Real music for real people: Fai Baba and the string quartet Amour Sur Mars release “Fäderliecht” on A Tree In A Field Records. Departure and hope, from sunneufgang

(sunrise) to sunneuntergang (sunset).

I fell in love with life! That’s how “Fäderliecht” came about. It’s a delicate and fragile, intimate and gentle album, coming from the heart.

Fai Baba

It feels like a gift and according to its creator it came about spontaneously. Nevertheless, a lot of work went into it, over a period of a whole year of songwriting. Manuel Egger who recorded the previous album “Veränderet” and multi-instrumentalist Mario Hänni were jointly responsible as producers and session musicians. Together, the team created ten new songs. In some cases, the first takes provided the basis on which the tracks were built: pure magic! Swiss Neo Folk becomes Swiss Chamber Pop. Especially thanks to the “special touch” that by Amour sur Mars gave it.

After “Veränderet”, I wanted to do something sophisticated and refined. That’s why I chose a string quartet to work with to give my songs this component.

Fai Baba

The Swiss quartet consists of Sebastian Lötscher (violin), Julia Schwob (violin), Gina Été (viola) and Janos Mijnssen (cello). The ensemble increasingly appears on songs (including by Brandão Faber Hunger, Black Sea Dahu) as a sounding body, which is empathic and has a great enhancing effect. Trombonist Michael Flury (Stephan Eicher, Sophie Hunger) is also featured. Director Hans Kaufmann (“Der Büezer”, nominated three times for the Swiss Film Award, among others) shot the live videos at the Fundaziun Nairs Artists’ Centre.

The songs are inspired from a colourful bouquet: Philip Glass. Moondog. The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever”. “Sugar Man” by Sixto Rodriguez. Alice Coltrane. Electric and acoustic guitars, Fender amps, analogue gear. And finally, the Binson Echorec. The latter is a tube-driven disc echo effect device from the 60s, made famous by Pink Floyd. Fai Baba bought two of them in poor condition for next to nothing in a neighbouring village. He then had these gems restored in Milan by Franco Avona, a former Echorec employee who is over 80 years old. The sound is reminiscent of recordings from the 50s and 60s and can be heard on every “Fäderliecht” song. A sound that characterises the whole album.

“Trust” is my greatest vision. Born from life experience, longing for freedom and unity. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to play my Swiss-German songs in Paris in front of 2,000 French listeners. My work goes out straight to the hearts.

Fai Baba

Fai Baba is singing in Swiss German again and feels more comfortable than ever. So comfortable, in fact, that he also drew the album cover artwork with cartoon-like animals that also appear in the lyrics. The lyrics support this confidence. They deal with love, trust, longing, and hope without fear of what lies ahead. Never negative or critical, but with a wink and a look ahead. Simply light as a feather – “Fäderliecht”! Eifach devo und tschüss! (Simply split and say goodbye). This is Swiss music as it has never been before.