, we asked ourselves which combination of places would be the best fit to make this time unforgettable. The result was the following: some big city vibe in L.A., Coachella as the musical centre and a few relaxing days on our way back in Key West, Florida.

It wasn't the first time for us visiting Los Angeles and Key West. So we made Hollywood our base first, just to enjoy a bit of shopping and having a couple of good bites in the epicentre of LA's tourism. After a few days we spent the last nights in the city of angels in Venice Beach. Maria and I are pretty laid back and not big glamour chaser, so Venice Beach was perfect for us: laid back district, bohemian feeling and seabreeze.
We booked our room at the Erwin Hotel, located directly near the boardwalk. Despite the perfect location and the amazing rooms, this modern gem has a fantastic rooftop terrace where to hang out in the evening and enjoy the best view over Venice. Another good tip is to rent a bike. There's no nicer thing to do on a sunny day than cycle all the way down to the Santa Monica Pier and have some great lunch.

Photo: Courtesy of Tripadvisor

Shrimps at Bubba Gump, Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

Being in Los Angeles was a great start, we could recover from jetlag and get in the festival mood. I had no idea what to expect and how the dimentions would be. Well, I knew for sure that the venue would be like 20 times bigger than one single festival here in Switzerland. I mean, with a huge line up like that you can get some peace of mind for the whole year since you'll probably seen all the most important and hyped headliner in one event, unless you go to one venue that's totally different, musically speaking.
We took a three hour bus ride from LA to Indio, where Coachella takes place. If I'd be there again one day, I would rearrange some things like where to stay or by renting a car. Indio is smaller than LA, but still big enough, so forget walking distance and stuff like that (I really thought I might could walk. Yeah, Europeans walk a lot sometimes). Our hotel was too far away from the venue. Fortunately we met a girl that drove us to Coachella and back to the hotel for approx. 30 bucks a day. I guess it was the best solution since making the same thing with a cab would have been pretty tragic!

Room View at Fantasy Springs Resort

Coachella was held for the first time on two weekends in a row this year. We were there to attend weekend one. First of all, I was shocked about how big the Empire Polo fields are! Once you get there, you'll walk, and a lot, trust me! Getting in takes all the standard security procedures, so no trying to smuggle some drugs in or trying to hide it somewhere (I don't do drugs, but I saw them even controlling my boots and my cigarette pack).

The festival has a great vibe and lots of extras. You'll able to find, for example, some phone charging stations and free drinking water dispensers, since you basically are in the desert. The field is decorated amazingly and there are different stages based on the music direction. 2012 is the year where dubstep became commercial I guess. As an electronic music lover I used to spend some more time around the DJ stage and I had to notice that :) One of the best sets was in my opinion the one of Martin Solveig.

The Rock and Roll soul in my tiny little body loved the Vaccines' performance. They really are young and raw rockers. Their music wants to get you a beer, jump around and make out. Classic.
Another great act was Noel Gallagher with his band High Flying Birds. Ex Oasis member mixed his show with new songs combined with some Oasis tracks. I liked it, I almost got nostalgic :)
Besides these two, the Black Keys did a great job and Radiohead was magic.

Of course urban music lovers get their stars too: this year was the turn of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, just to mention some names.

Coachella has a big food court, so you won't spend a lot of time waiting for your food. And it's incredibly clean for it's dimentions. Maybe because you'll just allowed to drink your beer or wine in the separate gardens, only minus of the whole weekend I suppose. I'm not really used to rules like that as an European, so I like to stand by the stage with my drink and sing along the band's songs. I survived, don't worry!

The best thing about my stay at the Fantasy Spring Resort, big desert hotel, was the thought to have a big breakfast the morning after every festival day. I'm addicted to egg benedict, hard to find here in my continent, so I ate them almost every day! They also have a casino - big mistake for me going down there.

Sad but true, three days of desert loving flew like crazy and there we were again, standing next to the bus to get back to Los Angeles and take our flight to Florida.

Key West is one of my personal little paradises. I love this little island, with it's small coloroued houses and turquoise sea. Once you're there, you'll immediately feel a carribbean vibe around you. Fair enough, the island is located 90 km away from Cuba and is the southernmost point in the States.
After some packed days on a big festival like Coachella and the whole travelling around, taking it easy on Key West wasn't hard. We rented some bikes to get around and enjoyed mostly a good swim, some little breakfast in a cute coffeehouse or a peaceful dinner in town in the evenings.

Practical Infos - Los Angeles

- Where to stay: for Hollywood, the Celebrity Hotel. Big beds, good location right behind the Hollywood & Highlander Centre and fair priced. Venice Beach as stated.

- Where to eat: one of the sweetest places I've been out for dinner in LA was the Barlo Kitchen. Located just in the same building as the Erwin Hotel, this little pearl of a restaurant has lots of attention for the detail and feels very intimate. Staff is amazing!

- Getting around: we were more than happy with our few bus rides and the cabs. If you wanna move faster you should rent a car in LA. For bike rentals I was super satisfied with the Venice Boardwalk Bike Rental.

Coachella

- Tickets: Subscribe the Coachella Newsletter! Tickets go on sale for the first time one year in advance special priced, all other around 3 months before the festival. I love to risk sometimes so I booked mine one year in advance with no line up out yet. Mine was a VIP ticket, with special allowance to a separate area, different drinks and food (General Admisson gets only beer as an alcoholic beverage) and normal toilets. Price was around 150 Dollars more expensive than the General Admission Ticket. It was totally worth it, I loved my wine! :)

Coachella Goodies

- Where to stay: be early with this! Look for hotels near the Empire Polo Fields or get an apartment or a room on Airbnb in that area.

- How to get there: You can fly over LAX to Palm Springs or take a bus ride with Greyhound directly to Indio.

- Other: wear sunscreen and a hat. Being in the desert during the day can get more than hot, you shouldn't melt on the venue, you should be able to enjoy!

Key West

- Where to stay: The Ibis Bay Resort right out of town offers big rooms and provides bikes for free. They have a very good restaurant on the water called the Stoned Crab. Seafood and Key Lime Pie are just yum!

- Where to eat: Despite the Stoned Crab, Key West has a lot of restaurants to offer. Try the Hard Rock Cafe: it's totally different than the classical ones, in this cute wooden house.

Photo: Courtesy of Tripadvisor

 - Other: Key West is a gay friendly island. You can totally feel the tolerance in this place, where everybody can be however he likes, without being judged. We went to see the famous drag queen show at the 801 Bourbon Bar. It was so welcoming and entertaining that we went twice! :)
Also interesting for a visit is the Southernmost Point and Ernest Hemingway's house.