Bligg and Marc Sway aka BLAY will perform their successful album "Heimspiel" live for the first time at the Baloise Session @home on July 19 at 7 pm. A conversation with the two musicians.
Ticketcorner: Monday is the Swiss world premiere, so to speak, for your album "Heimspiel". How are the preparations for the Baloise Session @home going?
Sway: We're already hard at work rehearsing. It's also a special moment for us because it's BLAY's first live performance. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and to perform our dialect music for the whole world at the Baloise Session - I still think that's fun.
What about the preparations for the first club/hall stadium shows?
Sway: The fact that we're not physically in front of an audience doesn't change the fact that we're already preparing with the band for the Baloise Session and also for the club tour next spring and the Hallenstadion show in December.
Bligg: The Baloise Session is certainly the initial spark for the later shows. As we play 60 minutes here - instead of 90 minutes at our concerts - everyone who sees the Baloise Session now will certainly have reasons to come to our shows - even if it's just to stand together in the hall.
Sway: Gell, we wouldn't even be able to manage 90 minutes now (laughs).
There will be a small number of guests on site on Monday. What does the personal scent of a concert mean to you?
Bligg: We're really looking forward to it. We haven't been on stage for over a year now. Sure, there was still the Drive-In Festival, but routine had to take a back seat. We're back to rehearsing, oiling, greasing and lubricating. Of course it's not the same as usual, but the fact that there will be people there certainly helps to get a bit of that feeling back.
Speaking of feeling with the fans: do you have a funny travel story with the BLAY mobile?
Sway: One? (laughs) We were on the road for five weeks and covered 5,000 kilometers. The vehicle is from 1993 - so there were rather funny stories for the people outside who watched us having to push the old car because it didn't want to go up the hill.
Everyone had their own ritual. But what we still need is a common BLAY ritual!
Marc Sway
Do you have a concert ritual?
Sway: Everyone had their own ritual. But what we still need is a common BLAY ritual!
Bligg: In my solo career, it was the alcohol, and that's how my own, the Tannenschnaps, came about - against the nervousness.
Sway: We always come together and always have to eat.
Both: That's great - we do a melange: we eat something first and then drink a schnapps.
On another topic. How did you follow the European Championships?
Both: Highly emotional!
Sway: We can't resist the European Championships and the World Cup. The Italian team was great - they were like a band. They want to create something cool together, relaxed and with humor.
Bligg: It's also in line with what BLAY does. As you can see from our jackets, we've taken inspiration from the world of sport - our album is called Heimspiel. Our final concert will be in the Hallenstadion, which is THE sports stadium for Zurich locals.
Sway: The only difference is that we don't have any substitutes. There's no break for us.
Were you able to pursue a hobby during the lockdown?
Bligg: I became a father during the first lockdown - that's enough of a hobby (laughs). No, we weren't bored. We started the whole BLAY project during this time. Fun fact: We also founded a company for BLAY.
The lockdown is the reason why we exist in this formation now.
Sway: We really worked a lot during this time, made an album, toured with the camper and set up video channels.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the fans for their support, for buying tickets and thinking of better times. It's important that we all pull together to ensure that culture and music continue even after this pandemic. This is only possible if we believe in something and all believe in the same thing together. So thank you very much to everyone who has bought tickets and is still attending despite postponements. That's a big thank you on behalf of us and the cultural scene.
Do you have any words for the fans for Monday?
Bligg: We're a bit nervous because it's the first time we've played live music in this formation for a long time. It's a special situation because we're streaming. Personally, I'm used to it with an audience. It's a world premiere with BLAY, of course with one or two solo hits. We're looking forward to it.
Sway: Ineluege!
As always, you can also watch the stream of the Baloise Session @home on our Facebook page.
BLAY
26.03.2022, Kulturfabrik Kofmehl Solothurn
10.12.2022, Hallenstadion Zurich
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