Cinematic Shoegaze from Switzerland: An Interview with Zabriskie

We're sitting in a small Chinese restaurant by Lake Zurich, steam rising from our teacups, when Alex Herter cracks open his fortune cookie. The paper slip reads: "Good fortune will remain with you in the future, too."

It is a nice thing to hear when you are in a band that has spent years making shoegaze in a country where, as Alex tells me, there is hardly any scene for this music. Switzerland never developed a core shoegaze movement. The first wave in the early nineties bypassed the country entirely, so it remains virtually unknown to local promoters, venue bookers, and even other musicians. Zabriskie are one of the few active Swiss bands working within the genre. Herter plays guitar, keys, and sings, alongside Andy Hofstetter on drums and Andreas Vischer on bass.

They named themselves after Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film Zabriskie Point, partly because of the raw beauty of the desert and partly because of the famous slow-motion explosion scene. That description fits their music well. Their latest EP, Ghosts in Time, released in early summer 2026, is deeply personal. Herter’s mother has been living with dementia for almost a decade, and throughout the EP, he reflects on the quiet and painful grief of watching someone you love gradually disappear.

The absence of a local scene creates challenges when it comes to discussing the band's future. But for now, Zabriskie are taking it step by step—hoping for more gigs, maybe a festival slot, or an opening spot for a bigger shoegaze act. While I only got to sit down with Alex for tea, the rest of the trio—drummer Andy Hofstetter and bassist Andreas Vischer—joined the interview in written form later so we could get the whole band's perspective.

As we wrap up our conversation, Alex glances back down at the tiny slip of paper resting on the table.

"Good fortune will remain with you in the future, too."

For a band that is so determined to carve out a space for their sound, I really hope it's true.

I believe that as an artist, when you work on something, your entire background, everything you have experienced, and all the things in the back of your mind will eventually find their way into the work you create—whether consciously when addressing a certain theme, or unconsciously in a way that might remain a secret even to you.

Let's start with introductions. Who makes up Zabriskie, and how did the band originally come together? Where does the name come from, and why is it the right fit for your identity?

Zabriskie is Andy Hofstetter on drums, percussion, and backing vocals; Andreas Vischer on bass; and (me) Alex Herter on guitar, keys, and vocals.

The name comes from the 1970 movie Zabriskie Point by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, which in turn took its name from the famous spot in Death Valley National Park, California.

To briefly explain why: on one hand, there is the stunning beauty of the austere yet visibly rich place itself; on the other hand, there is the famous scene in the movie where a house on a hillside in the desert explodes in slow motion. We felt that the combination of something very powerful evolving very slowly was a good fit for us (and still is).

Do you remember the first time you heard shoegaze? Was there a specific record or moment when you realized this was the kind of music you wanted to create?

I must have heard shoegaze music in the '90s, but I didn't know it was called shoegaze back then. I became consciously aware of the term and the genre when I first heard the song "Sugar for the Pill" by Slowdive in 2017 off their comeback album that same year. That track made me want to see them live at Rote Fabrik in Zürich in March 2018. It was instantly clear to me that this was what I wanted to do myself and with the band.

You recently released your new EP, Ghosts in Time. What was the writing and recording process like for this record, and what are your expectations for it?

Ghosts in Time is actually the second of a pair of EPs that are like siblings—they sort of belong together. The first one was All Things Become Light, which we released in spring 2025. So the recording and writing process for Ghosts in Time really only makes sense when looking at the process for the previous EP as well.

By the time we decided to start recording new songs at the beginning of 2024, there were ideas and demos around for more than an album's worth of material. However, we decided to split up the songs and make two EPs instead. Over time, we have come to realize that our way of recording takes a lot of time, and producing an album of maybe 10 songs would take us well over a year. By splitting it up, we were able to release music earlier and not disappear for too long. It also allowed us to try to play some gigs in between. We find it hard to switch from a recording mindset to a rehearsing-for-gigs mindset too often.

Being a trio, we always focused on not overproducing our recordings in a way that we wouldn't be able to reproduce live. That was something I struggled with at first—deliberately dispensing with additional layers of sound, adding more instruments, etc. But since playing live as a band was always a main goal for us, overproducing just wasn't an option. For the previous album, Darklight (2022), we carefully added some things here and there, just enhancing the overall sound and production in a barely noticeable way so that when we play the songs live, they still hold up stylistically.

The album Darklight was completely self-produced—meaning recorded, mixed, and mastered by us. We knew at the time that this wasn't ideal, but the budget was limited and we really felt the DIY approach fit where we were as a band. With All Things Become Light, we wanted to go a step further and see what kind of results would come from working with a professional engineer. It was such a great decision to start working with Slade Templeton from Influx Studios Bern/Berlin.

