Ray Wilko

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Ray Wilko (born December 20, 1968 in Bern ; real name Reto Wilk ) is a Swiss songwriter , singer and guitarist . Stylistically, you can classify it in the context of alternative rock .

Life

Wilko is the youngest child in the family and has three older sisters. He was influenced early on by bands and artists such as The Beatles , David Bowie , Neil Young , Fleetwood Mac , Cat Stevens , The Beach Boys , Queen and Electric Light Orchestra . At the age of 12 Wilko made his first musical experiences on piano and guitar . He later took keyboard and vocal lessons for a short time before he bought his first Fender Telecaster at the age of 17 and switched entirely to the electric guitar .

Ray Wilko lives with his partner and their two children in Bern , where he works as a copywriter, concept designer and musician.

Career

Before starting his solo career, Wilko played in the Bernese bands Morgenrot and Harry . The latter released the EP Farewell and the two CDs Ballyhoo and Foto Sushi .

In 1995 Wilko recorded almost all of the instruments himself in the production of his debut album Subzero - with the exception of two guest appearances: ex-Harry bassist Regula Frei can be heard on the song It's a Funny World , pianist Christian A. Müller on The Olivia Case and sound engineer Oli Bösch plays drums with In Your Way and backing vocals with Wally Wall and Snowflake . After the subsequent recording of the songs, they were released in 1996 on the Killing Time label. The opening song What's the Deal, Kim? was broadcast by Radio SRF 3 . Samuel Mumenthaler (drums), Stephan Stuwi Aebersold (guitar) and Regula Frei (ex-Harry; bass) took part in the following live concerts on the Swiss tour, which included around 20 concerts.

1998 - and after the end of the band Harry - Wilko began songwriting for his second album for the Disctrade / Earforce label . The recordings were made in the Startrack Studio in Schaffhausen (producer Tom Etter) and the album was released in July 1999 under the title Your Own Private . It caused a sensation with its cover: Wilko's face in the midst of a multitude of bare women's feet. With the song Wherever I Go Wilko landed a hit in Switzerland and won the "Silver Bunny 1999" award.

In the course of the following tour, the former Harry drummer Kaspar Würgler (pseudonym: Cab Strangler) replaced Samuel Mumenthaler. In this live formation, Wilko accepted an invitation to the South by Southwest Festival in Austin (Texas) in March 2000 and then expanded his appearances in the USA by ten shows.

During the tour Wilko wrote songs for his third album Daktari , which was released in August 2002 on the label Weltrekords and distributed by Sound Service (producer Peter von Siebenthal). Here too Wilko played most of the instruments himself. Some basic tracks for Daktari were also recorded in the Mazzivesound studio in Biel. This third CD marked Wilko's step towards groove- stressed songs in the style of Beck Hansen with influences from Weezer and David Bowie . Trumpeter Thomas Knuchel (pseudonym: Tommy Knuckles) became a new member of the band and from then on also played keyboard and percussion in the live band. The single New Dimension was put into the A rotation (Les repérages Couleur3) on the French-speaking Swiss radio station Couleur3 . This was followed by appearances in numerous clubs and festivals as well as the opening of the festival Saturday on the main stage at the Gurten Festival 2002.

Wilko wrote most of the songs for his fourth album Pinball in 2003. The recordings were made in 2003 in Justiniac in France (producer Peter von Siebenthal). Kaspar Würgler joined as the new drummer. Back in Bern, the album was completed in Peter von Siebenthal's studio and with the participation of Regula Frei (pseudonym: Reg Fry), Stuwi Aebersold (pseudonym: Stoo Oversold), Kaspar Würgler and Thomas Knuchel and released in March 2004 (Weltrekords / Sound Service ) . The single Just Can't Cope made it into the A rotation on Radio SRF 3 . During the following extensive Swiss tour with some festival appearances a. a. Wilko was accompanied by the Swiss filmmaker Dodo Hunziker ("Doklab") at the Rock Oz'Arènes in Avenches . Hunziker had the idea of ​​documenting the stony path of a Swiss rock musician in his own country. This resulted in the documentary film Wilko will , which was released on DVD in 2008. The tour finale in the Hunziken mill was broadcast on Swiss television SRF in November 2004.

