Inside Caprices: High-altitude hedonism kicks off festival season in the Swiss Alps

If the first festival of the year sets the tone, then Caprices has propelled my excitement for summer ’26 to new heights. As we arrive in Gstaad, check in to the HUUS Hotel and get ready to head out, it feels like we’re on the cusp of some sort of canon event. After a long winter, a new season brings fresh energy. Punters and talent alike feel rested and rejuvenated, even if they’re anything but (still frequenting clubs like FOLD, haunting smoking areas since Halloween, possessed by the pull of pulsing techno, a beaten-up Juul clasped in frozen hands). Whether you’re rested up or hardly rested, the clubber’s appetite is insatiable, and we’re more than ready to feast on the newness Caprices has to offer.

We take a gondola up to the festival site in the mountains and my blood feels like butter. The breathtaking views of Gstaad provide a cinematic, pinch-me backdrop, yet remain the second best thing about this festival. Hosted across two weekends, the line-up for weekend two is varied and deliberate. Largely catering to two moods: first, laidback vs. experimental, minimal, cool techno (think: Fumiya Tanaka); second, tech house’s beloved top players like Laidlaw, Vintage Culture and Jamie Jones. With a stacked Saturday line-up of the former at the Ridge stage, the crowd saw no reason to move all day. Don’t you love it when they make things easy? Stand at one stage, oscillate between toilets and the bar, get to know those around you, and camp out for the foreseeable. Et voilà.

As the mountainous backdrop dissolved into night behind the semicircular glasshouse of the Ridge, we struck up easy friendships with Italian expats and Geneva locals. For 11 hours straight, front centre was our home. Highlights included the effervescent and cheery Francesco Del Garda, who blew us away with an energetic minimal house and techno set with undertones of unique, funky Italian flair. He followed Call Super and Craig Richards’ daytime delight, who dropped a sprawling, high-impact set with moments of rewarding elation, like ‘Resonant’ by Satoshi Tommie, and the trusty ‘You’re So Just Just’ by Rework. 

Throughout, I couldn’t shake the sense that Call Super was in his element. He was clearly having fun. With the scene facing recent growing pains, and some questioning whether the club bubble might burst, I asked him what his utopia would be: “More clubs, full of music which is made to connect to us in a total, whole mind-body-soul way. More diversity, more compassion and empathy. It has felt like DJing as a job has increasingly attracted people who are self-obsessed over the last decade, and in my utopia, those types are attracted to other paths in life. This scene really needs more empaths! Music is about listening to others.” Here, at least, egos were checked at the door. Amen.

RPR Soundsystem dove straight into unyielding minimal grooves, less Rominimal than expected but arguably even better. The set was centred on long-form storytelling and deep digging that hypnotised us into a dream-like state ahead of Sonja Moonear and Ricardo Villalobos, who closed the stage to thunderous crescendo. Sonja’s performance was sharp, laser-focused and sophisticated, with Ricardo predictably holding court as only Ricardo can. Us mere mortals glued to the palm of their hands. If time stood still, no one would have left for love nor money, especially once Villalobos’ iconic 2009 Points (Villalobos Una Puta Mas Atrás Remix) was mixed in to viral social media acclaim. 

If an international Euro crowd can feel intimidating and offbeat to typically self-conscious Brits, it didn’t last long; the sense of community was palpable. My friend Isabel (@minos.music) was unfortunately on crutches, but we felt extremely looked-after all weekend. Call Super even gave her a sympathetic wink, nodding to her dedication to the dancefloor. While she was gathering contacts getting her own sound out there, I was picking people’s brains for IDs and reviews. By the end of the night, it was like we’d known each other for years. Warm, flamboyant, generous and effortlessly cool was our Caprices crowd — and our sore throats the next day were proof.

Sunday rolled around like a steam train as we scrambled to get ready, forcing down a burger and heading to Traumer’s set. Traumer brought energy to the main stage, wearing a t-shirt that read, “Fuck nudes, send me your playlist”. Breezing through woozy deep-house tracks at pace, he kept us on our toes with some fun remixes thrown in. I didn’t catch DJ Tennis’ closing, but I’m told the crowd was connected and elated. Instead, we set up camp in the Cntrl Room, where Nicolas Duvoisin served up a minimal deep-house set, with Agencias (Original Mix) by Nico Purman weaved in. I asked Nicolas for three words to describe the vibe and he echoed my sentiments with “generous, welcoming and professional”, cementing Caprices as a family affair where everyone mingles. 

Our closing choice was F.O.E (Fraternal Order Of Eagles, consisting of Guti, Sarkis, Kanova and Madnax), who sent the cosy Cntrl Room flying with a live DJ set enhanced with keyboard, strings and barely-there vocals. More friends were made, Shazam was no use, and the crowd was awarded an extra hour and a half for good behaviour.  

It was Caprices’ first year at their new location in Eggli in Gstaad and, as anyone who puts on events knows, moving a much-loved festival to a new site is no easy feat. One benefit of the new location was having all three stages together at the top of the Alps. The production standard was astounding, with Caprices’ Head of Events and Talent Kerol Kollom at the helm. Her team consisted of multiple women in management (something that’s rare, as women are still heavily underrepresented in electronic music event production, go figure).

Kerol tells me how having strong female representation within the team brings a different dynamic to the way they operate. Adding a level of awareness, communication and a more considered approach to situations, which is “incredibly valuable in high-pressure environments” (we’ve been trying to tell you!). Jokes aside, like anything, it’s about balance. Kerol emphasised how building a team where people are trusted and supported regardless of gender is paramount to the festival’s success. The work that goes on behind the scenes is unimaginable — especially at such high altitude — and we can vouch that the sound quality was as seamless as the rest. 

Eight unmissable parts of Caprices, according to our writer, Kell:

1. Find the secret stage at all costs (the cost: recently physically-impaired friend running down three flights of stairs at pace)
2. Chips (frites, whatever)
3. Lose your cloakroom ticket even though you were told to take a photo, twice
4. Take 30 photos for a hot DJ/model couple in the fairytale snow
5. Wake up to an Instagram DM about your lost driving licence
6. Deliver an incredibly serious pep talk to warm French people on the gondola
7. Do not ski (to miss skiing, is unmissable)
8. Don’t smile because it happened cry because it’s over, etc.

To sign up for Caprices 2027, click here.