Tag: Geneva Switzerland

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays L’Eclair Share Dubby “Excelsior”

Bulgarian-born, Geneva-based brothers Stef (guitar, keys) and Yavor Lilov (drums) were shaped in a myriad of unseen ways by the centuries-old folk music that filtered through their daily lives. It helped mold their creative spirit and inspired them to make music together at a young age — and that unique and intuitive alchemy has been a foundation of their acclaimed, JOVM mainstay act L’Eclair, which they formed a decade ago.

Their newest EP, Echo is slated for a November 6, 2026 release through Innovative Leisure. Self-produced by Stef and Yavor Lilov, Echo EP reportedly finds the acclaimed Swiss outfit once again pushing their endlessly elastic approach to rhythm, texture and groove while continuing to occupy their own peculiar corner of the dance floor. where hypnotic repetition gives way to unexpected detours, locked-in rhythms collide with warped electronics, and vintage textures meet a modern sense of space. The result is another playful, exploratory chapter from a band that has spent the better part of a decade proving that groove can be both a destination and a way of getting wonderfully, deliriously lost.

The EP also introduces some new additions to the studio lineup — James Iwa (bass), Panji Bharata (synth) and Eduardo Silva Fuentes (percussion).

Echo EP‘s first single “Excelsior” has been played during live sets over the past year, and has quickly proven itself to be a party anthem. And that’s not surprising because “Excelsior” is a sleek blend of drum ‘n’ bass, footwork, dub, funk and jazz fusion with chopped up synths, anchored by their unerring knack for hypnotically mind-bending grooves. Sonically, the new single continues on a somewhat similar thread as 2021’s Confusions and last year’s CLOUD DRIFTER but while seeing the JOVM mainstays actively pushing their sound and approach in new directions to find new ways to make the music hit harder and the groove deeper.

L’Eclair explain, “‘Excelsior’ was one of the first tracks we wrote after the release of Cloud Drifter. Post album release, we were motivated to push toward a new sound—something sharper and more direct, finally bringing the raw, wild energy of our live shows together with our modern approach to production. That’s how ‘Excelsior’ was born. It’s the fastest L’Eclair song to date and pays homage to a main influence of ours: dub music. We took the classic stepper rhythm and made it our own, layering in 303s, fuzzed-out guitars, and a cinematic bridge that keeps building and shifting until the very end. For us, the track feels like a manifesto: L’Eclair is back, with a new sound built to hit harder, travel further, and fill bigger rooms.”

Directed by Hessed Porras, the accompanying video for “Excelsior” flashing bolts of light, computerized numbers, dancing silhouettes and psychedelic imagery reflecting the song’s propulsive, constantly shifting nature.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Geneva’s Viscardi & Il Duo Magnetico Share Breezy Dance Floor Bop “Sale Sole”

Geneva-based outfit Viscardi & Il Duo Magnetico is a new collaborative project featuring Italian-Swiss vocalist, DJ and producer Pascal Viscardi (vocals) and L’Eclair’s Yavor Lily (drums, bass keys) and Alain Sandri (percussion, guitar, backing vocals). Over the past two years, the trio have been in the studio working on material that they describe as a unique and contemporary version of Italian pop that references New Wave, boogie, disco and world music.

The Swiss trio’s full-length debut is slated for a November release through Berlin-based Cosmic Romance. The album’s latest single “Sale Sole” is sleek and breezy bit of dance floor friendly pop built around twinkling keys, the sort of trippy and funky groove L’Eclair is known for paired with Viscardi’s sultry delivery and an uncanny knack for well-placed, catchy hooks. While “Sale Sole” is clearly indebted to — and made in the spirit of — 70s Italian disco and pop, it’s paired with a subtly modern touch.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Swiss Instrumental Act L’Eclair Release a Hallucinogenic Visual for Shimmering and Funky New Single “Carousel”

Through the course of their first three albums, 2017’s Cruise Control, 2018’s Polymood and last year’s Sauropoda, the Geneva, Switzerland-based instrumental act L’Eclair have perfected and established a difficult to pigeonhole sound, centered around their unique groove-driven vision of instrumental music, which fearlessly blends genres and styles. It shouldn’t be surprising that at one point, the Swiss instrumental act managed to describe their sound in a number of different ways on their Facebook page, including referring to their sound as being “as if Booker T and the MGs came from Eastern Europe,” an obscure 70s movie soundtrack and as “kraut-exo-soul, brutal funk and Turkish groove.” Interestingly, the act closed out last year with a collaborative 7 inch with The Mauskovic Dance Band.

