Stories
Reports, reviews, interviews, essays, and opinions about music and its connection to business and society.
Baptism of Fire for the «Songs of Homecoming»
The Beauty of Gemina started the tour in Zurich and performed every song on their new album «Songs of Homecoming». How did they hold up?
It’s a dreary Thursday evening. Rain has been pouring down all day, yet it seems fitting for the occasion. «It rains a lot in Gemina-land,» Stephen Kennedy wrote in 2014. The rain remains a recurring image in The Beauty of Gemina’s songs—most prominent in Dark Rain or the new track Vail of Rain.
I’m on my way to their concert, trying to count the times I’ve seen this band on stage, but I fail. It should be close to 20 times by now. A ridiculous number. From a writer’s perspective, there’s no justifiable reason to see a band so many times live. But, to be fair, the bulk of those shows lay far in the past.
In all those years, however, I never experienced a bad show. Yes, there were problem-riddled ones, mediocre ones. But never a terrible one. Maybe I got lucky?
I’ll tempt my luck again this night for two particular reasons:
- They play the songs from their new album, Songs of Homecoming. How will they hold up?
- As Michael Sele proclaimed in our interview, the current line-up is the best band in their history. Can they live up to the praise?
The only caveat worth mentioning here: It’s the first show of the tour. An evening that puts The Beauty of Gemina truly to the test on multiple fronts.
With the jacket zipped up to the very top and the hat drawn deep into my face, I walk through the nightly rain towards the venue, «Bogen F». This small concert room is nestled in one of the arches of a train viaduct has a special ambience. There’s a notion of a basement club within these mighty brick walls. But also a lofty feel thanks to its height.
People rush by on the shimmering asphalt, desperate to get to their warm, dry homes. This weather is a concert killer. Venues and concert promoters struggle. Usually, pre-sales are horrible, the rising number of no-shows puts a dent in bar revenue, and people generally decide spontaneously whether to attend a show or not.
Negative WhiteJanosch Troehler
But The Beauty of Gemina have been around for 17 years now. Although they never fully broke through into the mainstream, they have cultivated a dedicated fan base over the span of ten studio albums and hundreds of concerts. It’s one of the bands that will remain sort of a secret tip, recommended by the initiated, and successful in its own regard.
The concert wasn’t sold out, but despite the weather, the room was packed. The audience aged with the band; only a few visibly young individuals were in the crowd. And, noticeably, ambassadors of the wave and gothic scene, where the band originated, were definitely in the minority.
Shattering bass drones introduced Dreams of the Vagabonds, and the show began. But not without some technical problems. Electrical feedback from the guitar, paired with concerned glances by the musicians.
The second song, Whispers of the Seasons, didn’t inspire confidence either. Frailing, as if the band was disconnected, it also felt awfully noisy, and the contrast between the vulnerable verses and the hopeful chorus drowned.
But then, the band found its stride. With End and Crossroads, they celebrated the 2016 album Minor Sun, played vigorously and with confidence. Followed by Veil of Rain, where they lowered the full weight of this slow and heavy dark wave track with clarity and precision on the collective souls.
Everything the audience could hear that evening was played live, thanks to keyboarder Daniel Manhart, the most recent addition to the line-up, and Mac Vinzens hitting a hybrid drum. Combined with the musical development, The Beauty of Gemina can play liberated as never before.
Most apparent became this freedom with One Step to Heaven, a song from their debut album which received a rework last year. The song became lighter and gained space, which the band used to deliver an extraordinarily excellent performance which only enforced its psychedelic, trance-provoking nature.
The Beauty of Gemina made bold choices for the tour. Not only did they waive to add the band’s hit, Suicide Landscape, to the setlist, but they played every single song from the new album live. Interlaced with reliable classics from their repertoire like Rumours or the haunting River, the new songs—with the exception of Whispers of the Seasons—worked perfectly on stage.
Now, it’s worth taking a breath and thinking about the significance of this feat. No other album in the band’s oeuvre has this all-around live quality. And few bands will ever release an album that works on stage as well as it does on the record.
Regardless of the technical challenges and the few occasions Sele struggled with his lyrics on King’s Men Come and Endless Time to See, the band’s performance was professional throughout and, at times, extraordinary.
It’s not a wild and exuberant rock show. Instead of gimmicky visuals and an extrovert attitude, you’ll find restraint, nuance and sophistication with small outbursts of sparks and brilliance. Especially when they pull into a longer instrumental part.
Negative WhiteJanosch Troehler
So, back to my questions. Did the Songs of Homecoming pass the test of live performance? Definitely, almost to incredible perfection.
And is it the best live band ever to call themselves The Beauty of Gemina? Well, that’s hard to say from one single show. It certainly wasn’t their best-ever gig; they had a bumpy start—coupled with the nervousness incumbent of a tour start. And yet, throughout the 90 minutes, they only gained confidence and energy. That’s a promise.
