Takasa

Takasa
From left to right: Katharina, Jonas, Christoph, Sarah, Emil and Michel
Background information
Also known as	Heilsarmee
Origin	Switzerland
Years active	2012–2013
Labels	HitMill Records
Website	www.heilsarmee.ch
Members	Sarah Breiter Jonas Gygax Katharina Hauri Christoph Jakob Emil Ramsauer Michel Sterckx

Takasa was a Swiss musical group that represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.^[1] The group consisted of six Salvation Army soldiers.^[2]

Career

Eurovision Song Contest 2013

The band, originally named 'Heilsarmee', participated in the Swiss national final with the song "You and Me". They qualified to the national final through the online selection organized by SF. On 15 December 2012, they won the Swiss national final, therefore they represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.

On 17 December 2012, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the band would not be permitted to compete under the name 'Heilsarmee' (German for 'Salvation Army') at the Eurovision Song Contest, in accordance with the rules of the contest forbidding political and religious content.^[3] In March 2013, the group announced that they would be known as 'Takasa' for the contest; officially, the name was taken from the Swahili verb "to purify," but it has been noted to be an acronym of "The Artists Known As Salvation Army" (an allusion to The Artist Formerly Known As Prince).^[4] This is also similar to the time when the Sex Pistols toured under the name 'Spots' (Sex Pistols On Tour, Secretly.)

The members of the band have a major age difference as the oldest member—bassist Emil Ramsauer—was 95 (born 1918), and their youngest member—singer Sarah Breiter—was 22 (born 1991), at the time of their Eurovision performance. The band also wore different outfits for Eurovision, barred from wearing Salvation Army uniforms by the same rules.^[5]

Subsequent career and dissolution

After their Eurovision appearance, the group performed only a few more times at local events in Switzerland. By 2015, according to Christoph Jakob, the group had ceased to exist, because the other professional responsibilities of its members made its continuance impractical.^[6]

Discography

Singles

References

Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 1950s Lys Assia Lys Assia Lys Assia Christa Williams 1960s Anita Traversi Franca Di Rienzo Jean Philippe Esther Ofarim Anita Traversi Yovanna Madeleine Pascal Géraldine Gianni Mascolo Paola Del Medico 1970s Henri Des Peter, Sue and Marc Veronique Mueller Patrick Juvet Piera Martell Simone Drexel Peter, Sue and Marc Pepe Lienhard Band Carole Vinci Peter, Sue, Marc, Pfuri, Gorps and Kniri 1980s Paola Peter, Sue and Marc Arlette Zola Mariella Farré Rainy Day Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini Daniela Simmons Carol Rich Céline Dion Furbaz 1990s Egon Egemann Sandra Simó Daisy Auvray Annie Cotton Duilio 1995 Kathy Leander Barbara Berta Gunvor 1999 2000s Jane Bogaert 2001 Francine Jordi 2003 Piero and the MusicStars Vanilla Ninja six4one DJ BoBo Paolo Meneguzzi Lovebugs 2010s Michael von der Heide Anna Rossinelli Sinplus Takasa Sebalter Mélanie René Rykka   Songs 1950s "Das alte Karussell" "Refrain" "L'enfant que j'étais" "Giorgio" "Irgendwoher" 1960s "Cielo e terra" "Nous aurons demain" "Le retour" "T'en va pas" "I miei pensieri" "Non, à jamais sans toi" "Ne vois-tu pas?" "Quel cœur vas-tu briser?" "Guardando il sole" "Bonjour, Bonjour" 1970s "Retour" "Les illusions de nos vingt ans" "C'est la chanson de mon amour" "Je vais me marier, Marie" "Mein Ruf nach dir" "Mikado" "Djambo, Djambo" "Swiss Lady" "Vivre" "Trödler und Co" 1980s "Cinéma" "Io senza te" "Amour on t'aime" "Io così non ci sto" "Welche Farbe hat der Sonnenschein?" "Piano, Piano" "Pas pour moi" "Moitié, moitié" "Ne partez pas sans moi" "Viver senza tei" 1990s "Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus" "Canzone per te" "Mister Music Man" "Moi, tout simplement" "Sto pregando" 1995 "Mon coeur l'aime" "Dentro di me" "Lass' ihn" 1999 2000s "La vita cos'è?" 2001 "Dans le jardin de mon âme" 2003 "Celebrate" "Cool Vibes" "If We All Give a Little" "Vampires Are Alive" "Era stupendo" "The Highest Heights" 2010s "Il pleut de l'or" "In Love for a While" "Unbreakable" "You and Me" "Hunter of Stars" "Time to Shine" "The Last of Our Kind" (Note : Entries scored out are when Switzerland did not compete)