Interview with Bandit Voyage
Bandit Voyage is one of the bands that I have been listening to the most for the last few months. The duo from Geneva, Anissa Cadelli and Robin Girod, have been very prolific since starting the project around a decade ago with three full length albums and their “CORE” Series which consists of several EPs and a live album. They have also collaborated with musicians such as Lee “Scratch” Perry and there are several live sessions on YouTube, including the RSI Confederation Music Session.
I get a lot of pleasure from listening to Bandit Voyage - the switching between languages (sometimes in the same song), the humour, the arrangements, the vocals, reworking songs, swapping instruments and collaborations with other artists. I have also lost count the amount of earworms from their music. I am also fascinated at how they are so prolific at writing and creating music and how that Bandit Voyage also seems to tell the story of a friendship of two people who enjoy making music and spend as much time possible doing so.
Today, Friday 12th June, the band will be releasing their latest EP, DADDY CORE (on Cheptel Records) as part of their “CORE” series, a collection of EPs and a live album. It’s the most intimate release from Bandit Voyage, an homage to vocalist/guitarist, Anissa Cadelli’s father and also includes a cover of his favourite song, Hotel California. The EP grew on me quickly after a few listens, and even with the move in a more serious direction, it retains the trademark style of Bandit Voyage.
I wanted to know more about the duo - the story of Bandit Voyage, the Core series and about their experiences since making music together. I would like to thank Anissa and Robin for their replies!
(Bandit Voyage with Domi Chansorn, photo copyright: Mehdi Benkler)
The history of Bandit Voyage
Tell us about yourselves – who are you and which instruments do you play?
A : Coucou, I’m Anissa Cadelli, singer and guitarist of Bandit Voyage. I also make the covers, music videos, collages and all the things you can touch of Bandit Voyage.
R : After wandering around the musical world for so many years, I still never have a very precise idea of what it is that I actually do. In Bandit Voyage, I handle our old analogue drum machine (Roland CR8000) live, play bass, sometimes guitar, and I have nothing against a bit of backing vocals. Anissa even grants me the honor of singing a few verses from time to time.
How did you meet?
A : We met at a party in 2014, fell in love, and started our band around the same time. Time went by, life changed, and now we're friends who happen to still be in a band together!
R : That means going so far back into the past that it's hard to remember the exact story of our union. I think one evening, somewhere in the shadows of a party in Geneva, surrounded by a crowd, smoke and body heat, she raised a little hand to greet me and said, “coucou”. It took her a long time to admit that this was probably where it all began. Although I should add that I had actually seen her a little earlier in a film called Le Bal des Sirènes.
You're very proficient in bass and saxophone (as well as many other instruments), what are your backgrounds in music?
A : I don’t have a musical background at all: listening to music was my first language and I have pockets full of post-it covered in poems, and when i met Robin, he suggested we turn them into songs. Feeling completely illegitimate, I thought playing guitar might protect me from other people and give my hands something to do. So i learned on stage, during the concerts.
R : I like to say that I have no musical background other than having listened to music all my life, attended and organized countless concerts, and then eventually wanting to play, share and discover sounds with my school friends. Early teenage loves: Queen Live at Wembley and the Beach Boys’ Greatest Hits compilation. And then I simply never stopped.
For those who are overwhelmed by your big discography, which five songs would you recommend to those who are new to Bandit Voyage?
Together: Wow! We’d say Je Déplace, Moyen Âge (2017 version), Love Nowhere, Avant de te revoir and Les Gens Amoureux.
Tell us about the Bandit Voyage universe?
R : Bandit Voyage is not really a band. It's more of a place where songs, friendships and adventures cross paths. Together with Anissa, we've built a world populated by magnificent lovers, elegant losers, philosophical dogs, nights that are too short and roads that are too long.
It's music, which has freedom and borrows from pop, rock, punk, drum machines and unexpected encounters.
At its heart, Bandit Voyage is always talking about the same thing: how to stay alive, keep loving, and create beauty in the middle of a global, political and often chaotic world. It's a journey with no precise destination. And that's probably why we keep moving forward.
(Photo copyright: Andrea Crispini)
How would you describe Barrio Colette and Palme Cadelli's position within the Bandit Voyage universe?
Bandit Voyage is my CORE. It’s my school. the place where I learned everything and where I got to experiment first. It’s like an accelerated course that somehow lasted ten years.
Barrio Colette is my summer camp that never seems to end. It’s a band built on friendship, where I play guitar, and honestly, that’s still sometimes hard for me to believe.
Palme Cadelli is my final human form: telling poems over songs that seem to last forever, surrounded by loops and incredible musicians. It was a dream I didn’t even dare put into words.
