Swiss avant-garde project KiKu will release its new album Suzhou / It’s All The Rage on Everest Records on September 25, 2026, on LP and CD. The album features Blixa Bargeld, founder and vocalist of Einstürzende Neubauten, and Berlin-based rapper and vocalist Black Cracker.

“Suzhou / It’s All The Rage” is built as a diptych: two distinct halves held together by a shared musical architecture of trumpet, drums, sampler and electronics. The digital release and CD present the work as a continuous eight-track album. On vinyl, the dual structure becomes physical, with Side A carrying “Suzhou” featuring Bargeld and Side B carrying “It’s All The Rage” featuring Black Cracker.

On “Suzhou”, Bargeld’s vocals move between speech, song, whisper and abstract vocal gesture across four tracks shaped by space, tension and control. On “It’s All The Rage”, Black Cracker’s vocals take a more percussive, volatile and immediate approach across the remaining four tracks.

The tracklist runs:

Suzhou – KiKu feat. Blixa Bargeld – Orlando’s Victory – 4:06 – The Number of the Millibeast – 4:48 – Suzhou (XX XY YX YY) – 4:16 – Nonsense Rock’n’Roll – 4:58

It’s All The Rage – KiKu feat. Black Cracker – Bull Whip – 3:36 – Leaping Bull (Chicago) – 5:05 – The Running of the Bulls – 3:50 – Sleeping Bull (Woke) – 4:32

Vocals and lyrics on tracks 1-4 are by Blixa Bargeld. Vocals and lyrics on tracks 5-8 are by Black Cracker. David Doyon plays guitar on tracks 2-4, and Cyril Regamey plays drums and sampler throughout. Bargeld’s vocals were recorded by Boris Wilsdorf at andereBaustelle Tonstudio, Berlin. Black Cracker recorded his own vocals, which were edited and mixed by Jane Arnison in Berlin. Drums were recorded by Antoine Estoppey at Blend Studio, Lutry, and trumpet and computer parts by Yannick Barman at Printemps Digital Studio, Monthey. The album was mixed by Barman and mastered by Estoppey at Blend Studio. Artwork and graphic design are by Cédric Raccio at La Fabrik, Monthey, and the photo of Bargeld is by Thomas Rabsch.

About KiKu

KiKu was founded in 2003 in Sion, Switzerland, by trumpeter and composer Yannick Barman and drummer and percussionist Cyril Regamey. The pair started as an acoustic improvisation duo, and their sound turned toward electronic music during a run of concerts at the Théâtre de l’Oriental in Vevey in February 2003. Since then, KiKu has operated as an open, modular formation that changes line-up and musical language with each project, working across contemporary jazz, electronic music, rock, improvised music and experimental sound art.

The group has toured internationally, performing at jazz clubs and festivals across Europe and Asia as well as in Australia, and has previously collaborated with Blixa Bargeld and Black Cracker on the albums “Marcher sur la tête” (2015) and “Eng, Düster und Bang” (2017), both on Everest Records. Bargeld founded Einstürzende Neubauten in Berlin in 1980 and was also a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from 1983 to 2003. Black Cracker, born Ellison Glenn in Anniston, Alabama, is a rapper, producer and vocalist based in Berlin who also performs with the Swiss jazz trio Grand Pianoramax. “Suzhou / It’s All The Rage” extends KiKu’s collaboration with both vocalists into a new full-length release on Everest Records.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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