Cosmic Indie Pop · two lead voices · debut EP November 2026
“We are the future, and you are not,” sings a children’s choir in a Bye Bye Maxwell song. Reassurance is not what this band does. The trio from Bern, Switzerland, are Sandy Stadler (vocals, synths, keys), Bänz Isler (vocals, guitar) and Flo Hufschmid (drums). Two lead voices that take turns from song to song, synths, guitar, analogue echo, a singing saw somewhere: they file that under cosmic indie pop. The lyrics are about astrophysics, the future, being lost and the general impermanence of things.
Their first official release, “Überau” with Bernese rapper Nativ (Nativ in Bernese dialect, Sandy answering in English), is the theme song of “The Belonging” (Sky Show / blue Play), the four-part Swiss documentary series about national-team footballers Akanji, Embolo and Rakitić and the question of where you belong; Bänz co-created and co-directed the series, Sandy composed its score.
Sandy and Bänz studied film composition at Zurich University of the Arts and run SONDER Film Music, their scoring studio in Bern. Bye Bye Maxwell is where the pictures come off.
The debut EP «Fragments of Mind» arrives in November 2026, produced by Marty Hailey at Metro 13 Music Studio in Edinburgh. Vintage instruments, modern production, and on the song about sleep paralysis the singing saw. A second single comes in October. A second EP follows, and then the album that joins the two halves and adds a few songs of its own, digital and on vinyl.
Maxwell as in James Clerk Maxwell, the physicist whose demon is a thought experiment about a being that sorts, tirelessly. Bye Bye Maxwell means saying goodbye to whatever sorts music into boxes. Cosmic indie pop is the box they use until it breaks.
«We are the future, and you are not», singt ein Kinderchor in einem Song von Bye Bye Maxwell. Wer Beruhigung sucht, ist bei dieser Band falsch. Das Trio aus Bern, das sind Sandy Stadler (Gesang, Synths, Keys), Bänz Isler (Gesang, Gitarre) und Flo Hufschmid (Schlagzeug). Zwei Leadstimmen, die sich von Song zu Song abwechseln, Synths, Gitarre, analoges Echo, irgendwo eine singende Säge: Das nennen sie Cosmic Indie Pop. Die Texte handeln von Astrophysik, von der Zukunft, vom Verlorensein und von der Vergänglichkeit im Allgemeinen.
Der erste offizielle Release «Überau» mit dem Berner Rapper Nativ (Nativ rappt auf Berndeutsch, Sandy antwortet auf Englisch) ist der Titelsong von «The Belonging» (Sky Show / blue Play), der vierteiligen Schweizer Dokuserie über die Nati-Spieler Akanji, Embolo und Rakitić und die Frage, wohin man gehört; Bänz hat die Serie mitentwickelt und mitinszeniert, Sandy die Filmmusik komponiert.
Sandy und Bänz haben an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste Komposition für Film studiert und führen in Bern das Filmmusik-Studio SONDER Film Music. Bye Bye Maxwell ist der Ort, an dem die Bilder wegfallen.
Die Debüt-EP «Fragments of Mind» erscheint im November 2026, produziert von Marty Hailey im Metro 13 Music Studio in Edinburgh. Vintage-Instrumente, moderne Produktion, und im Song über Schlafparalyse die singende Säge. Eine zweite Single kommt im Oktober. Danach folgt eine zweite EP, und dann das Album, das die beiden Hälften zusammenführt und ein paar eigene Songs mitbringt: digital und auf Vinyl.
Maxwell wie James Clerk Maxwell, der Physiker, dessen Dämon ein Gedankenexperiment ist: ein Wesen, das unermüdlich sortiert. Bye Bye Maxwell heisst: sich verabschieden von allem, was Musik in Schubladen sortiert. Cosmic Indie Pop ist die Schublade, die sie benutzen, bis sie bricht.
New single
It opens like a lost Beach Boys recording and does not stay there. Sandy’s vocals carry the verses over warm organ, punchy drums and tight guitars, the voices stack up, and then Nat James comes in with a rap verse. It’s about one realisation: Forever we’ll have been here. But we were never meant to stay.
First single from the debut EP «Fragments of Mind» (November 2026). Feat. Nat James, rapper from London. Recorded and produced by Marty Hailey at Metro 13 Music Studio, Edinburgh.
Press: “Dreamy pop with a little cosmic disruption.” Last Day Deaf, 19 September 2026
Download cover (3000×3000 px, JPG) · Artwork: Bernarda Conič (Nibera)
First official release
Nativ rapping in Bernese dialect, Sandy answering in English: the theme song of “The Belonging” (Sky Show / blue Play), the four-part Swiss documentary series about national-team footballers Akanji, Embolo and Rakitić. Released in June 2026 on the official series soundtrack.
Debut EP «Fragments of Mind», November 2026
The first chapter of the debut: songs about transience, identity and what remains, produced by Marty Hailey at Metro 13 Music Studio, Edinburgh. A second EP will follow, then the album that joins the two halves and adds a few songs of its own, digital and on vinyl.
Free to use for editorial coverage. Please credit the photographer: Phoebe Grigor.
Bänz Isler
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