Features

Talen

Switzerland isn't the first place that comes to mind when thinking of forward-thinkng electronic music, which is the exact situation that Talen are here to correct.

"We have a few good producers here," says Christian Buchs, one of the group's two DJs, "not just in Zurich but Berne and other places too. I always say here you have to do your thing and if people see good feedback coming back from Germany, Austria, England then they look at you 'cause they never believe that good things can also come from Switzerland. It can be real hard because clubs often look first to the big names – you have to prove yourself. It's about supporting each other and creating a scene that people take notice of, fighting for it."

The project originated when Christian and Robert Grimmer met whilst working in a record shop, never a bad place to get connected-up with music scenes. Grimmer was producing bands of all styles 'from punk rock to salsa' in his studio, Phonetia. Also handy.

Another friend of theirs gave them a radio show called Klubget which helped spread the word further. Beat Jegen and Johannes Denzler came on board to complete the line-up of two DJs and two producers. Johannes, a DJ also runs a club in the vicinity called Kraftfield.

Back to 2009, though, and if the world wasn't taking much notice of Zurich, Zurich was certainly taking notice of the world. Ever-alert to the eddies of the musical tide, Christian hooked up with a couple of Caribbean guys who were on a brief visit to Switzerland - and came back with two tracks featuring the vocals of Cutty Ranks and Sizzla.

"They really loved it 'cause often usually there are roots, loops and dancehall riddims - I came up with something different. I was surprised that Sizzla and Cutty Ranks really loved doing something so new but it was the right time to do it. New beats needed to come into the reggae scene."

The fruits are Kingston Book, a heavy and catchy dubstep / dancehall mash-up 12". The sister release to Kingston Book is New York Book, this time utilising the vocal talents of Sensational and Oddateee.

"I loved reggae music when I was young but also hip-hop and many kinds of music," explains Christian. "Oddateee was here in winter touring and I took the chance to work with him as I organised his concert. We played him the riddim and he recorded with us – I knew him through old friends of ours, Sofasurfers, and we just decided to do something.

"The collaboration with Sensational was great, we love his own records and just asked him via email if we could send him an instrumental then he made his lyrics that we used for this track."

Talen are a band in the real sense; they bounce ideas off each other, the studio guys knowing how to get the sounds and the DJs having a sense of which tunes are going to get a club jumping. They use live guitars, drums and vintage Moogs and a factor of the record is to use both live sounds and studio wizardry to keep the excitement and the sonics flowing. The future looks good.

"The studio and the club are in this big industrial area," concludes Busch. "An old factory – we've bought the whole area and other people are starting businesses here, film-making, artists, even selling bicycles: a bunch of people who are looking for a place where they can pursue their own ideas – it's a lifestyle where we can do our thing and make it ourselves."

An independent, artistic statement that deserves to open those closed minds very soon.

WORDS Joe Shooman

Kingston Book and New York Book are released by Bern-based independent label Mouthwatering Records.

Download Talen's heavy dancehall influenced mix, The Kingston Book Session, here...

Tracklisting

1. Junior Indian - Intro
2. Talen Feat. Cutty Ranks – Sniper Sniper (Original)
3. Two Fingers feat. Ce'cile & Sway – Bad Gyal
4. T.O.K. – Me And My Dawgs (Talen Remix)
5. Terry Lynn – Streetlife (Wildlife Remix)
6. Filewile feat. Baby Chann – Stamp Your Feet (Talen Remix)
7. Talen Feat. Jah Mason – Fire (Unreleased)
8. Courtney Melody – Ninja Mi Ninja (Bootleg)
9. Bounty Killer & Einstein – Tell Dem (Bootleg)
10. Talen feat. Sizzla – The Vibe (Original)
11. Busy Signal & Mavado – Badman Place (Smut Remix)
12. Talen feat. Turbulence – Blaze It (Unreleased)
13. Junior Indian – Outro