There’s still a month to go but since this weekend I’m officially all hyped up for the Southport Weekender. Booked everything needed to get there. I will spend a few days before it in London. Visiting some museums, pubs and record shops. And finally going to a Deviation session. Kinda felt bad that they celebrated their first birthday and I hadn’t been there once. A few days off. I really need that.

I’ve got a month to shape up a bit. Don’t want to miss the late night sessions anymore at Southport. And I want to do it the Onda Sonora way. Strictly on Red Stripe, chocolate milk, instant coffee, soup & meals and pub food. Like Jacky Moore sang “This Time Baby”. Or something like that.

And we play at the Fuse club on Monday (more about that soon). If you want to see two exhausted but euphoric dj’s being confronted with a Belgian public after spending days with likeminded soulful-music-mad people, you need to be there. Could be something surreal. But being from Belgium we love that.

Lefto ripped it Yesterday. Superb set. Roots Manuva was dope too. Not too sure about Ben Westbeech. But all in all a great night. Heard something about a worldwide gfestival in Instanbul. Sounds like a good idea.

Great to see some familiar faces. Southport and Nottinghill veterans.

We’re almost ready to leave for the festival. After 3 days of heavy chillin’, loungin’ near the pool and making cocktails. Made a little trip to Montpelier. Did some shopping. Vinyl and hats. Some nice finds. Anyway it’s been nice up until now. Will post some pics tomorrow if I get my laptop hooked to the net (blogging on another one for now).

Been quiet on the blog last few days. Will continue next few days. But that doesn’t mean we’re doing nothing. Been busy organising our end of year activities. Looks like we’re going to top everything we’ve done so far. We ‘re working on our all new all incorporating site (hopefully ready somewhere in September), the radio show that will be starting in a few weeks, we got the Spectakulo party with Mad Mats, 2 Go Bang! parties - one on 26/9 and one on 21/11 (one resident, one with a guest), we plan some next level mixes, re-edits and maybe something combining both, … . Lots to look out for.

And we’re not the only ons who got some dope things lined up for you. Heard some yummy news from other crews like Dyn-O-Mite, Jazzbreak, Lefto (PPP coming over!), Strictly Niceness, … . You’ll hear about them as soon as things are confirmed. But it looks like Brussels / Belgium will finally get a fair amount of Soul injected to its nightlife. And it’s nice to see forces are joining in “the scene”. Big up to Thierry and Phil for keep pushing us to do something together. Really hope it’ll have the result we all aim for.

Not too much to do in Belgium this weekend as far as I know. Might be wrong. I’ll keep it cool anyway. Although several people are testing my will power by tempting me to go see Phil Asher & co in Amsterdam. Got to be strong. Need to visit some people I’ve neglected too much and need to do some shopping to be prepared for my trip to the south of France in a few weeks. Worldwide festival, hopefully see my man Titou in Toulon and enjoying some sun. So I need sunglasses and a board short.

R.S.C. Anderlecht, the football team almost the entire Onda Sonora family supports, is 100 years young in 2008. We’ve celebrated this with winning the league cup and hopefully a blazing start of next season. If you listen to FM Brussel these days you’ll hear most of us, I guess, saying how long we’ve been fan, what our greatest moments as a supporter were and who our favourite Anderlecht figure is. Mine is Gilles Van Binst. Even considering he played for Bruges a little while. Love his typical Brussels flair.

Really looking forward to Friday. It’s been a while since I’ve been behind decks at a party. And I got plenty of goodies to share with a dancing crowd. Gone through some crates I hadn’t checked in a while and found some music of which I can’t understand it hasn’t been in my box before. Some vinyl I forgot I had or, worse, just didn’t know I had. Shame on me. And really anxious to see what Red D will bring. The dj / producers / label head honcho will certainly deliver. Has always done so in the past. Just a bit curious how the Brussels public will react to it. Hope they lock themselves into his groove. That’s a sure-fire way to a memorable night.

We’ve been preparing our little room at JH Eenders’ Spectakulo festival begin September too. About time we got a name to put on the promo. We had one, Phil Asher, but he got offered a tour in Japan and we didn’t want to stand in the way of that. We definitely will bring him over in the future. He’s one of the dj’s we really want. Because of his musical history (I got tons of records with his name on), because he’s an ace dj (seen him in London and Southport and loved every minute of it) and certainly because he’s such a friendly guy. Finding a replacement isn’t as easy as it may seem. After we had Benji B, one of our main musical hero’s, last year we need to go for somebody we respect just as much and somebody we know is just as good. Not an easy task. But hopefully we can announce somebody in the coming days or weeks.

Anyway, love this. The quite period before the storm is going to hit hard.

