Afrobeats Explosion

Die Afrobeats-Szene ist in den letzten Jahren geradezu explodiert, was sich auch in der lebhaften Partyszene widerspiegelt, die sich um dieses Genre herum entwickelt hat. Von Anfang zuvorderst mit dabei: Die «Afrobeats Explosion» im Moods. Von seinen Ursprüngen mit Fela Kuti in den 70er bis Wizkid – Macht euch bereit für eine Tanzexplosion der besonderen Art!

Ydivide

Album Release «The Default»

Following the internationally acclaimed debut album «Lumumba», Intakt Records will release the second CD «The Default» by Ydivide in 2025. Many important drummers are great band leaders. With their overview, sense of rhythm and form, they provide guidance for the band. During his many years of artistic activity as a drummer in various formations, Clemens Kuratle has developed an individual language as a composer and drummer. He is considered one of the most original drummers of the younger generation, and one of his greatest achievements is the initiation of and continuous work with the band Ydivide, a British-Irish-Swiss collaboration. This quintet brings together the young British jazz scene with saxophonist Dee Byrne, Elliot Galvin on piano, Irish guitarist Chris Guilfoyle, the outstanding Swiss bassist Lukas Traxel and mastermind Clemens Kuratle. Clemens Kuratle and Ydivide have extraordinary musical and technical skills and have developed their very own musical language over the years. Ydivide has something to say: the music is driven by the urgent questions and conflicts that this generation, and the next, have to face. The compositions from the pen of Kuratle reflect political and social issues. Since over 40 years, the Zurich-based label Intakt Records reflects musical and social developments and presents counter-worlds. It is with great pleasure that we will celebrate the beginning of an album, as well as the end of the current season together with Intakt Records.

Altsaxophon

Guitar

Piano

Bass

Drum Kit

Composition

Brandy Butler & The Brokenhearted

Brandy Butler

The season at Moods is coming to an end. But there is still one Carte Blanche highlight to come: Brandy Butler&#x27;s evening. Expect moments full of tenderness, as well as new music. Having moved to Switzerland from the USA over 20 years ago, Brandy Butler has had a significant impact on the Swiss music scene ever since. Artists such as Sophie Hunger, Erika Stucky, Sina, Stress, Steff La Cheffe, Phenomden and Philip Fankhauser have all collaborated with Butler. Brandy then ventured into the world of theatre, dedicating herself to acting, directing, production, curation and performance. She recently composed the music for the opera Mitosis – An LSD Opera. Brandy is a revolutionary at heart, passionate about change. She is a vocal advocate for diversity, equality and inclusion, especially with regard to strengthening the community. This was also the focus of the &#x27;Together in Sound&#x27; events which she organized as part of her Carte Blanche: people came together to listen to music and exchange ideas. Despite her numerous projects, Butler always has something new up her sleeve. This was also the case here. Brandy surprised Moods by spontaneously announcing that she will present a new album that evening — almost ten years after the release of her last album, The Inventory of Goodbye (2016, Irascible Music). So, on 13 June, there will be an exclusive preview of her new music.

Vocals

Trumpet

Keyboards

Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy

With the track «Mam Yinne Wa»e Alogte Oho &amp; His Sounds of Joy set an unmistakable exclamation mark and put the gospel of the Frafra from northern Ghana on the musical map of the world. This was followed by a busy concert schedule in Europe and enthusiasm from audiences and critics alike. “O Yinne” is now the second album by Alogte Oho &amp; His Sounds of Joy. The gospel choir singing, which is reminiscent of the trombones of Jericho in intensity, is the brand core of the group alongside the melodic brass interjections, the flashing synthesizer accents and the heavily grooving rhythm section. However, anyone who thinks of what is commonly referred to as Gospel when hearing the word will be surprised, because gospel here only refers to the textual content. Musically, it&#x27;s an Afro-futuristic firework of pentatonic vocal explosions, carried by rolling West African rhythms.

