Lots of good dj’s coming to Belgium next couple of months (although mostly on the same day(s)). 27/03 it’s Mr Scruff in Ghent. Firmly recommended. Always a true education in skills and selection.
Talking about bad timing. Qtip is coming to the AB on the same night as the Stones Throw package is coming to Trix. I go for that last one.
Yesterday’s gig at Maison Du Peuple was fun. Although we got some strange requests, crazy people babbling on about the Simple Minds (and when I told I hated them, I got asked repeatedly what music I liked – mind you, I just had finished a 6h set) and mad drunk people falling into the booth constantly, we also got a lot of love. For which we are thankful. Even got a guy telling me that if I were a girl he would have told me I was a hot thing. Yep, it was one of those nights.
Great bar although they got to work on the sound. Will need to test my new edit on another system to know how hard it pumps. Big up to the nice owners, Anthony and the lovely staff. And to our little family always supporting us.
And got to tell y’all, not drinking any alcohol opens up new worlds for you. Never knew everybody (and I mean everybody) was that drunk at the end of a night. I’m beginning to really enjoy that part of going out.
The 21st of February has got to be the busiest quality party night in years here in Belgium. Untitled!, Wonderful and now the first anniversary of We Play House Recordings. They’ve invited a true legend for that. Larry Heard aka Mr Fingers. If you love House music and don’t know him, you’re an ignorant fool and nothing else. They come rarely any bit more essential than this. True pioneer of the more subtle style of the genre, one of the Chicago legends, man who never has gone for easy success and still is as much on top of his game as he was when he started. I’ve seen him play twice, both times it was genius.
Supporting him will be Red D, San Soda & Lenny. Place to be is Decadance in Ghent. Entrance fee is 5 euro.
Both releases on the might WPH-label have been giving more than a little attention by us. We even invited Red D and San Soda to the radio studio for an interview this year. Looking forward to what they’ll bring in 2009.
Excited about the months to come. Lots of good stuff to check here in Belgium (and abroad). Lets give you a roundup:
13/2 – Het Depot, Leuven – Gilles Peterson, Jazzanova, Lefto and some Italian Jazz I really don’t like.
21/2 – Trix, Antwerp – Hudson Mohawke, Rustie and a lot of Dupstep
21/2 – Tavernier, Brussels – Wonderful with Simbad, Cris Prolific, Lefto and BrownMo
11/3 – Trix, Antwerp – Dâm-Funk, Mayer Hawthorne, Peanut Butter Wolf
29/4 – De Kreun, Kortrijk – Flying Lotus Gaslamp Killer, Samiyam
14/5 – Botanique, Brussels – Flying Lotus
And then there’s off course the Strange Fruit people in Rotterdam plugging some great artists. They’ll have nights on 14/2 (homegrown talents), 21/2 (Jazzanova) and 2/5 (Flying Lotus). In Rotterdam. Club Zonder Consessies if I’m not mistaken.
And there’s more coming from our own. Or things where we add our 2 cents. Some really exciting things. But more about that later.
Time to let you know some exciting things happening abroad. Tomorrow Motor City Drum Ensemble and Trus’me are playing at Dekmantel in Amsterdam. Really feeling bad about missing this. Line-ups like these we rarely get over here. Our friend Phil Asher is, next to releasing killer music, doing some nice things partywise. The release party (18/02) of the Phlash & Friends album with a stellar line up: Benji B, Afronaut, Bopstar, Zed Bias and Plash himself next to PA’s from Zansika, Sandra Nkake and Shea Soul. Free entrance and everything. On a Wednesday night in London though. And there’s the Inspiration Information party with Al Kent and the Development Music boys from Manchester. Same venue, 10 days later.
Not sure if I’ll be able attend one of those. What I’m certainly doing is the Shelter night at Ministry of Sound on the 7th of March. Timmy Regisford, Quentin Harris, Phil Asher, Jazzie B (Soul II Soul), Josh Milan (Blaze) Live PA and more.
The same day / weekend there’s something swell going on in Frankfurt too. A Soul weekender called Uptight. Some of our favourite dj’s in the genre are playing there. Terry Jones and Thierry Boulanger for example. Disco Dalglish will be on that dance floor.
Plenty of party occasions. No need to whine about the lack of it over here. Just need more time and money to be able to attend them all.
I’ve been listening to a lot of old Masters at Work stuff lately. When they were still raw. Many of the classics of that era have India vocals on them. “When You Touch Me”, “I Can’t Get No Sleep”, “Deep Inside” and “To Be In Love” . Nick Blow telling me about her performance at Southport Weekender a few years back got me dreaming, him saying they’ll do a set together at Soul Heaven in London at the end of this month got me fantasising even more. Would be swell to see them in May. Because I won’t make it to the London gig.