But none of these projects would exist if i hadn’t started Bandit Voyage first. It’s a place that is free enough, dangerous enough, and flexible enough to keep learning every day.
What are some of your memories of the beginning of Bandit Voyage?
A : Our very first gig! We went to California around 2017, and it felt quite surreal to be singing and playing in front of an audience for the first time in my life on the other side of the world.
R : I think the moment i realized Anissa had finally conquered her fears was during her guitar solo on Rivière de Larmes at Les Docks in Lausanne, opening for Catherine Ringer on September 25th, 2019. I had never seen such power come out of her before.
How do you approach your songwriting? How do you choose which instrument to write it on? Or which language to sing in?
A : In general, I start by writing on post-it; poems, thoughts, little ideas... and composing mini songs with my guitar. Then Robin and I turn them into “proper” songs together. We spend a lot of time together, so our songs often become souvenirs of our adventures and our conversations.
French remains our main language, even though it can be a challenging language for singing. But it’s important for me to sing in the language that accompanies my everyday life.
How has your songwriting evolved since the beginning?
A : I write every day. I’ve found a way not to put pressure on myself or feel like I have to “write songs.” I just write, and later I make big collages out of it all. It’s hard for me to talk about evolution because I’ve never really stopped doing it. What I can say is that i instantly know, whether a note, a poem or a song is meant for Bandit Voyage or for another project. Bandit Voyage speaks directly about me; my perspective, my habits, my lovers, my friends. Writing songs is a way of feeling a little less useless, and a little less alone.
DADDY CORE EP
Where did the idea come from to create the Core EP series?
R : We have so many demos, unfinished songs, cover ideas and loose ends lying around. We felt that the CORE series was a way of putting those side roads back at the centre of the story, the winding paths full of obstacles that exist outside the idea of a traditional album. It allowed us to focus on specific subjects, a hommage (DADDY CORE), a guest artist (MILLA CORE), or a live recording (LIVE CORE). It's important for us to show the life of Bandit Voyage beyond the classic album format. We created these records all over the place: Sion, Basel, Montreal, London, Haute-Savoie and, of course, Geneva.
Tell us about the concept of the EP, DADDY CORE. What are the influences?
A : This Strange Effect was influenced by Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain, as well as by Dave Berry’s song of the same title.
I Look Right is more of what we like to call a “tunnel song”. One of those tracks without a clearly defined structure, that unfolds like life itself. We had Daniel Johnston’s Mean Girls Give Pleasure in mind while recording it.
Hotel California is our most faithful cover of the original. To stay close to the feeling my father loved about this song.
Rien is a sad ballad that feels like it comes from somewhere beyond. A mix of soul and pop, both melancholic and full of a quiet sense of hope.
With the song Ma Mère, it seems that your parents have had a big impact on your life. How would you describe their influence?
A : Yes :) I think the way I make music is deeply influenced by my childhood and by my parents’ musical tastes. My mother listened to raï with autotune and jazz, while my father listened to rock and French chanson. Bandit Voyage is basically a mix of all of that, and Robin adds his unconditional love for melodies, guitar songs, and his funk side :)
It also feels at times to be an emotionally charged EP, where did the direction for this EP come from?
A : The idea behind this EP was to retrace my story through the loss of my father, him living in England and me in Switzerland. Having the privilege of writing songs also means having the opportunity to heal and to understand. The songs This Strange Effect and I Look Right were recorded in London just a few days after I learned of his death. Hotel California was recorded at my home shortly before, and Rien several months later. In a way, this EP follows the different stages of grief. But it is also a tribute to my childhood with him in the 1990s, when we would jump into the Toyota Previa and drive off to rent VHS tapes together!
What are your memories and feelings of hearing Hotel California? How did it feel to cover your father's favourite song?
A : It was a very special moment. It was the last song with my voice that he heard. I wanted to make sure it stayed close to the original and that he would like it. We played it at his funeral. It will always stay an important song for me. Sometimes it feels easier to say what we feel through songs, rather than saying it directly to someone.
Half of the songs were recorded in London, how did the collaboration with Benjamin Romans Hopcraft and Jamie Neville come to light?
R : We met Benjamin when we opened for his band Warmduscher in Bern. Beyond our shared love of bass-heavy grooves, we had a lot of laughs together and stayed in touch. Benjamin was the one who invited us to work with Jamie, his close friend and trusted engineer.
A : DADDY CORE is a tribute to my father. He had been living in England for several years, and we travelled there on what felt like a pilgrimage, recording songs that carried something of his spirit in London, the last city he called home.
The other two songs were self-recorded and produced – tell us a bit about how you do the recordings and the experience you have already in doing them?
