Archive for category Big in Belgium
Absynthe Minded reworks poem by Hugo Claus into new single Envoi
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, Music News, Music Video on August 30th, 2009
Last week the slightly fantastic Ghent based band Absynthe Minded released its new nameless album through the belgian magazine Humo. No doubt they will shortly be topping the charts in Belgium…
The second single from the new album, Envoi, is a real gem. And it even becomes better if you know it is based on a poem by one of Belgium’s finest writers ever Hugo Claus. Absynthe Minded did so after an invitation by Poetracks, a Dutch initiative for setting Dutch or Flemish poems by famous writers to music:
One image in the music video struck me as familiar. It seems to refer to a cover of a single by Ghent based companions Soulwax:
Absynthe Minded – Envoi lyrics:
My verses stand gawping a bit
I never get used to this
They lived here long enough
Enough!
I send them out of the house
I don’t wanna wait
Until their toes are cold
Enough!
I wanna hear the humming of the sun
Or that of my heart,
Hardening
Enough!
They don’t screw classically
They babble commonly
And bluster nobly
Enough! Enough!
In winter their lips leap
In spring they lie flat at the first warmth
They ruin my summer
And in autumn it’s girls and a broken heart
For another twelve lines on this sheet
I’ll hold my hand over their head
And then I’ll kick them out
Enough!
Go and pester elsewhere, one-cent rhymes
Find somebody who cares
Enough!
Go now on your high feet
This is where the graves laugh
When they see their guests
Enough!
One corpse on top of the other
Go now and stagger to her
Whom I do not know
Enough! Enough!
In winter their lips leap
In spring they lie flat at the first warmth
They ruin my summer
And in autumn it’s girls and a broken heart
Rock Werchter 2009, a BiB overview
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, Music News, Music Video on July 8th, 2009
The first weekend of summer vacation in Belgium is traditionally the Rock Werchter weekend. Rock Werchter is the biggest and best known summer festival we have in Belgium and it was voted Best Music Festival in the World four times over the last five years.
And it was a hot edition this year. While temperatures reached tropical hights, one great band after the other performed on the famous Werchter stages. Of course there was also room for some of Belgium’s best bands: Arsenal, Triggerfinger, Jasper Erkens, 2ManyDJs, The Hickey Underworld, Lady Linn & Her Magnificent Seven, Ghinzu and (really? no really?) Milk Inc.
If you missed it, don’t panic, there’s always YouTube. Below a short overview of the best Belgian band movies we could find so far.
Arsenal (Lotuk):
Triggerfinger (performing live on guitar and bike!):
Jasper Erkens (Everybody Is The Same):
2ManyDJs:
The Hickey Underworld:
Lady Linn & Her Magnificent Seven (I Don’t Wanna Dance):
Ghinzu (Kill The Surfers):
Milk Inc. (a non-conventional choice, a big gamble, but apparently also a big success):
The big Werchter Whirlwind (strange image, a whirlwind over the festival terrain. A few people were wounded):
Selah Sue & Triggerfinger vs. Lady Linn & Absynthe Minded
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, Music Video on June 28th, 2009
Just stumbled across a great video today. It dates from the beginning of this year (2009) and was recorded during the first Red Bull Soundclash in Belgium.
You can enjoy both Selah Sue with Triggerfinger and Lady Linn with Absynthe Minded covering Mercy from Duffy:
K’s Choice and Channel Zero announce reunion
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, FFWD to the Past, Music News on June 14th, 2009
Reunion announcements are hot. At least, that’s what K’s Choice and Channel Zero must have thought last week. Both bands announced they will be teaming up again for a small comeback. K’s Choice will be playing live at the Dranouter Festival in August and Channel Zero will be performing live at least once in January 2010 in the Ancienne Belgique (Brussels).
