Varnish La Piscine

Listening to Varnish La Piscine’s music for the first time is never a boring experience. Or in any case not something you hear every day.  From the moment they hit play, those listening to this producer’s music, are given a mix of the seemingly improbable yet surprisingly coherent. Playful synthetic melodies, the swaying softness of bossa nova, explosives American trap beats, the melancholia of old film music… Whilst Varnish La Piscine’s music is as challenging as it is accessible, it definitely stands out from the crowd. All these elements combine to form the power and uniqueness of this Swiss producer/ rapper/ singer, who since going solo six years ago, has his every move followed by the whole rap world and those in the know recognise him as one of the best around.

To kick off his time at Ed Banger, Varnish La Piscine decided to do what he does best, to surprise, musically as well as visually. Written between 2021 and 2022, the seven tracks of This Lake Is Successful, act as a perfect calling card that let you enter the young Genevese musician’s brilliantly creative universe. Its music is both high-brow and accessible, comprising of a form of refined pop made up of diverse influences: rap, bossa nova, electronic synth, surf music, reggae and underpinned by Varnish’s singing and rapping as well as three guest artists- Makala, Rico TK and Snubnose Frankenstein- all of which are accompanied by a series of short films. And yes, if you still doubted Varnish’s creative aspirations, he is also a director. A visual dream realised over four episodes, each between 5 and 10 minutes, shot over 8 days beside a lake with the help of the production company Dissidence. The plot revolves around the lake and its magical fish who, for better or worse, entrance the local population with Varnish himself playing the role of a young fisherman (as well as many other actors, including a certain Rounhaa as a fisherman, for those who are interested in the next generation of French rap). Both an audio-visual and musical work, it is both inspired by the absurd humour of the Coen brothers and the stylised intricacy of Wes Anderson, this film has confirmed what the rap world already knew; Varnish La Piscine is definitely not just any ordinary guy. To find out for yourself, all you have to do is just listen to his music.