Stephan Eicher

Stephan Eicher is a Artiste primarily known Suisse as an author, singer and a type-setter. It also carried out graphic works.

Biography

Stephan Eicher was born the August 17th 1960, with Münchenbuchsee, in Suisse, close to Bern, of a father of origin Yéniche and of an Alsatian mother . It is the second of a family of three boys. His/her father Violonist of Jazz at his hours, gives to Stephan and his two brothers the taste of the music.

Stephan knows a a little solitary childhood and is sent to the 11 years age in a private boarding school of the Bernese Oberland, the School of Humanity. It is there that he learns English and côtoie of multiple cultures: Africans, Japanese, Americans… In 1975, its way crosses for the first that of a hotel: the Meiringen in which he works like apprentice. But it realizes that this work is not appropriate to him, not more than the different multiples odd jobs which it will exert during some time for the Swiss Post office, in factory or in bars.

It leaves then to Zurich in a school art to follow courses Vidéo there and three years later graduate Artiste comes out from it.

In 1979, a buddy lends a Ordinateur to him: he composes his first musics.

17 years, he plays in its first group The Noise Boys, which will survive only a few months. In 1980, following the youth movement inhabitant of Zurich in which Stephan Eicher takes part, it founds with his younger brother Martin, the group Grauzone, directed electro-industrialist (one cannot speak about " techno-pop" at the time). At the beginning, Stephan Eicher carries out the Super 8 and the photographs projected at the time of the concerts of the group then, thereafter, it plays there of the Synthétiseur and the Guitare. In parallel, it records in September 1980 its first album solo on a Dictaphone: Stephan Eicher spielt The Noise Servant boys . With the album Eisbär , Grauzone is a real success.

But success makes fear with Stephan Eicher. It stops during one year the music and leaves for Bologna as programmer a radio Féministe.

In 1982, it meets the group Liliput with which it turns to France and Germany during some time as a guitarist. Klaudia Schifferle, the bass player leader of Liliput, painter and poet also, will write songs for him later.

It meets Martin Hess, then to manage of Liliput, which ends up framing the career solo of Stephan Eicher. They bind friendship. In 1984, it takes part in France in many festivals, like the Transmusicales of Rennes or the Spring of Bourges and gives a concert to the Bains-Douches, nightclub Parisian.

Thus, since 1985, it becomes very popular in France thanks to the song Two people in has room (extracted from I Tel. this night ) then in 1987 with How long (extracted from Silence ) and plays for the first time at the Olympia on May 20th, 1986.

In the years 1990, very sensitive to the charm of the hotel rooms, it records there two albums Engelberg and Carcassonne , which signs its undeniable success. A kind of bad patch follows during which he travels and gives concerts throughout the world (tour recalled on a video double album and K7 " Not Ci badar, guarda E passa") to find (" 1000 vies")

In spite of its popularity and a faithful public and various, Stephan Eicher remains rather little mediatized, in withdrawal of the show bizz, relatively discrete on its personal life.

Its music

Its musical career

European artist, Stephan Eicher sings in German, Suisse German, Italian, English, French or in Bernois.

The songs (and arrangements of the recoveries) of its first albums are primarily containing electronic instruments (computers, samplers, sequencers, synthés…), in the kind New-wave which emerged at the beginning of the Années 1980.

After the success of Eisbär (with the group Grauzone) in Germany, it is made known in France with the album “the blue songs” (1983), success of regard which is followed of a first tube “Two people in has room” (album “I Tel. this night” 1985) and of “How long” (album “Silence” 1987) composed with Corinne Dacla.

