Fräkmündt is a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

project from

Central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Statist ...

. The band calls its musical style "Ur-Folk". They re-interpret old folk songs of their region and create new songs based on legends, stories and the iconic landscape of central

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The music consists of elements of traditional

Volksmusik Alpine folk music (german: Alpenländische Volksmusik; German's ''Volksmusik'' means "people's music" or as a Germanic connotative translation, "folk's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk m ...

from Switzerland as well as folk music from other regions, but also many other different styles of music. The project thus follows the old spirit of Swiss folk music, that has always been a constantly changing and growing mixture of different influences paired with local

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. The lyrics are written and performed in the local

High Alemannic German High Alemannic is a dialect of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Language area The High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Liechtenstein and in most of German-speaking ...

dialect. Since their formation in 2009, Fräkmündt have managed to get the attention of an international audience and their albums were positively reviewed in several countries. The denomination Fräkmündt was the old name of

Mount Pilatus Pilatus, also often referred to as Mount Pilatus, is a mountain massif overlooking Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It is composed of several peaks, of which the highest () is named ''Tomlishorn''. Geography and transport The whole mountain ...

, a mysterious mountain range near

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

History

Fräkmündt was founded in 2009 by Käthi, Chregu and Res. In 2010, they released a demo tape called ''Losid vo Bärge ond Tal'', as well as their debut album: ''Urbärglieder''. The same year,

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vio ...

player Anneli ( Anna Murphy) became a member of the band. With the song "D'Draachejongfer", Fräkmündt took part in the 2010 pre-selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, but did not make it to the finals. Soon thereafter, they released the conceptual EP ''Uufwärts e d'Föuse, bärgwärts e d'Rueh''. In 2011 Guschti, who was previously a session guitar player, became a permanent member of the band. At the end of the same year the second full length ''Heiwehland'', which translates to ''Land of Nostalgia'' was released. Merlin Sutter (

Eluveitie Eluveitie ( ; )Chrigel Glanzmann: "...According to current research, it is pronounced in Bernese German as, i.e. ''"Elvèyti"''. But I don't know if this is correct. The gods know that.:: Metalist Magazine :: Interviews :: Eluveitie is a Swiss f ...

) recorded the drums for the entire album and guest vocals were provided by

Chrigel Glanzmann Christian Oliver Ivan Glanzmann (born 26 May 1975) is a Swiss musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, best known as the male lead vocalist of Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. He also plays mandola, whistles, and bagpipes in Branâ Keter ...

(

) and the opera singer Christiane Boesiger. In 2012, Chregu left the band, while in 2013 Hans Hagu (drums) and Ursula Schälle (cowbells) joined. In 2013, Fräkmündt changed labels and signed with Auerbach Tonträger, a sub-label of

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

, where their newest album, ''Landlieder & Frömdländler'', was released as a digi-CD, vinyl version with poster and a limited book version with a bonus CD.Fräkmündt label website
, prophecy.de, last viewed 8 September 2014

Discography

* 2010: ''Losid vo Bärge ond Tal (self released) * 2010: ''Urbärglieder'' (Steinklang/Percht, re-released on Auerbach/Prophecy) * 2010: ''Uufwärts e d'Föuse, bärgwärts e d'Rueh'' (Steinklang/Percht, re-released on Auerbach/Prophecy) * 2011: ''Heiwehland'' (Steinklang/Percht, re-released on Auerbach/Prophecy) * 2014: ''Landlieder & Frömdländler'' (Auerbach/Prophecy)

Contributions for compilations

* 2010: ''Oak Folk'' (Steinklang/Ahnstern, with the song ''Eiche, Tüüfu, Geissebueb'') * 2011: ''Mit fester Hand - Allerseelenlieder'' (Steinklang/Ahnstern, with the song ''Firnföuskamerad'')

Members

* Res – vocals, jaw harp, harmonica, percussion * Anneli – hurdy-gurdy, whistles, bass, vocals * Käthi – accordion * Guschti – guitar * Hans Hagu – drums * Ursula Schälle – cowbells

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frakmundt Neofolk music groups Swiss folk music groups