On Saturday, 2 April, you can buy and/or sell vinyl at the first vinyl market at Buffet Nord in Bern. The canteen and public self-service restaurant is located in the University of the Arts. The fair starts at 11 am and lasts until 5 pm. Anyone who wants to sell can register on the website.
In a tweet, the electronic music platform Resident Advisor informed about the new possibility to add pronouns to one's artist profile. The DJ and artist pages on the website are one of the first places bookers, journalists and other DJs go to find information such as biographies, upcoming or past gigs and contact information. To add your pronouns to your profile, go to RA Pro, select your artist and add your pronouns in the Pronouns field.
The short film "Fail We May, Sail We Must" about Andrew Weatherall is now available on Mixmag. The film tells the story of Weatherall's meeting with an Irish fisherman and how they tell each other stories about the sea. The title of the film refers to the musician's track "Fail We May, Sail We Must" and also features his close friend and collaborator Sean Johnston. Watch it here.
Amsterdam record shop Rush Hour has announced that it will be moving its shop. The owner Antal wrote in an Instagram post: "After 6-7 years at our current location we are leaving our beloved store. They have made us an offer we could not refuse. More about that later." From the beginning of March, a big sale will take place at the current address.
In an article in the Tagesanzeiger, the Zurich club Zukunft announced that it will close in a good 770 days. The reason for the closure is the renovation and new construction of the houses above the club and the owner of the property no longer plans any gastronomic or commercial use. The club was founded in 2005 and has made a name for itself far beyond the borders of Switzerland for well-programmed electronic music. The four remaining founders will continue to run the club until the end and promise new club and music projects over the lifetime of Zukunft.
It is a great pleasure to hear that Groove Magazine will return as a special edition on 18 March - the first time since the printed magazine was stopped four years ago and everything went completely online. "GROOVE will again find its way into station bookshops and into the letterboxes of our subscribers," they write on their website. For subscribers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland the issue is free, they just have to update their address and tick the agreement box. As readers and former contributors, we look forward to the publication.
DJ and producer Lexx has just released an updated version of "New Affinity", the album he released in 2020. Two new tracks have been added "The ReQuest" and "1994", but "4Good" and "Algorythm" have been removed from the tracklist. They remain as bonus tracks if you download the full album. As a physical goodie, there are 20 vinyls with a new cover and an additional 7". You can get them on Lexx's Bandcamp page.
The music platform Bandcamp launched "Bandcamp Friday" in 2020 to support the ailing music industry. The idea was simple and effective. The share that the platform normally receives – around 15 % – was suspended for 24 hours. Since the (original) purpose of the platform was for artists to sell their music directly, this had a significant impact on artists' revenue streams. On February 4 the company is continuing its action.
The London radio NTS has published the names of the new hosts who will be regularly on air. The list includes illustrious names like Theo Parrish and Ron Trent, but also DJ Bone, Batu or DJ Fart In The Club. Also on the list is Bruno (Perfect Lives). The London digger and record dealer has already proven his good taste as a guest at many other NTS shows and now gets his own slot. You can find the complete list here.
The feeling of entering a record shop is great because it is directly linked to a homely feeling. But sometimes it's also nice to dig for vinyl in a different place, in different crates and in a completely different selection. These are rare occasions, but one of them is coming up: on 29 January, the record store Sihl Records is holding a vinyl market at Club Zukunft.
While watching the latest episode of Star Wars – The Book of Boba Fett I was heavily surprised to see one of my favourite musicians make his acting debut. Stephen Lee Bruner aka Thundercat plays a mod guy on the planet of Tatooine and for spoiler reasons, I won't elaborate further on what exactly that is. You can watch the show on Disney+.
Originally started as a fundraising platform to support grassroots and non-profit organisations, Refuge has also established an online radio station in Berlin. In addition to the radio programme, the community-driven platform offers weekly workshops, training programmes and courses in the fields of media, creativity and mental health. Refuge Worldwide is now celebrating its 1-year anniversary with a 3-day programme. Happy birthday!
The short documentary "Napoli Futura: A Retrofuturistic Focus on the Neapolitan Downtown Scene" explores the music scene of Italy's third-largest city. It features bands, labels and producers such as Nu Genea, Futuribile Record Club, Mystic Jungle, Whodamanny, Milord, Soul Express, Napoli Segreta, Periodica Records, ThanksMate and many more. The documentary is published by the great people at Stamp The Wax. Check it out here.
Legowelt has published another issue of the "Internet's Most Controversial Underground Cyberzine Since 2014" called Shadow Wolf CyBeRzinE. The zine, designed with ASCII art, contains studio tips, letters, DIY projects, music reviews and interviews. Also included in the issue is the Shadow Wolf Covertape II, a 19 tracks compilation. Click here to read.
The Bernese online radio station Radio Bollwerk has a new website and opens a donation form. The station went on the air for the first time in 2016 and describes itself as a radio for avant-garde club culture. It's true, no other radio station in Switzerland has established such a consistent programme that represents not only the zeitgeist but also large parts of the local electronic music scene of the country. If you want to support club culture directly, a donation is a good start.
The Zurich online radio station GDS.FM is holding its traditional music awards show. The winners will be announced at their home base Sender on 29 January. Until then, you can participate in the public voting in the categories Best Swiss Song, Best Swiss Album, Best Swiss EP, Best Swiss Club Track, Best Swiss DJ and Best Swiss Live Act. Here you can find all the nominees and also take part in the voting: https://gds.fm/awards/2021
Sad news landed in our inbox. The Zurich shop OOR Records at Anwandstrasse 30 has announced that it will close its doors in mid-April. In their newsletter, they write: "[...] one of the common reasons is the amount of energy the shop requires. For the ever-decreasing demand, the effort is now too much for us." But they promise a transformation and continuation of their OOR Saloon event series. More information about the closing and the upcoming closing sale you can find on their website: oor-rec.ch.
A new record shop is opening in the old cloakroom of the well-known club and concert venue Fri-Son in Fribourg: Ablette Records. The shop opens on 9 October 2021 and sells not only vinyl but also merchandise, turntable equipment, books and magazines. With Ablette Records, the city finally has again a place where vinyl and music lovers, in general, can meet. You can find more info on the website.
Basel based music collector and DJ Emel Ilter is starting her own radio show on London's NTS Radio called Heavy Love Affair. She is known for her exquisite collection of Soul 45s and as the organiser of the Not To Young Swiss Soul Weekender event. Emel Ilter's Heavy Love Affair is broadcasted monthly. Click here for archived shows.