Saxophon

Majur

Adalu & Moods present

Blending notes of R&amp;B, Blues and rap with the waves of soul. The Bahian artist had a striking start to her career, featuring in the Latin Grammy nominated song “AmarElo” alongside Emicida and Pablo Vittar. Majur’s debut album “Ojunifé” (2021), documents her journey of self-discovery and features collaborations with Liniker and Luedji Luna, reinforcing the message of diversity and black affection. She made her international debut at the Roskilde Festival and has been featured in major Brazilian lineups such as Rock in Rio. With a powerful musical presence, Majur merges African, Indigenous, and modern influences, solidifying her place in the music scene.

The Trans Flag Vogue Night

Adalu & Swiss Godmother HAUSVRAU Laveaux & Moods present

Godmother HAUSVRAU Laveaux is throwing a vogue night to celebrate the Trans community and remind us all that Trans is beautiful and Trans is powerful. A vogue night is a ballroom format that brings a fabulous party with categories from Ballroom. The night is focused on the ballroom community, Trans allies and all who appreciate and respect the culture. A space for experimentation and joy, where the musical journey will go from House to ballroom beats, always serving an element of extravagance and power.

Producer

Director

Percussion

K.O.S Crew Dancehall Mood

Party

Dancehall Mood is the monthly reggae and dancehall party at Moods. Like on every first Saturday of the month, the K.O.S crew will make the Moods club cooking with hot riddims. This promises an evening full of dancehall hits and reggae rarities, perfectly tuned to the respective audience and immaculately presented by the K.O.S crew and their guest.

Christoph Grab's ROOT AREA & Guests

Album Release «In Pursuit of Happiness»

ROOT AREA stands for soul jazz. After three years, the top-class line-up, consisting of Christoph Grab and Nicole Johänntgen on saxophones, Marcel Thomi on Hammond organ and Elmar Frey on drums, is now making an impressive return with its new album In Pursuit Of Happiness. For the album release at Moods, Zurich guitarist Michael Bucher will also be accompanying the band. With the new album, ROOT AREA consistently continues their idea of integrating a wide variety of grooves into their music and using them as a foundation for their original compositions and improvisations. Whether bluesy boogaloo, gospel ballads, New Orleans grooves, quirky reggae or Afrobeats - ROOT AREA combine deep musical roots with the present.

Tenorsaxophon

Hammond organ

Carte Blanche Special

Franziska Bruecker, Roberto Domeniconi, Dave Gisler, Simon Grab, Victoria Mozalevskaya, Lucas Niggli, Jonas Ruther, Tizia Zimmermann

The carte blanche evenings at Moods are something special. Curated by leading Swiss jazz musicians, these evenings invite you to discover and inspire. And what&#x27;s better than an artist&#x27;s carte blanche evening? When all the musicians join forces. Every year, the Moods Musicians&#x27; Council selects Swiss musicians for a Carte Blanche. With a budget of 11,000 francs, they are free to organise their projects as they wish. There are (almost) no limits – be it concerts, sound installations or invitations to guest musicians. Dave Gisler, Franziska Bruecker, Jonas Ruther, Lucas Niggli, Roberto Domeniconi, Simon Grab, Tizia Zimmermann and Victoria Mozalevskaya have come up with something special to close this year&#x27;s Carte Blanche season at Moods. Solo, trio or all together: Moods Carte Blanche artists will showcase their talents in a variety of constellations on 6th June. Instead of concentrating on their own musical creations, as they did in their individual shows, they will create unique soundscapes together on this evening. Familiar patterns and genre boundaries are completely ignored. For example, while Simon Grab - the noisemaker par excellence - is completely electronic, Victoria Mozalevskaya originally comes from classical music and has now dedicated herself to contemporary jazz. Worlds will collide, we promise.

Accordion

Electronics

JazzBaragge Wednesday Jam

Saisonabschluss mit Pius Baschnagel‘s Latinworld

The JazzBaragge Wednesday Jam offers an important platform for the Swiss jazz jam scene. After the musical prelude by the jam band, lively and exciting conversations begin between musicians who spontaneously meet on stage, reflecting the diversity of jazz in all its facets. The JazzBaragge Wednesday Jam is supported by the non-profit association JazzBaragge. The JazzBaragge Allstars invite you to the jam from 22:00. There is no advance booking for the JazzBaragge, only box office.

