Clapophonic - Rooftop (2020)

Rooftop is the debut album from Clapophonic, a young Swiss jazz quartet whose compositions create a rich musical tapestry of colours and contrasts. From the rooftops of Biel by way of New York and London, their music is both written and improvised, taking in elements of hip hop, nu-soul and disco along the way.

Band leader Josua Beureux was born in Munich in 1991 but grew up in Switzerland in a bilingual family in Biel. After his first contact with the Basel drum as an eight-year-old, he discovered drums and classical percussion at the Biel Music School with Walter Fankhauser, before he was drawn to the Swiss Jazz School 9 years later. In addition to the five years of study with a Master's degree in Jazz & Contemporary Music at the Bern University of the Arts, he also studied in New York at 'The New School - School of Jazz'.

Michael Gilsenan on tenor sax began playing tenor saxophone at the age of twelve with Raphael Zehnder. During his apprenticeship as a carpenter, he completes the preliminary course at the Swiss Jazzschool. In the year 2013 Michael completed his studies at the Jazz Department of the Bern University of the Arts. There he studied with Lutz Häfner, Peter Gromer and Frank Sikora.

Billy Utermann began on the violin at the age of 6 before switching to his instrument of choice, the piano, at 13. In addition to his band (syllicre trëow) he is also active in many different bands and styles, such as Antydot' (pop - FR), Caroline Alves (pop / soul), Transit Quartet (acoustic jazz) and Monkey Strikes Back (nu jazz).

Finally, on bass is Benjamin Murait whobegan who began studying jazz at the Bern University of the Arts in 2011. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in the summer of 2014 and in the same year was awarded the Friedl Wald Foundation's Advancement Award.