The way we record has always been a lengthy process. It was never a week-long session where the band gets together and records everything in one go. The recordings for All Things Become Light took place over the course of several months in 2024. Along the way, we released a couple of singles, so we didn't finish the tracks all at once. That can be a risk because things might spread apart creatively, but with Slade Templeton as our mixing engineer, we were sure it would all fit together in the end.

For Ghosts in Time, the process was basically the same. We started recording in early fall of '25 and finished at the beginning of '26. We also released three singles: "South Pacific" in November '25, "Once" in January '26, and "What Have I Done" in March '26. One difference between the two EPs was that we were actually more efficient and able to reduce the recording time and number of sessions for Ghosts in Time thanks to the experience we gained working on All Things Become Light.

We also put some outside pressure on ourselves this time because we decided to run promotional campaigns with two different agencies. For campaigns like that, you have deadlines not only for the final audio files, but also for assets like video clips accompanying the music. That pressure was good for us and made us focus on the production in a creative way. The writing of the songs for both EPs took place over a long period—I couldn't even tell you when it started. Sometimes I work on songs for years. The lyrics in particular always take a long time, and only when recording nears the end and vocal tracks need to be finalized do I bring them into their final form. Often, the songs exist for a long time without real lyrics, just meaningless sounds or murmurs.

In regard to expectations, to be honest, with the campaigns we are running for Ghosts in Time, there comes a certain expectation of getting a bit more recognition because we are aiming at a specific audience in the realm of shoegaze and dream pop. What we are hoping for is landing more live gigs, maybe playing a cool festival, or opening for a bigger band in the shoegaze scene.

In your press kit, you mentioned that your mother’s dementia is one of the themes explored on the record. Can you tell us more about how you navigated such a deeply personal and heavy subject through your music?

I believe that as an artist, when you work on something, your entire background, everything you have experienced, and all the things in the back of your mind will eventually find their way into the work you create—whether consciously when addressing a certain theme, or unconsciously in a way that might remain a secret even to you.

My mother's illness has been slowly evolving over almost a decade now, and it is very sad to see a beloved person slowly disappear right in front of your eyes. Both of my parents need quite a bit of support, and since I live close by, I am at their place very often. Therefore, it is something that is constantly on my mind, including when I write songs.

However, I never intended to write something explicitly about this, because I find it difficult to be too specific with song lyrics. When their meaning is too clear and pinned down to a specific fact, they lose depth and openness. I believe lyrics, like poems, are stronger when they are more abstract and open to interpretation. Still, I always try to find an emotional backbone—an anchor around which the song evolves. Looking back, my mother's dementia might well be the reason for certain passages in the lyrics I wrote, not only for Ghosts in Time, but also for our previous releases.

Beyond that, what are some of the other overarching themes you found yourselves unpacking on this release?

A main theme running through both Ghosts in Time and All Things Become Light is self-reflection—trying to understand and make sense of what I am doing in this world. With the band and our music slowly becoming a larger and more important part of my life, the focus starts to shift, and you start looking at things from a different perspective.

It can feel a bit frightening to commit yourself fully to something new without knowing where it is going or where it will take you. Especially in our situation—having reached a certain age, having a family with kids, a job, and all this responsibility—it sometimes feels like you're burning bridges and entering a new, unknown world.

You often describe your sound as "cinematic shoegaze." What does that term mean to you, exactly? How do you approach building those vast, atmospheric soundscapes?

The term "cinematic" on one hand refers to the visual aspect that we feel lies in our music, evoking a sense of space—often vast, empty spaces like the ones found in Antonioni's movies. It also refers to our stage show, where we use backdrop videos for the songs, extending and expanding the sonic experience by adding a visual layer that fits the music.

Our music explores time, memory, and transition—moving between fragile stillness and dense intensity. At its core, it’s about depth over surface and creating experiences that unfold gradually rather than demand attention immediately.

Searching for what we could call "our" sound has been a long journey, and it keeps evolving. Being a trio with only one guitar, it took me quite a while to figure out how to get the right sound. I have always loved effect pedals, and using them to build those shoegaze soundscapes came naturally to me.

My core sound isn't made up only of pedals, though, but also my amp rig. To get a bit nerdy here: I use a stereo wet-dry-wet rig. This consists of three guitar amplifiers—two stereo wet amps (one on each side of the stage) and a center dry amp. "Wet" refers to using modulation effects, delays, and reverbs in conjunction with distortion, while "dry" carries only the clean and distorted guitar signal. They have to be in a precise balance to get the right sound. With this three-amp setup, I can get away with being the only guitarist. I spread them as far apart as possible on stage to widen the stereo field and create that wall-of-sound impression.

You work as an architect alongside fronting the band. Does the discipline of architecture influence the way you write music?