Anna Frey & Vera Kappeler

The pianist and harmonium player Vera Kappeler and the rapper and lyricist Anna Frey got to know each other in a so-called men&#x27;s pub, where they sat together at the bar until the early hours of the morning. That was many years ago. Now they are performing together again. As a duo, with undivided attention for each other&#x27;s playing. Vera Kappeler has long had an affinity for texts and their musicality, while Anna Frey has devoted herself increasingly to the musical-improvisational reading of her texts over the past few years. We can look forward to the interplay between these two musicians and the interweaving of sound and language. The concert is also the vernissage of Anna Frey&#x27;s second book FEST, which will be published by &quot;verlag die brotsuppe&quot;. Especially for this evening a book table will be provided by the Buchhandlung Volkshaus.

Flo Stoffner, Chris Corsano, John Butcher

&quot;Quiet Is The New Loud&quot; was a Kings of Convenience album from 2001 and also reflected the feeling for music of at least parts of this generation. It also works as a motto for the trio of John Butcher, Chris Corsano and Florian Stoffner. Their music differs from boisterous, powerful free jazz in that they refrain from playing their instruments very loudly. In fact, this is music for concentrated listening rather than for rocking along or even headbanging. It is more about precise musicality, crystal-clear interjections and a certain gentle thoughtfulness, but of course also about sound exploration and design. This results in tectonic sound worlds that press against each other. At their concerts, you sometimes get the feeling of standing in a machine room with a birdhouse full of exotic birds at its center. Butcher, Corsano and Stoffner don&#x27;t need excessive volume or solos to entice you into a standing ovation to get their message across. Their message is written in elegant lowercase letters and rarely used acoustic fonts.

Spoken Word

Michael Wollny Trio

«Living Ghosts 2025»

For pianist Michael Wollny, the trio with bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Eric Schaefer is the constant in his otherwise constantly changing cosmos of collaborations. The three musicians share an almost inexhaustible musical vocabulary, an outstanding sensitivity when playing together and the ability to constantly create new music of tremendous tension and dynamism from the moment. The band is a unity of three unmistakable characters: Michael Wollny is regarded as one of the most important European pianists of his generation. His playing blends influences from jazz, classical music, indie pop, new and early music to create an unmistakable personal style. Wollny has been playing together with drummer Eric Schaefer for more than 20 years. They share a deep intimacy and at the same time the ability to surprise and challenge each other time and again. American Tim Lefebvre forms the foundation of the trio, with a weighty tone, rock-solid groove and a fine sense of dramaturgy. Together, Wollny, Schaefer and Lefebvre create music of exuberant dynamics, boundless variety and maximum urgency. With reference to the origins of the piano trio format, the British Jazzwise Magazine writes: The Michael Wollny Trio makes it clear that we are living in the 21st century and not in the 1960s!

LAYENA

«Arcades»

Formed in 2021, the band developed its early musical identity through long jam sessions playing around repetitive loops, vocal styles influenced by Nigerian Afrobeat and EDM, as well as long improvised interludes. Three years of playing and touring together propelled the music to what it is today: a modern and generous soundscape, intimately connected to the harmonic language of Jazz, spreading its wings through the tradition of Italian chanson.    LAYENA operates as a true collective, where responsibilities spanning composition, booking, IT, management, and finances are shared and organized amongst all its members. In December 2023, the band recorded its debut album, &quot;Arcades&quot; at Relief Studio in Belfaux (CH), which was officially released in September 2024. Of course, playing music remains a priority and LAYENA will share their music with us in May 2025.

