Goldbarne — Wintergreen

With their second release «Wintergreen», Swiss band Goldbarne are taking you on a journey into their world – a world filled with memories of past loves and unspoken dreams, of rolling hills and clouds filled with snow and thunder. Guitarist Dragan Pijetlovic (Balkan Flavours), double bassist Marian Rivar and vocalist, lyricist and theater performer Frank Wenzel have created a semi-acoustic sound that is luminous, sad and quietly grand. Together, they unite their individual backgrounds: the sounds and vibes of folk-pop and blues, the intricate weavings and rhythms found in jazz and the rich history and atmosphere of classical music. And while their sound abounds with melancholy, they never lose sight of the hope that lies underneath.

For «Wintergreen», Goldbarne invited the renowned musicians Valeria Zangger (percussion; recipient of the Canton Graubünden sponsorship award 2013, Pieree Favre’s The Drummers),Mario Batkovic (accordion; ex-Kummerbuben, recipient of the Canton Bern music recognition award 2015) and Faruk Muslijevic (keys, Balkan Flavours, Baba Roga) and Toni Schiavano (electric bass; Müslüm) to complete their sound. Goldbarne’s roots go back to the leafy hills of northwestern Switzerland, where Dragan Pijetlovic and Frank Wenzel met in school. While Dragan had discovered the guitar, Frank took to singing, writing and the stage, and both dreamed the dreams of seventeen-year-olds and were making plans of having a band together. Life intervened and they both lost touch for a decade. It wasn’t until Dragan graduated from the Lucerne School of Music as a professional guitarist that the two got back together. Frank already had a degree in drama and was about to get another degree in English Literature, and they decided that they should pick up where they had left off and write music together.