«It was awesome,» a woman tells her friend. The rain stopped, and the ship came in. A fire crackles in the metal pit outside, drowning everything in its proximity into a golden glow. The baptism of fire for The Beauty of Gemina and Songs of Homecoming is accomplished.
«Never before has an album been as self-contained as ‹Songs of Homecoming›»
The Beauty of Gemina’s Michael Sele about the new album, closing a circle, and how illness and the pandemic fuelled his confidence as an artist.
With Songs of Homecoming, The Beauty of Gemina are about to release their 10th studio album. It is an intimate record featuring well-rounded compositions that bridge the band’s early dark, electronically driven gestures and the playful acoustic nuances from recent years.
Negative White sat down with the band’s creative mind, Michael Sele, at «Altes Kino Mels», his musical home base, for an extensive conversation. Across from us sat a man who found his confidence as an artist rather than a part of a band.
Michael, we last spoke officially eight years ago, before the release of Minor Sun. Looking back, what was the most influential moment for The Beauty of Gemina?
It’s difficult to pinpoint the most formative moment. Shortly before Minor Sun, there was another big personnel change in the band. These changes have followed me throughout the years of the band’s history. Minor Sun was the moment that led me to where I am today: I gained more self-confidence and put myself at the centre. The romantic notion of the band at the centre disappeared. It’s easy to say you’re the bandleader now, but it was a long process with many small steps.
Another critical moment was our first visit to South America in 2018. An autograph session was organised in Mexico; many came with things for us to sign. Printed fan artwork and flyers from all phases of the band, and I realised that the musicians constantly change; only one thing is the same: me and, of course, Mac Vinzens.
That’s when I realised that it’s all about this person. Clearly, music plays an important role, but it is immediately associated with me as an artist.
It’s interesting that you saw The Beauty of Gemina more as a band until Minor Sun. From an outside perspective, I would argue that it was always the artist Michael Sele and a changing cast of musicians around him. At the same time, my impression is that The Beauty of Gemina is more of a band today.
Yes, emotionally, I’m absolutely with you. The live band is undoubtedly the strongest formation I’ve ever had.
However, you must differentiate between two aspects: The musicians on stage are not the same as in the studio. For the production, I often worked with people in the studio who were never mentioned afterwards.
This was often not realised and is also the fault of digitalisation. On streaming platforms, there is hardly any information about the people behind the music. It’s madness that this is being lost today.
In any case, I created the last three albums mainly with my long-time companion, Philipp Küng. He was also involved earlier, but I only really mentioned this for the first time in my book.
What makes today’s live band the strongest formation in The Beauty of Gemina’s history?
I feel that, for the first time, everyone involved is purely about the music. That certainly has to do with age and maturity. It’s less about the side effects: the tours, the limelight, the autograph sessions. I’ve always been fascinated by creating. The encounters with the music. Who can I touch? What happens afterwards? That’s my driving force.
Now, I have people in the band interested in the same thing. We were recently back in Chile for the first time since 2018. At all the concerts, I felt that the band was all about the music and the encounters with the fans. That’s an excellent feeling.
It sounds so simple, but you must never forget: Applause is dangerous, especially when you’re younger. You can lose yourself in it. Suddenly, things become possible, but you forget yourself.
As the artist Michael Sele moved more into focus, so did his private life. And in 2019, a drastic event would further change Sele’s self-perception and perspective: heart surgery.
Altin Gün or: how to discover music live
Without prior preparation, our author found himself at Altin Gün’s concert in Zurich to refind the joy of concert reviews again.
I am going to level with you: concert reviews are not my favourite thing to write anymore.
The first time I covered a concert was in 2008, and since then, I‘ve written hundreds of reports. They were exciting at first, also a welcome treat, these free entries, as a quasi salary for the unpaid work. But they also quickly become formulaic and, as a result, boring to write. And a bored writer makes for a boring read.
Even worse, concert reviews are notoriously resistant to concepts and formats. You can‘t really squeeze them in a preconceived idea because you never know what happens that night.
Now, how do I get unstuck?
Fandom Exploited
He was an artist; I was a fan. Then, he wanted to have sex with me. A reflection 14 years later.
I thought long and hard about publishing this story. Not because it is particularly painful or difficult to tell. But maybe because there lingers this notion of insignificance, a feeling that this specific story is not relevant enough to contribute to the discussion of the artist-fan relationship.
However, the more I reflected on what happened 14 years ago, the more I felt it was worth telling despite all my doubts.
It all started in 2010 when I attended a reading in Zurich by an author and musician. The artist, who shall remain anonymous, a man, was then 43 years old. And me, I was 19.
«Harry Kane eats the pizza with a spoon»
Magical music moments in Scotland.