Building upon a growing profile, the Swiss sextet has toured to support those albums across Europe, bringing the funky grooves to audiences in Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg and the UK, including thee European Festival circuit, playing sets at Montreux Jazz Festival, Bad Bonn Kilbi, Les Transmusicales, Eurosonic Nooderslag, Copenhagen Jazz Festival and others. 

Continuing the momentum of the past couple of years, the Swiss sextet’s latest effort, Noshtta EP is slated for a May 22, 2020 leas through Bongo Joe Records, and the EP reportedly continues a run of material that’s specifically crafted to make you dance and cry at the same time. “Carousel,” Noshtta EP’s latest single is centered around an expansive and free- flowing arrangement of shifting tempos, shimmering and reverb drenched guitars, propulsive four-on-the floor, twinkling keys and a sinuous and funky bass lines. The track finds the act seamlessly meshing funk, jazz fusion, disco and kraurtock with a mischievously anachronistic retro-futurism — and it may arguably be the most dance floor friendly track they’ve released to date. The recently released video is a trippy mix of old-school CGI graphics, videotape hiss, and geometric shapes undulating in syncopation to the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Geneva Switzerland’s L’Eclair Releases Trippy, Lo Fi Visuals for “Castor McDavid”

Comprised of Sebastien Bui (keys), Eli Ghersinu (dino bass), Stefan Lilov (broken wah guitar), Yavor Lilov (kicker’s delight/endless kick/bronto kick), Quentin Pilet (bongos), Alain Sandri (congas) and DJ Laxxiste (440 FX), the Geneva, Switzerland-based instrumental act L’Eclair describe their sound in a number of different ways on their Facebook page, including “as if Booker T and the MGs came from Eastern Europe,” an obscure 70s movie soundtrack and as “kraut-exo-soul, brutal funk and Turkish groove.”

The Geneva, Switzerland-based instrumental act’s forthcoming sophomore album Sauropoda is slated for a May 24, 2019 release through Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records — and the album, which was recorded over the course of two days last October in an undisclosed mountainous location is comprised of deep jams the band road-testing following the recording and release of last year’s breakthrough debut album Polymood. Recorded live and with few overdubs, Sauropoda‘s compositions are reportedly much more organic and capturing the band’s live sound much more accurately than its predecessor.  Interestingly, the album’s trippy and cinematic first single “Endless Dave” it’s a wild yet seamless synthesis of Expensive Shit/He Miss Road-era Fela Kuti, Return to Forever-like jazz fusion, prog rock, dub and spaced out psychedelic and 70s soul that sounds both familiar and unlike anything I’ve heard this year.

The recently released video by banditbandeau features incredibly lysergic and lo-fi visuals including wild splashes of color, hypnotic moving shapes and geometric figures that look like textbook figures describing the curvature of spacetime, mixed with found footage and early computer rendered graphics undulating to the funky groove.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Sebastien Bui (keys), Eli Ghersinu (dino bass), Stefan Lilov (broken wah guitar), Yavor Lilov (kicker’s delight/endless kick/bronto kick), Quentin Pilet (bongos), Alain Sandri (congas) and DJ Laxxiste (440 FX), the Geneva, Switzerland-based instrumental act L’Eclair describe their sound in a number of different ways on their Facebook page, including “as if Booker T and the MGs came from Eastern Europe,” an obscure 70s movie soundtrack and as “kraut-exo-soul, brutal funk and Turkish groove.”

The Geneva, Switzerland-based instrumental act’s forthcoming sophomore album Sauropoda is slated for a May 24, 2019 release through Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records — and the album, which was recorded over the course of two days last October in an undisclosed mountainous location is comprised of deep jams the band road-testing following the recording and release of last year’s breakthrough debut album Polymood. Recorded live and with few overdubs, Sauropoda‘s compositions are reportedly much more organic and capturing the band’s live sound much more accurately than its predecessor.  Interestingly, the album’s trippy and cinematic first single “Endless Dave” it’s a wild yet seamless synthesis of Expensive Shit/He Miss Road-era Fela Kuti, Return to Forever-like jazz fusion, prog rock, dub and spaced out psychedelic and 70s soul that sounds both familiar and unlike anything I’ve heard this year.

 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Although JOVM is a (mostly) one-man operation, I receive a lot of emails from a variety of artists, labels and publicists located all over the world. Naturally, it’s overwhelming and flattering but at the same time, it […]