You might have noticed, we picked up our old tempo of posting again. I know it has been relatively quiet around here and there are several reasons for that with which I’m not going to bore you. Important thing is we’re back in action. Our batteries reloaded the Southport Weekender. We got plenty of energy and inspiration again. Some new dates getting confirmed, lots of new music to share with you and some new projects of our own getting finalised and almost ready to share with the world.

Check the dates page in the right column of this blog. It has been updated. I have put thumbs of the flyers in that section too. Click on them and you’ll be shown the way to more info about that particular event.

Only a few days before we head to Manchester and Southport. Really, really looking forward to it. Spending a few days with some 5000 music mad people, among them 20-some Belgians. The trip to Manchester with the first pint on the boat, a Burger King stop in South Mimms and lots of good music through the car stereo. Spending a night in Manchester and doing some hardcore crate diggin’ the day after that. Pre-partying at the Sands. Seeing back a lot of nice people like Trus’me, Phil Cooper and gang, Nick & Claudia, the Diep Huis posse, … . Can’t wait.

Weekend is almost over. I can feel it in my body. It was a long one with many nice experiences and one not so good one.

Wednesday evening a nice delegation of Onda Sonora friends and family went to Stereo Sushi in Antwerp to check Kenny Dope. Long time I’ve been there and it surely will take some time to go back. Above all else Kenny was on fire. Let me set that clear. Nice set full of deep funk nuggets, disco classics and top House tunes. Long time I danced this much. Some nice people sharing the dance floor too. But that as far as I can stay positive about the night. Still don’t like the overall vibe of the place. People keep annoying the hell out of me. It’s nearly impossible to enjoy dancing without being bothered by people trying to pass you to get to their friends, the bar or, as I start to suspect, to drive me crazy. The dance floor is for dancing. It’s the main spot of a club. The people dancing are the essence of a club. Pay respect to them by avoiding the dance floor when travelling through the bloody club. At Stereo Sushi people get on the dance floor, push people away, just to get some space to enjoy their drink and certainly not move. Wankers.

But that wasn’t the worse part. The warming up dj’s have the honour to be that. When I came in, pretty early on, the music was fine. Nice Soulful House. Like it should be at a party called Soul Heaven. But once they got into their thing it went horror. That Reggaeton meets House got me almost violent. Never happened before on a Soulful night. Shouldn’t happen ever again. When they finally stopped that awful noise they replaced it with lame and/or played out Daft Punk and Cassius. Did you really think it was a good idea to play that right before Kenny went on ? Belgian dj’s really need to get out more. Check some similar nights in London, Paris or Amsterdam. See how it should be done. Listen and learn. The warming up had nothing in common with the main act. It should have prepared the crowd for the main course not make them consider to leave before. If it wouldn’t have been for Kenny Dope I would have left early. But the man comes over so rarely and is one of my main inspirations so I stayed. He himself looked very annoyed too. Rarely saw a dj looking more puzzled right before he had to take over. If you ever want the Brussels crew to come back again book the Diep Huis dudes again to warm up. They know what they are doing. This was a very bad joke. Sorry if I step on some toes with this rant but you stepped on mine quite badly that night.

Thursday was nice. Meeting the troupe that went to Saint-Paul-Soul-Jazz last year. Clearing up some mysteries, seeing some photos that should never be made public and having a good laugh. Can’t wait for my next trip to the South of France to enjoy some sun and music.

Friday evening started very nice. And ended at Tilt!. First time I heard Soultastik (well ½ of them). Sounded nice. Could dig the rest too. Nice venue, nice people and decent sound. Looking forward to playing there next month. A bit scared of the woman in charge though. Looks like nobody to mess with. Haha. Big up to Carlos & crew. Missed Sweatshop but all the partying of the last few weeks was beginning to take its toll.

Which made that I felt terribly Yesterday. Had a blast with Yoeri, Dieter, Lieve and Sarah at FM Brussel though. Thanks to Koen for all the effort. Dragged my tired ass to the United Music third birthday party at the Booze ‘n Blues cafe later that night. Had promised to play some records. Didn’t really felt like it before I got there but once I got into the groove I had a blast. Played every single record I had brought. Some even both sides. Thought there would be more guests behind the turntables. Had a good time. Heard nice sets by all other dj’s. Some hard hitting African & Latin beats, some dope Soul and nice Disco. Big up to Joel for selling quality vinyl to the people those last three years. Got mad respect for anyone who keeps on doing that.

And we secured second place in the league this Saturday. Missed the game due to not keeping my agenda sorted like I should. Big bummer. But looking forward the the cup final. Got my ticket for that.

Short week coming up. Busy weekend. Will let you know what’s up on this Blog.

Had a strange weekend myself. Although it was the first real warm period since ages I caught a cold. And my wisdom teeth are saying hi in a not so funny fashion. Made me do less than planned. Had some good moments too though. Saw Phyllis Dekeyser, went to Merchtem and took my first little steps as a producer.

Anyway everything just feels like killing time before Southport Weekender. Need my fix badly.

Feeling shit today. Because of yesterday’s game. It was a bloody sell out, I tell you.

Anyway. Cut back on going out this weekend to get some other things done. Finished 2 mixes. One that’s already online on our Podcast page. Really need my Southport fix. And I’m not the only one. Hope you like the mix. Hope it prepares all those going a bit. And if you’re wondering what the hell is in the picture that’s going with the Podcast post. It’s our Sunday morning breakfast table at the 40th edition of the weekender last year. Some deliciously spiked chocolate milk. Haha.

The other mix is the promotion mix for our second Go Bang! party. Like Disco Dalglish did for the first edition I recorded a mix we will distribute to introduce people to what our party stands for. Expect a rather eclectic mix going from 70’s Soul to Disco, 80’s pop, some top re-edits, soulful House classics, Brazilian jazz and even Detroit (influenced) Techno. I slipped in a Red D track too to introduce our guest a little. From next weekend on we’ll be handing them out. The week before the party I’ll put it online on the Onda Sonora Podcast. So don’t panic if you can’t get hold of one.

And congratulations to Sofie, Peter and Leni with the birth of Phyllis. Didn’t think anything could get me smiling today but I was wrong. This news made me happy.

First up. Friday May 30th is the date for the next “Go Bang!” party. This time with a guest. The mighty Red D, all around nice guy, purveyor of all beats fine and mighty and organiser of dope parties at Decadance, Make Up and Clues. Flyer and all necessary info will be up tonight or tomorrow on this Blog.

Big up to Kwak, Bernard, Joel & Grazz for another dope Strictly Niceness party. Had a blast. A shame I can’t make it to the next one. Southport Weekender, you know. Musically heaven but womenwise by far inferior to Strictly. So much pretty girls dancing. Like live porn for DJ’s or something. Haha. So jealous about that.

Apart from this all we’re kinda busy doing stuff out of the spotlights. Preparing the future of Onda Sonora. Structuring Onda Sonora after the move away from JH Eenders, reworking our online activity, making some edits and own productions, lobbying here and there. “Reculer pour mieux sauter” like they say in French. Hopefully you’ll see and here the results in a few weeks or months. But for now it’ll seem like times are slow for us. Not so.

And on the gig tip. Friday June 6th we’re playing at Trafik.be’s Tilt!. Together with Geoffroy. At Bazaar. Really looking forward to that clash.

Longing for summer. Sick and tired of the bad weather. On the verge of getting sick for almost a week now. And the cold, the rain and even snow aren’t helping. Need some festivals too. A month from now it’s Southport Weekender. Really looking forward to that. That shot of pure party pleasure I get once every 6 months. Always welcome.

And what’s up with the beer in the Brussels clubs. The hangovers they give me are way out of proportion to the quantities I consume. Tilt! last Friday was fun but the day after was a nightmare. And I didn’t even drink that much beers. Have experienced the same thing too often lately. I think taps aren’t clean, I’m sure staff behind the bar know absolutely nothing about how to pour a decent beer and I suspect that clubs being one of the only places where people are still allowed to smoke ain’t helping either. Really considering quitting the consummation of alcohol at parties.

I sent the new mailinglist yesterday and made a beginners fault. By not using the “bcc” option. Very sorry for that. I’m a fool.

Sometimes I’m just to much of a nice guy for this scene / world. And I’m sure I don’t got the ego for it. Anyway, you live and learn. Big up to JF and Phil for the nice party yesterday. Had a good time. And props to Joel and Fred. Loved the tunes you played.

Big up to all our friends spreading the word about Onda Sonora. Some cats doing more than a good job. We appreciate it a lot.

Nothing more to say. Wanted to get this out of my system. Now I need to find some energy to spend at Strictly Niceness.

They got this new Soda at work. Saw it at the BOZAR party this Saturday too. First impression doesn’t sweep me of my feet but it isn’t bad either. Love the “mod” look though. Just look at the cap.

Saturday at Cafe Bota was just as fine but with more people. When filled with men and women in for a good time it’s one of the best joints in Brussels. Good clean sound, beer at reasonable prices and room to wiggle your butt. Had fun with everybody I met. Good to see so many familiar faces. Great dj-sets from Rainer, Phil (always a pleasure to have him at a party), Nick and even a little Boddhi Satva. Anyway had a blast.

Thanks to all the usual suspects, to David (a shame it was the last 1Love. ever - enjoyed every single one of them), Red D (success with the plans - can’t wait to hear the results), Phil (see you in Southport), Rainer & family (Thanks for the music, the nice words about our parties and the fun - always a pleasure to have you) and Nick & family off course (I hope you can pull off what you promised us).

The great weekend ended with a bummer for me personally. Been knocked out stone cold by a throat infection. It makes one appreciate painless swallowing a lot. And didn’t know you need to swallow so much.

