Iconic Swiss band ‘The Beauty Of Gemina’ finally release their new album, ‘Skeleton Dreams’ in the UK on 5th February 2021. With the album is already climbing the charts in their homeland, front man Michael Sele dropped by to give us a track by track guide to the album.
In Spring 2019 Michael Sele, mastermind behind The Beauty of Gemina, unexpectedly had to undergo major and complex heart surgery. As a result, his world was turned upside down for months and things would never be quite the same again. Following this, Sele needed to recover, process what had happened and regain his strength. This time turned out to be a highly productive period, full of creativity, with the result - ‘Skeleton Dreams’ that has been produced by Sele alongside long-time friend Philipp Küng.
The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Sele’s in his studio buried beneath the “Altes Kino Mels”. This small-scale theatre is situated in the pretty village of Mels, overshadowed by the imposing Pizol mountain and a place that the musician has long made his home and creative base.
The new music fully reflects the fascinating and unmistakable mix of warm, hypnotic blues, ambient melancholia, earthy and indie-influenced folk that their fans have come to know and love over the years. The songs are full of vitality and intensity, are sometimes energetic, sometimes celestial, sometimes pure, innocent and reduced to their bare essentials, but are always full of power and poetic.
‘Skeleton Dreams’ is a 12-track album that includes a special remix of ‘Where Has It All Gone’ and one of Sele’s rare cover versions of ‘Nine While Nine’ by Sisters of Mercy. Each song is carried by the pleasingly dark timbre of Michael's voice and the tangible charisma he transmits through each and every note. Rarely has a voice been so multi-faceted and full of presence, have melodies been so revealing, absorbing and yet somehow unconventional and full of contradictions.
Last Autumn, for his achievements as a musician, composer and singer, Sele was awarded the Gonzen Cultural Prize. Earlier that year, he had collaborated with renowned German actress Katharina Thalbach on the highly acclaimed theatrical event “Schatten überdem Nichts” [“Shadows Over The Void”], which was premiered at a number of Switzerland’s leading theatres.
Over the last 15 years and 9 album releases, the band have performed over 250 gigs in 25 countries! The soundscapes have evolved and changed with each new album, challenging and surprising the band’s loyal and ever-growing community of worldwide fans again and again.
Below, Michael takes us through the set.
The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Sele’s in his studio buried beneath the “Altes Kino Mels”. This small-scale theatre is situated in the pretty village of Mels, overshadowed by the imposing Pizol mountain and a place that the musician has long made his home and creative base.
The new music fully reflects the fascinating and unmistakable mix of warm, hypnotic blues, ambient melancholia, earthy and indie-influenced folk that their fans have come to know and love over the years. The songs are full of vitality and intensity, are sometimes energetic, sometimes celestial, sometimes pure, innocent and reduced to their bare essentials, but are always full of power and poetic.
‘Skeleton Dreams’ is a 12-track album that includes a special remix of ‘Where Has It All Gone’ and one of Sele’s rare cover versions of ‘Nine While Nine’ by Sisters of Mercy. Each song is carried by the pleasingly dark timbre of Michael's voice and the tangible charisma he transmits through each and every note. Rarely has a voice been so multi-faceted and full of presence, have melodies been so revealing, absorbing and yet somehow unconventional and full of contradictions.
Last Autumn, for his achievements as a musician, composer and singer, Sele was awarded the Gonzen Cultural Prize. Earlier that year, he had collaborated with renowned German actress Katharina Thalbach on the highly acclaimed theatrical event “Schatten überdem Nichts” [“Shadows Over The Void”], which was premiered at a number of Switzerland’s leading theatres.
Over the last 15 years and 9 album releases, the band have performed over 250 gigs in 25 countries! The soundscapes have evolved and changed with each new album, challenging and surprising the band’s loyal and ever-growing community of worldwide fans again and again.
Below, Michael takes us through the set.
01 - A Night Like This
“I close my eyes for a thousand years … “
The track takes you on a mystical and pulsative journey through the night. Reality and unreality become difficult to differentiate. The past, the future, life - death or dissolution....... with the mirror as a symbol to feel alive again- to be strong and positive.
02 - Naked
“And I feel naked … “
This is a very personal song and probably one of my all-time favourite love songs. To feel naked, unarmed, unprotected, without walls and borders. How to love without expecting anything in return.
03 – Maybe God knows
“Let’s talk about love, let’s talk about hate, I don’t know the thin line in between – maybe God knows … “
There are so many questions in our modern world and we’re all looking for answers and so often we feel lost but we have to understand that we’re all in charge. We have to take responsibility for solutions.
04 - Friends Of Mine
“Where are you dear friends of mine … “
This is a kind of a swan song. At the end I ask a fictional audience. Who will be at my side at the end? What will be remembered? What will be left?
