Film

Yo-dell-ayy-hee-hooo! Actually, if you’ve always reckoned yodelling to be among the most ridiculous ways of wasting a human voice (operetta aside, of course), this labour-of-love documentary will give you pause for thought. It’s about a new generation of Swiss musicians moving beyond twee sentiments and kitsch traditional dress. Take Christian Zehnder, who’s developed his own freestyle vocalise, incorporating elements of jazz and contemporary music. Unclassifiable stuff, but his vocal range makes him one of the world’s most amazing performers – one minute he’s jamming with Tuvan throat singers, the next he’s doing an impression of a milking machine.

The film also features Noldi Alder, scion of Switzerland’s most famous folk group, who has now ventured into avant-garde modernism for himself, and Swiss-American Eliza Stucky, whose rootsy brand of self-involved yodelling psycho-drama soon outstays its welcome. Slightly stretched at 82 minutes, the film nevertheless makes a strong case for this high, wide and lonesome sound expressing the soul of the alpine landscape, beautifully captured by the aerial camerawork.