Secret Seed, by Andrina Bollinger

Secret Seed

by Andrina Bollinger

supported by

Jonathan Pryor Recommended by Arthur Hnatek. How could I not give a listen? Incredible voice and composition.

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€8 EUR or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
The Vinyl comes with a poster including all lyrics
Artwork by Bureau Mia / Photos by Julia Ishac

Includes unlimited streaming of Secret Seed via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

edition of 500

30 CHF or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
The CD comes with a booklet including all lyrics
Artwork by Bureau Mia / Photos by Julia Ishac

Includes unlimited streaming of Secret Seed via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

edition of 500

20 CHF or more

1.	Open My Gates 04:05	lyrics	buy track
I’ll open up Visit me when driving by Walk through the gates I am hard to get, I know about it But I’ll open up Shimmering right through the yard Our bonding rays But you’d better not grow much accustomed My bias has something true about it Still Let me share, let me share, let me share what I got Forever be open And I’ll share and I’ll share and I’ll share what I got What does it take A criminal To beat a path to my door Where I won’t open Beat at my door, beat Beat at my door, beat Beat at my door, beat At my door I’ll open up Visit me when driving by Walk through the gates I am hard to get, I know But I’ll open up Shimmering right through the yard Our bonding rays But you’d better not grow much accustomed My bias has something true about it Oh, I’ll roll up my blinds So you’ll see what’s inside I’ll roll up my blinds ‘Cause it’s the only way The only way The only way To know about it Let me share, let me share, let me share what I got Forever be open And I’ll share and I’ll share and I’ll share what I got What does it take A criminal To beat a path to my door Where I won’t open Let me share, let me share, let me share what I got Forever be open And I’ll share and I’ll share and I’ll share what I got What does it take A criminal To beat a path to my door Where I won’t open Beat at my door, beat Beat at my door, beat Beat at my door, beat Beat at my door, door, door I won’t open
2.	Ship 04:22	lyrics	buy track
Mind and matter Self and other On shaky ground we move But you, my ship are safe and proof Mast and motor My crew is hangin’ on The waves they howl and sing and dance Like shipwrecked souls with piercing glance Now I’m watching waters running Quiet is the sea It’s flowing through And inside of me The sailors they are chanting Anchoring the ship Of what I am And what I’m not I’m watching waters running Quiet is the sea It’s flowing through And inside of me The sailors they are chanting Anchoring the ship Of what I am And what I’m not What I’m not yet What I’m not yet (Mmmh) (Aaahmmh) (Mmmh) Where does it end and where begin We’re sailing out and stay within Heaven, earth we’re in between Let’s not arrive, let’s not arrive Does it end and where begin We’re sailing out and stay within Heaven, earth we’re in between Let’s not arrive, let’s not arrive (Aaah) (Aaah) (Aaah) We’re watching waters running Quiet is the sea Oh, we’re watching waters running Quiet is the sea It’s flowing through And inside of me The sailors they are chanting Anchoring the ship Of what I am And what I’m not I’m watching waters running Quiet is the sea It’s flowing through And inside of me The sailors they are chanting Anchoring the ship Of what I am And what I’m not I’m watching waters running Quiet is the sea It’s flowing through And inside of me The sailors they are chanting Anchoring the ship Of what I am And what I’m not I’m watching waters running Quiet is the sea It’s flowing through And inside of me The sailors they are chanting Anchoring the ship Of what I am And what I’m not yet
3.	Twin 03:00	lyrics	buy track
Someone said We look alike And since we met I know I’ve found The spark of fire Twin, my mirror My shadow self Reflecting all My bad sides Ooh, I want you close Ooh, but you’re so unpredictable Someone said We could be twins And since we met All simple things Have disappeared Twin, my mirror My shadow self Your gaze sights danger At my head Ooh, I want you close Ooh, but you’re so unpredictable Ooh, I want you close But you’re so unpredictable Aaah Ooh And I feel like constantly fluxing in time The obvious seems subtle Or it’s just my mind? The balance, the good and bad It’s power of both Oh, be my counterpart My evil side Don’t want no war with you Don’t want no friend Saturn, stand by me And lead till the end Sometimes admitting Helps stopping the race Oh, treasures exist So they can be found, right? Oooh Aaah Eeaahm Aah-a-a-e-e-e-a Aah-a-a-e-e-e-e Aah-a-a-a-a-e-e Eeh-e-e-a-e-e-e
4.	Hi Again 04:17	lyrics	buy track
Hi again What’s the cause of your return? Did I affect your choice? You’ve been gone from my mind for long I didn’t miss you This is my turn You are who you are I’ll, I’ll let you go This is my turn You don’t stand for no change This is all I know Time healed, not made you stay But paths cross twice, you said Standing strong, my future self I haven’t questioned your abstraction This is my change You are who you are I’ll, I’ll let you go This is my change But you’re standing in place This is all I know Ooh-ooh-uuuh Ooh-ooh-uuuh Ooh-ooh-uuuh Ooh-ooh-uuuh Mmh-mmh-mmh Iiih-iih-iiih
5.	The Drummer's Hands 04:24	lyrics	buy track
A trace of dust On rusty marks We’ll soon forget The steam, the stream Flow faster But I will stick to it The falcon leaves Might come back Who does own his land? He has to go for reasons But I won’t fly away Like the drummer’s hands They’ll never strike The drummer’s hands They’ll never strike The drummer’s hands They’ll never strike The drummer’s hands They’ll never strike A-Oooh Need no one ahead No one above Not by my side Speak for myself Sweet spring is yours The time is mine Oh, lovers go And lovers No one ahead No one above Not by my side Speak for myself Sweet spring is yours The time is mine Oh, lovers go And lovers come A trace of dust On rusty marks We’ll soon forget The steam, the stream Flow faster But I’ll, I’ll stick to it The falcon leaves Might come back But who does own his land? He has to go for reasons But I won’t I won’t fly away Like the drummer’s hands They’ll never strike The singer’s voice It always sounds The drummer’s hands They’ll never strike The trumpet’s crown It won’t get numb Like the drummer’s hands They’ll never strike The singer’s voice It always sounds A-Oooh A trace of dust On rusty marks We’ll soon forget
6.	Lento 03:30	lyrics	buy track
Time to take it easy Time to take it slow Like my succulents in water I watch them slowly grow Apparently there’s a jellyfish Who does not die He’s growing young, then old again Lento, with the sun in his eyes Ooh, with the sun in his eyes With the sun in his eyes With the sun in his eyes Oh, with the sun in his eyes Time to make some wishes (time to make some) ‘Cause he might get attacked But fear will not give answers (will not give) What’s life when not to die? Spiral, spiral take me in Spin me around I’ll grow young, then old again Lento, with the sun in my eyes Ooh, with the sun in my eyes With the sun in my eyes With the sun in my eyes Oh, with the sun in my Ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh With the sun With the sun in my eye Oh, with the sun in my eye
7.	House 02:04	lyrics	buy track
Puzzling paths and hidden edges My heart is like a big old house Some rooms I love and get lost in Some I forget or avoid like a louse Puzzling paths and hidden treasures My heart is like a big old bunk Some rooms I love and get lost in Some I forget or don’t even trust Oh, those labyrinths, towers and gardens I enter them again and again Dusty and dark, sometimes I hate it But then I see the sun in the arc Puzzling paths and hidden edges My heart is like a big old house Some rooms I love and get lost in Some I forget or don’t even trust Aah-ha-ha-ha-ha Aah-ha-ha-ha Aah-ha-ha-ha-ha Aah-ha-ha Puzzling paths Hidden edges Some rooms I love Some I get lost in Oh, those labyrinths, towers and gardens I, I enter them again and again Dusty and dark, sometimes I hate it But then I see the sun in the arc Puzzling paths and hidden edges My heart is like a big old house Some rooms I love and get lost in Some I forget or don’t even trust Ah, a-ah Ah, a-ah Ah, a-ah Ah, a-ah No I don’t even trust, no!
8.	Mountain Dance 03:01	lyrics	buy track
Winter cries, keep quiet Winter cries, keep quiet Spring whispers, spring worries Spring whispers, spring worries Winter cries, keep quiet Winter cries, keep quiet Spring whispers, spring worries Spring whispers, spring worries Mmh, mmh, mmh Mmh, mmh, mmh When night becomes our day So, it’s spring When night becomes our day We’re breathing out Oh, winter cries The ice gets light Oh, winter cries Keep your eyes on Oh, winter cries The ice gets light Oh, winter cries The mountains dance no more The mountains dance no more Oh, winter cries The ice gets light Oh, winter cries Keep your eyes on Oh, winter cries The ice gets light Oh, winter cries The mountains dance no more Winter cries, keep quiet Winter cries, keep quiet Spring whispers, spring worries Spring whispers, spring worries Winter cries, keep quiet Winter cries, keep quiet Spring whispers, spring worries Spring whispers, spring worries Oh, winter Winter cries Winter Winter cries Winter cries Winter cries Spring whispers, worries Whispers, worries Winter cries Winter cries, keep quiet Spring whispers, spring worries Spring whispers, spring worries Let them dance Da-da-dance Let them dance Da-da-dance Let them dance Da-da-dance Let them Dance!
9.	Secret Seed 00:30	lyrics	buy track
This is a secret seed I plant A potential in a glass jar It’s a version of myself I couldn’t show you yet This is the future locked inside Fragile hope, so frail Still has to grow into a plant But let’s risk a glimpse Will show you now!
10.	Eu Guard 02:45	lyrics	buy track
Eu guard ma eu nu vez Eu guard sü il ot Eu guard ma eu nun incleg Eu guard in quist vast Eu guard ma eu nu vez Eu guard sü il ot Eu guard ma eu nun incleg Eu guard in quist vast Eu chant e’l vent port' il tun Ed il rebomb doda tia vusch Eu guard ma eu nu vez Eu guard sü il ot Eu guard ma eu nun incleg Eu guard in quist vast Eu guard ma eu nu vez Eu guard sü il ot Eu guard ma eu nun incleg Eu guard in quist vast Ooh Aah Aah Mmh
11.	What might never reach us 02:02	lyrics	buy track
I I miss being shaken From my toes To the skull I miss feeling dizzy Losing myself in Cold dark nights Cold drunk nights Some Things are blurry Like a dream I can’t recall It’s like looking upwards At stars long dead What’s out there What’s out there What might never reach What might never reach us What might never reach What might never reach us

about

Andrina Bollinger’s solo debut Secret Seed is a layered, multiplex, and singular expedition into the mind-body of an artist. Think: a Charlie Kaufmann screenplay, or an MC Escher drawing. Call it poetic surrealist-existentialism. Self-reflexive and labyrinthine, the record is a riveting odyssey through the wilderness of contemporary Art Pop bricolage.

The first versions of these songs were written during a residency in Berlin, back in 2018. It was a pivotal point in Andrina’s career. She was exhausted by the “touring-musician’s” lifestyle and felt a growing need to finally start working on her solo project, which was perpetually being put on hold. Up until this point, she split her time between two outfits, both duos: Eclecta and JPTR. Once settled in Berlin, she created a cozy studio environment for herself full of synthesizers, percussion instruments, and all types of sound-making gadgets. She spent her days improvising, composing, and experimenting with different techniques to lyric writing. The initial idea was to produce the record on her own and to play all the instruments as well! That’s how the pre-productions were cut!

The material was solid, but it left her feeling that with the right person, she could push it to the next level. This person turned out to be David Odlum (Sam Smith, The Spice Girls). He suggested that adding more color by including other musicians would help the overall dynamics of the record. So, drummer Arthur Hnatek and bass player Jules Martinet joined the team and the three of them recorded the basic backing tracks, playing together in one room. Concept drummer Julian Sartorius added extra bits (including the sound of a snowboard) to the song Open My Gates. After Andrina edited these sessions, Odlum joined her at her studio in Zürich, where she recorded some additional synths and percussion as well as all the vocals. The latter, apart from the usual top-line rendering, were also used as a source of additional instrumentation, color, and texture (deployed like strings and horns). The piano, which is pretty much omnipresent, was mostly recorded at her parent’s house (they couldn’t find a better sound). The harmonium that appears in the background on Eu Guard (a song sung in Rumantsch, a language spoken exclusively in Engadin, Switzerland) was recorded at her family’s cottage, up in the mountains.

The result is a stunning singer-songwriter opus full of folk, indie, electronica, and jazz inflections. Introspective, tumultuous, soaring, hopeful, and steeped in melancholy—light and dark, often within the same breath. It's the type of record that is full of unexpected turns and unique ways of rendering the world—mostly the world within. Because, fundamentally, it’s a work that grapples with the idea of “the self.” Not the feelings and the thoughts that inhabit it, (that too, of course), but mainly the very vehicle that produces them. Hence, the self is depicted as a house waiting to be explored on Open My Gates, a Not Vital type of castle to get lost in on House. A ship that appears to be on an endless voyage on Ship. It’s a Lynchian doppelgänger on Twin, a seedling infused with future potential on Secret Seed, and a self-regenerative jelly fish on Lento. Aspirations, hang ups, wrestling with time, treasures to be discovered, journeys to be had, and enigmas to be cracked – it’s all in there. And, it’s set to a soundtrack that is as addictive as it is complex. Hands down, this is one of the most interesting and innovative records about self-discovery recorded to date!

credits

released October 14, 2022

All tracks written & produced by Andrina Bollinger
Except tracks 1, 2 & 5 co-written by Arthur Hnatek and track 10 co-written by Michael Flury
All tracks co-produced by David Odlum

All lyrics by Andrina Bollinger
Except track 9 lyrics co-written by Franziska Staubli and track 10 lyrics by Fiona Könz

Vocals, piano, synth, percussions & guitar performed by Andrina Bollinger
Drums performed by Arthur Hnatek
Bass performed by Jules Martinet
All kinds of pitched and unpitched percussion on track 1 performed by Julian Sartorius

———————

Recorded at Studio ZW, in the mountains, in my bedroom and at Powerplay Studios by Andrina Bollinger & David Odlum between August 2018 and June 2021
Mixed by David Odlum
Mastered by Matt Colton

Photography by Julia Ishac: juliaishac.com
Artwork by Bureau Mia: bureaumia.ch

license

about

Andrina Bollinger Zürich, Switzerland

Multifaceted Singer and Performer Andrina Bollinger invites you into her house, her world full of thoughts and secrets. In this world, the down-to-earth presence of the Swiss Singer meets an experimental mixture of music, poetry and performance, telling stories from her deepest inner self. Bollinger's debut-album "Secret Seed" will be out mid October 2022 ... more

shows

Jun 8

Kulturforum Berneck

Widnau, Switzerland
Jun 28

Pavillon Le Corbusier

Zürich, Switzerland
Sep 12

L'archipel - Salle 1 (bleue)

Paris, France

discography

Pleasure & Pain

Oct 2023
Denial

Aug 2023
Morning Gleam

Jun 2023
Secret Seed

Oct 2022
Lento

Aug 2022
House

Jun 2022
Hi Again

Apr 2022
Open My Gates

Feb 2022

contact / help

Contact Andrina Bollinger

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Andrina Bollinger, you may also like:

On Giacometti
by Hania Rani

supported by 5 fans who also own “Secret Seed”

thank you!🙏 this music is a blessing. I appreciate you for creating these beautiful tracks of music. tomlevings
go to album
Birth of Violence
by CHELSEA WOLFE

supported by 5 fans who also own “Secret Seed”

beautiful album, every song is wonderful Celia
go to album
Some Heavy Ocean
by Emma Ruth Rundle

supported by 4 fans who also own “Secret Seed”

This is ERR's most powerful work IMO Dante Ruivo
go to album
Sen Morimoto
by Sen Morimoto

The experimental artists contemplates dueling realities on his sophomore album. Bandcamp Album of the Day Oct 20, 2020
go to album
Heavy EP
by William Ryan Fritch

Fritch marches his wall of cinematic sound into town with horns blaring, chains clanking and drums beating loud. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 19, 2014
go to album
Songs To Whistle When Strolling Along The Abyss
by Mayuko

Lithe, bass-heavy art pop from a German trio classically trained in music and dance, influenced by Björk and Bon Iver. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 28, 2024
go to album
Hello Future Me
by Emilie Zoé

supported by 4 fans who also own “Secret Seed”

1st listen: Experiencing the technical and artistic growth of this artist is a huge privilege. Truly a great album! nofatclips
go to album