The success of regard and the core of fans are already with go but popular success and the recognition " officielle" are really born from the meeting between Stephan Eicher and the Romancier Philippe Djian, from their accessory friendship and their profitable collaboration. This last will indeed write the texts of all the French songs of Eicher as of the album My place' in 1989 including inter alia: “To lunch in peace”, “No friend like you”, the tops of the bas', etc

The artist rock'n'roll packs his musical universe and even has from now on recourse to traditional musical instruments acoustics (Guitare, Piano, etc) sometimes ignored (the such Cymbalum, string instrument struck) on the abum “Engelberg” or very old (the Cromorne for example, wind instrument with double sheer and bent body) on the album “Carcassonne”, and records either in studio but in hotels which accommodate it more cordially.

Associating traditional instruments and sounds and modern rates/rhythms, he affirms an undeniable musical singularity, nice homage with a respected Master: Moondog.

After the summer 1994, during which it gives 114 concerts, Stephan Eicher leaves its first album live “Not Ci badar, guarda E passed” accompanied by a video “guarda E passed”, on which one finds of course, awaited sequences live, but also of the moments stolen in the bus, the hotels, the bars with the concerts improvised, quays of station, after concert… It is an outline intimist of exciting, exuberant, glorious environment but exhausting EC round.

Electronics album “1000 lives” which follows, in 1996, disconcerts a share of the public which does not recognize any more in the round “Backstage Concerto” Stephan Eicher that it knew, but very made a success of album “Praises” reconciles them largely in 1999.

The year 2001 sees the exit of a best off entitled “Hotel*S' supplemented in its version luxates, of comprising CD of the new songs, the forgotten or unexpected versions.

In 2002, it composes in collaboration with the violoncellist Jean-Philippe Audin and the pianist Achim Meier, the music of film “Mr NR.” of Antoine de Caunes. He sings with I Muvrini (“a sonu EP camped” - Umani album), Patricia Kaas (“one could” of J.J. Goldman), singer Québécois Claire Furrier ( what you give ), composes for Johnny Hallyday “do not return” and finds finally time to record in the 2003 “Europa Taxi”, which is declined in the form of normal Cd, of Cd live and two DVD, one recalling the genesis of “Taxi Europa”, the second taking again mainly the concert given to Old Belgium in Brussels, within the framework of the “Turn Europa Taxi”, where Stephan Eicher is put in scene on big screen.

After a quasi confidential round in 2005, “solo project” where he plays in acoustics only on scene in the middle of his machines and of sound Mac, he presents in 2006 to Blueballs Festival of Lucerne and in Corsica some titles of the disc Eldorado, left on April 16th, 2007 under the Barclay label. The Club Turn 2007, the round accompanying the exit by this 12th album studio, includes/understands concerts in France, Germany and Switzerland in particular. It continues in 2008, Belgium and France.

Discography

2007 : Eldorado
2004 : Turn Taxi Europa (concert)
2003: Taxi Europa
2002: Mr NR. - Original soundtrack of film of Antoine de Caunes
2001: Hotel' S (compilation)
1999: Praises
1996: 1000 lives
1994: Not Ci badar, guarda E passed (double album of round + video K7 " Guarda E passa")
1993: Carcassonne
1991: Engelberg
1989 : My places
1987: Silence
1985: I Tel. this night
1983: Blue songs
1982: To remember
1980: Grauzone
1980 : Stephan Eicher spielt The Noise Servant boys
1979: Girls of Limmatquai
1978: Eisbär

Works

Stephan Eicher, a singer trilingual (Pädagogische Hochschule, St-Gallen, 1988) : memory of Bernhard Bertelmann, Ingrid Hagen and Monica Leiser (under the direction of professor Rolf Winiker)

Graphic realization

In 2005, following the invitation of La Poste Switzerland, Stephan Eicher carried out the second stamp of a series of special postage stamps imagined by personalities residing in Switzerland.

This stamp, baptized Merci illustrates the Cervin. The shape of mount is represented on this stamp by the form, setting with back, of the unintermitting African. This choice was made in thanks towards Africa, from which the rocks come which compose the last thousand meters of this mount. Article on La Poste

Its references

See too

External bonds

Official site of Stephan Eicher

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