Being a bit less active due to an aching throat that has been keeping me out of my sleep and the strong chemicals counteracting that. So Lefto beat me to big up Tawiah’s first release, I haven’t told you yet that you can listen to a mix by Rainer Trüby on the Back to Niceness show and I haven’t prepared some kick ass posts for this Blog nor the Podcast. I’ll see what I can do the next few days. By the end of the week I should be as good as new.

Ah, almost weekend. Looking forward to it. Playing some vinyl for a crowd. Been a while since we’ve done that. Lots of goodies to drop. We’re opening and closing tonight’s party if I understood well.

Anyway, it’s going to be fun. Partying with the Southport crowd including Nick Blow and some of the English fellows. Meeting Rainer Trüby (aka DJ Gesloten) again. Meeting Phil Cooper again who promised me to drop that killer Zed Bias mix of Tawiah’s “Every Step” which will be released on his Sick Trumpet label (Check it on Zed Bias’ Podcast no 6). And hopefully seeing Café Bota filled with happy and dancing people.

And getting our flyers for the Trus’Me and Go Bang parties. Ready to make some mega promo for those ones.

Slowly but surely the party season is getting back on track. And so are we. You’ve already seen, no doubt, that we’re planning quite a lot this and next month. On top of that we’ve been asked to spin at some tasty events. All nice and there will be more added to our agenda soon.

The preparations for our festival early September have started too this weekend. The people behind last editions still doing their share but now assisted with even more enthusiasts. The recipe for another top one, no doubt. The Onda Sonora part of it will be even better than last year. And the Benji B experience was more than superb so you know it will be difficult to do so. But we’re confident. One name already confirmed and the hunger isn’t stilled. We’re going for something nothing less than never seen before in Belgium. Quality-wise that is.

Love being mysterious like this.

This weekend I had a good time at Atelier 210 on Friday. The apero was a bit on the heavy side though. Among other pains, lost my voice in the proceedings of the evening. Loved Souligans music. Big up to Funky Bompa. Big up to all others that crossed my path that night and made it a very lovely one.

Saturday was way calmer. Enjoyed the football. It seems that I’m one of the sole fans seeing some progression in the way Sporting plays. And I don’t think I’m being my over enthusiast self here. Ended at PP cafe where Djé was playing some ace music. Merci for dedicating the last song to me. Cerrone is a hero. Couldn’t find the energy to go back to Atelier 210 though. Sorry for that. Getting old, I guess.

Next week there’s Paris and Strictly Niceness. Looking forward to it.

Lefto will be playing some Trus’Me on the Radio tonight. Listen to De Hop live on Studio Brussel or check it on demand afterwards. Still the illest show on Belgian (national) Radio. Thanks for the support. Lefto will hopefully do an interview with the hippest cat in Jazzland (the hype for once totally justified). José James has dropped a superb album. If you want to hear something really fresh from the man go visit Flying Lotus’ Myspace. Very nice colab between them. And check the pics of FlyLo’s Studio. Basic but banging.

We got mentioned on another Blog (the Shook post), which I wasn’t familiar with, but which has some dope posts. Check the post with the link to the article with Mike Van Olden (many linking / shit getting complicated / I know / but I don’t care). He shares some interesting insights with the readers. Particularly the bit with Dan the Automator. Really feeling what the man is saying.

And a big thanks to everybody supporting us. In every which way you do. If it is mentioning us on the Radio, to your friends, spreading the word over the net or whatever. It’s all good and we know and appreciate that. If ever we can do something in return, just ask.

Our good friend Alex from On-Point.be takes part in a contest where he can win 25.000 EUR for his On-Point and Killyourdarlings project. And he needs all the support he can get. All you’ve got to do his register, go to the links given at the end of this post and give both videos 5 stars. Simple.

KYDMag
On-Point

The visits to this Blog have skyrocketed these last few weeks. They doubled, even tripled in a fortnight or so. Can’t really put my finger on the reason for this. Doing nothing exceptional compared to last year. And as far as I can see, there are no other sites from where lots of people are directed to this Blog. If anybody has an idea where this increase in popularity comes from, feel free to enlighten me. Kinda curious.

Anyway, loving it and I take it has a compliment. Still, you’re welcome to leave some comments on the Blog. And thanks to everyone who mailed with some kind words on the Blog and Podcast. Feels good.

We promise you some very nice things in return. Where we are at our best; on the dance floor.

The ones that read this Blog in detail will notice it but I guess most of you won’t spot it if I don’t mention it. Up until now it was mainly me who was posting (even if the posts were written by my compagnon). But Disco Dalglish has joined me. The Norman Jay post was his first. To help you make the difference we won’t be posting under the administrator guise anymore but under our own aliases. The service is getting better and better, innit ?