Gustav Bertha
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Gordon Bell aka Gustav Bertha (b. 24 July 1969) is a Scottish singer-songwriter based in Zürich, Switzerland. He is a prolific songwriter having released eight albums in as many years (his first album, 2001's Songs for Gigi, is now available as free download along with his 2006 compilation Z:06). His breakthrough fifth album My Life as a Dog was critically acclaimed: Swiss national paper Der Bund called it 'Wunderbar'. The Swiss press has also dubbed him with the slightly more ambiguous title, "The World's least-known Scot". Gustav's music has been compared to a strange cross between fellow Glaswegians Ivor Cutler and Alex Harvey. He has a penchant for storytelling in his songs following in the traditions of French chanson.
[edit] Biography
Gordon Bell was born in Glasgow. He took piano lessons for a few years as a child.
It was around 1992 that Bell embarked on a number of solo recording projects of an electro pop nature under the pseudonym 'Plastic Smiley Guys', which led him into playing keyboards for a Fife-based band called 'Rain', later to become 'Psycho Annie'. Psycho Annie played many shows on the east coast of Scotland including support for 'The Filthy Tongues' (a later incarnation of Goodbye Mr Mackenzie notably including a pre-Garbage Shirley Manson), playing benefit concerts organised by Nazareth's Pete Agnew, touring with contemporaries the 'Liquid Pub Dugs' and 'the Columbians of Kazoo' and sharing practice rooms with Big Country. The band slowly broke up for good in 1995. Between 1996 and 1998 Gordon spent almost no time on music. He had a brief stint playing keyboards for singer songwriter Bernadette Ruddy in Glasgow and a number of fruitless musical liaisons in London.
Bell moved to Basel, Switzerland in 1998 and began recording intensely under the pseudonym 'plasticpsychobabble' (some of this material eventually resurfaced in the 2003 Gustav Bertha album 'Babble'). He recorded three full length demo CDs over the space of two years, finishing the first 'StranGe enchantment' in 1999 while still in Basel, and completing the second 'submergingmeadowsgreenboundaries' in London in 2000 and a further third album 'blurred visions for fuzzy strangers' recorded entirely in London during 2000. While in Basel he co-formed a band called 'The Secret Life of Andrew Aston' as lead vocalist and keyboards. The band played no shows but did record an EP entitled 'Caffeine Injunction' in 2000 and briefly reformed in 2003 to record a version of the Gustav Bertha track 'Erotomanic' which reached the Swiss Made For Music Democlinic final. Bell returned briefly to London in 2000 playing in a couple of bands on bass and keyboards, before going to Zürich, Switzerland at the end of 2000.
Bell's first album writing as Gustav Bertha, "Songs for Gigi" was released in 2001 and is entirely recorded in Zürich. A specially re-mastered version of this album is available free in mp3 format from www.gustavbertha.com. Gordon set about establishing a live band as a vehicle for his own music. He teamed up with another singer/songwriter. Together they formed 'Tea with Venus' as a duo. This soon expanded into a four piece named 'sLow'.
Meanwhile Gordon recorded three full length Gustav Bertha albums. The follow up to 'Songs for Gigi', 'Café Créme' was released in the first months of 2002 and caught the attention of Shuteye Records in Atlanta who chose the atmospheric, 'My Mind's a Tyrant' as the lead in track for their fourth edition of the Buzzlighter series along with tracks from Midnight Oil, Matt Pond PA, The D4 and others. This CD brought Gustav his first airplay on US College Radio. Later in 2002 Gustav Bertha released 'The Hose Room'. The trip pop number 'I am' featuring Arabic rapping from Hadar Laifa reached the final of the 2003 Made for Music Democlinic. In 2003 'babble' was released. Shuteye Records included the track 'Strange Day' on the seventh Buzzlighter compilation alongside tracks from Brian Jonestown Massacre and Dios. In the Summer Gordon made contact with a guitarist looking to form a tribute to 1970s Scottish rock band, 'The Sensational Alex Harvey Band'. At the end of 2003 Gordon played his first ever solo gig as Gustav Bertha in Aberdeen, Scotland organised by sometime collaborator and friend of his, singer songwriter Ian Simpson, as part of a showcase of new Scottish talent.
2004 saw the release of the fifth Gustav Bertha CD, a moody offering called 'My Life as a Dog' which went on general release nationally in Switzerland through distributors RecRec Music. The record received favourable press reviews with Swiss national paper Der Bund calling it 'A Wonderful Album'. Several Swiss radio stations added the record to their playlist. 'Jackboot' a track from 'My Life as a Dog' made its way into the 2005 Swiss Made for Music Democlinic final. sLow began to play considerably more gigs in 2004 through 2005. 2005 closed with the somewhat muted release of Gustav Bertha's 6th album, Defective.
Gustav Bertha's releases in 2006 were limited to "Z:06", a compilation of six tracks picked from the 6 previous albums. This is available free in mp3 format from www.gustavbertha.com. Gordon became more focussed on playing solo as Gustav Bertha and by mid 2006 Gordon quit sLow.
2007 saw the 7th Gustav Bertha release, 'small adventures in the great domestic wilderness'.
In 2008 so far Gordon has reached the final of the M4M Democlinic final as Gustav Bertha and release an eighth album, "True North" in April. He continues playing solo and singing with 'Not The Sensational Alex Harvey Band'.
Gustav Bertha's live gigs are also noted for the attracting a regular heckler who is gradually becoming more well-known amongst artists on the Swiss singer-songwriter scene for his jocular style in the finest traditions of a rambling mind. The anonymous heckler has been sighted afield as Baden and Luzern and appears to show no fear of being the only heckler - going as far as blessing Gustav Bertha in his incarnation as Alex Harvey at the INOX Music Club Baden.
[edit] Discography
with One in Five
- Five Flew Over the Hatchery (1991)
with Psychoannie
- Amoeba (1993)
as plasticpsychobabble
- StranGe enchantment (1999)
- submerging meadows green boundaries (2000)
- blurred visions for fuzzy strangers (2000)
with The Secret Life of Andrew Aston
- Caffeine Injunction (2000)
as Gustav Bertha
- Songs for Gigi (2001)
- The Hose Room (2002)
- Café Crème (2002)
- babble (2003)
- My Life as a Dog (2004)
- Defective (2005)
- z:06 (2006 - compilation)
- small adventures in the great domestic wilderness (2007)
- True North (2008)