Sarah and Geert Bettens, original founders of K’s Choice and brother and sister, have both been working on their own projects for the last six years. Sarah went solo (and moved to the U.S.) and Geert tried to conquer the world with his band Woodface. Rumours are they are also working on a new album that will be released in 2010. Watch them perform their biggest hit song so far, Not An Addict (live at Pinkpop 1996 with Skin from Skunk Anansie):
Franky DSVD and his Channel Zero metal compadres will play one concert in January after 12 years of inactivity. They were the one-and-only big Belgian metal band for several years, but after five succesful albums they decided to call it a day in 1997. Maybe Channel Zero didn’t get the public attention they deserved, but other metal bands enjoyed taking them on tour as support act. Among others Channel Zero toured with Biohazard, Bodycount, Napalm Death, Life Of Agony and Danzig. Hope they will be playing this song in Brussels, Black Fuel:
Customs release debut single Rex
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, Music News on May 11th, 2009
Customs, a young Belgian band, just released its debut single called Rex. For the full album, we have to wait until October.
But who is Customs? They give you a quite accurate description on their MySpace profile (where you can also enjoy Rex):
If Duran Duran’s Girls on film were actually guys, they would be called Customs (°2008). If The House of Love would speed up a notch or two, they would call themselves Customs. Imagine The Human League with intrusive guitars instead of synths: Customs. Customs guarantees pop songs bathing in melody, atmosphere and rhythmic edge, dressed in trench coats of mystery. Uninvited guests settling in a room that was not even vacant. Customs uses a voice, a pair of electric guitars, a bass guitar, a modest drum kit and an occasional keyboard.
Ace Mirko Zec, Jelle Florentinus Mark Janse, Kristof Marie August Albert Uittebroek and Joan Willy August Govaerts are now residing in the studio to record their debut album. Rex already got quite some airplay in Belgium on StuBru and Radio1 and Customs is working really hard to finish the music video. So no video yet? Not really, Customs put some video’s on YouTube about their studio adventures:
Manhay, the new Daan album
Posted by JayAre in Albums, Big in Belgium, Music News on May 4th, 2009
Daan Stuyven, the lost son Arno never had, released his new piece of art and called it Manhay (a village in the Belgian Ardennes, next to the place where he recorded the album). His new album breaks with his former work in the sense that synthesizer, although still present, have been replaced by the piano as main instrument. And like always, Daan gets away with it.
You already might have heard the first Manhay single Exes or might have seen Daan’s own Lumberjack clip for the song. I’m amazed by how many rhymes he managed to find for the word “exes”:
Manhay tracklisting:
- Exes
- Your eyes
- Brand new truth
- Icon
- Friendly fire
- Crawling from the wreck
- Bad boy, bad girl
- Radio silence
- A great retriever
- Decisions
- Beauty calls collect
- The stealing kind
Exes lyrics:
Exes I’ve got no acces to my exes
I’m sure by now they’ve moved to Texas
or took a one way trip to Naxos
Exes I’ve lost the battle of the sexes
Like making love inside of taxis
They liked the sting but not the cactusI know that exes reflect my youth
I know that exes are my male proof
I know they’re guilty of being the past
But you’ve killed the cupid
You’re over them
Exes I’ve got no problem with my exes
They loved me driving in my Lexus
A road’s as good as all its exits
Exes so out of date like sending faxes
I was the tree they were the axes
They liked the pray but not the mantisThe cynical collector of birds not bees
The problem detector got high on heels
The beauty protector with no degree
for exesWhich is good which is constructive
Which is what a woman needs
Don’t go asking for forgiveness
Go plead guilty all degrees
You were raised on definitions
With your dears obscuring deeds
Your actionsExes you like ‘m young but not the acne
You like the team but not the referee
I wonder how it feels to ex me
So go ahead and ex me
Try to forget just don’t annex me
I thought I threw away the frisbee
I’d say we try to stick to plan BLike a missile that ain’t guided
I was following my seed
Like a horse that hasn’t travelled
I took hay for upper purple weed
I got excommunicated
Cause I couldn’t play the creep
for exes
Exes too young to check all their reflexes
No use explaining who T-Rex is
They are the source of all complexes
You know… exes