R : It's always the same process: hanging around and waiting for the right moment to reveal itself. The desire to build something out of almost nothing. Or sometimes from something huge, like a cover of Hotel California hahah. It's incredible that today you can just plug in and do all this "at home", whether that's in my studio or in Anissa's wonderfully named Buzz Studio. We plug in, we play, and it has to remain spontaneous. Over the years we've developed crazy instincts. We take turns behind the desk and behind the microphone.
What are your memories from recording in London?
R : I love England, where studio culture has been deeply rooted even before Abbey Road Studios. There is a way of considering the studio as a creative instrument in itself, and that's something I really appreciated. Watching Jamie and Ben get excited about the raw approach we were proposing was fascinating. Their use of amplifiers, Space Echo units and synthesizers was beautiful to witness. One of my strongest memories of London is simply observing the energy of our producers in the studio. Fascinating. And so different from Switzerland, Berlin or the United States.
A : I was in a strange state of mind. Grief has a way of putting time on hold, but i remember that making these songs in London with Robin felt like the only thing that made sense.
(photo copyrights: Patrick Principe)
Live/general/future
You have been involved in a lot of collaborations and different line-ups on stage. How do you decide and prepare for them?
R : The core version of Bandit Voyage is a duo, but we've also had a four-piece and a five-piece version for a television show, a ten-piece ensemble for a festival in Geneva, a Barrio Colette (Anissa’s other band) + Bandit Voyage show, and of course the trio version with our cocktail- drummer Domi Chansorn. The idea is that the duo remains at the centre, and everyone else gets added on like decorations on a Christmas tree: kitsch, useless, useful, discreet, shiny ...
A lot of live versions of songs involve changing the songs a lot (eg When I Go Up on Live Core or Was Ist Das on RSI Sessions) - where do the changes come from?
R : We have different ways of working, but we like to keep things spontaneous, meaning that sometimes our music is recorded, but that doesn’t mean the track is final. Our recorded versions are fluid; they’re versions that will evolve over time, depending on the venue, and depending on our energy! You could even say that sometimes a track can change depending on what we’ve been listening to in the car on the way to the club
What are your memories of the RSI Sessions?
R : The incredible quality of the team working there. And the result itself, which I absolutely love. The mix has been done analogically !!! But above all, I remember the white contact lenses Anissa was wearing. She looked like some strange goddess of both good and evil, lost somewhere in Ticino.
A : It was funny! I was wearing white contact lenses and looked scary, but deep down I was the one who was scared. We were using in-ear monitors, and I’d never worn them before, so I couldn’t hear anything people were saying. All I could hear was my own pretty loud voice and Robin playing bass right next to me!
What do you have planned for the near future? A record release concert for Daddy Core?
R : We have plenty going on. Shows in Belgium. A summer spent preparing the release of our 4th album in 2027. The final CORE chapter, Blood Core, which also mixes our connection with England and Anissa's journey through the Algerian desert, her homeland. We're also preparing something wonderful: an LP box set gathering the entire CORE collection. The perfect thing to put under the Christmas tree and talk once again about those poor pine trees.
Any plans to release the Core collection on a physical format? Or will it only be available digitally?
R : Ahahah I already answered that above! But yes, it will be released physically. A commercial suicide, perhaps, but also a way of defying the gravity imposed on us by the music business.
Bandit Voyage vs Barrio Colette (photo copyright: Patrick Principe)
Any advice you would like to give to musicians or on songwriting?
A : Don’t forget to breathe!
R : I’ve been asked this question a lot, but I like to give all sorts of different answers; I like to say that you should never take yourself too seriously. I also like to say that music, songwriting - all of it - should remain a great game. But what i’d like to say above all is that you must never forget that when you’re making music, you shouldn’t doubt yourself, there are no rules, no one knows better than anyone else, but if doubts create beautiful things, I like to say that everyone’s approach is valid, you have to keep moving forward, you even have to convince yourself that you’re writing your masterpiece.
What wishes do you have for the future?
A : To find a balance between a world that moves too fast and a world that is burning. To let music keep resonating everywhere, free from guilt. And for genocides, wars, invasions, and discrimination ... to come to an end.
R : Hoping for a peace in the world that often feels impossible to reach. So perhaps, on our own scale, simply continuing to love what we do, without ever running out of inspiration or desire. together : And hopefully still making music as Bandit Voyage in another ten years!
What are your thoughts on the music scene in Geneva and in Switzerland?
R : We live in it and move through it every day. We are both a product of it and a small part of its machinery. We share friendships and close connections with many musicians, and we see a genuine originality and diversity within the Swiss scene. At the same time, the music industry remains relatively small here, which leaves a great deal of freedom for creativity to flourish.
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