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A very special acoustic performance by the magnificent Young Gods.

Supported by Swiss Cultural Fund in Britain

"As ever, The Young Gods rebirth rock music." [David Stubbs, The Wire]

Back in 1985, it took some nerve to form a trio around a sampler. But The Young Gods were never afraid of anything. By creating a novel musical grammar indebted to rock, industrial, classical, baroque, ambient and electronic music, the Swiss band formed by Franz Treichler is still impressively pertinent and consistent twenty-two years on.

'Super Ready / Fragmenté', their dazzling new album, allies power and subtlety in an unprecedented manner, confirming that the Young Gods are more than ever in tune with their times.

"The Young Gods stick to their template and still manage to sound a head of the game." [Chris Campion, The Observer]

Adventurers, pioneers and mad scientists, the Young Gods are still an essential reference in today’s music. Mike Patton, The Chemical Brothers, Maynard James Keenan (Tool) or The Edge (U2), all claim the heritage of the young Helvetian gods. But don’t tell Franz Treichler, Al Comet or Bernard Trontin. The Young Gods consider that humility and creativiy go together.

"The Young Gods have an ultramodern architectural take on rock, exposing its stone origins, but also bending its girders at new angles." [The Wire]

The Young Gods constantly reinvent music, whether by revolutionizing samplers in their first albums (The Young Gods and Red Water/l’Eau Rouge), transcending Kurt Weill (Play Kurt Weill), signing their telluric masterpiece (TV Sky), moving away from guitars (Only Heaven), plunging into nineties electronica (Second Nature), ambient in the vein of labels such as Warp (Heaven Deconstruction), or releasing an album influenced by Brian Eno’s generative music (Music for Artificial Clouds). They avoid routine, bounce back, start new challenges and projects, feed their souls and continue the exploration of new territories.

In recent years the Young Gods have played with a symphonic orchestra to celebrate their 20th anniversary; re-written the score of the film Woodstock then played it live in Geneva for the Fête de la Musique; collaborated with anthropologist Jeremy Narby (a sonic conference entitled Amazonia Ambient Project); worked with the Musée des Sciences de Genève for the Aquanaute project; and have played some acoustic gigs.

These numerous collaborations and projects allow the Young Gods to stay fresh. This is why the new album Super Ready / Fragmenté sounds so rock and filled with energy. The cover suggests a gun, which is a clue to the Young God’s position in today’s world. Treichler, Trontin, and Comet deplore the way in which violence has become a feature of everyday life.

Franz explains: “In Switzerland, recent statistics have shown that we can account for the exact number of dogs whereas no one has any idea – even approximately – of the amount of weapons. The Young Gods exist to suggest and share emotions and impressions without conveying a specific message. The three of us believe in the huge suggestive power of music. The violent aspect of the album is our own way of reacting to the current socio-political context.”

'Super Ready / Fragmenté' is a major album. It conveys urgency and unrest, and makes for venomous, troubling and passionate listening.

Supporting is fellow-Swiss Sophie Hunger, whom The Luminaire was utterly beguiled by in Zurich, earlier this year.

Sophie Hunger’s musical life reads like a fairy tale. Totally unknown a few months ago, the 23 year old Swiss singer has since shared stages with some of the country’s most successful artists, from Erik Truffaz to the Young Gods, even playing with Stefan Eicher. Sophie Hunger owes this instant success as much to her incredible talent as to the word of mouth that followed every one of her performances. Her album was recorded in just a few weeks, she put it out on her own label and very quickly became the scene and the critic’s darling. For everybody who has seen or heard her, she is THE revelation 2007.

'Sketches on Sea' is a very personal and original album, the musical directions are limitless, from traditional folk songwriting bathed in jazzy moods to soul balladry, Sophie Hunger’s musical universe is amazingly flourished, nourished by an exceptionaly fragile yet mature voice. More than a basic formula, this ability to cross genres is totally unique and showcases the singer’s many talents. For Sketches On Sea, she collaborated with a great number of amazing musicians, from a trombone player to a flamenco guitarist, without ever sounding like a soulless group of sessionists. Sophie’s technical prowesses can lead her anywhere and allow her to do things that nobody else could get away with.

Somewhere between Norah Jones and Cat Power, Miss Hunger is inventing her own classic, yet modern sound, pushing back musical borders on the way. On stage, this seemingly directionless direction takes her to even higher grounds, using tempo variations and changing moods whenever she pleases. From an uptempo spokenword blues to a piano ballad, the lady can do anything and seeing how she’s only 23 years old, the future is wide open.

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