Léman

The Swiss trio divr deliver a powerful live document, combining two recordings edited as side-long pieces on vinyl and CD. The trio of Philipp Eden (piano, electronics), Raphael Walser (bass, effects) and Jonas Ruther (drums) released their debut album, Is This Water, with We Jazz in 2024 to great acclaim. On their new live album Léman, released by We Jazz Records, divr show what they do best on stage: building a strong musical flow through repetition, interaction and gradually shifting textures, creating a compelling musical narrative that pulls the listener in deep. Recorded in 2023 at Cully Jazz Festival and in 2025 in Live in Vevey, the album brings together two recordings from different points in the trio's development, both made on the shores of Lac Léman.

The completely acoustic Cully Jazz recording appeared in digital form in late 2025, with music fans requesting a physical release — a wish that is now fulfilled and expanded with the newer Vevey recording on its other side. The previously unreleased Vevey recording, captured during a four-night residency in 2025, offers a more recent view of divr’s more produced live sound.

divr reflects on the recording:

When divr started, we played exclusively — and very regularly — in our rehearsal spaces, drinking lots of pu’erh tea as we did so. Those sessions became almost ritualistic: the tea, the sound, the silence between. Time would stretch, blur, and fold into music. After that long and quiet period of playing only for ourselves, we were invited to perform at the Cully Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

These recordings come from two different occasions playing around the almost unreal backdrop of Lac Léman: the Cully Jazz Festival, which turns the village into a living stage filled with an open and euphoric atmosphere; and Live in Vevey, a wonderful residency series, where we played four nights in a row, providing a beautiful opportunity for our music to unfold.

These moments of flow and synchronicity that words don’t quite catch are the ones we play for. When you are so fully there, nothing else exists but music.