The pandemic and its consequences have many unplanned effects on our foundation’s activities (see previous blog posts). For example, the International Kulturbörse Freiburg (IKF) in January this year was our last appearance at a foreign trade fair. Despite the cancellations or virtual realization of events like jazzahead! Bremen or MaMA Paris, we have not remained inactive in the international promotion of Swiss music. Thus, despite the cancellation of this year’s WOMEX in Budapest, we have recently released our new CD compilation „Swiss Music WORLD“.
Where doors are closing, as is well known, others are opening.In this case, we were given the opportunity to include our sampler with 17 carefully curated songs by Swiss musicians in the current issue of the British magazine „Songlines“, in order to maintain the international presence of our musical work.
As a special highlight, we also received mail from the far north, more precisely from Fairbanks in the US state of Alaska. There, radio DJ Ray Funk has been entertaining music fans with sounds from all over the world for over 30 years with his program „Funk Roots“. Funk was at a WOMEX for the last time in 2012 and had saved money to travel to Budapest this year and also visit Switzerland for the first time. Now that Corona had upset his plans, he wrote us with the request to supply him with all the world and jazz compilations of the last years. Something we were very happy to do.
With that, at the end of the year, our efforts for the presence of Swiss music are coming to a good end, as not only the readers of „Songlines“ can immerse themselves in the colorful and diverse world of current Swiss music, but also the listeners just below the Arctic Circle can now defy the cold with the help of hot Swiss sounds.
Ray Funks „Funk Roots“ can be heard on the radio station KUAC-FM»
Website „Songlines“ »
The compilation is also available free of charge on order via email: ontour(at)fondation-suisa.ch
Or to listen online at swissmusic.ch » (category „Listening“)