Capitals Apart But Moving Closer

With the highest number of clubs per capita in Europe, Zurich is also rated as having the best standards of living in the world, and continually drives money and resources into cultivating itself further. There is a culture of reclaimed spaces: disused breweries, factories and even an electricity generator in the industrial district of Zurich West have been converted into bars, clubs, and restaurants, brought up to modern spec with new floors, lighting, equipment and furniture. Aesthetics are overshadowed by reinvention and originality, and it's no surprise that as well as producing worthy artists, it's attracting talent from top labels and clubs from up and down the continent.

Edinburgh couldn't resist grabbing a slice of the action: Cabaret Voltaire's We Are... Electric are having a Swiss night, with nary a cheese wheel in sight, featuring DJs and producers Kalabrese and Zwicker, and video art from Ivan E.

Kalabrese, the DJ, producer, and co-owner of Zukunft, one of Switzerland's edgiest clubs, hit acclaim with the Rumpelzirkus album (2007) and his interesting folk and jazz take on house with the Rumpel Orchestra. I asked him how it felt to have been tipped as one of the 'top artists to watch in 2009', and whether he thinks that puts any pressure on him? "I don't know about that. I'm not thinking in categories," he says. "I want to bring my music and myself further, and compose as long as I can - I want to do interesting collaborations with musicians from other cultures... if it works and people buy my records then it's nice, if not, I'm not sad. I go my own way."

What sort of message do you hope to communicate about Zurich and its music scene? "Do your own thing, be unique in what you do, and do it with it with heart. I hope that a younger generation starts to do parties and concerts: it would be nice when one day, my kids will go out in good clubs too."

For the event he'll be bringing a mix of the old and new from the best of techno, house, afrobeat, disco and funk, and he'll do his best "to bring the sound of Rumpelzirkus to the club." Nice.

Graduating with a film music diploma from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Zwicker has gone on to full-time tv and film music composition, making time for hotly received music production and DJing as (properly) glorified hobby. His style is refreshing, a change from the stripped back sounds coming out the UK and Berlin. Instead, electronics are punched out with a mixture of disco, funk, electro, and house, helping him to become a regular on Germany's Compost Black. Zwicker first came to light with his Fathorn release, using the lesser-manipulated Swiss Alpine horn: "I was pretty sure I wouldn't be copied by anyone in Scotland!", he laughs, "It can do drones and squeals which tend to fit dance music well."

"The strength of the music from Zurich is that it's more mellow, while still being fresh and danceable," he tells us. "I think the electronic music from Zurich is a bit more soulful than most from equally cool, but bigger cities like London and Berlin. On the other hand, Zurich hasn't been able to start a real music trend like dubstep or similar, because the talented producers have an individual sound without following a specific trend: it makes the individual artist great, but it also makes us a bit difficult to market as 'the sound from Zurich'."

Ivan E will add 'found' visuals and real time graphics to the night as a self-proclaimed visual scientist. He's worked in electronic clubs across France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Austria, but you can occasionally catch him doing out of the ordinary visuals, such as those for the Dresdener Musikfestspiele and their symphony orchestra. To top it all, he can also lay claim to producing and directing several music videos and feature films, including the Swiss sci-fi movie (coming 2009), Cargo.

It's another top end booking for We Are Electric, so even if you head out for a quiet one there'll be enough on show to keep you thoroughly entertained. One for the diary.