In the second part of our season review, other members of the team share their personal highlights from the past few months.
Last week, some Moods employees were busy presenting their favourite concerts. But, as we mentioned last week, tastes differ. That's why we've put together even more highlights for you. This time, it's the turn of Lisa, Lola, Dani, Bigi, Adi and Marian to reveal their concert picks.
Lisa
Lisa, who is in charge of production, naturally sent us a structured list with lots of concerts on it. However, she was kind enough to indicate which ones should definitely be included in the article. Four were non-negotiable. The first is an act from the Jazz Trombone Festival: Michael Flury and Simone Keller. "So touching! Absolutely beautiful. Finally, Flury at Moods again," says Lisa, adding, "The great man can play the trombone so tenderly and sensitively, it's simply incredible."Lisa's biggest highlight came in February: Moses Yofee. Perhaps the story behind it played a part, too. Lisa explains: "My absolute mega-highlight of 2025 was the super elaborate production. I was absolutely terrified because they got stuck at customs with a tonne of excess weight and weren't sure if they would make it here in time. Then there was a really nice, relaxed band and crew, and a mega concert. Music that carries you away. I think they're rightly receiving a lot of hype right now. My new favourite Berliners!"Lisa also regularly attends our family concerts with her daughter. So it's only logical that one of their concerts should be included here — Claudia Masika's. There's a good reason for this: "It's my four-year-old daughter's absolute favourite concert! It was lovely to see Claudia interacting with the children. She even sang and danced with almost 40 kids on stage for the whole concert! On Sunday morning at 11am, the exuberant dancing and super atmosphere among the parents, children and everyone involved makes you want more."Lisa's final highlight is sensual. Nduduzo Makhathini is a jazz pianist and healer, and the concert certainly felt like it. "The concert was like a warm, magical embrace. Nduduzo's great spirit, warm aura and special scent electrified and inspired us. We floated through the night and the days that followed, and we're looking forward to his return", she says enthusiastically.
Lola
Our social media manager is accustomed to communicating in a brief and concise manner. This is also reflected in her highlights. Dele Sosimi impressed her with his "good energy". You could dance and sing along too — or, as Lola puts it, "It was fun!"She was particularly impressed by the visuals of Fulu Miziki: 'Best costumes and best dance moves! If there was an award for that, the band would have won it!" With Lea Maria Fries, she was fascinated by the joy with which the band played — or rather, one of the band members: "The pianist was soooo cool."Lola's taste is not one-sided, but one-stringed. Last summer, Brushy One String — the YouTube sensation she grew up with — was one of our Summer Specials. When she was twelve, Lola was blown away by "Chicken in the Corn". Back then, she could never have imagined that the clip was a one-string wonder. Then, at the concert, she realised that Brushy had entertained everyone for two hours with just one string.Then there was La Bruja de Texcoco. But who is she? "A wild Mexican woman," says Lola, who is Mexican herself. She describes the concert as follows: "Unfiltered, unembellished and unhinged — she took us on a journey with stories straight from her life."James Carter also made an impression on Lola: "It was a religious experience for me. To me, he and his organ trio embody a vision of jazz that perhaps last prevailed in the '70s. The energy on stage? It was amazing!"Our social media expert has also invented a new category: Concerts she would have liked to see. She thinks that the Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp must have been something very special indeed. That's probably true, judging by Yunus's summary from last week. She also missed Sholto and is annoyed about it.
Dani
Our boss, Dani, also delivered his highlights just in time. The first of these was at the start of the season in September. That was El Comité. Dani said of the band: "Rarely has a band surprised me so much. They're so tight and precise, and yet so not Cuban and yet so Cuban."For him, Tromboranga in November was "a blast". The atmosphere was great, and "it was dripping from the ceiling!"
Dani's selection also included a carte blanche evening. He was particularly impressed by Franziska Bruecker's BrueckerMeisterTrauffer project, saying: "It's one of the most intelligent things I've heard in recent years! It's fantastic!"Like Lola, Dani was also impressed by Dele Sosimi. He sums up his feelings succinctly: "It was simply a magical evening; sometimes you don't need to say any more."
Bigi
Bigi's first highlight was playing at the Schiffbaufest in September: Konkolo Orchestra. “The band celebrated their very first appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and then their third concert was at Moods as part of the Schiffbau Festival – how cool is that?” explains the booker, adding: ‘The atmosphere was amazing!’Bigi's highlights continued with the ZKB Jazz Prize Festival, more specifically with the Polarbaeren. Bigi describes it as follows: ‘Mega energy, exciting songwriting, super creative — I was gripped from start to finish! I'm looking forward to everything they have coming up.’
