Blood makes noise

Sonic Rade, an alternative rock group based in Geneva, Switzerland, is making waves with their genre-bending music that draws influences from various rock eras. Founded by Ricardo Ryan and Christian Fonjallaz, the trio, now including drummer Pascal J Kramer, has become a staple in the Geneva scene. Their sophomore album, Sideways, earned Grammy nominations, and their recent release, Acacias, on the Italian label VDM Records, continues to showcase their excellence. The lead track, "Masquerade," is a powerful mix of 80s synths, distorted alt power chords, and haunting vocals by Ricardo Ryan. The accompanying music video, directed by the band, adds a noir aesthetic, creating a captivating visual and auditory experience. Dive into Sonic Rade's world with "Masquerade" and explore the depths of their album Acacias.

Who are your biggest music influences?

Artists that write songs with meaning and emotion. It goes from Bowie to Artic Monkeys passing through 80’s and dark melancholic themes with influences going from Jim Morrisson to artist producer sounds such as Daniel Lanois.

Lets say each one of us have artists and songs that we like but each one’s instruments liking and tonal texture and style is what make Sonic Rade sounds.

How has your different backgrounds influenced your style? 

We each have our own past experiences and love for various music. The fact that we are three in the band makes it easy to complement each other’s. There is in the Masquerade song definitely a 80’s cult sound but at the same time there is a modern feel to it. We use actual technologies and synths and we merge it to what we like. The Harmonica solo comes in where you would not expect it and serves the song very well.

What are your philosophies for writing music for a global audience?

Before all we write songs for the meaning and sense of those, while we greatly appreciate the audience, what comes first is the song itself then the audio follows. 

 

What were some of the inspirations for “Masquerade” music video? 

The first inspiration was to represent ourselves when we rehearse, this is why the video was filmed in our Rehearsal Underground space in the Acacias district of Geneva. As well the song has this dark mysterious fell that suited well and Black and White cinematography. 

 

Did you have any difficulties when writing “Masquerade”?

Not really, every song is different, here we let ourselves go, we made multiple drafts and like to improvise during the first versions of the song, after listening back we take note the best parts and structure the song around that. Masquerade have a hidden theme and impossible love. 

 

Which lines from “Masquerade” have the most personal meaning to you?

All these days I've been waiting out here
Thinking you could never save me, I scream 
 

How do you approach writing a narrative within a song?

Words and rhymes are important. We write on living experiences mostly and at times on imaginary ones. Being in the proper mood is very important as you cannot force things, the most important is to feel the song and words some by themselves.
 

What is next for Sonic Rade?

We are at the moment playing live here in Switzerland and France. We are at the same time planning a spring recording and a US East Coast tour this summer.