2023-05-15 19:00:01
Lake Geneva – or Lac Léman – had until then owed its success to the financial and diplomatic activities of Switzerland’s second most populous city (after Zurich) more than to the success of its hip-hop scene. This Lake is Successful, the new mini-album from Varnish La Piscine, will it change the situation? It confirms, in any case, the creative eccentricity of this Geneva rapper, producer and filmmaker of Congolese origin, whose retrofuturist universe, magnified on stage by the funk jazz instrumentalists of his group, L’Eclair, will be, Friday June 2 , in Paris, featured at the We Love Green festival.
After the triumph of rap from the flat Belgian country (Damso, Hamza, Roméo Elvis…), that of the French-speaking Alps, frequented by Jephté Mbisi, alias Varnish La Piscine, can rub shoulders with the peaks. “The hour has come for Switzerland”, bets Pedro Winter, electro figure “made in France” and boss of the Ed Banger record label, which publishes the disc of Geneva. “Even if their audacity takes more mountain paths than the highway”adds the former manager of Daft Punk, to whom the profile of Varnish recalls that of his former protege and friend DJ Mehdi, beatmaker turned solo artist, who died accidentally in 2011, at the age of 34.
Came by bike to pick us up at Geneva station, the singer guides us to the premises of The Spot, historic headquarters of the inventive local scene. With the good nature of an imposing teddy bear, he asserts his fulfillment in this lake setting. “Geneva is a peaceful metropolis, with multicultural openness”, he assures. He grew up in Meyrin, on the outskirts of the city, without having to suffer from racism or urban tensions. “This well-being allows us to increase our imagination tenfold. »
As a child, Jephté Mbisi imagined himself an astronaut. “Until I realized you had to be really good at math. I then chose that music would be my spaceship. And my time machine. » Back to the early 2000s, where the kid, born in Geneva in 1994, immersed himself with delight in the eclecticism of the family discotheque. Pop, rock, chanson, soul, funk… Not to mention the heroes of Congolese rumba. “I was a big fan of Papa Wembahe recalls. I admired his international career, his way of collaborating with foreign stars, like Peter Gabriel. »
Big family tree
An American will make his musical rocket take off for good. A founding electroshock named Pharrell Williams. “First by listening Tape Youone of the first songs of his group NERD, when I was barely 10 years old », recalls Mbisi. “I was disturbed by this destabilizing mix of rap-rock-funk and a voice that I didn’t understand if it was that of a girl or a boy. » At the time, the one who would become the voice of Daft Punk for the single Get Lucky (2013), before triumphing solo with the tube Happy (2014), became known for his productions within the director duo The Neptunes, formed with Chad Hugo. To their credit, a collection of hits sung, among others, by Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, drawing inspiration from innovative efficiency from an avant-garde design.
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