During the 1980s, the Züri brännt riots were violent protests against exorbitant cultural subsidies enforced by the city, which had also dismantled cultural programs for Zurich’s youth. Platzspitz park was since known for its gorgeous gardens and Baroque architecture until it started to become a gathering point for heroin users, subsequently being referred to as Needle Park. Authorities permitted illegal drug use and sales at the park to try to solve the issue, but the lack of regulations meant that drug dealers and users arrived from all over Europe and crime and overdoses became rampant. Zurich became reduced to a mess of violence and anger, mud and used needles. From this atmosphere rose the genesis of the music within this album. Originally released on Calypso Now in 1986, Squares and Crossings was supposed to be part of a series called The Guild, a collection of music written by Swiss music critics. Mario Scherrer was the only one responding to this invitation, thus making him the sole contributor for this project. These productions are coated in punk varnish, simultaneously blending elements of new wave, pop, musique concrète, improvisation, poetry and ambient, which would only make sense coming from the same city as the home of the Cabaret Voltaire, the birthplace of the Dada movement. This album is not only an artistic diary, but also has an environmental affinity with this snapshot of Swiss history.

“Where some are desperately looking for something new, others play with what has been forgotten, whitewashed by the dust of centuries. A kind of music which is developed in permanent motion, a music of endless flowing. There are no rests, no breaks. It could almost be called a boundless music; a music, however, which carries you away, wherever it goes. La Nouvelle folk music: a wonderful conglomeration of Swiss cultural history.”

-Mario Scherrer

Illustration and graphic design by Linda Meli

Release Date: 1/06/2022

Grab your copy here