After establishing themselves with a string of vibrant releases these last few years, Swiss outfit Juicy Lemon Club recently returned to deliver their eagerly-awaited debut EP 'Sleepless'.
Featuring the previously shared singles '21. Night Of May', 'Yours To Claim' and 'Rewind', this new five-track collection makes for an incredibly bright and euphoric listen. Filled with warm and glossy disco-inspired grooves, a shimmering atmosphere, and captivating vocals layered throughout, 'Sleepless' continues to cement them as one of the more exciting names on the rise right now.
So with the new EP available to stream now, we sat down with singer, guitarist, and songwriter Berenice Courvoisier to find out more about her origins and what has been inspiring her most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
The voice! When I was six years old, I joined a choir because I thought, well no, I still think, singing together is one of the most fascinating and beautiful things you can do. Later I discovered that the voice is so much more than "just" a lead vocal; it’s an instrument and a very versatile one at that.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
Well, everyone in this band had a Beatles phase in their youth at some point. Other than that we all come from quite different musical genres, I think. My dad would always make us listen to one of his many classical music vinyls at Sunday breakfast (a little bit snobby, yes) and then to a lot of jazz & big band music while cooking dinner later, while my mum would take me to operas, which is something I found very hard to appreciate as a kid. ABBA was my favourite band for a long time but then also I was introduced to great singers such as Adele, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Amy Winehouse, whose albums I also listened to literally on repeat.
What was the first album you remember owning?
The first album, well, albums I owned, was a collection of all ABBA albums (surprise, surprise). And if you dared me to, I would still be able to sing along to every song and know the lyrics perfectly.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
There are about a million of them. One that I fall in love with every time I hear it is Gravity by John Mayer. What a brilliant song! It is so simple and yet complex in its meaning. But then also there are a lot of beautiful Bruno Major tunes that are just perfect both lyrically and harmonically.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Not at all and that is a very scary thing. I have this fear (a lot of writers have it, I think) that I will never be able to write another good song. There is not one approach to writing a song that always works. Also, inspiration is a tricky thing because it is not really in your hands. You only have control over it to a certain degree. So, as a consequence songwriting often feels a little bit like an accident or like trial and error. For me, it comes in phases. there are very inspirational times when I write four, or five songs in a few weeks but then there are also months where I come up with two rough sketches and some melody. What sometimes helps though, and this is where playing in a band comes in handy, is bouncing off and sharing ideas with other musicians and writers to overcome this inspirational hole.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
At the moment, I have a phase of listening to Novo Amor, Zaho de Zagazin, and classical choir music a lot. For some reason, this rather wild combination of genres brings my sometimes troubled mind a lot of peace. I love Novo Amor's songwriting and arrangements, while for Zaho de Zagazin it is really the voice I cannot get enough of. And then there’s classical choir music and it is so touching in its directness, its harmonical clarity, and the fact that it's only voices.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Mmh, well, we as a band are very much inspired by bands like Daft Punk, Parcels, L’Impératrice, and JEREMIAS, so opening a show for one of them would be wild.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
One of the most beautiful things, I find, and I think I am speaking for all band members here, is that moment after a concert when people come up to you with a bright smile, thanking you for the show and for letting them have a good time. Being happy because you played a show is great, but knowing you made other people happy with it too is so much better. For me as a writer, I also find it very rewarding when people tell me that they can relate to a song, an emotion evoked by a certain image. Then you have managed to capture something that goes beyond your own experience, your own world. That is something I very much admire in other artists’ writing, so when someone says that about a song that I wrote, I perceive it as a massive compliment.
And what is the most frustrating part?
What we as a band experience as difficult is the fact that there seems to be an input/output imbalance. A lot of people do not seem to understand that having a band is extremely time and energy-consuming and it does not leave a lot of space for studies, work or a personal life. The dream would of course be to be able to live off the money we make with our own music and playing concerts but that is simply not the case (yet). It often feels like an unsustainable situation. But then we are also not really ready to give up on our dream just yet.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Well, I think the best piece of advice I have received, and it goes beyond making music, is to never lose sight of why I am doing this. It is not about money, it is not about being the best, it is not about being admired. There is no point in constantly comparing yourself and your music to others. It is about that feeling of fulfilment, of joy when being on stage with your friends to play a show. It is about the happiness.
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Juicy Lemon Club's new EP 'Sleepless' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.