Enigmatic artist FARCE makes a powerful comeback with the release of “Big Swiss,” an indie-pop whirlwind that dares to tread the fine line between infatuation and obsession. Available on all digital streaming platforms, this track offers a tantalising glimpse into FARCE’s forthcoming album, set to drop later this year.
Drawing inspiration from Jen Beagin’s novel “Big Swiss,” the song encapsulates the humour, transgressions, and blurred boundaries that emerge when desire takes the reins. The sleepless nights of infatuation sharpen our perceptions of the mundane and often reveal more about ourselves than about the object of our fixation. “Big Swiss” pulses with a desperate heartbeat, hauntingly beautiful vocals, warm yet raw guitar tones, and an intensity that feels both intimate and beautifully detached.
A Captivating Dive into Obsession and Desire
written, recorded, and produced by @farce1000
vocal engineering by sakura chow @sakura_katsuura
mixed by lara voill @bad.entity
creative direction, photography by ela kielhorn @elazozan
This release marks the first taste of FARCE’s upcoming album, a confident alt-pop project exploring themes of longing, devotion, and the identities we cling to for survival. Melding sugary hooks with an obsessive production style and shimmering drums, FARCE uses pop music as both seduction and confrontation. The song probes the essence of desire and what it means to be desired, to label and be labelled. “Big Swiss” serves as the initial spark: urgent, playful, and dangerously sincere.
Like a dog with a bone, FARCE digs into the creative, projective energy of a crush. Obsession and the will to possess at any cost drive an explosive match between FARCE and Lex Landergott (Ja, Panik!, Fuffifuffzich, Peaches), whose role oscillates between heartthrob and psychoanalyst. Complimented by the sensible yet expressive camera work of Apollonia Bitzan, Ela Kielhorn’s direction finds FARCE pleading, wanting, asking, lunging and never quite receiving, never quite reaching. In the tradition of Viennese aesthetic extremists like Valie Export or Helmut Lang, Big Swiss straddles surrealist and macabre motifs as well as sensual vulnerabilities.
- says director Ela Kielhorn
FARCE is the creative alias of Veronika J. König, a multifaceted producer, songwriter, and performer born in 1997 in the Black Forest. Now based in Vienna, she has garnered acclaim for her theatrical and genre-defying interpretation of avant-pop. Initially rooted in punk and black metal, she gravitated towards electronic music production in her youth, birthing the unique persona of FARCE.
Her debut EP and early live performances within Vienna’s DIY scene quickly led to significant radio airplay on FM4, establishing her as a notable voice in the Austrian underground music landscape. With her debut album “Heavy Listening” (2018), she gained international recognition and secured coveted slots at some of Austria’s most progressive festivals, including Popfest, Donaufestival, and Hyperreality.
Building on this experimental foundation, FARCE has evolved her sound into a more refined and emotionally resonant sonic language with subsequent releases. The EP “Trauma Bounce” (2020) received worldwide radio play, while the single “Déjà Vu” (with Aether Kombo) soared to the top of the FM4 charts. With her follow-up album “Not to Regress” (2022), FARCE delved even deeper into her auditory universe: vulnerable, sharp-tongued, and unafraid of excess.
As a producer and collaborator, FARCE transcends genres, writing and producing for artists such as Sophia Blenda, kin dread, Pandora Nox, and Mavi Phoenix. She has contributed to releases by Alicia Edelweiss and Anthea and composes music for film and television. Moreover, she hosts and curates the radio show Pop Shop on FM4.
A key figure in the European underground and alternative scene, FARCE has headlined tours across the EU and the UK, supported acts like Ja, Panik and Edwin Rosen, and performed at festivals such as The Great Escape, Primavera Sound, and will close the Popfest Wien 2024. She has been nominated for various awards, featured in media outlets like Der Standard, The Gap, and Wienerin, and has received international airplay on platforms such as BBC Radio 1, FM4, and Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
As “Big Swiss” resonates through the airwaves, it promises to be just the beginning of a remarkable journey for FARCE, a confident artist ready to redefine the landscape of modern music.
CREDITS
Written, recorded, produced by FARCE
Vocal engineering by Sakura Katsuura Chow
Mixed by Lara Voill
Mastered by Mischa Janisch
Starring FARCE and Lex Landergott
Directed by Ela Kielhorn
Edited by Ela Kielhorn, FARCE
DP Apollonia Theresa Bitzan
PA Isabel Prado Jacob
Special Thanks to Yannik Steer, Rausch
HANDLES
@farce1000
@lexlandergott
@apolloniabitzan
@elazozan
@tropi_frutisa
