Miss Helvetia in Trio

Does folk music need to be reinvented?
No, it doesn't. But it can be. And if it's done with as much joy and respect as Miss Helvetia does it, it deserves the highest respect. And it sounds really good...

There are two types of folk music fans: the purists, who have frozen Swiss folk songs somewhere in the middle of the last century and don't want to deviate one bit from tradition. And those who believe that modernizing folk music is only possible with thumping beats, mainly popular in Austrian ski lodges, or with brass bands in the Bavarian style.

MISS HELVETIA
The good news for those who don't feel comfortable with either of these two extremes: Barbara Klossner, aka Miss Helvetia, from the Bernese Oberland, is building a bridge between the two camps. Or better yet, she is filling the gap between these extremes with plenty of joy, good humor, and just as much love and respect for tradition.

With her new album "Volksmusig on the Rocks", Miss Helvetia continues on the path she started in 2018 with "E Guete - Bon appétit". Yet this new album marks a definitive turn away from schlager or mountain party territory. No more artificial beats, but real instruments like drums, double bass, accordion, guitar, trumpet/saxophone and vocals. Yes: authentic folk music dominates here.

As a result, "Volksmusig on the Rocks" includes five tracks – "Ängeli im Schnee," "Heb dr Sorg," "E Guete," "Locker Locker," and "Schnuderwiibli" – which were already featured on the debut album. But the way these five songs are presented in their new versions, they’ve likely never been heard like this before: fresh, bold, handmade, and rearranged with a lot of joy. These five pieces fit perfectly into the ensemble of the new album, with the title track "Volksmusig on the Rocks" naturally setting the tone and pace: always moving forward energetically, marked by the unique yodel from Barbara Klossner’s award-winning throat, with unstoppable energy and even more emotions.

And speaking of emotions: with "Wenn die wilde Chirschböim blüeje," this wonderful yodel song by Jakob Ummel, Miss Helvetia opens her heart wide on her new album. Barbara Klossner sang this song with her mother as a teenager, accompanied by Ernst Dubi; the duet received the rating "Very Good" at the yodeling festival – it’s a song that deeply connects mother and daughter for eternity.

With "Dubach Güschtu," Miss Helvetia dedicates another song to a family member: Güschtu was her grandfather, who ran the "Bahnhöfli" in Oey in the Diemtigtal. He was a true character, the kind you only find in the Bernese Oberland, on a first-name basis with everyone – and he made the best cheese toasts in the region. The "GrimmiJutz" is also an homage to her homeland, the valley where Miss Helvetia lives and loves. She composed and performed this cheerful piece for the nature trail in that region.

And yet: homeland is not a place that needs to be geographically defined for Miss Helvetia. In "I läbe i mir," she sings that she carries this homeland within her, no matter where she is on the globe. Speaking of being on the move: "Volksmusig on the Rocks" concludes with a song dedicated to the legendary "Gilberte de Courgenay" – a song that has deeply embedded the Jura in the hearts of the Swiss. It is also a song that shows what could be possible if soldiers sang more and shot less. And it’s a song that is quintessentially Miss Helvetia, who with her wonderful music, seemingly effortlessly overcomes language and other boundaries. It’s no wonder that this artist from the Diemtigtal is also celebrated across the Röstigraben.