How It All Began
It all started as an experiment of sorts when the Swiss branch of a worldwide charitable organization expressed interest in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest, and recording/production company Hitmill Records partnered in the hopes of making that possibility a reality. An internal casting was held to find the right mix of musicians, and the six that were eventually chosen - Sarah Breiter, Katharina Hauri, Michel Sterckx, Emil Ramsauer, Christoph Jakob and Jonas Gygax - were a uniquely diverse blend of people ranging in age from 20 all the way to 94. All six were musicians (Jonas working as a freelance producer while Christoph also sang in the band for another Swiss artist) and true to their beliefs. The band was named "Heilsarmee", and in the fall of 2012 their song "You and Me" was submitted to SF, Switzerland's German broadcaster, for entry into the national selections. About 180 entries were submitted for the SF selection alone, including a song featuring the first Eurovision winner, Lys Assia. On November 12, 2012, using a split mix of online and expert jury voting, "You and Me" was one of four songs selected to advance to the final, along with "Do The Monkey" by Anthony Bighead, "Forever and a Day" by Jesse Ritch, and "Point of No Return" by Melissa.

The Swiss Final
On December 15, 2012, the national final competition Die Grosse Entscheidungs Show (The Big Decision Show) took place at the Bodensee Arena in Kreuzlingen. Performing fifth out of the nine finalists, the group gave a simple yet effective performance of what was believed to be one of the catchiest songs of the night and a hot favorite to win. Though experts from various other countries weighed in with opinions, the ultimate result was left to the Swiss people in a full televote. Heilsarmee was among the top three voted on by the public along with French duo Carrousel and Jesse Ritch, and earned the right in the end to represent Switzerland at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, taking 37% of the total vote, more than 20% of the runners-up Carrousel. But of course, every journey has to have its twists and turns.

A New Start
Two days after the victory, the EBU sent a message to SF, stating that even though the song met the requirements for competition in the contest, the group's name did not, and they had to make a change to their name and costumes before the handover of the song to the EBU in March. It took some time to sort things out, but on January 25, 2013, SF announced that the band had decided to comply with the rules and change their name, officially confirming their participation in Malmo. So work started on selecting a new name, a new look, and a new concept for their presentation

Takasa
In March 2013, SF unveiled the group's new name and concept. They were re-christened as Takasa, a Swahili word for "purity", which still defines who they are while reflecting the joy and positive energy they channel into their performances (Christoph has said many times that it sounded a little like "Hakuna Matata"). They adopted the motto "Together we're one", which fit perfectly with the "We Are One" slogan adopted for Malmo, and shot a new video featuring the group on a roadtrip adventure towards their destination of Sweden and the contest. One of their first major performances as the re-christened group was at the annual Eurovision In Concert show in Amsterdam, where they delighted the crowds.

Music For The People
While in Sweden, international media were genuinely interested in the group's story, and they did appearances and performances wherever they could in between rehearsals for the second semi-final, where they would perform sixteenth out of seventeen countries. On the night of semifinal 2, they gave it their all in another simple performance that was designed to let the song and the group shine without going over the top. They finished thirteenth in the semifinal with 41 points from 11 countries, missing out on the final. Though the juries didn't score them well (placing sixteenth), the public responded with enthusiasm, placing Takasa in the top 5 in the overall televote in their semi. They took their early exit well, citing that their music was for the people... and they made good on their words.

Inspiration
The group was so inspired by their win at the Swiss final and their Eurovision journey that they decided to release an album. Working together with the Hitmill team, the album encompasses the themes of relationships and was put together in a few weeks, a diverse variety of music groups from across Europe also lending their support to the project and providing music and rhythms from their home countries. Of course anchored by their Eurovision song "You and Me", a unique new version was added performed by artists from 14 different countries.

A unique and special group, with a unique and special message:

Together We're One

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