That’s a very interesting question, and finding an answer to it sometimes keeps me awake at night. I do believe the two disciplines influence each other. With regard to visuals for the music, it seems more obvious: for the two latest EPs, I created the artwork starting from an architectural idea of geometrical lines and color fields, using pencils and watercolors.

When thinking about how I write songs, though, it gets a bit more complicated. I don't see a direct one-to-one connection between writing a song and designing a building. However, behind both disciplines lies a way of thinking and a way of turning emotions into something structured. I am very interested in the "mechanics" of a song—how it is built harmonically and structurally, how parts fit together, and how one section leads into the next. These concepts also exist in architecture. For example, rhythm can be thought of in time, but also in space; it's the same principle in two different dimensions. For an artist, it is always about using these concepts to translate emotion into a tangible work.

What does the underground shoegaze scene look like in Switzerland right now? We don’t hear about it a lot internationally—why do you think that is?

Alex: To be honest, a specific shoegaze scene doesn't really exist here, not even underground. There are a lot of music scenes, interesting new bands, and festivals, but specifically for shoegaze, there isn't much going on. It starts with the term itself—hardly anybody has ever heard the word "shoegaze," even among musicians. I’m not surprised that nobody has heard anything about Swiss shoegaze internationally.

As to why that is, I have no idea. Back in the early nineties when the first wave of shoegaze happened, it never really reached Switzerland, and by the time grunge and Britpop hit, shoegaze was already fading internationally. But with its revival in the 2010s and social media making everything accessible, it's strange that it hasn't caught on here more. It could be that because the first wave skipped Switzerland, no core scene was established back then to carry through to the 2010s.

Andreas: I see the Swiss music scene as incredibly diverse. There are countless festivals and live shows, and indie and alternative music are well represented. Perhaps the country is simply too small to sustain a distinct shoegaze scene of its own—the genre tends to get lost in the sheer variety of styles.

What are the unique challenges of playing niche, alternative music in a smaller country like Switzerland?

Alex: For me, this connects directly to the previous question of why "shoegaze" isn't a recognized term here. When applying for concerts or festivals, it's difficult to explain our music to someone when they don't even know what shoegaze is, and turning that into an advantage is hard. However, when we play live and people who haven't heard us before come to our shows, a lot of them are genuinely interested in the sound and want to know more about it.

Andy: Despite its relatively small size and population, Switzerland has an exceptionally diverse musical landscape. Because of that, it’s more difficult for us to find venues and audiences for our specific shoegaze niche. As Alex mentioned, the genre itself is unknown to most people, which makes it even more challenging to grow our fanbase.

Andreas: One thing I really enjoy is playing shows with other bands. It’s a great way to reach beyond your usual audience and connect with new listeners. In my experience, it works best when the bands come from related musical backgrounds, as there’s often a natural overlap in what their audiences appreciate.

If you had to choose just one song from your catalog that perfectly represents the essence of Zabriskie, which one would it be and why?

Alex: If I had to choose one song, it would be "Strangest Thing" from Ghosts in Time. I think it shows a lot of the different elements our sound is made of, and it stands out for bringing all those distinct parts together.

Andy: My personal "Zabriskie signature song" is "Once." This track has a very intense intro followed by a fragile verse, and the dynamics throughout the whole song are full of variety.

Andreas: My teenage kids, raised on a steady diet of pop songs, often joke that our music takes forever to "really get going." To be fair, they’re not entirely wrong! We’ve always been drawn to songs that unfold gradually, building layer by layer rather than revealing everything at once. Many of our tracks feature extended intros that create space and atmosphere before the main themes emerge.

We also enjoy working with dynamics, moving between intense, almost overwhelming "wall of sound" sections and quieter, more intimate moments. That contrast is an important part of our identity. At the same time, there’s always a strong singer-songwriter influence at the core of what we do, so even within larger arrangements, the song itself remains the focus.

A good example is "Stone Temple" from our latest EP, which brings together all of these elements: the slow build, the dynamic shifts, and the singer-songwriter approach that underpins much of our music.

To wrap things up, what other cool bands from Switzerland should we be listening to right now? Any local acts you’d like to shout out?

Alex: Yes, of course. For example, there is a cool new band from Zurich called ecyce—I know one of their guitar players. They play a really cool blend of post-punk with shoegaze elements.

Andy: Not strictly local, but definitely a band to shout out, are Haneke Twins from Geneva. They create a very special mood with their singer’s baritone vocals combined with gothic atmospheres and wavier textures mixed with punkier energy. We actually played a show together in Mels once, which was a wonderful evening.

Andreas: One band that comes to mind is Karim G, another group from Zurich. We played a show together once, which was a great experience. My personal favorite is their song "Moving On"—it’s a fantastic introduction to what they do.