Staff

STAFF

Empathic:
Related to empathy, ability to identify with someone, to feel what someone else feels.

Recorded under the guidance of David Richards (Queen, David Bowie, Iggy Pop…), “empathic” offers eleven titles exploring a wide variety of emotions. Ranging from melancholic and calm to furious and intense, the tracks of the album form a homogenous assembly putting emphasis on ambiance.

Live:
Rigorous to each detail, the live performances of STAFF are a tremendous show. An accurate use of lights underlines the work of the four units who transform the stage into a decibel palace. Doped by an overwhelming mastering of sound, STAFF takes off in an environment filled with musical contrasts. Aggressive, but always with a purpose, G’s guitar performance lays the foundations of the band’s dual construction. Admittedly a spiritual son of Les Claypool (Primus), Basshill and his 5 strings guitar bring an omnipresent groove sustained by the powerful beat of Sam and his subtle mix of electro-acoustic sound. Charismatic leader Vito then inserts his hypnotic and enraged vocal lines coming from the depths of his ambivalent being. Overall, STAFF’s show teases and tantalizes the public, it takes them far away, where only the essential remains and then leaves them with their fate, alone.

Path:
Leading band in the current stage of Valais, STAFF has been recognized almost since its first steps in the summer of 1995. Selected early through various contests opened to young Swiss talents (Marlboro New Talents, 24 heures du Rock), the band from Sierre managed each time to get the best of it, bringing themselves to the sure values of the Swiss stage. The significant evolution between their first two albums is prooving this, demonstrating a subtle attention to carving and polishing their style, never letting it stagnate, a sadly frequent scenario of bands getting past their 5 years of union.
Cumulating prestigious openings (Helmet, Dog Eat Dog) and major musical events (Bex rock festival, universal exhibition in Hannover, Germany), the STAFF engine is now running full speed.
With the desire of pushing it as far as can go, the two founders are putting themselves body and soul into the adventure since 1998. Entirely devoted to a career which they want to be professional and musical at the same time.
In order for such an adventure to achieve its goal, the band locked itself up for over a month at the mountain studio in Montreux, giving the producer Dave Richards (Queen, David Bowie) the task of shining an album intended for the European market.
Fifteen months and several lineup changes later, the record is finally available in stores. Still awaiting possible large scale distribution, STAFF is about to get on the road again. Pumped up and ready to fight the fierce music industry, the four musicians will go to the end of the way, whether it is paved with gold or with pain.