Things got spooky at Moods in January. The 1922 film Häxan was accompanied by live music from NYX. Bigi says with a grin: "It's a scary film about the witch-hunts, with a super creepy soundtrack by NYX. I walked out feeling a bit disturbed. Everything was done just right."Her next highlight was also suspenseful, albeit involuntarily: "With SOYUZ, I had a huge thrill because the bass player fell ill that morning and couldn't perform. Instead, we performed as a duo in an intimate and quiet setting. The band are really nice people and very warm-hearted."Bigi is responsible for our Carte Blanche. So it's only logical that one of these should end up in her highlights. She chose the "Salon Outsight" by Franziska Bruecker. Bigi explains: "There were five performances by five artists. The evening focused on female bodies on stage. It was moving, funny and emotional."GANNA and Sartorius impressed her with their beautiful Ukrainian folk tunes, which GANNA had collected during her ethnomusicological travels and presented in a modern electronic style. They are joined by the brilliant drummer, Julian Sartorius. "A match made in heaven", as Bigi says.The final highlight was the Tomorrow Tribal Quartet. It is a very exciting project in which the music is truly brought to life. Bigi describes it as follows: "An explosive card game played by four musicians. It was a huge pleasure to watch them. Thank goodness there's also a stream of it!"
Adi
The third Booker in the group was also able to decide in favour of his highlights at the end. The first band on Adi's list is La Sonora Mazurén. This Colombian band only reinforced Adi's view: "Bogotá has an incredible music scene at the moment, and this band is proof of that. It was a fantastic concert with fantastic people!"
A family concert also made it onto Adi's list: The Fulu Miziki concert. Our booker initially had reservations. "I wasn't sure how the children would react to Fulu Miziki's music beforehand. Would there be a language or cultural barrier?" But his worries were unfounded. The mood exploded that afternoon.Like Lola, Adi was thrilled by La Bruja de Texcoco. This concert wasn't necessarily planned. Adi explains: "Sometimes something incredible comes out of strange coincidences. We had to find a replacement at short notice, and as it happened, La Bruja was in Turin at the time, so this incredible concert came about. They had a supernatural, beautiful presence."Next up is the Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, one of Adi's favourite Swiss orchestras. However, they have one flaw, according to Adi: "Unfortunately, I've never seen them put on a truly satisfying concert in Zurich (keyword: Röstigraben?)." But that has changed: "Last year, they proved that OTPMD can work here too."Adi is actually a calm and even-tempered person. But sometimes the stress of the season can get the better of you. The Cleaning Women were able to calm Adi down with their music, as he himself says: "Sometimes you get annoyed after a booking. The advance booking doesn't go as planned, and the band isn't as good as you thought they would be. If you're overtired, you can quickly start questioning your whole life. But then the band starts playing, and from the first note it's great, and you realise that life isn't really that complicated."This brings us to Adi's final highlight: Florence Adooni. The "Queen of Frafra Gospel" had been on Adi's radar for some time thanks to Max Weissenfeldt's label, Philophon. On the day she was finally performing at Moods, however, Adi had social commitments: "I came in through the back door, stressed out and far too late, and the whole of Moods was dancing. I want more of that next season!"
Marian
Of course, I also look back on our season. As I wasn't there for the whole thing, I thought it would be easier for me to pick out the highlights. But it wasn't that easy after all. Four concerts in particular have stayed in my memory.The first was by Ashley Henry. It was a wonderful evening. From soft sounds to playful solos to breakbeats, everything was there — and it grooved. Henry and his band were incredibly warm, and it was clear that they were enjoying themselves on stage. I now understand why he's no longer an unknown talent.
I was also very impressed by the feat of David Helbock's Random Control. Fola Dada. Fola Dada's voice touched me deeply, and the drummer was incredible. He had back pain all day and was walking around Moods with a hot water bottle. But none of this was evident at the concert. He sometimes played the drums, alphorn and percussion simultaneously — what a machine!Speaking of drum machines: Greg Foat also had one of these with him. Moses Boyd played like clockwork, laying such a solid foundation that nothing could collapse on top of it. This concert also made it onto my list because Greg and our boss Dani could have been separated at birth — I had the feeling the whole time that it was him up there on stage.And last but not least: Pachyman. As a dub lover, I couldn't miss it. The audience danced and celebrated, enjoying every second — someone had even brought along their own soap-block machine. If an umbrella drink and an air mattress made music together, it would sound like this. There were some cool moves not only in front of the stage, but on the stage too. Pachyman regularly left the drum kit and danced across the stage — it was simply marvellous.So, it's time to say goodbye to the well-deserved summer break. But we can't do without music, can we? That's why we've compiled a list of our summer specials for you.