engelberg_magazin_nummer17_winter

Die Plattentaufe zur CD «Alphornliädli» fin- det am 12. Dezember 2015 im Kursaal Engelberg statt. Weitere Informationen unter: www.el- ritschi.ch und www.alphorn-quartett.ch

Der Weg in die Spannorthüt- te war den Musikern nicht zu weit. Sie genossen die spezielle Atmosphäre auf 1956 m.ü.M. The musicians enjoyed the special atmosphere 1,956 metres above sea level.

The A lphorn liäd li a lbum launch par ty is on 12 December 2015 in Engelberg’s Kursaa l venue. For more information, v isit www.elritschi.ch and www.a lphorn-quar tet t.ch.

Engelberg native ELRITSCHI loves his home in the mountains, and he loves playing the guitar and singing. He combines his passions by composing and singing songs in broad local dialect about Engelberg sites that have captured his heart, such as the Grassenbiwak mountain lodge and the Zieblen cableway. This winter sees the release of his new album, which, thanks to a collaboration with Engelberg Alpine horn quintet Echo vom Spannort, features even more sounds of home. As a Boy Scout, Richard Blat ter, aka

when I was rea lly missing my dad, who had died, that I took on this new projec t,” explains ELRITSCHI. “In 2003, I f ina lly did my f irst gig as a solo ar tist.” He can f ill an entire room with his voice, and his songs transpor t audi- ences on a journey through the mountains – to the Grassenbiwak lodge, for example. His music and clever wordplay require an at ten- tive audience. “On ly then can I think up great stories for between the songs when I’m on stage.” ELRITSCHI used to sing in English too, but a ll the tracks on his new a lbum A lphorn-

ELRITSCHI, found that he cou ld enter tain people by play ing simple guitar chords and singing his own ly rics. “I was an unremarkable young fellow but I soon rea lised that I cou ld amaze people

liäd li are in loca l dia lec t. “The sing-song rhy thm of ‘Ängel- bärger Duitsch ’, Engelberg German, lends itself well to the music,” he explains. The idea to record an a lbum with A lpine horn

ELRITSCHI tells stories with his songs, most of them about Engelberg.

with my music,” he says. But the idea of re- leasing his own a lbum hadn’ t yet crossed his mind. Before that cou ld happen, he needed a push in the right direc tion, and some time ref lec ting on his love for his late father. When Richard ’s seven-piece band Jolly and the Fly trap played their f irst gig at Engel- berg’s cinema in 1989, the boys rea lised that they didn’ t have enough songs in their rep- er toire to enter tain the surprisingly large audience. “They said: ‘Ritschi, get on stage and sing your solo pieces’,” remembers Rich- ard, now a 46-year-old father of three. He obliged and, much like when he was a Boy Scout, the crowd went crazy. With just a few chords – he has never had guitar lessons and can’ t read music – teamed with simple ly rics about the loca l area and a dash of irony, he managed to enchant his audience. But de- spite his success, the band still came f irst. His father had a lways encouraged him to release a solo a lbum. “It wasn’ t until 2000,

group Echo vom Spannor t didn’ t come f rom ELRITSCHI. “As is so of ten the case, I had to be given a lit tle push in the right direc tion to f ind the inspiration I needed,” he laughs. Thomas Infanger, one of the A lpine horn players, asked him to write a song in natura l harmonics so that they cou ld play it together. That meant he cou ld on ly use three guitar chords. “Because I’m a fan of simplicity, this task was a gorgeous one for me,” says ELRITSCHI, referring to their f irst collaborative track “Grassäbiwak ”. That one song then led to an entire a lbum, featur- ing collaborations between ELRITSCHI and the A lpine horn players as well as tracks that each per formed on their own. The a lbum is rounded of f with the sounds of percussionist Werner Häcki, Richard ’s fellow band member in Jolly and the Fly trap. The a lbum is far f rom the mainstream and will cer tain ly not be played over and over on the radio. But it will bring a smile to many people’s faces, par ticu larly those who appreciate authentic, A lpine sounds.

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kultur | arts+culture

kultur | arts+culture