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OXEON releases debut album Somewhere far

Oxeon two female artists Sylvie and Lea standing back to back in colour with their faces painted with triangles
October 12 Swiss/Dutch Jazz duo OXEON will release their debut album Somewhere far on the Dutch SONNA Records in collaboration with the Swiss ANUK Label. With this album, the duo will share their colorful dialogues to a bigger audience. Nourished by classical, jazz and folk music, Sylvie Klijn (voice) and Lea Gasser (accordion) transport the audience to distant and imaginary worlds.

Somewhere far  

OXEON plays their own compositions and arrangements of existing classical compositions. The duo’s improvisations and compositions show a multi-layered musical landscape. Their repertoire includes works by Scarlatti and Franck and languages such as English, Dutch and Italian. By opening up the rich and beautiful material of classical music, personal and contemporary arrangements come to life. The effect pedals they added to their instrumentation, blend even more colors and textures into their musical world. Drawing on their classical and jazz backgrounds, the Swiss accordionist and Dutch singer, both living in Lausanne, find the ultimate fusion in this project.

The artwork, which forms a colorful continuous landscape of triangles, refers to the title of the album Somewhere far. This title is inspired by the lyrics for the Dutch song on the album, Ergens Ver Weg: a story about two women who live far away from the busy world in the mountains, dancing all day long. The geometric shapes in the artwork also refer to the painted colored triangles the duo applies to their skin for the concerts. 

About the single release The Call (S. Klijn)

The Call refers to the mountains. The need to be quiet and alone can feel like a call from the mountains to withdraw there and release your thoughts. Growing up in the Netherlands, living close to the mountains is an beautiful experience that has only revealed itself in recent years. The mountains are also the main inspiration for the artwork of our album.

The entire composition was inspired by the first five chords in the left hand of Ravel’s Le Gibet from Gaspard de la Nuit. Our background in classical music influences many of our arrangements and compositions, such as O Cessate and Fuga.

About OXEON 

Sylvie Klijn and Lea Gasser met during their Master’s degree in Jazz Performance at the HEMU in Lausanne, where they started their duo OXEON in 2020. Both coming from classical music, and bonded by a strong friendship, they firmly felt the need for a musical collaboration. After a successful first appearance on stage, they began to elaborate their program for classical arrangements with their own compositions. In 2022, they decided to add pedals to their repertoire, thereby adding a third instrument to their duo, which gradually set the tone for the OXEON program. This last step encouraged them to produce their first album, Somewhere Far. As Sylvie was part of L’Abri Genève as associate artist for the year 2022/23, the duo was offered the chance to record in their studio. 

Oxeon

Lea Gasser
+41 79 712 36 37
lea.gasser@hispeed.ch

Sylvie Klijn
+41 78 202 84 22
sylvieklijn@live.nl

About SONNA Records  

SONNA Records was founded by singer Sanne Rambags with the aim of providing a platform for musicians who share a passion for adventurous yet tranquil music. The label offers a space where the pure essence of life becomes tangible. Expressing your own story in music, using your intuition, is a way to create a deep connection with your inner strength and thereby inspire others. SONNA Records believes that our true nature is our greatest strength.  

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