Biel is renowned for its alternative art scene. Puts Marie, Pegasus and many Swiss bands began their careers in the city’s legendary clubs, such as La Coupole or Le Singe.
Biel is particularly fertile ground for the music scene. In any case, this is what Carine Zuber, former programmer of the Cully Jazz Festival then Moods in Zurich, thinks, interviewed by the RTS. “I love talking about Biel, not just about music”, insists Carine Zuber. “I came to this town as a teenager, in the gymnasium, and, yes, I learned that anything was possible. […] My first concert, I organized it at the gymnasium. […] But then, when I arrived in Lausanne, I learned that it was only in Biel that everything was possible.”
There is something in Biel that is not found elsewhere.
A city that cultivates its differences
Biel is a city on the outskirts which does not have an airport, nor a university. It’s a left-wing, working-class city. “A city that breaks, rebuilds, breaks again. This stimulates creativity”, analyzes the musical programmer.
A city on a human scale that cultivates difference, open-mindedness and creativity. Proof of this is the group Puts Marie and its music apart. “All genres mix in Bienne: hip-hop meets rock, contemporary music or jazz”, specifies Carine Zuber.
So many musical styles in which Biel musicians shone in 2022: jazz and electronic music drummer and composer Arthur Hnatek won a Swiss Music Prize, while Dion Sumi, alias Funkaztek, is a double Swiss champion of beatbox and now organizes the competition.
>> To listen: interview with Arthur Hnatek in Les bonne ondes
Biel can also count on many cultural venues including a few emblematic clubs which have largely contributed to the explosion of this musical and artistic scene. This is particularly the case of the Le Singe club, currently under renovation: an alternative place in place since the 1970s where unions and workers had their habits.
Interview by Tristan Miquel
Adaptation web: ld