They yodel in Switzerland !: Aristide Padygros

Even if I didn’t post a lot of Swiss yodels, I’m sure you’ve heard them before. They mostly come from the German speaking part of the country, the French speaking part being underrepresented in yodel terms. But they exist, sometimes in strange and crazy forms. This week, I would like to speak about Aristide Padygros. Be ready for big moustaches and long hair !

The band was founded in 1970 by Olivier Cabanel in Geneva with Swiss and French members. They were part of the folk revival movement in Europe and made a name in the folk circuit with their not so serious albums, their sense of improvisation and party. The repertoire was inspired by the folk musics of different countries like France, Belgium, Switzerland and American styles like cajun or Canadian music. In the seventies, they made lots of concerts, playing at Paris famous Olympia, meeting French humorist and stand-up comedian Coluche, making a tv-movie for Swiss television in the Monty Python vein (L’irrésistible ascension des Padygros) and recorded four LP’s. In 1978, Olivier Cabanel left the group and began a solo career, while being very active in the defense of the environment. An other member of the group, Alain Monney, works now for the Swiss television, writes books and creates graphic art.

The two songs presented here are from the album Aristide Padygros, released in 1976 (original rip from the vinyl, with some cracks). The first one, Kosmick Zeuerli is a 34 seconds long yodel sounding a bit like a Gregorian song or as the title says it, like a cosmic thing. The second one, Der Landema tanst reveals the skill of a good yodeler, but I don’t know who he is. It is played in a Swiss traditional instrumental style, but as seen through the folk revival.

Kosmick Zeuerli

Der Landema tanst