Home is where the stage is

Sophie Hunger, one of Switzerland’s biggest pop stars, explains why performing is the only place where she would rather be. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

At the end of 2013, Sophie Hunger took a time-out in San Francisco. After more than six years of touring and 250,000 albums sold, the 32-year-old Swiss singer-songwriter had had enough of the spotlight. 

At the time she was determined to never return to the stage. But once in California, moving from one Airbnb to the next, she soon gathered enough energy to, once again, reach for her guitar. Her new album “Super Moon” is the result of a break of almost two years: a multifaceted album with 18 songs that transcend musical boundaries.

Hunger’s musical style builds on the tension between folk, jazz and electronic. This is coupled with her idiosyncratic lyrics in four languages: German, Swiss German, English and French.

The daughter of a former diplomat and a former secretary-general of the conservative right Swiss People’s Party, her career took off in Zurich at the Helsinki club. From there, Emilie Welti, as she was then known, set off to become one of Switzerland’s most popular singer-songwriters. She now lives in Berlin, but finds herself at peace travelling and especially when singing on stage.