BREAK WELL RADIO | INTERNATIONAL

BREAK WELL 003 | Noria Lilt

Link to the foulard, edition of 30:
https://breakwell.bandcamp.com/merch/break-well-003-noria-lilt-foulard

“To me, the mix feels like an emotional rollercoaster: it kinda makes me want to cry my eyes out and dance at the same time”

For the third transmission we are incredibly happy to welcome our super talented friend Noria Lilt aka Fiona Rody to the series. Fiona, originally from Fribourg, is genuinely one of the most integral and exciting individuals on the Swiss scene. She is co-responsible for the exceptionally-curated TRNSTN RADIO, co-host of the radio show “Rescue”, a coordinator of the SMEM, while at the same time delivering incredibly well-crafted tracks on labels such as Strecke Records or Hektar. Her cutting edge approach to DJ-ing is enabled through a rare technical finesse paired with a singular and incredibly wide spectrum of musical references and an underlying sensitivity for coherence in diversity. For her transmission, Fiona put together an intricately heterogeneous mix that starts off softly with heart-wrenching yet beautifully tranquil soundscapes, while seamlessly transitioning into more abrasive, percussive structures as the mix progresses. 

The inherent duality of transient emotions related to past relationships lies at the core of Fiona’s musical rendition of the Break Well ethos: “I wanted to build something healing and painful at the same time, at the cross paths of melancholic and heartwarming.  ” Fiona’s sensitivity for tonal as well as written aspects allow her to create a highly-contextual mix with emotions at the nucleus. Her belief that all social relationships happen for a reason, those that better belong to the past, those that we truly miss and those that still exist, reinforce the sentiment that we as individuals are formed in our being through the relations that we have entered. Therefore the nexus with loved ones should be cherished enabling shared development, while allowing hurtful experiences to heal over time: “After sadness comes comfort, after hurting comes healing, and after happiness… well, sometimes, it might just start all over again. Feelings, like people, enter our life, float, flow and stay in it and leave it.”

Regarding the haptic element of BW003, we are more than happy to have worked with the Zurich-based designer and great friend Mara Richter, who conceptualized and realized a unique foulard for the series. All foulards are hand-made by Mara and come with individualized pendants. The inspiration for the foulard came after feeling completely captured by the musical interpretation of Fiona. Mara wanted to re-create this emotion by wrapping the bearer of the garment in a soft embrace, while at the same time incorporating the delicacy and fragility of the transmission as well as a sense of warmth through the material used. Finally, we worked together with Bern-based photographer Binta Kopp to depict some of the ways the foulards are envisioned to be worn, leading to some truly stunning portraits.

Artist: @norialilt
Design & Manufacturing Foulard: Mara Richter
Design & Manufacturing Pendants: @annika-h-nni
Photography: @bintakopp
Models: Aaron, Ashwini, Dea, Latoya, Nana, Pax and Yadin
Assistants: Jason Hagedorn, Latoya Breu
Graphics: @annika-h-nni - annikahaenni.ch

TRACKLIST

S280F - knifework reveals angelic reality (011668) 
Multicast Dynamics -  Field of Dreams 
Jason Kolàr - 03 05.09.19 
nueen - Viejo Roble del Camino 
Leon Vynehall - All I See Is You, Velvet Brown
Atrice - Intensified
3320eco - Econet
Walton - Unknown Territories
Healion - Vetiver
De Grandi & Realitycheck - Hoax (Low Mix)
Thodén - Signal on Baikal
Dj Python - Pia
 Special Guest DJ - Makeout Dub 
quest?onmarc - Ephemera 
8Ball - Only time will tell  
Kloke - Artificial Memories  
path000000 - there’s nothing left
Loraine James - Change
GILA - Death Slump
Thirdworldlabour - Collimate

Break Well 003 | Noria Lilt

BREAK WELL 004 | Jamira Estrada

After a small hiatus at Break Well, we’re back with the fourth transmission and we couldn’t be more pleased to host long-time friend, collaborator and all-around cutie Jamira Estrada. Jamira is a Swiss-Mexican DJ and traditionally trained composer that has cultivated a trademark sound that reflects her passion for playful confrontation fueled by an undeniable energy - abrasive yet sensual. Jamira’s talent for blending an array of influences into a cohesive entity have established her as a mainstay in Switzerland’s underground scene for many years and she has been an active contributor to stand-out institutions and collectives such as Cuadro22, Mikro or Czarnagorna to name a few. For Break Well Jamira offers her most emotive side starting off with lingering guitars and drones, before going into beautifully deformed Y2K-esque RnB and more high octane rhythms that in the end dissolve into a fairytale-reminiscent finale – you won´t hear anything like it anytime soon.

For Jamira the theme of shared identity and the strong bond with her inner circle were the breeding ground for the mix: “What I loved about this process was making it a collaborative one and having the cutest friends involved. In the end this project turned out to be more about friends that keep you going than the specific dwelling on romantic relationships of the past.” Conceptionally her collage-based approach allowed to contextualize a nostalgic mood while transmitting the healing impact of sonics at the core of the Break Well concept: “It’s a very intuitive recording, what ends up being heard is not just sonically what I felt blended together well but rather what songs spoke to the narrative I wanted to create.” Taken together, Jamira’s rendition deploys the notion of a skilled, unflinching artist allowing access to a very personal rite of her singular universe.

As always we have established a counter-piece to transmit the mix from the digital into the haptic world. For BW004 the Zurich-based artists Amanda del Valle & Ronja Amata Varonier realized a hoodie in close collaboration with Jamira. The design is rooted in a clear and shared understanding among friends, all aligned with the grand vision of BW004. By blending Amanda's work on dreamy manga girls, a recurring theme in her practice, with Ronja's application of the cyanotype UV light technique, the resulting drawing gained a textured quality that set the stage for the subsequent print. Together, they created an incredibly cute hoodie that captures the essence of the musical experience as well as the intricacies represented in Jamira’s mix while ensuring accessibility for all our friends and acquaintances. 

Find the hoodie here, edition of 70: https://breakwell.bandcamp.com/merch/break-well-004-jamira-estrada-hoodie

Artist: Jamira Estrada | @jamiraest
Design & Graphics: Amanda del Valle & Ronja Amata Varonier

TRACKLIST

Burzum - Forebears
Team Sleep - No 
Dylan Henner - The Peach Tree next door grew over our Fence
Vanessa Amara - Know You’re Gonna Hold Me
Dawuna - B1 yout dun tried
City & i.o - Unking (with Dis Fig) 
Upsammy - Overflowing
Abul Mogard - Half Light Of Dawn
Tilman Robinson - The World for World is Forest
Lumpex - Coming of Leshy
Tim Hecker - Incurably Optimistic! 
bvdub - with broken wings and giants tall
Jamira Estrada - Droplet Two
Eterna - Garland of Shame
Asher of Levitas - Thinking about Sol 
0comeups - With Light you Lead me 
Dawuna - Bad Karma
Tirzah (feat. Coby Sey) - Devotion
Lauren Duffus - Habits 
LoukeMan - Pulled Apart
ETRA - Executive Dysfunction
Oklou - god’s chariot (Soul Edifice Remix) 
May Quinn - Rosemary Delusions
Casper Mcfadden and MANAPOOL - secret of the forest 
Machine Girl - Lilith
Elektronische Sequenz Proleten - Traffic Light 
Wake forld - you’re so sweet 
Squarepusher - Detroit People Mover

Break Well 004 | Jamira Estrada

Streaming from Amsterdam’s Radio Radio, this is RRFM with @breakwellinternational

RRFM • Break Well • 17-01-24

BREAK WELL 001 | SENTIMENT

Link to the shirt: https://breakwell.bandcamp.com/merch/break-well-001-t-shirt

Whether romantic relationships or longtime friendships - nothing gives and takes away as much from humans as social relationships do. While some relationships are cherished forever, others slowly dissolve into oblivion as time passes. However, what lingers on are these certain moments when undefined feelings creep back up and we revel in happy memories while at the same time mourning the transience of past moments we shared with people which once felt so present in our life.
 
The double-edged character of nostalgia that remains in regards to friendships and relationships long-gone - that's what Break Well tries to identify and describe through this series. Break Well will offer a home for a diverse array of artists to channel this sentiment into musical transmissions for you to hear. Sometimes it hurts to dwell in this bi-polar sentiment called nostalgia, but in the end the positive feelings will hopefully exceed the negative and we will still feel love for each other - sometimes more, sometimes less.

“Hey, wie gahts?”

“Vämiss di glaub.”

“Huere lang nueme gseh!” “Voll.”

“Ha momentan eifach voll kei zit.”

“Häschmi no gern ?”

“Gömmer wiedermal uf en kafi? ” “Ja eh.”

