Odd Beholder — Lost In Communication

"Lost in Communication" is the result of a collaborative experiment by two restless Swiss songwriters. While release and tour logic came to a halt during the pandemic, Daniela Weinmann and Simon Borer took it upon themselves to rethink, challenge and expand their own songwriting routine. Both had been used to writing alone until then. But the first time they met, a song was created together - and in the weeks to come, the two ran an actual songwriting lab. They tried different writing techniques and languages and soon had a collection of song sketches, stimulating conflicts and open questions.

The exploration continued even as the two artists set out to producing the songs; so, they set out to combine the disparate sound worlds of their solo projects into an organic whole. Their curiosity for the format of the classic duet resulted in three love songs that are set in different scenarios. "Self-Checkout" tells what can happen when you suddenly run into your long forgotten first love in the supermarket and notice that there are Pampers in your former lover’s shopping cart, while you are overrun by memories of youth. The slow, dreamy, viscous song "Lost in Communication" describes a first date during which the protagonists don't quite know how to make the leap from online dating into the three-dimensional world. "Alexander", a lascivious-funky hymn including pink kimono and haikus on the veranda, is dedicated to a pool party acquaintance.

In addition, "Alle deine Träume" is a song full of German Angst - grappling with his own insignificance in the commuter traffic jam inside his e-car, the protagonist finally drowns all worries in his binge-watching habit, watching series in a house lit only by a lava lamp. On the EP's most experimental track "Im Winter Simmer Immer", the two artists tell each other secrets from their youth and share core memories that led them to become musicians.

And because the two artists tend to get indulged in lengthy discussions about the Swiss cultural landscape in general and about songwriting, they decided to exchange ideas with other colleagues. This is how "Songs und so", a podcast about current songwriting in Switzerland, was born. Its first season has been released in January and February 2023. It aspires to get to the bottom of the craft and process of songwriting in detailed conversations with guests like Evelinn Trouble, Manuel Gagneux (Zeal & Ardor) or Leoni Leoni.