Morcheeba
With its gentle and introspective songs diffused by the voice of Skye Edwards, Morcheeba embodies a peaceful line of British trip-hop, with rare longevity.
It all began with a fortuitous encounter during an evening in London, 30 years ago. Ross Godfrey, then an 18-year-old multi-instrumentalist from Kent, heard about Skye Edwards, a young singer-songwriter from East London. He invited her to his home to sing, and she arrived with her guitar and gently sang a song. They immediately became friends. And Morcheeba was born.
The pioneer of an accessible form of electronic music with a strong female voice, and a cousin of other British trip-hop bands of the 1990s such as Massive Attack and Portishead, to date the group has produced 10 studio albums and sold more than 10 million records. At the request of Chaka Khan, Morcheeba was also one of the headline acts in the Meltdown Festival in 2023.
Combining sweetness, lyricism and gravity, the band’s 11th album, Escape The Chaos, has a tension running through it between meticulous electronic music and organic instrumentals. Recorded over 2 years, it combines familial collaborations and those with guests such as the rapper Oscar #Worldpeace and the Columbian flautist El Léon Pardo.
Its opening song, Call For Love, calls for appeasement, inclusion and solidarity, and Skye’s voice cuts through the 12 tracks with inspiring emotional power. “Music will not change the world, but it can bring inner peace”, says the singer about this opus that was released in 2025.
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Lea Maria Fries
Trained in academic jazz, Lea is asserting herself today in an experimental vein. Part of the fertile Swiss scene, she adds her distinctive vocals to the electro layers of the Cleo album.
While the voice and charisma of Lea are reminiscent of the explorations of Mélanie De Biasio and the presence and captivating timbre of Beth Gibbons, her singularity is clear. Her pop-like compositions are alternative and rooted in jazz, with one foot in experimental rock.
Born with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop, close to the famous Willisau Festival, she first learned that she was a jazz singer, and then more broadly, a musician. Lea practised her scat scales and became interested in free jazz, before moving away from “singing correctly” to try out improvisation. “I am intuitive, better when I haven’t prepared anything,” explains the singer.
Trained at the Haute École de Jazz in Lucerne, she has collaborated with ensembles such as Vsitor, For A World, and the captivating Et.nu. She also audaciously directed her own quartet, 22° Halo. In the Cleo album, she composed most of the lyrics and music. The 11 compositions and the reworking of this contemporary opus were arranged by her companion in creation, Julien Herné.
The place of women in the arts is central for this singer-songwriter, who is passionate about Cleopatra and tells us how to become a queen. On stage, she asserts a presence that is both “classy and trashy”.
