After his degree in film scoring, Swiss composer and multi instrumentalist Cédric Joël Ziegler ties his skills in classical composition & arrangement to his roots as a singer and songwriter. The result is JODOQ, a cinematic clash of genres and emotions, somewhere in the realm between modern electronic pop and neo classical.
While working as a film & media composer the 25 year old on the side, strived to improve his pop production skills. After several attempts to work out a sound aesthetic that would match his vision of combining modern Pop music with Neo Classics, he finally completed the production for his debut single "Hunch". Which was planned to be released in summer 2020.
But way before the planned release in Juli 2020, the story took an unexpected but very welcomed turn. Cedric had sent in one of his earlier mixes of Hunch to the Demotape Clinic Contest of the renowned m4music festival in Zurich, Switzerland. The expert jury had chosen "hunch" as the Pop-Demo of the Year which propelled JODOQ into the public before even officially releasing his first single.
To not miss out on the opportunity of the moment, the song was released early, on April.16.2020.
An exciting new artist is taking his first steps, wearing the name of a character of his favorite childrens story "Jodok lässt grüssen". About 20 years after his mother had read the story to him, Cédric is still fascinated by Swiss author Peter Bichsels ability to capture the weirdness, beauty and normality behind mental illness. In a light, funny but still touching way, Bichsel portraits the thoughts and lifes of ordinary people, who happen to think differently.
Reflecting on his own restless mind during early adulthood, JODOQ is trying to make sense of the discrepancy between the shallow monotony of ordinary day to day life and the overwhelming raw emotions that unasked and unexpectedly wash over us like waves. Pulled down into the depths of depression or hopelessness, then again hurled up into euphoria and overconfidence. Balancing the edge of these two pitfalls of the human psyche, JODOQ is weaving meaning into his music by describing his personal inner world in a painting like style, that invites the listeners themselves to become the protagonist of the song.
During his studies at "Zurich University of the Arts", Cédric had the opportunity to work with different kinds of ensembles and gain hands on experience in various styles ranging from classical and contemporary composition, over jazz arrangement to sound design and music production.
To finish up his bachelor degree he decided to connect what he had learned during his 3 years at ZHdK to his past as a Singer and Songwriter. Neon Diaries premiered in Zurich in June 2019 and was performed by an electronic pop band and a classical ensemble conducted by Holly Hyun Choe. The evening showcased six songs, one of them should later become JODOQ's first single: "Hunch".
In March 2020 the first official project under the name of JODOQ was realized as part of the live performance video series "Lagom Sessions". The Song "Unconditional" was performed and recorded live on set by a 10 piece Chamber Section. In this fragile ballad Cédric processes his memories of letting go of his grandfather at his funeral, after he had lost his fight to cancer in 2012.
A long awaited dream, to perform live with a full sized professional orchestra has come true. As a part of their new concert series "concert lounge" JODOQ was chosen to perform two of his songs live on stage with the wonderful Symphony Orchestra Basel.
In January 2022 the solo project is transforming into a quartet as three new members are taking part in the creative process of the upcoming debut EP. The new members Jakob Eisenbach, Yanick Herzog and Paul Taro Schmidt are alumni of the film scoring program at "Zurich University of the Arts".
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