Five musicians from the four language regions of Switzerland are working on a song together. This is the music project „Chantez-vous Suisse?“. But that’s not all. In the song, all national languages must appear – and they only have five days to do it.
You know it from vacations. You step out of your comfort zone and try to speak a foreign language that you learned in school ages ago but rarely use. Most of the time, you manage with hands and feet. But would you dare to write a song in French or Italian? Or in Romansh? This is the exact challenge that five Swiss musicians from all over Switzerland are facing. The national radio group of the SRG „The Others – Lesautres – Glialtri – Ils auters“ is bringing the musicians together from June 10th to 14th in Freiburg.
As part of the radio project „Chantez-vous Suisse?“, they are writing a multilingual song within five days. And that’s not all: the musicians also have the task of reinterpreting songs from the four language regions. The highlight will be a joint concert in the old town of Freiburg at the end of the week.
Who is up for the challenge? Not only is time a challenge, but language as well. How will they communicate? „Will we agree on one language or will each person speak as they are comfortable with? No idea, but I’m diving into the adventure!“ says Dom Sweden. The Swiss German musician, Dominic Wetzel, known as Dom Sweden, is 33 years old and comes from the Zurich Oberland. Despite growing up bilingual with a father from Ohio, USA, he prefers to sing in Swiss German rather than English.
Representing the Romansh-speaking Switzerland is Chiara Jacomet. The 25-year-old grew up in Graubünden, in the Surselva. She performs with the female duo „ladunna“ and plays synth-pop songs as well as jazz with her quintet. She prefers to sing in Romansh, but also in English.
Singer and composer Alizé Oswald from Nyon represents the Romandy. The 35-year-old is part of the French-speaking pop duo „Aliose“. The duo released their first album in 2009 and has since played over 250 concerts, including at Zermatt Unplugged and the SRF 3 Showcase with Dabu Fantastic.
For Ticino, singer and drummer Andrea Bignasca is on board. He grew up bilingual with Italian and German and sings in English. In 2013, he started performing as a solo artist. In 2024, the singer, who navigates between rock and blues rock, released his fourth album.
The fifth musician in the group is singer and artist Claudia Masika. She represents Switzerland with a migrant background. Claudia Masika is from Kenya and has been living in Switzerland for 15 years. She sings in English, Swahili, or Luo and plays the African percussion instrument, the calabash.
The four main radio channels of the SRG (SRF1, RTS La Première, Rete Uno, and Radio Rumantsch) will be reporting live from the heart of Freiburg from June 10th to 14th. Listeners will have the opportunity to follow the work in the „music camp,“ get to know the artists, and experience stories around Freiburg.
From June 10th to the 14th, you can follow the music project „Chantez-vous Suisse?“ on Radio SRF 1. Each day will feature different segments focusing on various aspects of the project and the artists involved, providing listeners with a unique insight into the creative process and challenges faced by the musicians.
