Sha's Feckel

Sha's Feckel is a Swiss jazz-rock band led by saxophonist and composer Stefan Haslebacher, known professionally as Sha, based in Bern, Switzerland. The band blends jazz improvisation, progressive rock, and math rock into a high-energy, tightly arranged sound that has drawn comparisons to Van der Graaf Generator.

Members

• Sha (Stefan Haslebacher), saxophone, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet; band leader and composer
• Urs Müller, guitar
• Sarah Zaugg, bass
• Kaspar Rast, drums

Former members include bassist Lionel Gafner.

History

Sha's Feckel was formed in 2011 by Stefan Haslebacher, who studied at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. There he earned a Bachelor of Arts in music in 2008, a Master of Arts in music, Performance Jazz in 2010, and a Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy in 2011. During his studies he was awarded second place at the ZKB Jazzpreis with his earlier ensemble Sha's Banryu in 2008 and 2009. He received a Tanzmusikkomposition prize from Pro Helvetia in 2009 and a promotion prize from the Axelle und Max Koch Stiftung in 2010.

Haslebacher is also a long-standing member of Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, with which he has recorded for ECM Records and toured extensively through Europe, Japan, China, South Africa, and the United States.

Musical style

Sha's Feckel's debut album Greatest Hits (2012) was recorded live at Zurich's Kaufleuten club. In addition to two covers of songs by the British post-rock band Oceansize, "Build Us a Rocket Then" and "Massive Bereavement", the album features original compositions by Haslebacher. The sophomore album Feckel for Lovers (2015) amplified the rock elements further, with bassist Sarah Zaugg replacing Lionel Gafner.

Haslebacher has described the band's aim as "producing the most powerful, anarchic sound waves possible," exploring rhythmic structures designed to make "uneven meters sound fluid."

Discography

As Sha's Feckel

Selected discography as SHA

Selected discography with Nik Bärtsch's Ronin

Critical reception

Greatest Hits (2012) received positive reviews in the international music press. Writing in Prog magazine, Sid Smith praised the Sha-composed tracks as "invigorating, slipping gamely from sultry, slow-build shuffles, riotous VdGG-like rifferama-dramas, impressionistic daubs and crunching, full-frontal chordal attacks," calling the debut "sturdy and muscular" and "short, but rich with promise."

John Kelman of All About Jazz wrote that the album "rocks hard, rocks loud and rocks unrelentingly," and praised it for demonstrating that "the underlying foundations of Ritual Groove Music can be taken much farther afield."

Live performances

Sha's Feckel has performed at major festivals across Europe and North America. Sha has appeared internationally with Nik Bärtsch's Ronin at venues including the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazzfest Berlin, and many others.

External links

• Official website
• Sha's Feckel on Bandcamp
• Ronin Rhythm Records on Bandcamp