Really a bit bummed about that. I get goosebumps from thinking about her singing those first shoopshoopshoobeedoo’s at the start of “I Can’t Get No Sleep” alone. I think I would lose it completely from then on.
This Friday our dear friends Funky Bompa and Vic ’n Lloyd are back with their Cheeba Cheeba party at Cafe Bota. The previous editions were more than good fun. Funky mayhem galore. Hope to see you all there. Entrance is free.
Weekends are too short. Did a whole lot but still not all I wanted to do. And for once not because I’ve been slacking. I need 30-hour days and 3 day weekends. What I managed to get done was fun. A cratediggin’ trip to Antwerp (see also our Podcast) being the absolute highlight. Should do that more often. I adore working my way through stacks of asorted vinyl to find some gems. Result being dusty fingers and plenty of top class vinyl I wouldn’t have found through my usual routine of checking the new releases in my favourite shops. And certainly not for the prices I’ve paid. Expect to hear lots of them in our radio show next few weeks.
Last few weeks I came to realise nothing can beat vinyl. For me personally that is. This has little to do with the technology or skills of CD / Serato dj’ing nor the quality of the sound (I rarely play on sound systems good enough to hear the difference). I just love the total package of vinyl better. I has probably a lot to do with the fact that a grew up with the medium. Anyhow, when I play with vinyl it feels more natural. Selecting records knowing them by sight is a big factor. Can’t seem to find anything in my CD map and I always play the same stuff from my computer. Vinyl makes me explore, makes me more adventurous. And I rate that as one of the main things in life. Exploring new territories in every way possible. Plus as a dj I love the fact that you need to make a selection before going out to play. It may be nice to have your entire collection at your disposal when your playing with your laptop but for me the main task of a dj is to make the right selection to create the right atmosphere. I too love the romantic idea of a dj having all his music to choose from and freestyling with that but I don’t believe it’s reality. It all begins with preparation. Selecting, knowing your records, knowing which ones segue well. And vinyl just is the best medium, for me, to do that.
It has come so far that I rather wait for stuff to come out on vinyl before playing it. Even if that means being a bit “behind” others. Which I don’t mind, because I dig deeper than most giving me an edge anyway. And I take the annoyance of carrying the weight of a bag of vinyl as a necessity to enjoy the fun of playing with them later. I don’t complain.
Had a good time at Strictly Niceness too. Being one of the only sober ones had a lot to do with that. Some wasted people at the end of a night. Some can hardly hold on their feet but still think they have a chance with ladies. These are the funniest. Saw some fierce dancing too. Didn’t know we had such quality dancers in Brussels. Big up to them. I’ve noticed that the best dancers are very often (not always) black, gay men. Is there a reason for that ? It makes my conviction stronger that every good dj needs / has a black gay following. I, myself, still have a long way to go to reach that goal.(Oh, please don’t take all of this too serious).
Big up to Kwak and Bernard for playing and saying some nice words about my Diana Ross edit. Still needs to work on the sound of it. Thanks to Kwak and LuiGi for offering to help me with that. I take those offers with both hands. And it motivates me to keep on and produce some more.
Up to the next weekend. Meanwhile enjoy the Podcast mix I’ve made.
You’ve got some choice when going out this Saturday. That alone is big news in Belgium. Haha. Nope, there’s Strictly Niceness and there’s Sunnyside Up. The party with probably the lamest name ever. But with a decent line-up and that’s what counts.
This Saturday Dennis Ferrer and The Martinez Brothers, both hailing from NYC and known for their soulful, slightly techy House music, are playing there. The venue is Silo in Leuven. A legendary one, no less.
But, if I could I would skip all of that for the launch party of the Disco 3000 festival in Manchester. Trus’me, Linkwood, ISoul8 and Tom Lynch playing there. Hate to miss it but really can’t make it. But you can expect some Disco 3000 business in the near future closer to home.
You know the drill. This Saturday Kwak and Bernard Dobbeleer are playing at Le Bodega again. All the info you need over here.
This Saturday the ace Afrobeat collective called Fanga is playing at the Bar Du Matin in Vorst / Forest. Go check it out. Little else to do these last few days of the year in Brussels and certainly not of this quality. Big up to dj ReeDoo organising it and playing some Afro tunes afterwards. Highly recommended.