In February 2008, Wilko's fifth album You And Me (Weltrekords / Sound Service) was released. Wilko deliberately sketched the demos for the album only vaguely, so that an actual band album could emerge. For the first time, with Escape and Without The Sun , two compositions by long-time lead guitarist Stuwi Aebersold are on a Wilko work. There was a change in the band: the drummer Kaspar Würgler emigrated to Denmark after the PINBALL tour and was replaced by Peter Hertig (pseudonym: Pit Lee). The album You And Me was recorded in 2007 at the Backyard Studio in Bern, produced by Wilko and the band. The tour lasted until the beginning of 2010 and again included some highlights such as an appearance at the Gurten Festival 2008.

Wilko then worked on various individual projects. In 2012 he recorded the self-written song This Is The End for The LP Collection - Hidden Treasures of Underground Music under the pseudonym "Katchaturian" . The song was released in 2013 with an animation video on YouTube and on Bandcamp .

In 2014 Wilko covered the song Robinson by the Dutch band Nits . The song is part of the 3-CD compilation Isnt Nits (Faze Records). Wilko produced a video for the song for YouTube and presented his interpretation in the Schauspielhaus Zürich together with the Isnt Nits band in the presence of Nits members Henk Hofstede , Rob Kloet and Robert Jan Stips.

Also in 2014 Wilko was a short-term member of the band The Cayman Islands with Samuel Mumenthaler , Beat Lüthi and Peter von Siebenthal. From this time comes a limited single with the songs Tomorrow's Clown and Railroad Tracks.

Since 2001 Wilko has often performed with the band TACO under the pseudonym “Nash Ville” . The name is the abbreviation for The Alternative Country Organization , which also describes the style of the band. In 2015 TACO released the debut CD Eleven Shells with original compositions by band members Bruno Dietrich (alias Hihat Earp) and the former Wilko musicians Regula Frei (alias She Riff) and Stuwi Aebersold (alias Tea Bone).

Movies

In 2003 the movie November was released , the debut of the Swiss filmmaker Luki Frieden . Together with Peter von Siebenthal, Ray Wilko worked as a co-composer on parts of the film music. Other songs by Ray Wilko (from DAKTARI) were used in the film.

In 2008, in addition to the documentary Wilko will, the feature film The Secret of Murk by the Swiss director Sabine Boss was released . Ray Wilko sings the title song Homeland, written by Christian Sommerhalder , and is featured in the film with other songs from CD PINBALL.

Discography

Ray Wilko

  • 1996: Subzero (Killing Time / Zytglogge)
  • 1999: Your Own Private (Disctrade)
  • 2002: Daktari (world records / sound service)
  • 2004: Pinball (world records / sound service)
  • 2008: You And Me (World Records / Sound Service)

With the band Harry

  • 1992: Farewell (EP, Sound Service)
  • 1994: Ballyhoo (CD, Sound Service)
  • 1998: Photo Sushi (CD, Sound Service)

With the band The Cayman Islands

  • 2014: Tomorrow's Clown / Railroad Tracks (7 "single)

With the band TACO

  • 2015: Eleven Shells (CD, Endorphin / Irascible)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harry (31) - Ballyhoo. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Harry (87) - Photo Sushi. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ray Wilko - Daktari. Retrieved October 23, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Les repérages Couleur3 - RADIO. Retrieved October 24, 2019 (French).
  5. ↑ Ray Wilko - Pinball. Retrieved October 23, 2019 .
  6. ^ THE LP COLLECTION - LP REVIEWS. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Various - Isnt Nits. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  8. ^ The Cayman Islands. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  9. ↑ TACO. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  10. ↑ November. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Luki Frieden. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Official German Charts - Official German Charts. Retrieved October 23, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Wilko, Ray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilk, Reto (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss singer-songwriter and guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 20th December 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern