Dahlia EP by Odd Beholder

Odd Beholder, the electro wave / indie pop project by Swiss musician Daniela Weinmann, is releasing the “Dahlia EP” on September 20, 2024. In addition to the title track and “Rêve De Toi”, Odd Beholder's first track with French lyrics, the EP contains a great new version of the all-time fan favourite “Landscape Escape” as the focus track.

“Landscape Escape” has been a permanent fixture in Odd Beholder's live set for nine years now. Weinmann describes the repeated performance as a kind of self-hypnosis. She explains: “It feels sentimental, almost like a Schlager. When I sing it, I become this character of an old lady still touring rough neighbourhoods and hanging out in smoky clubs in her pink suit - thinking about the long-gone time when the song was written.”

Since the release of “Landscape Escape” in 2016, we have all experienced remarkable highlights and several crises. And it is certain that more will follow: “As a child, I experienced the end of the Cold War. The end of the heroin epidemic. The invention of a treatment for AIDS. Women's suffrage in Switzerland (yes, I was already born when that happened). Women flying into space. The popularisation of the internet as a huge space for sharing ideas and art. We didn't realise the extent of climate change. We didn't realise that colonialism wasn't over yet. We seriously believed that patriarchy was defeated or would be defeated in a few years. I had the feeling that the best times were yet to come, that equality was just around the corner.”

Since then, we've all been through the mill of meta and the attention economy, witnessed the collapse of trust during the pandemic and the rise of Trump, Andrew Tate (and other misogynistic influencers) and the AfD. We know we are heading for climate catastrophe, we are overwhelmed and hopeless.

Weinmann now sees “Landscape Escape” as a small ode to nature in the cellars of Europe. “It's kitschy and yet honest and beautiful at the same time. The piece no longer feels innocent, more like a reminder of innocence. It's more of a proclamation. Just as we have all changed, I need a distorted, surreal version of ‘Landscape Escape’. And what can I say, I also needed this new theremin solo! It feels as soft and sad as I feel. Honestly, it's hard for me to hold it all together sometimes.”

“Rêve De Toi”, the second track on the EP, is a nod to artists from French-speaking Switzerland: ’Since I've been on tour with Elodie (Billie Bird), who lives in Lausanne, I've grown even more fond of the French part of Switzerland, the Romandie. French-speaking Switzerland has a lively and interesting music scene, and I've got to know many musicians over the years, such as Laure Betris, Melissa Kassab, Alma Catin, Cocon Javel and Delia Meshlir.’

The EP opens with the eponymous “Dahlia”, the soundtrack to the short film of the same name by filmmakers Agnès Tiberghien and Lumi Lausas. The film tells the story of a woman who has romantic dreams about another woman. Weinmann explains: “I tried to follow Agnes Tiberghien's vision, but also to make it my own. For me, ‘Dahlia’ became a manifesto for the liberation of my own sexual fantasies. I wrote the song for women who are too shy to explore their own sexual desires, even in the privacy of their room, or even in the privacy of their thoughts.”

“Sensuality is still frowned upon, beauty, fun, female-coded, colourful things are seen as inferior,” Weinmann adds. “We conceived this project during the pandemic. We felt that we wanted to give the world something pleasant, sweet, something fun and dreamy. A kind of indulgence. A quiet celebration.”