What was supposed to be a chill weekend turned out to be an highly chaotic one. I seem to have a knack for not sticking to the plan. Had some good times though. One of the few scheduled things I did was going to the Strictly Niceness party. Nice to see it packed once again and to see Mad Mats back. He proved he’s one of the top dj’s around to all who didn’t know already. Although I didn’t get the back to back thing. He should have played a 2-hours set at least. That would have been better use of the man’s huge potential behind the decks. He would have ripped it completely. Not that I think Kwak or Bernard aren’t good dj’s but I believe in flow and storytelling when it comes to dj’ing and I missed that.
Next time I’ll see Mats it’ll be in Stockholm as promised. Got to see it for myself if the women over there are even better looking than at Strictly. Haha.
Big up to everyone I had a good time with this weekend.
Check the Strictly Niceness pics here.
Almost forgot to mention this nice party happening nearby. Chicago Boogie is going strong for almost 2 years now. Previously at Make-up but since September at Decadance, both in Ghent. In the tradition of inviting quality guests they are welcoming Rush Hour’s Antal next week. And that’s one of the unsung heroes of deep House music and beyond. Often forgotten because he’s kinda low profile, not a producer and humble. All reasons that add little to nothing to one’s skills as a dj. Something Antal has plenty. He played one of the more memorable sets ever at our Onda Sonora parties at JH Eenders a few years back. Go check it out. Highly recommended.
If someone is making the trip from Brussels and back, let me know. Always more fun to have some company and / or a ride.
If you are looking for a nice spot to party on new year’s eve then Tavernier is the main place to be in Brussels / Belgium. Lefto & BrownMo will be in charge of the music. Always good.
Hope they start their wonderful parties again. The few they did were banging. And I hope they’ll invite us to play when they do. Would love to play a bit more at decent parties I haven’t organised. There aren’t that much of those around and the few there are usually go for, to keep it friendly, people with more knowleddge about marketing than music.
If you were at our Spectakulo party early September you know you need to be there. Mad Mats is a superb dj and will no doubt rock the place.
Although there’s some ace nights scheduled in our little country next weeks I still keep on longing for something else. And when I look across the borders I see some delicious parties being announced. I’ll have to miss most of them due to not enough days off anymore nor do I have the money to visit them all (expensive month you know).
Let me round it all up for you.
Belgium:
04/12 - Lefto vs Simbad – Congres – Brussels
13/12 – Strictly Niceness with Mad Mats – Bodega – Brussels
31/12 – Lefto & Brown Mo – Tavernier – Brussels
England:
03/12 – Deviation with Benji B all night long – Gramophone – London
(hate to miss this one)
13/12 – Need2Soul with a.o. Keith Worthy, Patrice Scott, Joe Claussell – The End & AKA – London
(why don’t we have parties like this over here)
20/12 – Resident Advisor with a.o. Trus’me – Matter – London
(Fabric’s new club in the millennium dome)
27/12 – Inspiration Information with Rahaan, Rainer Trüby & Phil Asher – East Village – London
(what a killer line up is this !!!)
Netherlands:
13/12 – Strange Fruit with Simbad – Club Zonder Concessies – Rotterdam
(sorry Guido but I’ll stay in Brussels)
I need more money and time.
I’ll be in Paris for NYE. A shame I miss the Tavernier party but I haven’t had a good last day of the year in ages. So I thought that spending it with some of my best friends in a city where I know little to nobody was a good idea. Spending it in Paris with my girl is a neat plan for next year (if no Christmas miracle occurs between now and then).
There are hardly international dj’s that I care for playing in Belgium. Some of the bigger names get booked every now and then but the truly underground ones can rarely be found behind decks in our little country. So it’s more than exceptional to have 3 of them popping over to play in the span of 2 weeks time. Most of you already missed Phil Asher (those that didn’t are still raving about it, thanks for that), you can catch Simbad this Thursday at Congres and Mad Mats is back at Strictly Niceness on the 13th of this month.
Yep, you read that right. Simbad will be doing a midweek session. Together with Lefto. On an eco-party or something with a mad energy-generating dance floor. In the lovely surroundings of the Congres railway station. It’s free entrance. I hope somebody shows up because this is a nice one.
I’ll be there. I’ve been meeting the nice Frenchman living in London about everywhere except close to home. Hope he brings his sax because loved him playing it at Deviation.
Read all about it here.
For those of you still in need of a party on a Sunday evening we advise you Sub Scape this weekend with Carl Craig happening at Cafe Capital in Antwerp. Dan Curtin next week is also well recommended.
Tonight a new bar in the Brussels city centre is opening. Called Cafe Merlo. Our friend Waldo, who many Brusseleirs might know from his days behind the counter at the Roskam, is one of the people behind this. You can find it at De Vismet (actual address is Baksteenkaai 80), these days the epicentrum of that awful christmas market. Anyway, all the best to the crew. We’re happy to add another bar to our list of premier choices. The Onda Sonora crew will be there tonight.
