The double bassist, bass player and singer from Vaud Louise Knobil, alias Knobil, never stops. His first EP, “Or Not Knobil”, was released in March and since then we hear him everywhere, from Cully Jazz to Paléo, via Montreux Jazz. Other Swiss dates and tours in Europe are also planned.
Knobil is an adjective coming from Yiddish, a dialect of Hebrew spoken by the Jews of Eastern Europe. It literally means “someone who smells of garlic” and figuratively “someone weird”. “Depending on the meals, I recognize myself as much in one as the other!, jokes Louise Knobil, interviewed by RTS. It’s a rather strange surname.”
The family of the musician is indeed rather atypical. Although both of her parents worked in the theater world, it was in music that the young Louise would embark. First with the clarinet in his childhood, then the electric bass during his adolescence. Student at the HEMU in Lausanne, she plays with the rock band The Queen’s Underwear, while discovering jazz and the double bass. During confinement, Louise Knobil begins to sing while playing. The Knobil project was born, both jazz and rebel. His first EP, “Or Not Knobil”, was released last March.
>> To watch: Knobil’s “Universe” music video
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The double bass, his favorite instrument
Since then, Louise Knobil and her musicians have not stopped. After numerous concerts in clubs in Switzerland and abroad, the Cully Jazz, the M4Music Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival jam and two concerts on the HES stage of the Paléo, she plays at six in the morning by the lake Léman in Lausanne before leaving for the Musicalités d’Annemasse, in neighboring France, the same day. “I give concerts every twelve hours!” laughs the musician, who organizes her own tours, including one in duet with guitarist and singer Félicien Lia in Switzerland, France and Germany. “Knobiloscope”, a concert-recital set up with his father, the director and author Benjamin Knobil, is also planned for this fall.
When asked about her favorite instrument, Louise Knobile replies without hesitation: “The double bass. It’s more difficult than the electric bass, on the other hand, we create everything from start to finish. We choose exactly the notes and the sound you want to play. The fact that the double bass vibrates creates an acoustic sensation that you feel against you, which I don’t have with the electric bass. It’s a little maniacal delirium of control.”
>> Also to watch: Louise Knobil, a jazz lover (Ramdam broadcast, April 13, 2023)
Louise Knobil, a jazz lover / Ramdam / 5 min. / April 13, 2023
eco-responsible music
When it comes to getting to a concert venue, Louise Knobil and her band take public transport whenever possible. “The problem when you do a lot of tours around the world – my biggest dream – is the ecological footprint left by transport. My goal is to be able to shoot entirely by train or electric vehicle by reducing as much as possible my carbon footprint, while keeping the comfort of being able to move instruments without having to fight with other passengers!”
And if we invite him to play in Japan for example? “I will make sure that the plane trip makes sense in relation to the number of dates there, staying at least three weeks.”
of alternative culture
Given her contrarian look and music, Knobil feels increasingly militant. “Unfortunately in 2023, being a woman on stage is still a political act. I don’t hide it and my lyrics are more and more about things that are out of line with the norm, like queer love and happiness. These themes affect everyone, but highlight people we hear little about.”
Among the artists who inspire her, she cites the American double bassist, singer and arranger Esperanza Spalding. “She’s one of the geniuses in jazz at the moment. Thanks to her, I realized that it was possible to compose and play the double bass at the same time, but also to make electric bass while playing with lots of different people. Esperanza Spalding is a role model. Plus, she looks fun in everyday life. It’s as unbearable as it is gratifying!”
Interview by Francesco Biamonte
Adaptation web: Myriam Semaani
Knobil, in concert at Nova Jazz, Yverdon-Les-Bains, on July 29; at the Dépanneur in Lavaux, July 30; in Summer under the chestnut trees, Nyon, August 19; at the Bains des Pâquis, Geneva, on August 23, 2023.
2023-07-28 22:00:52
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