Archive for category Music News
Moodswing Baby, the new Absynthe Minded single
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, Music News, Music Video on January 27th, 2010
Absynthe Minded did great the last few months with Envoi (at least in Belgium that is). They topped just about every 2009 chart in Belgium radio land and now they are ready for a new single: Moodswing Baby.
The music video was made in collaboration with animator Gwen Vanderstraeten (mellon), who had this great idea for a music video and who worked for two months on the animation…
Enjoy!
Belgian artists and bands on Twitter
Posted by JayAre in Big in Belgium, Music News on October 20th, 2009
You can’t turn on the news or read a newspaper these days without Twitter getting mentioned. Twitter is a microblogging service that allows you to post status updates in 140 characters (or less). Why 140? That is exactly the maximum length of an SMS message.
Twitter allows you to follow your friends and colleagues, but you can also follow what your favorite band or artist is up to. The Belgian rock scene has also discovered Twitter as a medium to connect with their fans and so we are proud to present to you: the one and only Belgian artists and bands on Twitter overview.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? (not really…) But anyway, here we go:
Besides a link to the Twitter account itself, you can also see one example tweet from the artist or band (so you can immediately get an idea what they are tweeting about). If you know any other twitterati from the Belgian rock scene, feel free to leave your comments and we’ll update this list. BTW, did I already mention you should follow @BigInBelgium on Twitter? BTW, you can follow our Belgian artists and bands on Twitter list here. We’ll try to keep it up-to-date.
Playing a show in DILBEEK at 8:00 PM today at VIJVERFESTIVAL
Second single for Customs: Justine
Posted by JayAre in Music News, Music Video on September 21st, 2009
A few months after Customs released its first single Rex, you can now enjoy their second,the somewhat rocking Justine:
The video seems a bit inspired by Never Alone/Always Together by The Blackbox Revelation…
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):
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:
