Who we are
We are Laddermen, an indie rock band from Lucerne. The band consists of Leopold, Michael, Claudio and Hansi. Our music is inspired by silent films, ballerinas, sinking ships, halberds, ponies and the desire to express ourselves musically through melancholic contemporary indie rock.
Our sound is strongly influenced by musicians and bands like Phoebe Bridgers, The National, The Killers, Einstürzende Neubauten and The Strokes as well as (neo)classical composers like Bach and Olafur Arnalds. Building on the success of our debut album, we want to use the momentum to expand our artistic horizons with a second album and take the next step towards becoming a professional band.
In 2019 we recorded our debut album «Special Kind of Violence», which to our great delight was well received by the Swiss and international music scene after its release: we reached over 50’000 listeners on Spotify and the album was hailed by Tagesanzeiger as one of the «Most beautiful albums of the year». This gave us the fuel to write a follow-up album during those dark days of the lockdown.
What we need
The lockdown meant that it was not possible to play concerts. Instead, we were able to devote ourselves all the more to writing new material. The resulting songs are influenced by this time, which ironically led to the fact that, in starch contrast to our gloomy first post-punk album, they have a sort of uplifting optimism to them. Maybe we craved for better times and unconsciously let this feeling infuse our music and artistic expression. In the end we found ourselves with 10 melancholic songs in a contemporary art and indie rock guise that we are very proud of and can’t wait to show you!
Finding the right studio and team to capture our new sound has been a journey in itself. Fortunately, we have many musician friends who led us in the direction of Mischa Loosli of Studio Musigstöckli (https://www.musigstoeckli.ch/home) where we will record our album. With Micha Loosli, Sebastian Meyer (our producer) and Slade Templeton (our mastering engineer) we have a professional team supporting us in the production of our new album.
The pre-production of the songs is complete and the plan is now to go to Studio Musigstöckli for 8 days in October 2022 and record these new songs. After the recordings we will then turn our attention to the artwork and potential video clips. We plan to release the studio album in the winter of 2023 to take full advantage of concert opportunities in the new year. In total, the costs for studio, production of the record and rewards amount to 14’700 Swiss Francs. Each band member invests 2’300 Swiss Francs privately, for a total of 9’200 Swiss Francs. Since the income from concerts this previous year were practically non-existent due to the lockdown, our savings are unfortunately insufficient to finance the entire record ourselves. In order to make up for the deficit of 5’000 Swiss Francs we need the financial support of friends, fans, family, strangers, companies and whoever else likes our music - every contribution counts!
Where the money goes & what you get
Total costs for the project:
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Recording & Mixing: 10’000 CHF
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Mastering: 1’250 CHF
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Vinyl: 1’500 CHF
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Other rewards: 1’000 CHF
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Shipping Goodies: 450 CHF
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Crowdfunding fee: 500 CHF
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Own contribution: -9’200 CHF
TOTAL: 5’000 CHF