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On July 25th, Genevan microchoir Alice will release their new album, Châteaux Faibles, via Bongo Joe. This spirited art-pop affair, an audio tale of sisterhood, explores resilience and the communal strongholds we seek to build in heavy times. The album’s title track and lead single, “Les Châteaux Faibles” (meaning “Weak Castles”), lays out a core idea: building a space where vulnerability is transformed into a collective strength.
Over layered voices and a tapestry of field-recorded textures, Alice—Lisa Harder, Yvonne Harder, and Sarah André—craft a sonic “weakhold.” They celebrate the cracks in individual facades, making them the mortar that binds. Working with producer David Stampfli, the trio weaves musique concrète and a DIY ethic into the mix, fortifying polyphonic vignettes and bare-bones synth melodies with found sounds and body percussion. The result is less about grandeur and more about the quiet, profound act of holding each other up with scraps of harmony and belief.
The album’s 20 tracks were born organically in cars, kitchens, and “just by living together.” Its aesthetic, deeply informed by their day jobs in theatre and cinema, is accessible, handmade, reflective, and “a bit punk.” At its core, Châteaux Faibles celebrates the naked power of the voice. “We try to create something that helps us to be resilient and share that with the people who listen to our music,” they explain. “It’s like a sisterhood.”
Alice’s music is a quiet rebellion, empowering others through creative self-reliance. As they put it, “What we are doing doesn’t look so political, because it sounds sweet and we are having fun, but we think these are no times to hold back – silly, political, fun, emotional we are all these things, all at the same time and we like to share!” In Châteaux Faibles, Alice extends an invitation to partake in that vibrant, multi-faceted sharing, a gentle but firm reminder that even in our weakest moments, we can build something strong together.
