Stephan Eicher
Encyclopedia
Stephan Eicher is a Swiss singer.
His songs are sung in a variety of languages, including French
, German
, English
, Italian
, Swiss-German, and Romanche and sometimes he even uses different languages in the same piece.
His success started in German-speaking countries in the 1980s when as part of the band Grauzone
he had a hit single "Eisbär". With hit songs such as "Combien de Temps" and "Oh Ironie", his popularity spread Europe-wide with various albums, tours, and chart success in France
and Switzerland.
not far from Bern.
He was musically trained at the academy of art in Zurich
, where he and others also learned how to use the computer for composing music.
He released his first single "Eisbär" together with his brother Martin on the album Grauzone in 1980. He became interested in French songs by Jacques Dutronc
, Georges Brassens
, and Serge Gainsbourg
, and these influences resulted in him creating the album Les Chansons Bleues. This album is also inspired by the American singers he listened to during his youth, such as Patti Smith
, Johnny Cash
, and Bob Dylan
.
His two following albums began to establish his reputation. The album I Tell This Night and the single "Two People in a Room" were released in 1985. It peaked on the Swiss Charts at number ten and stayed twelve weeks. Two years later, the album Silence reached number three and was in the Swiss Top 10 for fourteen weeks. Both albums were created by Stephan Eicher almost single-handedly.
With 1989's "My Place", Stephan Eicher went in a different direction. The French lyrics were written by his friend, author Philippe Djian
. His largest commercial success came in 1991 with the album Engelberg, which spent five weeks at number one in Switzerland and 46 weeks on the charts in total. The song "Dejeuner En Paix" was also number two in France. It is the beginning of a collaboration with Manu Katché
and Pino Palladino
which will last until the release of 1000 vies in 1996. With all his following albums, Stephan Eicher regularly reached the top five on the Swiss album charts.
Following a world tour, which included concerts in Africa
, he produced his first live album in 1994 (Non ci badar, guarda e passa).
Since 1989, his song lyrics have been written by Djian.
In 2001, Eicher released his first greatest hits compilation album entitled Hotel*s. For many years, the hotel Hess on the Swiss Engelberg
was his second home. Martin Hess
, the hotelier couple's son, became his close friend and producer. At the hotel, the albums Engelberg and Louanges developed. Eicher selected the title Hotel*s as homage to this grand hotel, which was torn down in the same year. For the title selection for the album, he let the fans co-ordinate with the official homepage.
) in Phnom Penh
in 1995.
German progressive metal band Vanden Plas
covered "Des Hauts, des Bas" on their AcCult
EP in 1996.
His song "Combien de Temps" has been remixed by Flood.
Experimental electronic music
group Cabaret Voltaire
recorded a cover version of Eicher's "No Escape."
The metalband Stahlhammer
released a cover version of "Eisbär" on their album Eisenherz.
On the newer edition of the album Wahrheit oder Pflicht
by Oomph!
a cover version of "Eisbär" is included as a bonus track.
His songs are sung in a variety of languages, including French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Swiss-German, and Romanche and sometimes he even uses different languages in the same piece.
His success started in German-speaking countries in the 1980s when as part of the band Grauzone
Grauzone
Grauzone was a band from Berne, Switzerland active in the early 80s.-History:At the end of 1979 Marco Repetto and GT left the punk band Glueams, to form together with Martin Eicher a new band called Grauzone. Martin had already supported Glueams on their single mental...
he had a hit single "Eisbär". With hit songs such as "Combien de Temps" and "Oh Ironie", his popularity spread Europe-wide with various albums, tours, and chart success in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland.
Life
Stephan Eicher was born in the rural municipality of MünchenbuchseeMünchenbuchsee
Münchenbuchsee is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is famous as the birthplace of painter Paul Klee.-History:...
not far from Bern.
He was musically trained at the academy of art in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, where he and others also learned how to use the computer for composing music.
He released his first single "Eisbär" together with his brother Martin on the album Grauzone in 1980. He became interested in French songs by Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He has been married to singer Françoise Hardy since 30 March 1981 and the two have a son . He also has been a longtime songwriting collaborator with Jacques Lanzmann...
, Georges Brassens
Georges Brassens
Georges Brassens , 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981), was a French singer-songwriter and poet.Brassens was born in Sète, a town in southern France near Montpellier...
, and Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
, and these influences resulted in him creating the album Les Chansons Bleues. This album is also inspired by the American singers he listened to during his youth, such as Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
His two following albums began to establish his reputation. The album I Tell This Night and the single "Two People in a Room" were released in 1985. It peaked on the Swiss Charts at number ten and stayed twelve weeks. Two years later, the album Silence reached number three and was in the Swiss Top 10 for fourteen weeks. Both albums were created by Stephan Eicher almost single-handedly.
With 1989's "My Place", Stephan Eicher went in a different direction. The French lyrics were written by his friend, author Philippe Djian
Philippe Djian
Philippe Djian is a popular French author of Armenian descent.Djian graduated from the ESJ Paris. After a period of wandering and odd jobs, he published a volume of short stories, 50 contre 1 , and then the novels Bleu comme l'enfer and Zone érogène before gaining fame with his subsequent novels...