Negative White’s summer break is coming to a close. Refreshed and inspired, I’m eager to get back into writing (and soon curating the Weekly5 again, too).
Today, I’d like to share a short music story from my vacation.
Algorithm Culture
An exploration of culture and its consumption in the age of algorithm, AI-generated content, and digital conformism.
An eerie feeling has been haunting me for months, persistent in nature and nestled somewhere deep in my subconscious. Every attempt to pin this feeling down precisely, to describe it, has so far failed. It has remained a vague approximation.
One of these approximations leads to the question: Where is my enthusiasm?
Some memories are as clear as if they were only moments old. Like the first physical CD, I was sent as a sample lying on the dining table at home. How a thin-lipped woman complains about my aunt singing along to Bob Dylan at the top of her voice and dancing exuberantly. The unbridled nervousness just before Paul McCartney called for an interview.
It’s probably an age thing: the longer you go through life, the rarer the first times become.
But when it comes to culture and music, things should be different. Hearing an artist for the first time, seeing them perform on stage. It happens again and again. But where is my enthusiasm?
5 Songs That Inspired Hugo Trist
Hugo Trist emerges with expressive beats into the field of future garage electronica. We have asked the Swiss artist to share five tracks that inspired his work.
How does futuristic nostalgia sound? What brings together the dark melancholia of the 80s and the danger of electronic experiments? The answer is called Hugo Trist.
Behind the enigmatic persona of Hugo Trist is a man who has roamed Switzerland's music scene since 1995. Urs Meyer, founding and still active member of legendary post-rock band Leech, wanders new paths with this project.
When the single Say It, Mean It dropped in March this year, I was blown away by the «nostalgia-dripping 2-step sound», which he effortlessly catapults «into a contemporary field of tension, meandering between melancholia and excitement.» And then, there are these massive, towering bass drones—shrinking your existence to a spec of dust in the back vortex of space and time.
Hugo Trist's debut EP, Understand Me Now, was released on May 10, proudly showcasing the shades within the dense sound. Collaborating with the mysterious voice of Nin Lil, the tracks gain an almost ethereal quality, a refuge for love and emotion in a cold, broken, post-modern world.
When my shelter starts to burst
And no one's left to hurt
You always seem to raise a smile
With the world at lightning speed
And time is all we need
With you, I want to rest a while
The press briefing for Hugo Trist states: «In the digital age, where everything is possible but nothing is real, Hugo Trist creates a magnetic pull for those who seek the enchanting convergence of sombre moods and electrifying rushes of euphoria.» And it is a perfect description of what to expect when diving into this world. However, I would add a fair warning: Once you are there, you won't easily escape.
But where can we find the spring of inspiration for the sound of Hugo Trist? Where are the traces in music history that we can track to better understand how Urs Meyer, playing the guitar, piano, and synthesisers for Leech, crafted the captivating compositions?
I have asked him to share five tracks that inspired Hugo Trist, and his answers mostly draw a straight line into the melancholic yet hymnic synth-driven songs of the 80s.
Ultravox – Hymn
Uplifting, captivating, powerful, and emotional. Still hits me every time I hear this masterpiece.
The Future Sound Of London – My Kingdom
I have a big love for this combination of mystic and floating sounds and groovy rhythms. I tried to copy this concept many times but never came even close…
Suicide – Surrender
Still feels like falling in love for the very first time!
Talk Talk – Such A Shame
I have no words for it, really. All of Talk Talk’s music touches me deeply, and this one in particular.
New Order – True Faith
The first time I heard this song was in my teenage years when I was riding bumper cars with someone I had a crush on. It has been part of my life since then.
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The Beauty of Gemina Retrospective III: Stripped
Ahead of their 10th studio album, «Songs of Homecoming», we explore The Beauty of Gemina’s history, development, and sound in a three-part retrospective.
I′m standing at the crossroads
There are many roads to take
But I stand here so silently
For fear of a mistake
One path leads to paradise
One path leads to pain
One path leads to freedom
They all look the same.
The Swiss band The Beauty of Gemina is about to release their 10th album, Songs of Homecoming. Before the record’s arrival, I listened to the previous albums again, revising firmly held opinions and sharing past experiences with the band.
For this retrospective series, I went through old backup drives and folders and recovered some material that is no longer available online or has never been published. Today, the third and final part is available.
Negative WhiteJanosch Troehler
Negative WhiteJanosch Troehler
In May 2016, The Beauty of Gemina did something bold: Announcing their upcoming album, Minor Sun, the single Crossroads was released.
It was daring because it was a cover version of Calvin Russell’s 1991 song; a sure instinct is essential because cover versions are a double-edged sword. They either plunge straight into the listener’s heart—or you stumble and fall into the blade yourself.
But Crossroads’ theme perfectly represented the band’s place at that time. When the song was released, I wrote:
