TOP GUN BERSET – The song for Swiss minister Alain Berset's departure

Top Gun Berset is a ballad about Federal Councilor Alain Berset and the longing for freedom.

The song tells the story of July 5, 2022, when Berset flew to France in a small plane, where he was forced to land by the French Air Force. At the same time, Top Gun Berset is also about our desire to escape everyday life and the longing for limitless freedom: “Top Gun Berset, flying across the border”.

The song was made possible by a cross-border collaboration on the line Zurich-Geneva-Kingston: Top Gun Berset was produced by Zurich-based Philipp Schnyder alias One Ton, known as the bassist of Ganglords and manager of Phenomden, in collaboration with Mathias Liengme of Geneva Reggae label Fruits Records. You can hear the singer Elija Tamou from Zurich, the Geneva band The 18th Parallel and the legendary Jamaican bassist Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie).

Credits: 
 
Top Gun Berset – Elija Tamou, The 18th Parallel, One Ton
Vocal: Elija Tamou
Music: The 18th Parallel (with Robbie Shakespeare)
Artistic direction: One Ton

Produced by One Ton & Mathias Liengme
Executive producer: Philipp Schnyder for One Ton
Mixed by Gregory Morris at Tads Studio, Kingston
Mastered by Dan Suter at Echochamber
Made in Zurich – Geneva – Kingston

Composition::
Idea, lyrics, song melody: Philipp Schnyder
Music: The 18th Parallel

THE 18TH PARALLEL
Drums: Antonin Chatelain
Bass: Robbie Shakespeare
Piano, organ, moog, DX7, percussion, synare: Mathias Liengme
Rhythm guitars: Léo Marin

Riddim recorded at Bridge Studio, Geneva, by Mathias Liengme
Additional recordings at One Pop studio, Kingston 
Riddim composed by Mathias Liengme and Antonin Chatelain
Riddim produced by Mathias Liengme
Vocals recorded at Elija Tamou’s by Silas Kutschmann 
 
Lyrics:

Top gun Berset
Flying across the border
Flying across
Looking for freedom

Top gun Berset
Flying across the border
Flying across
Looking for…

Getting up early
Coming home so late
Working hard for his country
And his people

Minister of health, fighting Corona
Minister of culture, never inferior

Mr. minister, born as a runner
Mr. minister, known as a lover

Top gun Berset
Flying across the border
Flying across
Looking for freedom

Top gun Berset
Flying across the border
Flying across
Looking for…

(Instrumental to break)

Mr. minister, born as a runner
Mr. minister, known as a lover

Getting up early
Coming home so late
Working hard for his country
And his people

Minister of health, fighting Corona
Minister of culture, never inferior

Top gun Berset
Flying across the border
Flying across
Looking for freedom

Top gun Berset
Flying across the border
Flying across
Looking for…

Top gun Berset 
(repeat for fade)


Top Gun Berset

The song “Smartphone” is a trashy and critical take on the clever yet cunning device that accompanies our daily lives with emojis and at every step: the smartphone. This smart phone knows our contacts, calendar, health data, where we are and where we’re going, what we consume, our desires. And it eagerly passes on this information…
“My phone is a data mine – but my data are never mine” (full lyrics below).

“Smartphone” is a solo project by producer One Ton: from lyrics to music to the video, he did everything himself. And this time he also sang himself, fully aware that he is not really a singer: “I see myself here in the tradition of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Normally, he produced vocal artists, but sometimes he sang himself. Perry knew, that the creative idea was sometimes more important than the beauty of a perfect vocal — as you can hear in ‘Roast Fish & Cornbread’.”

The result from One Ton: contemporary trash reggae with a heavy bassline and a song idea that immediately sticks in your head. A summer burner!


Smartphone

Swiss Reggae label, home of Phenomden, One Ton & Ganglords

Top Gun Berset

One Ton

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