Words by Art Jefferson
Images courtesy of TRUE

Bern, Switzerland-based Dani Sarda and Rico Baumann make up the dynamic group TRUE. Both seasoned jazz musicians, the team have brought their sleek craftsmanship to the sound of electronica, resulting in a stylistic melting pot of various moods, tones and genre, cooked into their own seasoned dish.

Releasing their atmospheric single ‘Videos’ back in March of 2014, TRUE followed-up with the incredibly strong tracks ‘Colors Of My Estimation’ and ‘What I’ve Lost’ within that same year. Yet despite releasing a batch of cuts throughout 2015 and 16 including ‘Back In A Second’ and ‘Holiday Tickets’ just to name a few, gaining airplay from BBC Radio 1 and receiving loads of accolades across the web, Sarda and Baumann remained pretty low key in terms of their online presence. Whilst this concept goes against modern standards of the current online trend of digital exposure, the power of their music cut through the noise of the web, organically reaching the media and the fans, propelling them as one of the key groups to keep close watch on.

With all eyes on the Swiss duo, the next phase for TRUE is now manifested with their debut LP Wrapped In Air, a sultry and quality-driven record that fuses future R&B, pop and experimental electronica which ultimately steers in a lane of its own. Recorded in Switzerland and New York City, the album is a quick look at the past whilst progressively pushing forward into the future, and to be quite frank, the future is looking vibrantly bright for TRUE as they put the official stamp on their firm branding.

Both of you are well-trained musicians in your own right. How did you come together as a group?

Rico – I heard Dani for the first time when she was singing Jazz Standards with a very traditional combo. I think she did that only once really and I happened to be there and was blown away. Later she asked me to join her group Sarda. They already had an album out which I loved, with their own style of Italian songs. We recorded three more albums with this group.

Dani – Then Rico had a duo with a bass player and they where looking for a singer. To find out if it would fit, we made a little tour across the Netherlands together. It turned out, that Rico and I had many things in common musically and so we decided to start a new band. Unfortunately we had to kick out the bassplayer, that’s true.

One thing that I love about you two is that, although you have an online presence, you still operate in a low-key manner regarding the internet, allowing your music to spread organically with longevity. How have you managed to not get sucked so far into the current wave of the web?

Rico – Haha, you might love that, which is great, but believe me, our label doesn’t! It is true that we wanted to start things slow and easy, just see what happens and make music we like. Then we were really surprised by the overwhelming feedback we got for our first release. When our first song was played on BBC radio and 45 people called the studio because they couldn’t find us online, I thought maybe we should have listened to the warnings about our band name being almost impossible to google. It really sucks when you can’t fully reap the fruits of your work.

Dani – Every time we meet our manager he has a lot of social media tips and tools and lists and statistics and suddenly my had is spinning and I get the feeling I have to quit all the things I am doing at the moment, just to post, gram, tweet and chat…I know it’s important, but everything should be used in the right amount.

How would you compare your sound from the time of releases such as ‘Videos’ to your current work?

Dani – ‘Videos’ is a very elaborated and playful song. It is a typical first piece where you don’t think too much about where it will go or how it should sound like. It’s funny how now we got back to a similar feeling, but only because since the release of ‘Videos’ we have experienced some hard times, reflected in ‘What I’ve Lost’ for example. ‘Wrapped In Air’ celebrates the lightness of an unconventional life.

Rico – I’d say the album is more colorful and rich in different sounds and moods. We have real horns and bass on some of the songs which adds a lot. Maybe it’s also a bit more RnB-ish.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that you haven’t been afraid to be a little more experimental with the music yet everything in your production and vocals are really cohesive, which is really refreshing. In this day and age with so many acts basically creating similar styles, how have you been able to still remain fresh and distinct with your sound?

Dani – Oh, I am a master in changing my mind quickly. Sometimes Rico and I listen to some new music and instantly I tell him , we also should try this and change that and play more like this. Fortunately Rico has a very clear vision and so he gets me back on track.

Rico – I can only speak for myself, but I love things with different layers. Maybe a song is really nice and lovely but there’s something underneath that, which makes it more interesting to me. In the best case it makes you want to listen to it again. I really wanted to have an unusual element or moment in every song, one you haven’t heard a million times before and wakes you up a bit and makes you listen. But of course, that also prevents us from getting a lot of airplay on mainstream radio. Which is actually fine.

You actually had limited time whilst recording your new album Wrapped In Air. Did that add high levels of pressure to the process?

Rico – A little bit, in the end of the process at least. But I think we need that. Without it, we might never have finished the record.

Dani – Rico was really more involved than me with the whole production. But I guess the pressure also helps you to make radical decisions. Especially when you have to choose a sound, a plug-in, a reverb etc. you can miss the forrest for the trees.

One track on the new album that I found really interesting is ‘Kiss Me’. The content revolves around an affair between an older woman and a younger guy. What was the inspiration behind the song?

Dani – Ah, that’s when Rico kissed me for the first time, haha.

Rico – I’m a bit younger than Dani and when she saw me play the drums in our studio one day, all sweaty and half naked, she had to write this song. Haha, no I don’t know, honestly. Also, I never play half naked, never!

Dani – No, we where talking about the difference of flirt strategies of men and women. There is the expression “womanizer”, but on the other side women are “man-eater”, not so kind. We wanted to change the roles. “Kiss Me” describes the imagination of a women flirting, and yes, we also like younger guys.

Another song that I think many people can relate to is ‘Things Like Eternity’. In the lyrics, questions like “why do you try to change me?” are prominent. Was that based on a personal experience and in your opinion, how can people who have been in long relationships rekindle those original sparks that initially brought them together?

Dani – The beginning of this phrase is: “I’m not trying to change you, why do you try to change me.” Possibly that’s already an erroneous belief. You think that you don’t want to change somebody and in the very beginning of a relationship, you love this person exactly for all the differences. But after a while these nice little differences get on your nerves and you try to shape your partner the way you like. We can’t give any advice but for myself I try to keep up acceptance.

Finally, being based in Switzerland, does the beauty of the city play any factor in the process of you how you create music?

Rico – Switzerland is a really great comfortable place to live and I’m very grateful for being born here. We have our studio in Bern, a small city and we’re located in the centre. It’s a five minute walk to the station, but also to the river Aare, where you can swim through the city. I think many musicians here play music that is a bit rough and dirty to go against the clean perfect cuteness of the city. We on the other hand created something more glossy and glittery, which is rare for the local music scene, but reflects life in switzerland quite accurately, if you ask me.

Dani – Of course a place influences you, but it’s difficult to say how. Switzerland is a very beautiful place and despite the actual political situation worldwide we are spared from war. So we can dedicate ourselves to music. But music comes from the heart, and that’s the same in all countries I guess.

Thanks for this interesting interview!

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