Bizarre by Fiji

Fiji’s oeuvre no.5: latest record “Bizarre“ – Bernese Electroclash Duo release a gem of true maturity
Fiji are back: not at least with their infamous stage antics, Fiji have stirred up the music industry for fourteen years. Judging by their long anticipated latest release “Bizarre”, they have grown up and said farewell to Electropop: it’s all Electroclash now, and all for the better. If you care for mainstream radio pop this one’s definitely not for you. You’re in for a different aesthetics all together – more reduced, darker, seedier and wonderfully ironic.
Fiji are an explosive composite made up by mastermind Simon Schüttel and stage hog Simone “The Voice” de Lorenzi. It is hard to resist the compact and driving beats produced by Schüttel, carefully layered with de Lorenzi’s seductive and at times otherworldly melisma. In their latest selection, Fiji offer a bunch of previously released songs, some of which had their international break a while ago, as well as some brand new exciting tracks. For their changeover to an Electroclash sound, the duo must have undergone a truly time-consuming if not obsessive process: the work ethic behind this record is impressive and casts no doubt they’re in for the long haul. What’s on top: Fiji’s linguistic spectrum ranges from English, French to Italian – which adds an additional layer of at times ironic subtext and some extra spices for those who get off on the attraction of the exotic.
To say the very least, the past decade or so has seen Fiji highly busy with four releases to their name, as well as performances in hot spots all over Europe, such as Gurtenfestival Bern, Reitschule Grosse Halle Bern, Kaufleuten Zurich, X-TRA, Mascotte, M4Music Festival Zurich, Z7 Pratteln, Montreux Jazz Festival, Muffathalle Munich, Swiss Beach Vienna, EXPO 2015 Milano, just to name a few. They’ve supported the likes of Santigold, Madness, Goldfrapp, Ebony Bones, Kosheen, DAF and Belgian indie-electro clashers Vive La Fête. By no means are we dealing with a bunch of gung-ho wannabees who, in their fourties, still act like teens. This is all very slick and carefully assembled, a quality record which points to a creative process of maturity and critical reflection.
By the way: If you haven’t seen Fiji live yet don’t miss out any longer. Go buy the record and check out the new songs – then come to one of their trashy shows and dance your nuts off until the break of dawn! Amanda Lear, Iggy Pop and Kraftwerk will break into applause – and so will you. Word.

The duo couple is the most intriguing Electropop outfit to emerge from Switzerland in recent years. Fiji's sound enabled them to perform in renowned premises as the X-Tra in Zürich, as support of Goldfrapp, Vive la fête, Ebony Bones, at the Gurtenfestival, at the Muffathalle in München, the 4cento in Milan, at the Miles Davis Hall at the Montreux Jazz Festival together with Santigold and Madness .

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