Worth 40,000 francs each and awarded on the basis of a competition by the Department of Culture and Digital Transition of the City of Geneva, these grants are intended to help experienced musicians at a key moment in their career by enabling them to enhance their work conditions against a constantly changing music scene. This is the fifth time the grants have been awarded.
Four winners have been selected by a jury which examined the 36 applications received according to the following criteria: development potential, international experience of the artists and the success enjoyed by their most recent works. They are the following artists:
MAKALA
A member of the Geneva-based group Superwak Clique together with Slimka and Di-Meh, Makala has been signed by the Geneva label, Colors Records. Following three mix-tapes between 2013 and 2015 and an album, Radio Suicide, brought out in 2019, Makala’s fame stretches well beyond the borders of Switzerland. This winter, Les Inrocks magazine described him as the new face of francophone rap. The artist is currently preparing his second solo album.
L’ECLAIR
With four albums in as many years and numerous collaborations with other artists and groups, this sextet plays instrumental music that is as polymorphic as it is versatile. From the prestigious KEXP radio to the O2 Arena in Brixton, l'Eclair has accumulated fans throughout Europe, showcasing the Geneva music scene.
LA COLERE
Winner of the Demotape Clinic Award at the M4music festival in Zurich in 2019, this young artist from Geneva has also been invited to participate in international festivals such as Eurosonic (NL), Reeperbahn Festival (DE) and Sudwave (IT), renowned for their role in propelling young talents into the spotlight. Her first album, La Vague, came out in 2020 against the particularly challenging backdrop of the global pandemic, but was quickly picked up by the radio stations.
BANDIT VOYAGE
Behind Bandit Voyage is the pair of Anissa Cadelli and Robin Girod, two essential artists on the Geneva arts scene. Their world seduces, surprises or irritates, but never leaves you indifferent. Francophone, erudite and low-fi, the pair comes from the Cheptel Records label/group, but has recently joined the Parisian label “Les Disques Entreprises” to pursue this renewal of francophone music.
For additional information
Département de la culture et de la transition numérique
Service culturel de la Ville de Genève
Monsieur Jakob Graf
Tél. +41 22 418 65 23, +41 78 885 98 28
Jakob.Graf@ville-ge.ch
Article modifié le 22.03.2021 à 16:16