A bit late. But here it is. Really enjoyed our set at Cafe Belga. Even though most people don’t really listen it’s fun to play there. And the few that did focus on our music, appreciated it. We don’t need more.
Saturday was a blast too. Lots of people at Brussels Soul. Not too many faces I recognised. Always a good sign. The music was fine. In hindsight would have loved to play earlier on. 2 o’clock was a bit late. Had way too much time to get into the party and a lot of people had already left by the time we started. But that’s only a personal and maybe selfish thought. The dance floor was packed most of the time. Big up to Thierry, Atze and Yves. It was a good one.
The Afro Heat party was very good. Nice venue, heard nothing but good music and it was a full house. A welcome and interesting new player on our nightlife scene. Keep up the good work dj Reedoo and friends. Nice one. Left quite early aiming to be home at a reasonable hour. Failed miserably. Thanks to the guys at Henri. Haha. Always nice to meet them though. Ended up at the nice Bonnefooi bar and got home much later than I hoped. Had a good time nevertheless.
The dinner and music lesson I got served earlier that evening was a superb start of the night. Thanks N’Dae and Didier.
And recording the radio show on Friday was a lot of fun too. We had Thierry Boulanger from Brussels Soul in the studio for, what I think is, a great interview. And some 24 carat Soul music, off course.
And we’ll play at the Live Music Cafe on Friday the 28th if I understood everything well. And somebody very special from Toulon might come over that weekend for some serious partying. Nothing but goodness. I don’t even mind that my vacation is over.
With being away last week I would almost forget to mention there are 2 really good parties in Belgium tonight. You’ve got Karizma at Stereosushi in Antwerp and Afro Heat at the old Belle-Vue brewery in Molenbeek, Brussels. I’m going to the latter. Keeping it chill and supporting dj ReeDoo and the local scene.
Back after a short trip to London and Southport. Batteries reloaded, mentally. Still need to recuperate physically. But it was a blast. Visiting Tate Modern, shopping and checking Deviation in London is my perfect getaway from day to day life. Benji’s party was everything what I expected and more. Although the sound wasn’t the usual high quality one it still topped everything we’re used to in this country, they had Leffe at the bar, Rick Wilhite is one hell of a dj and the vibe was awesome (felt like home immediately).
Southport Weekender was just as great. From partying hard with Trus’me on Friday to catching superb sets by Kon, King Britt, a hint of Dixon, Greg Wilson, Alex and Jurgen from Jazzanova, Benji B, Moodymann and Rick Wilhite once again. Seeing back the Southport family from the Netherlands, Liverpool and Belgium (nice to see some new cats discovering it). This year was the first time I didn’t miss anything I wanted to see. Even got to the end on Saturday. Solely on greasy food and a moderate amount of Cosmopolitan cocktails. Kinda proud of myself for that. Haha.
Anyway big up to Trus’me (Sambucca shots kill you, don’t they?), Phil Asher (thanks for the nice words about the mix – can’t wait for the 29th), Benji B (your set Saturday was way too short), Nick & Claudia (after this weekend I know all music is basically UK Garage / and was it the cocktails speaking about the Funktion One & Jazzanova ?), the rest of the chalet 70 posse (Nick, Betrand & friend), Bjorn, the Soulspinnas & posse, Jos and the Diephuis Mafia, Lefto & Fatou, the bPm, Simbad (some fierce sax-playing on Wednesday), Paul Stuart (I always feel ashamed I don’t go to the Sands more often), Alex & Dave (for fixing another killer SPW edition) and most important of all, our own little crew. Certainly because they were all at the Fuse on Monday night.
Which was a killer experience. Headed almost straight from England to the fm Brussel tonight party. On the high of the past experience and the chance to play at the same venue as the Respect parties (one of our main influences when we started). And I think I can say we brought a bit of those days back. A full house, a packed dance floor and we playing some funky music. Felt really good. Big up to Chantal, Koen (x2), Jeroen and the whole fm Brussel gang to give us this chance. Some time after our set I crashed physically and headed home. Energy was gone.
Now I’m on a diet of fruit and other healthy stuff to get my body where my mind’s at.
I was kind of worrying there wouldn’t be a Deviation Session the rare first Wednesday of the month I’ll be in London. But that’s over. I’m going. Even though I’m seeing all these dj’s a few days later. You can’t have enough Kon & Amir nor Rick Wilhite nor Benji B. This really makes me happy.
