Dnepr

Andrea Kaiser—performing as Dnepr—is a Bern-based musician, voracious reader and longtime provocateur of the Swiss underground. First hailed in the late 1980s with the cult band Dnjepr, he built a reputation for uncompromising music: dark melodies, searing/sighing guitars and smouldering rhythms, resistant to any easy label. After a long silence he returned solo with The Nine Gates (2017), followed by Songs of No Return on Everest Records, a cycle of literature-inspired pieces referencing Poe, Kafka, Shakespeare and more. Kaiser treats sound like atmosphere and argument—layered, tense, and quietly defiant—favouring bands and raw presence over polish or convenience. Sources: Martin Burkhalter, “Der Unruhestifter,” Berner Zeitung, 31 Aug 2019. Accessed 13 Oct 2025.

Bern, Switzerland