If the Montreux Jazz Festival wasn’t already on your radar, listen up, because this Swiss festival is being taken to new heights by the one watch brand currently dominating the music industry more than ever before: Audemars Piguet.
Summer is nothing if not synonymous with the euphoria of a music festival, and there’s a limitless feeling to that too. Clear skies, late nights, a rush of endorphins. Typically, you find that in the form of Glastonbury. This year, the unforeseen even happened when Oasis made a surprise return to the summer setlist. But one of the true perks of losing yourself to music is stumbling upon something entirely unexpected.
If the Montreux Jazz Festival wasn’t already on your radar, listen up, because this Swiss festival is being taken to new heights by the one watch brand currently dominating the music industry more than ever before: Audemars Piguet. And we’re not just talking about name-dropping AP in every other track by your favourite artist. This is a full-blown, cross-disciplinary immersion between Audemars Piguet and anything with a good beat.
Making a statement in its 150th anniversary year, the Swiss watchmaker is showing that while its horological roots date back to 1875, there’s nothing old-fashioned about its intentions. Since partnering with the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2019, AP has doubled down on its collaborative efforts with a one-night-only, spin-off event now in its third edition: Parallel.
As the name suggests, it runs alongside the musical festivities of the Montreux Jazz Festival, offering select artists the chance to perform to an exclusive crowd. But make no mistake, Parallel is very much its own experience. How so? Well, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill stage-in-a-field setup. Quite the opposite. In fact, the location isn’t even revealed until just moments before the event begins.
So what does that mean for the nearly 1,000 lucky contest winners hoping to catch Parallel 2025’s headliner, Peggy Gou? It means a secret meeting point and throngs of excited music-lovers being led up a mountain, surrounded by Switzerland’s postcard-perfect scenery, all the way to a disused thermal power plant.
That’s right. Le Brassus took a forgotten industrial space and transformed it into a pulsating celebration of music and timekeeping. Guests were welcomed through a haze of smoke and a temporary stairwell crafted from industrial poles, stepping into a cavernous space filled with bass-heavy beats that echoed into the night.
So who exactly were these lucky warehouse dwellers? In a bid to fuse creative worlds, Parallel operates on a free-for-all policy, open to anyone who enters the contest. That means it’s not just VIPs and industry insiders; it’s a diverse, passionate crowd, and more importantly, it’s an invitation for new eyes to discover the enigmatic world of Audemars Piguet.
If you’re wondering, make it make sense, why is a music festival holding hands with horology? First off, this isn’t just any music festival. It’s a two-week-long extravaganza that’s taken over Lake Geneva since the late ’60s, graced by the likes of Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and David Bowie. That’s what they mean when they say drop the mic.
Secondly, this isn’t collaboration for collaboration’s sake. For Audemars Piguet, there’s a genuine connection between keeping time and keeping rhythm, a relationship that’s been quietly building over the years, endorsed by the likes of Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, and Mark Ronson (the latter a close friend of the brand). Heard that new Raye track lately? You can thank Audemars Piguet for that one, linking the duo and gifting us “Suzanne.” That’s Suzanne Audemars, in case you missed the reference.
Parallel confirms AP’s commitment to engaging with voices across creative disciplines, a movement that’s gaining momentum in the watch world. This fusion of universes aims to capture the hearts of a new generation: experience first, product second. Because at the end of the day, it’s the memories that stand the test of time. And what better way to ignite the next wave of watch lovers than by offering the unexpected? A thousand people on a mountain, dancing to sleek melodies and heart-thumping hits, all in the name of horology.
Neatly summed up by the tagline of AP’s musical vision, “The beat goes on.” But really, it’s more than that. The beat evolves, and Audemars Piguet is writing its own tune.
Words – Scarlett Baker
