On September 11, 2015, the nucleus of what would eventually grow to become Weekly5 was published. It was a mere draft of a concept, somewhat unpredictable, if not to say amateurish.
How little thought—or, let's call it inspiration—went into the format is apparent by its title: «Songs of the Week». Never heard that before. It lacked clarity. There was no limitation on the number of songs. I vaguely remember it being a sort of desperate decision: So many songs were published that I needed a vessel to collect them in a reasonable way.
Revisiting the first edition is like travelling back in time to a moment shortly before the rise of music streaming and playlisting. Despite its absent focus, the «Songs of the Week» would survive for 126 editions—and even had its own internet radio show at one point at the now defunct «Radio Meltdown». The last edition was published on November 24, 2018.
Discoveries for Life
The «Songs of the Week» weren't only around at the changing of the tides regarding mainstream music consumption but also the predominant styles—just catching the fading glory of indie-rock.
Regardless of its random recommendations, there were first contacts with bands that remain dear until today: from the scrappy-snotty punk vibe of the Hinds or Dream Wife to the gloomy notes of Holy Esque or Lea Porcelain.
Attending the «Kaltern Pop» festival in October 2018 sealed the long-overdue fate of «Songs of the Week». It was music promoter Frank Lenggenhager, who inspired me to rethink the format.
And on January 12, 2019, the first edition of Weekly5 saw the light of day with a clear promise proudly proclaimed in its title. Compared to the first «Songs of the Week», this selection—featuring the White Lies with Tokyo and Ten Fé's Coasting—holds up world's better.
While the cap in songs every week created more predictability, the genres featured remained an, at times, intentionally wild mix. Weekly5 was and still is designed for the curious minds open for experimentation and true discovery. Less algorithmic «More like artist xyz…» but a human «hey, I think you should listen to this».
But it wouldn't last for as long—initially, at least.
In May 2020, I felt burnt out. Amidst the pandemic, life and music stopped happening and demanding work left me with little time to push a volunteer-run project like Negative White. And so, one day before the magazine shut down after a decade, the 53rd edition was published on June 6th, 2020.
Six months later. I spent New Year's with friends in the Swiss alpes. One of these friends, Elia, said to me that he really misses Weekly5—and unknowingly nurished a feeling: I too missed curating music.
And with little doubts, I headed on. Weekly5 made a return in January 2021—for something you might call a second season.
So here we are, about nine years and a combined 300 editions of «Songs of the Week» and «Weekly5» later. Maybe it is a random moment to create an anthology, but who really cares?
For each year, I chose ten songs that would make it to the «Anthology», resulting in a 100-track playlist that celebrates years of curation, but mostly highlights some of the great artistic works I had the honour to recommend.
Enjoy on Apple Music or on Spotify.