J'Peux Tim

Warm-Up & Afterparty

J&#x27;peux Tim, originally from Kosovo, is the co-founder and was co-owner of Kasheme Zürich and the founder of the Spirit Music Society music label. He has been spinning records in Switzerland and abroad for nearly a decade. Dance music, Jazz Fusion and Spiritual Jazz make his heart beat a tick faster.

Trombone

Synthesizer

Pachyman

Puerto Rico native Pachy García started playing guitar at a young age but his developing interest for early Jamaican music made him switch to piano &amp; bass instead. It wasn’t until he relocated to Los Angeles that he began self teaching himself drums. Around that time he formed the band Prettiest Eyes and started collecting inexpensive recording equipment that he found at thrift stores and second hand music shops. After having enough gear to make his own recordings out of his basement, Pachy began recording music to pay homage to the early reggae pioneers he grew up listening to. He named the studio &quot;333 House&quot; and started learning techniques used by the engineers responsible for shaping the sound of early dub reggae, particularly Scientist and King Tubby. The recording process of the music was documented on his Instagram account with videos that showed him playing every instrument and ultimately mixing the end result in one live dub take.

Buzz (Boss Hi-Fi)

Warm Up & Afterparty

BUZZ needs no introduction. 16 Tons: fantastic records, beautiful furniture. Boss Hi-Fi: best reggae DJs. Just the right person for the warm-up and the afterparty!

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio—or simply DLO3—burst onto the scene with their 2016 debut Close But No Cigar, quickly topping the U.S. jazz charts. To best prepare for the live concert in Zurich, we recommend checking out their live album Live at KEXP!. This recording overflows with frenetic joy and features a mix of DLO3 originals alongside timeless classics like Curtis Mayfield’s masterpiece, “Move On Up.” Since their beginnings in Seattle, the band has been delivering rhythmic soul with organ solos that feel like Lamarr’s fingers are chasing each other across the keys. Their compositions often evolve from his nimble touch, with the rest of the trio weaving their own intricate patterns around it. While comparisons to Booker T. &amp; the M.G.’s are inevitable, DLO3 carves out their own sound. As Lamarr himself describes it, the band plays “soul music with strong jazz influences”—making them the perfect fit for a night at Moods! While Lamarr while take on the Hammond Organ duties, he will be joined by Josh Perdue on guitar and Ehsaan Karimi on drums.

Hollabackshroom

Exclusively vinyl - funk, disco, jazz, country, rock and everything in between. Hollabackshroom is from Zurich and works in Zurich&#x27;s nightlife.

SOFIA @ JazzBaragge 

The JazzBaragge Wednesday Jam offers an important platform for the Swiss jazz jam scene. After the musical opening of the jam band, lively and exciting sound conversations begin between musicians who spontaneously meet on stage, reflecting the diversity of jazz in all its facets. The JazzBaragge Wednesday Jam is supported by the non-profit association JazzBaragge. There is no presale for JazzBaragge, only box office.

El Comité

In 2017 some of the great Cuban talents met up spontaneously in Toulouse and, following a joint concert, they founded the band El Comité. The seven musicians quickly found the way to the studio, in order to record their first album «Y que!? (So what!?)» which combines Afrobeat and Funk, the Groove of Latin-Jazz and the beauty of Cuban ballads. These outstanding instrumentalists have accompanied the greats throughout the world: Omara Portuondo, Buika and Chucho Valdés.  For admission, all guests need a valid Covid certificate from Switzerland or EU (QR code) for vaccinated, tested or recovered persons and an official ID card (ID, passport or driver&#x27;s license). The detailed admission rules are listed here: https://www.moods.club/en/program/admission-rules-covid/ Supported by SüdKulturFonds

Since 2017, we have been streaming some of the concerts and enabling the musicians to earn additional income - 70% of the subscription revenue goes directly to the musicians. With a subscription you get access to over 600 concerts and help to keep this project running.

Streaming

Over 700 video-on-demand and 40 live streams per year from jazz, global, blues, funk, soul and rap await you. Curated with playlists and recommendations from our program team. In addition, 70% of the subscription revenue goes directly to the musicians. With a subscription you support the artists and this project.