Music paradise in Swiss highlands

The Audemars Piguet Parallel party in full swing.— Photos: Marc Ducrest / Montreux Jazz Festival

TWO weeks of multi-genre live performances, including big-name artistes, in the summer in Switzerland is paradise for music lovers.

The icing on the cake is an invitation to a free concert at a secret location.

That was the golden ticket for 600 winners of a contest held on the Montreux Jazz Festival’s (MJF) social networks and at the Audemars Piguet Parallel pop-up within the festival.

Conceived as an interlude on the fringes of MJF, Audemars Piguet Parallel offers an exclusive show in a unique location of the Montreux Riviera, one that is kept under wraps until the last minute.

The lucky revellers enjoying the Audemars Piguet Parallel show.

That location this year is Les Pléiades, a natural peak with breathtaking scenery and overlooking Lake Geneva.

And the genre served up on the platter is electro music.

The Swiss trio Mont Rouge, who has been blending its members’ varied influences and inspirations since 2023 to create Afro Melodic House, opens the festivities.

They then made way for Brazilian sensation Mochakk, a 24-year-old electronic music prodigy whose outstanding performances and unique personality have catapulted his international career.

The evening culminates with Afro-house legend Black Coffee, who started his prolific award-winning career in 1994.

Audemars Piguet chief executive officer Ilaria Resta says: “Audemars Piguet Parallel embodies the brand’s commitment to both supporting talent from all backgrounds in their creative journey and to providing fans with unforgettable, timeless moments set in unique locations.”

Montreux Jazz Festival chief executive officer Mathieu Jaton notes that the Audemars Piguet Parallel experience perfectly embodies the collaboration between Montreux Jazz Festival and the watch brand, born of a genuine effort based on the passions and values that unite them.

Mont Rouge opening the Audemars Piguet Parallel show. — Marc Ducrest / Montreux Jazz Festival

“This absolutely unique creative proposition is now a highlight of the festival’s programme,” he adds.

The 58th edition of Montreux Jazz Festival features about two dozen artistes, with two stages hosting the main shows and 10 other venues for free shows.

Swiss haute horlogerie manufacture Audemars Piguet became a global partner of the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2019.

The Audemars Piguet Parallel experience was introduced in 2022, with select artistes performing in unexpected locations of the Montreux Riviera.

Its first edition had The Blaze and Arlo Parks whipping up the party mood for revellers gathered in the gardens of the Caux Palace.

The watchmaker works with the festival organisers to promote and encourage talent from all backgrounds, a commitment sustained by the APxMusic programme.

Audemars Piguet has been contributing to the Montreux Jazz Digital Project since 2010, in collaboration with the Claude Nobs Foundation and tech university École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). This massive project covers the digitalisation, preservation and enrichment of MJF’s audiovisual archives, acknowledged by Unesco as part of its “Memory of the World” register.

Music legend Quincy Jones has described this collection, which contains more than 5,000 hours of concert recordings, as “the most important testimonial to the history of music, covering jazz, blues and rock.”

Committed to nurturing both established artistes and rising stars, Audemars Piguet joins the Montreux Jazz Festival Artists Foundation in supporting new talents through the Montreux Jazz Academy and the Montreux Jazz Talent Awards.

Mochakk at the Audemars Piguet music showcase. — Marc Ducrest / Montreux Jazz Festival

AP and music

Over the years, Audemars Piguet has multiplied the creative synergies between haute horlogerie and the world of music through various collaborations.

One of its main partnerships began in 2006 when the manufacture joined forces with EPFL and a panel of experts, including musicians, for an eight-year research programme on the acoustic tonality of 19th-century timepieces.

The watchmaker from Le Brassus has also nurtured long-standing friendships with numerous artistes and musicians, including Jay-Z, Quincy Jones and Mark Ronson, who share the same values of technical mastery, precision and innovation.

Audemars Piguet debuted its APxMusic programme in 2019 to support rising talents.

In 2020, the brand launched “180”, a miniseries retracing the creative process of artistes invited to collaborate on an original soundtrack.

This project was followed by a remarkable performance by The Lyonz in the unique mountainous setting overlooking Montreux, on the fringes of Montreux Jazz Festival’s 2021 edition.

This initiative paved the way for the Audemars Piguet Parallel concerts.

Audemars Piguet also announced Ronson as its new ambassador and produced a series of short videos entitled “Syncing Sounds” documenting the creative process of the British-American DJ/producer and the R&B artiste Lucky Daye during the production of the track Too Much.