Prefermusic

Prefermusic is a Swiss independent music label founded in 2013 and run by composer and sound engineer Ramon Bischoff together with his team. Based in the Bern area — the label's address is Stationsstrasse 11a, 3097 Bern-Liebefeld, with the German-language Wikipedia describing its seat as Köniz near Bern — Prefermusic releases genre-crossing music on a range of physical carriers as well as through digital channels. Rather than committing to a single stylistic direction, the label, according to its founder, focuses on related artistic work and on the process of creating a product: its stated ethos is that it cares about how a release is made, and it "prefers music" and the methods of transferring it. The catalogue is built around album-length projects, often with elaborate physical editions. Releases are numbered sequentially with a PM prefix, and recent examples include MS Peche's "Target Zone" (PM023, released 6 December 2024, vinyl edition of 300), Arem's single "Helios' Bolted Horse" (PM024, 14 February 2025), Arem's double-LP "Magic, Vertigo, Dream." (PM025, 28 March 2025, double vinyl edition of 500 comprising the four installments Magic, Vertigo, Dream; Different Home; Magic will find you; and Appearing [Piano Works 2022]), and Minten&González's "Ruins Of A Non-Existent Place" (PM027, released 18 September 2026, vinyl edition of 200). The Minten&González record illustrates the label's collaborative model: it is a coproduction between Prefermusic (Switzerland) for vinyl, Aut Records (Italy) for digital and wabi-sabi tapes (France) for cassette. Beyond releasing records, Prefermusic operates as a small cultural hub. It runs a concert and event programme at BARAK in Liebefeld, Bern, with listings such as BARAK Sessions, zozoTransistor, Strotter Inst. + Mulo Mute, Dpt. + Fantxot, Tramontana & Luz González, and Trio Hofmann - Pili - Bischoff, plus future dates in 2027 for Schmidlin&Cina and Minten&González. It also offers a label subscription: subscribers receive all new releases plus four past releases of their own choice for 100 CHF, 100 USD, 85 GBP or 90 EUR per year, plus a one-time shipping fee. The label maintains a newsletter and an Instagram presence, and in 2023 it marked its tenth anniversary with a lecture by Ramon Bischoff telling the story of the label's founding and playing the music that inspired it. Prefermusic remains a privately held, independent operation with no parent company or stock listing. Its identity is closely tied to its founder's dual role as composer and engineer, and to a curatorial approach that values artistic kinship over genre boundaries.

Prefermusic was founded in 2013 by Ramon Bischoff, a composer and sound engineer, and has since been run by him together with his team. The German-language Wikipedia entry describes it as a Swiss music label based in Köniz near Bern that releases genre-crossing music on various sound carriers and through digital channels. The label's own contact address is Stationsstrasse 11a, 3097 Bern-Liebefeld, which also serves as the venue for its BARAK event series. From the outset the label avoided tying itself to a single genre. According to its founder, it instead builds its programme around related artistic work — a curatorial logic that favours affinity between artists over stylistic categories. The label's stated philosophy, published on its About page, is that it cares about the process of creating a product: "We prefer music, methods to transfer it and everything that includes it." This emphasis on process is visible in the care taken over physical editions, which are typically produced in small, numbered runs. Releases are catalogued with sequential PM numbers. Among the documented titles are MS Peche's "Target Zone" (PM023), released on 6 December 2024 as a vinyl edition of 300. The album was assembled by Ramon Bischoff after he received a USB stick containing an unorganised archive of recordings and photos labelled MS Peche; he arranged the material in memory of Peter Müller, who disappeared in 2021 during the lockdown in Tangier. The label describes MS Peche's musical legacy as distinctive, reflecting an extraordinary life influenced by various cultures and trends, with compositions spanning punk, electronica and 1990s techno, among other genres. Arem's single "Helios' Bolted Horse" (PM024) followed on 14 February 2025 as a preview of the forthcoming double LP. That double LP, "Magic, Vertigo, Dream." (PM025), was released on 28 March 2025 as a double vinyl edition of 500, comprising four installments: Magic, Vertigo, Dream; Different Home; Magic will find you; and Appearing [Piano Works 2022]. The label characterises the work as an instrumental exploration of human identity and way of life after the arrival of technological singularity. The most recent documented release is Minten&González's "Ruins Of A Non-Existent Place" (PM027), announced for release on 18 September 2026 as a vinyl edition of 200. The record is a coproduction between Prefermusic (Switzerland) for the vinyl, Aut Records (Italy) for digital and wabi-sabi tapes (France) for cassette — an arrangement that reflects the label's habit of working with international partners. The label describes the music as exploring a shifting sonic territory in which perspectives blur and familiar reference points dissolve, somewhere between deconstructed architecture and abstract landscapes, built from unstable forms, spatial tensions and layered textures. Alongside its release schedule, Prefermusic has developed a live and community dimension. It hosts concerts and sessions at BARAK in Liebefeld, Bern, with a programme that has included BARAK Sessions, zozoTransistor, Strotter Inst. + Mulo Mute, Dpt. + Fantxot, Tramontana & Luz González and Trio Hofmann - Pili - Bischoff, and with dates announced for 2027 featuring Schmidlin&Cina and Minten&González. It also offers a label subscription through which listeners receive all new releases plus four past releases of their own choosing for 100 CHF, 100 USD, 85 GBP or 90 EUR per year plus a one-time shipping fee, and it maintains a newsletter and an Instagram account. In 2023 the label marked its tenth anniversary; a lecture by Ramon Bischoff from that occasion, in which he tells the story of the label's founding and discusses and plays the music that inspired it, is published on the label's website.

• 2026

  Minten&González - Ruins Of A Non-Existent Place (PM027) released on 18 September, vinyl edition of 200.

• 2025

  Arem - Helios' Bolted Horse (PM024) single released on 14 February.

• 2025

  Arem - Magic, Vertigo, Dream. (PM025) double LP released on 28 March, edition of 500.

• 2024

  MS Peche - Target Zone (PM023) released on vinyl, edition of 300.

• 2023

  Label celebrates its 10th anniversary; Ramon Bischoff gives a lecture on its founding and inspirations.

• 2013

  Prefermusic founded by Ramon Bischoff as a Swiss independent music label.

Independent, curator-led Swiss label focused on genre-crossing music, careful physical editions and the creative process rather than a single style.

• MS Peche - Target Zone (PM023)

• Arem - Helios' Bolted Horse (PM024)

• Arem - Magic, Vertigo, Dream. (PM025)

• Minten&González - Ruins Of A Non-Existent Place (PM027)

1. 1Releases | Prefermusicprefermusic.ch
2. 2About | Prefermusicprefermusic.ch
3. 3Prefermusic - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Prefermusic - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org