THE SWISS

Adelaide’s best kept secret, are now with Modular-backing, the most exciting dance band in Australia. Rip It Up Digital sits with bass player Sidwho? and keyboardist Luke Million at Surahn Studios during a (now) rare three-week stint back in Adelaide to talk about their new EP Bubble Bath and the band’s lofty goals.

For years The Swiss were the cool party band that would constantly play in venues such as The Sceptre and Rhino Room, smashing out improvised disco to the hipsters, the disco heads and the office drunks checking out what was going on in the bandroom. Now, they have remixed Ladyhawke, are loved by Aeroplane and Erol Alkan, been added to high rotation on Triple J with their Popcorn-meets-Lindstrom infectious cut Bubble Bath and Tensnake has remixed Manthem. With their Bubble Bath EP ready to launch, this is the year the world will hear about The Swiss.

What changed for the band that at one stage looked like they would forever be a talented party band that lacked direction and were unable to take that next step? Sid says the last six months, which includes getting signed to Modular and supporting Ladyhawke on a national tour, made them realise they had to take The Swiss seriously.

“It was when we realised we can put out a record, that we can put a song on the radio and we can play festivals - that we can do all those things,” he explains. “We did enjoy the idea of being a party band and being a club thing, I think when the band signed to the label all of a sudden we had to get serious.”
“Our band was always about having fun,” continues Luke. “That’s always been our mentality and that’s maybe why we didn’t take any extra steps because it was always about that. Modular came to us, it wasn’t like we were out looking for a deal or anything but that happened and then we had to step it up.”

This includes streamlining their live show and making it much punchier. The Swiss were about jamming and improvising on stage, which is fun in a small room but it doesn’t work in larger venues.

“The Ladyhawke tour was the first tour we’d ever written a setlist out and rehearsed for,” states Sid. “We know what stuff works and what stuff doesn’t, so maybe the 10-minute synth odyssey can be saved for more intimate shows,” he laughs.

The EP they have delivered for Modular is everything the label could have hoped from an instrumental disco act and more. The title track landed on Aeroplane’s playlist immediately and is all over the blogs, plus it is getting flogged on Triple J. And it’s little wonder, as the funk and lush-ridden nu-disco track has one of the catchiest synth hooks going around.

“We didn’t have much to go into the studio with,” explains Luke on that synth line from Bubble Bath. “Donnie Sloan, producer was like, ‘We need something that’s a bit quirky’. I put together a demo, something that was a bit quirky, a bit weird and a bit of fun - that was pretty much how that came about, I mean the title Bubble Bath, I don’t know where the hell that came from!”

The band didn’t realise they had created a catchy piece of synth disco when they recorded it.
“I always laugh when I’m playing it,” admits Luke. “It’s something fun.”
“We didn’t set out to write a hook or make a radio friendly tune or anything, we didn’t think it was going to get on the radio,” says Sid. “I thought it might get a play on Home & Hosed if anything but I didn’t think it would get high rotation.”

With Donnie Sloan as the band’s producer and unofficial fourth member, The Swiss have a talented foursome that is ready to make the most of the Modular opportunity.

“It would be stupid for us to squander the opportunity with the label and just sit back and pump underground disco,” says Sid. “We’ve all got ambitions of writing that track that will be around in 20 years time. I think it would be stupid for us not to make the most of our opportunities.”

After the Bubble Bath EP, The Swiss are undecided about their next recorded move. They might pump out an album or release 10 singles in a year – one approximately every six weeks.

“We’ve just got to keep the ball rolling and not just put out a full-length album and all the hype just disappears and the interest disappears,” muses Sid. “So, that could keep the interest up all year and keep us in people's minds.”

This is part of the reason why The Swiss are excited to be signed to Modular, as the label has signed them with evolution in mind.

“We got signed on what we can become, not so much what we are,” states Luke.

Words: David Knight

The Bubble Bath EP is out through Modular. The Swiss play the Big Day Out on Fri Jan 29 and Laneway on Fri Feb 5. This article will be the cover story of the Thu Jan 28 issue of Onion.

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