Booking
management[at]magnetfisch[dot]org
Patrick Scherrer - guitar Timothee Barrelet - synthesizers, programming Rolf Althaus - bass Pascal Singeisen - drums Bio
Back in 1994 in Switzerland, Patrick Scherrer and Timothee Barrelet found a first band with fellow schoolmate Wolfgang Schubert, ("Sad Salads", what a name!?), which later became wave rock combo "Illusion Perdue?". Michael Bieri, Raphael Winkler and Pascal Singeisen join in, progressively. Nomen est omen, after their first and last album "Un pied devant l'autre", recorded at Studio Relief (The Young Gods,...), "Illusion Perdue?" disband in 1997.
At a New Model Army Gig in 1998, Patrick and Timothee decide to found a new band. Their former bandmate from "Illusion Perdue?", Pascal Singeisen, plays the guitar for a short while. In summer 2001, Patrick and Timothee record the first Magnetfisch full length album "Fruchtkoenig" at Marco Liechti's "Luce Studios". 2002 Rolf Althaus joins in as a bass guitar player, the band is signed by Heiri Duerst (VSM) to his label Helvetic Production. In the second half of 2002, keyboard player Timothee supports fellow Swiss Band "Predominant Lunatics" (known today as Cold Wave Act "Fakir", with Thierry Pache) during their tour in London and Switzerland.
In 2003 Magnetfisch record their second album, "Silence Fiction" at Luce Studios. In the two special shows "Electronica meets Poetry", poems by Swiss writer Pedro Lenz alternate with the bands instrumental songs. In 2004, female singer Seline Kunz joins the band. Together, they record the EP "Botox" in 2005 and do club gigs, radio appearances and festivals in Switzerland. In 2007, Magnetfisch record the official remix of "Roulette" by And Also The Trees, for which they meet the band on some occasions. In 2008 unfortunately, Helvetic Production label owner Heiri Duerst leaves this world. The planned album is delayed, but the band is signed for two other years by crossmusic (Heiris former assistant Richard Bystricky).
With thumbs up from AATT, "Roulette" is put on the next full length album "Body on the Left, Soul on the Right" (recorded by Breandan Davey), which is finally released in 2009. Simon Huw Jones is later featured on a song by Selines long time singer-songwriter project Lena Fennell (nauticus). Since she increasingly needs more time for her solo career, this leads to a parting of ways. The band also leaves crossmusic.
Thus, back to their roots, Magnetfisch are instrumental and DIY again. But they also find a new source of creative energy in 2010: They first release their EP "The Early Years 1998-2000"), a selection of seven songs from the starting period of the band, followed by the EP "some very old songs". With Benjamin Stoll, they record their third EP "The Chexbres Trilogy" in spring 2011, and then "Rarotonga" in fall 2012. In an intense collaboration, remixes and reworks are regularly being made by Swiss dark techno/house video artist The Web (http://www.youtube.com/user/0The0Web0) and Australian singer-songwriter CXXXVI. With them, they release "The Chexbres Trilogy REMIXED" in 2013. They also release the compilations "some very old songs" and "Synthesis 9499" in 2013 and early 2014. In Summer 2014, they record their 11th EP "Lieder Maximo" with Benjamin Stoll and release it digitally on bandcamp, iTunes etc. In 2016, they record the EP "if you were a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be?" with Benjamin agein. In 2021, they record their single "existing building" (mastered by Anna Murphy from Cellar Darling, formerly from Eluvetie) which is released in 2022. After a reunion at one of Justin Sullivan's gigs (New Model Army definitely is a catalyst!), Pascal Singeisen returns to Magnetfisch in 2023 as their drummer. The musicians are currently working on new songs for their forthcoming EP.
Collaborationssince 2011: Remixes (Raumstift, The Chexbres Trilogy Remixed) & reworks (Trains series) by The Web (Swiss techno & video artist, http://www.youtube.com/user/0The0Web0) and CXXXVI (Australian Singer Songwriter). 2007: official cover of "Roulette" by And Also The Trees (Angelfish, 1996) for the project "beyond the horizon" by Frank Liegibel, www.andalsothetrees.info, http://fml.moonbeam.de/aatt/media/bth.php. 2005 Botox chosen as a score for the movie "Aktion 72 Stunden" 2004: Electronica meets Poetry: Concerts with writer Pedro Lenz 2002: synthesizer for the band "Predominant Lunatics" (Thierry Pache, Fakir) during their tour in London Chart Position:
#1 Indie Charts, Cashbox Magazine (2009) Awards:
#3 Alternative Pop Rock Entries (KIAC Best of 2009 Open Songs Competition) 2007: "China" (semi-finals, wild-card M4Music Demotape Clinic) 2001: "Fruchtkoenig" selected & discussed by the electronic music jury M4Music Demotape Clinic. Anne Clark:
(http://www.anneclarkofficial.com/, about "Fluchtzeug V1"): "lovely guitar and strings" And Also The Trees:
(http://www.andalsothetrees.co.uk/): S. Burrows (bass): "Infinitely European but distinctly modern. Even it would not sound too out of place on the radio (And I like the subtle string reference the TYG's "Did You Miss Me"!). Great instrumentation and Seline has a quite beautiful voice." S. H. Jones (singer) "perhaps my favorite so far. her voice is really appealing I find, and the instrumentation is spot on" Paul Hill (drums) "I think it's fab" Kirsten Burrows (Arts Management for And Also The Trees) "Like your Beyond the horizon contribution by the way! really good." S. H. Jones (about "Eine Frage der Atemtechnik") "I do like your sound... and it's not just because I'm a big fan of Seline's voice"