Tell us about the music scene in… Bern
Welcome to the seventh edition of “Tell us about the music scene in…” where I will be finding out more out the music scene in the country’s capital, Bern. (Writing Berne with an E at the end just felt unnatural to me, so I will be using the spelling without it).
Before starting Reverb Dream, my only previous musical association with the city dates way back to 2002 with the Queens of the Stone Age unplugged concert that took place at the Reitschule. Since moving to Switzerland, I’ve visited Bern only a handful of times and never had the opportunity to see what the city has to offer in terms of live music and the music scene in real life. As an outsider, I have already discovered a lot of great bands from the capital and this is why I enjoy this type of article to find out more.
For this edition, Thomas Fahrni, a musician, a volunteer for Musikförderung Bern, inhabitant of the city for almost 20 years seemed to be an ideal choice. Through our exchanges, it didn’t take long to notice that he is someone passionate, knowledgeable, involved and connected with Bern’s music scene.
I would like to thank him for his insights and recommendations!
Here are the links to the previous editions:
First of all, tell us about yourself. (Which band(s) do you currently play in? In which bands have you previously been in?) How long have you been active in the music scene in Berne?
My name is Thomas Fahrni. I play guitar and synthesizer. In my day job I work as Polygraf (graphic designer who does the sometimes monotone but necessary work).
My own band is called Klangklinik and – confusingly enough – based in Basel. We are a improv-psychedelic-kraut-happening or, as we like to call it, a little desert orchestra, formed in 2007, probably two years after I started trying to play guitar. Klangklinik has not written a single song, but has played thousands of sessions and recorded everything, including improvised lyrics… beat poetry style. I put everything on SoundCloud.
Our only record so far is called KLANGKLINIK and was recorded in 2019 in Bern by our friend Sebastian Zwahlen who plays drums in the psych rock band Shah Blah. The record is on all platforms and available on vinyl. Some artist friends and I made videos for most of the jams on our album. Our last gig in Bern was at the wonderful Bücherbergwerk.
A few years ago, I played some noisy, experimental guitar for the album Primitive Energetics by Joe Volk. Joe is originally from Bristol, but lives in Bern.
mt/ra is my personal space for musical experiments, mostly instrumental, always combined with a video. Maybe some of these ideas could transcend into a future band in Bern. Who knows.
One could still say that I’m quite active in the music scene in Bern. For the past three years, I volunteer for Musikförderung Bern. We organize small workshops (finance, booking, etc.), a little award show and more for “pop”-musicians in Kanton Bern.
In your own words, how would you describe the music scene in Bern?
Small, yet still a bit fractured. But – after living for almost twenty years in this city – the music scene is what keeps me alive. And I’m very grateful for that!
Which places/concert venues would you recommend to experience the local scene?
For record stores: Go to the Voodoo Rhythm Hardwarestore or Serge and Peppers.
For shows: Dachstock, Rössli, Cafete (especially a Cafete Goes Garage show), ISC, Café Kairo, Spinnerei… or to totally crash out, go to a late show at Dead End. Or go to a show by Hush Hush. Alaina connects the local scene with smaller American acts on the brink of making it. And yes, she brought Lydia Lunch to Dead End!
Are there any special or annual events such as festivals which you would recommend/which you have enjoyed?
Just this summer: there was the first edition of Yeah!fest. Then Tour de Lorraine, Full of Lava at Damfpzentrale, formerly known as Saint Ghetto, where I was happy to see The Fall before Mark E Smith past away, Sparks or OM, the Band of Al Cisneros from Sleep, which is very important for me as a heavy music enjoyer. Then there is the Schütz Sommerbühne on the Schützenmatte where we could book three local acts with Musikförderung: ENZO, UTALO and Wolfberg.
Which bands are Bern's best kept secret? Which bands do you think would go onto bigger things or at least deserve to?
My friends from wolfer, with Miriam Wolf who used to play in Unhold, legendary sludge metal band from Bern and her sister Julia Wolf who played in many bands in Bern plus Miles Zuberbühler who now plays with Joe Volk.
My friends from Loretta, Brag, Shah Blah, willibald (who you’ve interviewed), all the crazy people around Voodoo Rhythm Records, Dnachtaktion (Swiss German lyrics that I like!), The Attycs, PLESS (ex-Unhold), Oh Telephone, Polar Klub, Televisionmind (the best teenage band in town), Prima Ballast, Milena Patagônia, Kate Birch.
Do you think that being the capital of Switzerland has an impact on the music scene in the city?
Not that much, I think, or at least not in a positive way. While there is a lot of music made in Bern that I love and support, other cities in Switzerland seem to be much more innovative: Zurich and Basel or the Romandie with labels like Humus Records. I think the secret to creativity lies in the connections and friendships between the Swiss regions and with international artists.
And well… in Bern, there is the legacy of mundart rock (songs in Bärndütsch, the local dialect) which I need to acknowledge: Mani Matter, Polo Hofer, Hanery Amman, Züri West, Patent Ochsner, the list goes on. While I personally love people like Endo Anaconda (R.I.P.) of Stiller Has, I am simply not a big fan of mundart music. I prefer music that is not tethered to any language or just completely instrumental. And if you sing in English, do it very well… or intentionally bad with a thick Swiss accent for comedic effect. Haha.
Anything else you would like to add?
Go to shows! Support your local scene! Fuck AI music! The kids are alright!
Links:
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