05 - Resurgence
“The howling wind from a mountain so high … “
A song about the gamut of emotions in a long-term relationship. From a mountain so high to a water so deep.
06 – Where Has It All Gone
“Still time for hope … “
Asking questions is one of the main themes of the Skeleton Dreams concept. Going to the “bones” of things. There are two versions of the song on the album, the second is a bonus electronic version of the track.
07- Rainbow Man
“I’m a rainbow dancer, I’m dancing in the sun but my heart is full of rain… “
The Rainbow Man is one of these strange characters I really like to create and to slip into. In this song the rainbow man is talking about the colours of life and death.
08 – Dark Suzanne
“There’s no truth when the lovers are tired – in the night … “
One of the best things about being a songwriter is that you can invent people and give them a character, a story, a drama. What do we believe? Will there be a happy ending?
09 - Nine While Nine
“Nine while nine and I’m waiting for the train…"
The only cover on the album –by the Sisters of Mercy song as the atmosphere was a perfect fit for the record.
10 – I Come To Grief
“I feel a funeral in my mind … “
There was a very similar line (I felt a funeral, in my brain) in a wonderful poem of the great American poet Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) that inspired me to this song.
“I close my eyes for a thousand years … “
The track takes you on a mystical and pulsative journey through the night. Reality and unreality become difficult to differentiate. The past, the future, life - death or dissolution....... with the mirror as a symbol to feel alive again- to be strong and positive.
02 - Naked
“And I feel naked … “
This is a very personal song and probably one of my all-time favourite love songs. To feel naked, unarmed, unprotected, without walls and borders. How to love without expecting anything in return.
03 – Maybe God knows
“Let’s talk about love, let’s talk about hate, I don’t know the thin line in between – maybe God knows … “
There are so many questions in our modern world and we’re all looking for answers and so often we feel lost but we have to understand that we’re all in charge. We have to take responsibility for solutions.
04 - Friends Of Mine
“Where are you dear friends of mine … “
This is a kind of a swan song. At the end I ask a fictional audience. Who will be at my side at the end? What will be remembered? What will be left?
05 - Resurgence
“The howling wind from a mountain so high … “
A song about the gamut of emotions in a long-term relationship. From a mountain so high to a water so deep.
06 – Where Has It All Gone
“Still time for hope … “
Asking questions is one of the main themes of the Skeleton Dreams concept. Going to the “bones” of things. There are two versions of the song on the album, the second is a bonus electronic version of the track.
07- Rainbow Man
“I’m a rainbow dancer, I’m dancing in the sun but my heart is full of rain… “
The Rainbow Man is one of these strange characters I really like to create and to slip into. In this song the rainbow man is talking about the colours of life and death.
08 – Dark Suzanne
“There’s no truth when the lovers are tired – in the night … “
One of the best things about being a songwriter is that you can invent people and give them a character, a story, a drama. What do we believe? Will there be a happy ending?
09 - Nine While Nine
“Nine while nine and I’m waiting for the train…"
The only cover on the album –by the Sisters of Mercy song as the atmosphere was a perfect fit for the record.
10 – I Come To Grief
“I feel a funeral in my mind … “
There was a very similar line (I felt a funeral, in my brain) in a wonderful poem of the great American poet Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) that inspired me to this song.
11 - Apologise
“I want to apologise for you … “
This song is full of light and darkness about the human dilemma, knowing the time to say good-bye but having no words to say.
12 - The World Is Going On
“It’s your own fading light – why can’t you see? …. “
A song about solidarity, humanity and confidence consistent with these extraordinary times.
13 – Hold On To This Night
“Stay near to me in this velvet shine, near as the grapes to the seducing vine. And we taste the vine tonight … “
The last dream and final song of the album is a kind of a reprise to the opener of the album. The one and final night with no time for regrets or hesitation. The only goal is keeping the moment for now and ever.
'Skeleton Dreams' is released on 5th February 2021. Check it out on the Spotify playlist below.
“I want to apologise for you … “
This song is full of light and darkness about the human dilemma, knowing the time to say good-bye but having no words to say.
12 - The World Is Going On
“It’s your own fading light – why can’t you see? …. “
A song about solidarity, humanity and confidence consistent with these extraordinary times.
13 – Hold On To This Night
“Stay near to me in this velvet shine, near as the grapes to the seducing vine. And we taste the vine tonight … “
The last dream and final song of the album is a kind of a reprise to the opener of the album. The one and final night with no time for regrets or hesitation. The only goal is keeping the moment for now and ever.
'Skeleton Dreams' is released on 5th February 2021. Check it out on the Spotify playlist below.