“Ich schätz dich halt schono mega”

The mix-cd has a longstanding history, but as a format has completely vanished in our digitalized age, without being replaced by a haptic counter-piece. That’s why mix series are only to be found online, where the overflow of information leads to instant perishability of content in the mind of the consumer.
 
In order to counter the status-quo, Break Well wants to bring back mix series to the haptic world, by releasing every mix with a very limited batch of t-shirts, all designed by Annika Hänni after intensive listening sessions of  the mix in question (as well as the shedding of some tears in the process, hihi). As a format, the t-shirt was chosen as a historically ideal platform to create a sense of shared identity and increase visibility. Bands and artists alike have released t-shirts for their fans and followers in the past, adding to the sense of community and connection within this group of people.
 
The feeling of shared identity enables people to feel connected to each other without knowing each other and therefore hopefully will be a breeding ground for new relations of relevance. By bringing the mix back to the haptic world, we hope to add to the revaluation of the mix format, as well as enable new friendships and relationships to be formed.

Artist: @sentimentmiras
Graphics: Annika Hänni - http://annikahaenni.ch/

TRACKLIST

DJ Richard – Final Mercy
Varg – En Tulpan Blå Som Blod
Ludwig A.F. Rohrscheid – Omega Quest
Konx-Om-Pax – Frozen Border
Arca – Manners
Fazer – Wasi
Musiccargo – Domino
The Gentle People – Journey (Gentle Instrumental)
Bullion – Heartrunner
Global Communication – Sublime Creation
Autechre – Rea
WIM – Sea
Mike Golding – Game of Chance
Skru – Skribes
Underworld – Tongue
Seahawks & Woo – Distant River
The Durutti Column – Love No More
Ital Tek – Blood Rain
Lone – How Can You Tell
Barker – Hedonic Treadmill
Floating Points – Anasickmodular
Aphex Twin – Flim
Squarepusher – Iambic 5 Poetry

Break Well 001 | Sentiment

BREAK WELL 002 | Douala

Link to the shirt, edition of 50, no repress: 
https://breakwell.bandcamp.com/merch/break-well-002-shirt


Empfindsch so oepis wie Nostalgie im Bezug uf vergangeni Beziehige?

Ja sicher.

Uf was vo de Beziehig bezoge?

Uf alles.


For the second transmission we invited our good friend and all-around emotional boy Douala, aka Yung Dolphin aka Gianmaria Pallecchi. Gianmaria is a mainstay in the Zurich underground scene and internationally probably best-known for his “post break-up tears”-inducing productions for labels such as Blorp, X-Kalay and Lobster Theremin. However, he is also an amazing DJ with a highly singular music taste, which often touches on the more softer, introspective and emotive side of the sound spectrum, making him the perfect fit for Break Well. He delivers a beautiful nostalgia-infused mix oozing simmering ambient, subtle grooves and even incorporates some wrenching post-wave, hitting all the right notes.

In his words the mix tries to deal with thoughts and sentiments, that usually linger in the subconscious: “It’s the feeling of being stuck in the past a little too deeply and of obsessing about things that can’t be relived. This nostalgia can also be beautiful, because you are reflecting on something that was incredibly dear to you and yet it’s somehow ok that it now isn’t anymore.”

The shirt was once again realized by Annika Hänni after having immersed herself into Gianmarias interpretation of the Break Well concept. The second installments rendition especially reflects the perceived distance that can manifest itself between people who once were inseparable, while at the same time incorporating aspects of shared identity that in full effect hopefully could enable a new nexus of relevance. But to be honest: This shirt is just really really cute, no more words needed.

Artist:  @doualamusic
Graphics: Annika Hänni - annikahaenni.ch/

TRACKLIST

Cloudface - Unhex 
Nap - Íntima 
Ramzi - Etwal 
URA - Shojin 
Ex-Terrestrial - Light 
Transilvanian Galaxi - God DR-55 
pH 1 - Amygdala 
Tim Jackiw - Tears In Rain 
Legowelt - La Guerre Aux Rêves 
exael - spilt 
exael - anc alt 
Stenny - In A Distant Light 
All Rest No People - Penta 
Watching Airplanes - Saboter La Machine 
Hiele - Mode D'Hiele 
Martial Canterel - Coercion

Break Well 002 | Douala

Break Well 
Feeling Se Distance, since 2020

A home for transmissions dwelling in positive and negative nostalgia with reference to friendships and relationships long-gone, while hopefully countering the perishability of online mixes by establishing a liaison to the haptic world.

For All Enquiries/Hugs/HoiWieGahts: contact.breakwell@gmail.com

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