. His largest commercial success came in 1991 with the album Engelberg, which spent five weeks at number one in Switzerland and 46 weeks on the charts in total. The song "Dejeuner En Paix" was also number two in France. It is the beginning of a collaboration with Manu Katché
Manu Katché
Manu Katché is a French musician of Ivorian origin, born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on 27 October 1958. He is a drummer and songwriter.-Career:Session musician...
and Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
which will last until the release of 1000 vies in 1996. With all his following albums, Stephan Eicher regularly reached the top five on the Swiss album charts.
Following a world tour, which included concerts in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, he produced his first live album in 1994 (Non ci badar, guarda e passa).
Since 1989, his song lyrics have been written by Djian.
In 2001, Eicher released his first greatest hits compilation album entitled Hotel*s. For many years, the hotel Hess on the Swiss Engelberg
Engelberg
Engelberg is a village in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Engelberg has a population of . , 21.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.It is the leading mountain resort in central Switzerland...
was his second home. Martin Hess
Martin Hess
Martin Hess is a German footballer. He currently plays for Sportfreunde Lotte.-References:...
, the hotelier couple's son, became his close friend and producer. At the hotel, the albums Engelberg and Louanges developed. Eicher selected the title Hotel*s as homage to this grand hotel, which was torn down in the same year. For the title selection for the album, he let the fans co-ordinate with the official homepage.
Cover versions of his songs
Singer Sian Charia recorded a cover version of Eicher's "Pas d'ami" (translated into KhmerKhmer language
Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
) in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
in 1995.
German progressive metal band Vanden Plas
Vanden Plas (band)
Vanden Plas is a German progressive metal band, based in Kaiserslautern and founded in the mid 1980s. In 1991, they recorded the song "Keep On Running" as an anthem for the local national league football club FC Kaiserslautern, and did the same in 1994 with "Das Ist Für Euch"...
covered "Des Hauts, des Bas" on their AcCult
AcCult
AcCult is an acoustic EP by the German progressive metal band Vanden Plas.-Track listing:# "Pelekanos" – 0:34# "My Crying" – 4:54# Theme from "Pseudo Silk Kimono" – 0:41# "Kayleigh" – 4:56# "Father" – 5:03...
EP in 1996.
His song "Combien de Temps" has been remixed by Flood.
Experimental electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
recorded a cover version of Eicher's "No Escape."
The metalband Stahlhammer
Stahlhammer
Stahlhammer is a Neue Deutsche Härte band from Austria that formed in 1992. They incorporate elements from hardcore, groove metal, industrial metal and symphonic metal into their songs. The band has to this date produced six albums, where the majority of songs are in German...
released a cover version of "Eisbär" on their album Eisenherz.
On the newer edition of the album Wahrheit oder Pflicht
Wahrheit oder Pflicht
Wahrheit oder Pflicht is the eighth studio album by the German band Oomph!.-Track listing:# Augen Auf! - 3:20# Tausend neue Lügen - 3:56# Wenn du weinst - 4:32...
by Oomph!
Oomph!
Oomph! is a German rock band that was formed in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1989. The band is considered to be the original Neue Deutsche Härte musical group. In the 22-year history of the band, there have been no line-up changes.-Early years :...
a cover version of "Eisbär" is included as a bonus track.
Other participations
- Eicher has recorded a cover version of the jazz standard "My Funny ValentineMy Funny Valentine"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green...
". - In the past 25 years, Stephan Eicher has collaborated with numerous musicians. He also participates in many large European Festivals. I MuvriniI MuvriniI Muvrini is a Corsican folk music group who sing traditional Corsican music in their native Corsican language.-History:The group was formed in the early 1980s by the brothers Jean-François Bernardini and Alain Bernardini who were born in the village of Tagliu-Isulacciu in the north of Corsica...
(CorsicaCorsicaCorsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
), Ismael Lo (SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
), Axelle RedAxelle RedAxelle Red is a Belgian singer-songwriter.-Biography:She was born at Hasselt, Flanders, Belgium, the daughter of Roland Demal, a solicitor in Hasselt and Councillor for the Flemish Liberals and Democrats in the City Council.Nowadays a committed artist and a militant humanist, back in 1993 Axelle...
(BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), and TexasTexas (band)Texas are a Scottish pop band from Bearsden, near Glasgow, Scotland. They were founded by Johnny McElhone in 1986 and feature Sharleen Spiteri on lead vocals. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at Scotland's University of Dundee...
(UK) have all been guests on his tours. - Eicher also produces Swiss musician Tinu Heiniger.
Discography
- Eldorado (2007)
- Tour Taxi Europa (2004)
- Taxi Europa (2003)
- Hotel*s (2001)
- Louanges (1999)
- 1000 Vies (1996)
- Non Ci Badar, Guarda e Passa (1994)
- Carcassonne (1993)
- EngelbergEngelberg (Stephan Eicher album)Engelberg is a the ninth album recorded by Swiss singer Stephan Eicher, released in 1991. It contains songs in French, English and German languages. In France, it provided four successful singles : "Dejeuner en paix" , "Pas d'ami " , "Hemmige" and "Tu ne me dois rien"...
(1991) - My Place (1989)
- Silence (1987)
- I Tell This Night (1985)
- Les Chansons Bleues (1983)
- Souvenir (1982)
- Grauzone (1980)
- Noise Boys (1980)
- Eisbär (1978)