Lars Christen is a much asked for producer and songwriter. He works with artists such as Bastian Baker, James Gruntz, Damian Lynn and – currently – Marc Sway. The August 2017 songwriting camp, which was staged by Pele Loriano Productions and SUISA and took place at the Powerplay Studios in Maur, was a new experience for the SUISA member. But it paid off. Together with Lausanne-based musician Alejandro Reyes and Canadian Laurell Barker he wrote “Compass”, one of the six songs being considered for Switzerland’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The song is sung by co-writer Alejandro Reyes himself. “We talked it over with Alejandro – the things that are important to him, what he would like to sing about”, says Lars in the video about the development process of the song. The thing that “Lars the music guy” most valued at the songwriting camp was the exchange with other musicians from home and abroad. “In terms of building a network, taking part in the camp was a big win.”
The SRF decision show is coming up on 4 February 2018, and the songwriting team will find out if “Compass” will represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon in May. “I hope other people get as much enjoyment out of it as we did when we were writing the song”, says Lars.
