Interview with High on the Sound (pt. 2)
Broken Bridge live at the High on the Sound tenth edition concert at Südpol (Lucerne) on 30th May 2025.
In February of this year, I met Mario Scialdone from High on the Sound to discuss the magazine which he created with co-founder Lena Eberhard. The magazine features bands from all across Switzerland and when each edition is released, there is a concert organised to coincide with the publication of the magazine.
In the first article, Mario told me more about the history of High on the Sound as well as the process of putting the magazine together. The publication of the article also coincided with the ninth edition of the magazine and I was in attendance at the evening with live performances from oze and STRUKTURSTRUKTUR at Südpol in Lucerne. It was great to experience one of the shows and to see the community that Mario has tirelessly built over the last few years.
This second part of the interview was ready for the tenth edition of the magazine and its concert featuring Broken Bridge (whose last two albums were recorded, engineered and mixed by Aria Konishi) and femmemeuf on 30th May at Südpol but the article was somehow not published.
With the rhythm of a concert and magazine every three months, I thought I would be able to publish the article before the next concert. August arrived and there was still no announcement of the next concert, however, I called with Mario (as always a pleasure to chat and to catch up with him) and he informed me about the changes with High On The Sound. There would be no more concerts in 2025 but with new plans for 2026. Once we have more details about the upcoming year, we would organise another interview to share the details.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the second part of the interview in which he discusses the previous live concerts and his experience in the Swiss music scene. Thanks again to the team at High on the Sound!
Crux Sledge
The beginning / the concerts at Cai49 and Hochschule Luzern
Before High on the Sound had you already organised events or concerts before?
Yes, before the magazine, with the help of friends, I organised a couple of concerts for Lausanne-based Crux Sledge in St. Gallen and Lucerne. I have known the band since my early 20s and I thought their music was great. They had a 4-5 hour drive to get to St. Gallen to play at Rumpletum, a very punk venue, and their style is psychedelic rock (Pink Floyd, 60s and 70s influences) and I remember it didn’t fit at all with the vibe of the venue. The audience was expecting something else, but it was a great learning experience in the end. My approach to organising events has always been learning by doing. Another memorable event which I organised for them was on the rooftop of the Hochschule Luzern. Since then concerts on the rooftop of the uni have been banned for life.
Then shortly after that the first magazine release happened and I asked Crux Sledge to be part of the show. I wanted to carry on helping them with concerts in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. But it’s so difficult, and still is, for bands from the French-speaking part to get concerts in the German-speaking part.
Tell us about Cai49 where the first and third concerts took place
It was an old shipping container that was no longer in use and not too far from the train tracks in Emmenbrücke. It was rented out occasionally by the university for outdoor events. It was however extremely cold and tough acoustically to do concerts there, but the people that curated the space were lovely and always very glad to help. We would usually have the concerts outside and then a DJ set inside the container. Now, Cai49 is completely gone, they are building a big shopping center, sadly.
What are your memories of the concerts at Cai49?
They were the most stressful events I’ve ever organised in my life so far. We had to borrow all the equipment from the university and transport everything. I could have never done that without the very generous help of friends. However, we were always late during our humble beginnings. We would say the concert would start at 8 and we would start at 10:30. It was really chaotic. There was no real order, nor clear structure.
The second concert took place at Hochschule Luzern. What do you remember about the evening?
I think it was a great idea but also a little promotional mess. The main act was Dirty Sound Magnet and I was expecting that the students would be interested because it’s a very big, internationally-renowned band. We had a very big room for the concert, I was really expecting a lot of people to show up and in the end we had around thirty people. The audience really loved their concert. But,that was the point where I asked myself if I wanted to continue or if I had to find another way because it wouldn’t be sustainable in the long-term.
How did the bands and audience react to the band performances taking place later than expected?
The audience were mostly students and quite relaxed about it. The bands were a bit stressed, but by the end of the evening there was a big shift of positive energy.
For the first three events, you budgeted the shows yourself? I need to sell this amount of tickets to cover the costs and pay the bands.
We were always lucky with the costs, we never had to rent out Cai49 or the university. And even with the Südpol, it’s really cool what they do for us because they encourage us to do events there as partners. We are very grateful to have them on our side.
Tell us more about your relationship with Südpol who have hosted every High on the Sound concert since the fourth edition.
We work very close, I suggest some acts I would like to show at each release and then we discuss the bookings together until we find the perfect match. They are always very kind to us and the musicians and they really appreciate the work they and we do. They also always encouraged us to keep on going, which is wonderful, and very rare to find these days.
Does Südpol do the mixing and the lighting as well?
Yes, they have a very professional team, for example, Remko. He is from the Netherlands and he was the sound engineer for Mark Lanegan for ten years. He also did the sound for Sharon Van Etten and was asked to mix Kim Gordon. He works at Südpol and is also very internationally connected. The rest of the sound team is also very amazing! We never had a bad sounding event so far, which is really a blessing, you can always count on them.
Mord Fuzztang
Do you get feedback from the audience about the sound quality?
Yes, all the bands and audience members alike tell us that the live sound at Südpol is really amazing.
For those that have never been to show, how would you describe the atmosphere?
Very familiar and welcoming.
They have nice rooms where bands can sleep, especially if they come from far away.
Also, It’s one of the main venues in Lucerne. They have so many different types of projects and events - from jazz concerts, theatre, to art exhibitions. It’s really a cultural centre.
The only thing is the location. It’s a bit outside of Lucerne, so you have a 10-15 minute bus journey from the train station. So It’s a bit more tricky when the concerts end late because it requires a bit more planning.
How does it feel the day after the show?
Exhausted, then very happy. But, Lena and I don’t have too much time to think about it. I have to make sure that all the artists/musicians receive the printed copies of the magazine per post, editing the photos of the release, doing social media content, and then we start thinking about planning the next magazine and shows. There’s always more work afterwards, there’s no real stop button.
Is there anything you would do differently for the shows?
I would like concerts to start earlier so that people can come from different cities but this is difficult when most venues start at 8 or even 10pm. Sometimes, I would like to go to Fribourg or St. Gallen, but it’s too difficult to get there after work. I think starting the concert at 7 or 8 would be a possibility, especially to create a more interregional audience, in my opinion.
I'm also really interested in multimedia events like a screening of a short film and having a concert - a mix that you don’t usually see. It’s very difficult to plan everything. I’m always thinking about how to make the events more attractive/innovative. But, sometimes, it’s already quite difficult to just plan a concert with two bands and to have everything run smoothly.
Do you have a certain target to reach with Südpol?
It would be great if we sold out the venue! When we have bands which are well known in Lucerne, we could get around 100/50 people. With lesser known bands from the city, it could be the case that we only have 40/50 spectators. It’s a shame. It’s just so unpredictable. We always do as much as we can to advertise and promote the event, we hand out flyers around the city, we print posters, we use social media, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. It’s so difficult these days in general for concert venues.
What have been your favourite musical discoveries?
All of them! One main artist was Kety Fusco. I didn’t know she was one of the most promising harpists in Europe and that she is from Ticino.
It was also really cool to discover bands like S.G.A.T.V., as well as the scene that they’re part of - the egg-punk scene, as they call it.
According to Severin from S.G.A.T.V., there is apparently an amazing underground scene in Frauenfeld which has so many great bands and they’re doing a lot of new innovative things.
I think Fribourg has a lot of cool bands: Dirty Sound Magnet, Crème Solaire, oze, Jean-Michel, etc. I think Kickboard and Friends from Lucerne. Fischermanns Orchestra. I think Chinzilla from Berne is doing an amazing job for experimental music, REA with her solo project but also with her band Omni Selassi. Giant Moa from Berne, Mord Fuzztang, Emzyg from Zürich, Moonpools from Basel.
I haven’t been to Geneva often so I don’t know too many bands there. It’s an area I want to visit and explore more in the following months.
I didn’t know any labels when I started High on the Sound and now knowing all the labels in Switzerland, their artists and catalogues, I can say that they have really really good music. There are so many labels for such a small country. It’s astonishing that all the small labels survive despite competition from the bigger ones. They really focus on promoting culture even if there is little to no profit. There is a lot of passion behind the music.
So you have been able to travel to a lot of different towns and cities?
I know the country from the perspective of the musicians, so it’s very liberal without seeing the harsh realities of the cities. I hope to go more often to small places to see bands that you never see anywhere else. For example, there is also a cool post-punk scene in Sargans.
You also mentioned that you would like to have more visibility for FINTA bands. What has been your perception? Have you seen an evolution over the last four years?
Yes, for Lena and I that is one of the major points we focus on when doing the curation for the magazine. To break stereotypes, for example that rock music is a “just a guys thing”, but not only, showing other prespectives through FINTA artists is so important and vital for culture and society.
In our little magazine bubble, I can say that we have discovered amazing FINTA artists that really deserve more recognition for their work and better fees! In terms of booking, I can also just talk about our situation, we always try our best to be fair to everybody we work with. In terms of evolution, I think, yes, I notice that bookers are more inclusive than 10 years ago, which is a good step forward, but I hope that it’s not just a temporary trend. Also, I think Helvetiarockt are doing a great job: they tour cities such as Lucerne and Berne, with the possibility of learning to DJ or an instrument as well as providing safe spaces for FINTAs. It’s a really cool project, really worth checking out!
Since starting the magazine, what personal evolution have you noticed over the past four years?
I think I’ve become more professional - having a system and an approach. I am always trying to establish a connection, not going somewhere and feeling awkward anymore. You meet a person to do an interview so you have to make that person feel comfortable.
The video interviews really help to break the ice. Before the interview, everyone is usually a bit stiff wondering who I am, but that’s normal, then once they start reading the questions and we get to know each other through music all the awkwardness fades away naturally.
There were also people that didn’t believe I did this project. They thought I wouldn’t show up. With the Internet and Instagram there’s less trust these days. I think I have evolved socially - being more open to people - and also working in a team.
I’m really positive about the people that I’ve met because they really show an interest and are very passionate about music and the magazine. I always thought that they would be busy or wouldn’t want to be part of it. So far in four years of doing the magazine Lena and I only had one band that refused, so that’s a very good statistic.
What sort of plans or wishes do you have for the magazine? You already mentioned the YouTube channel and new features…
More support from cultural foundations. I think that it would be super cool to work with them. It would be very beneficial to have different cities to spread the magazine. For example, we do the magazine and they do the distribution and an event. It would be a great format whilst it wouldn’t cost too much for them!
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