Subbacultcha Belgium December 2018/January 2019

We Are The World We Are The Children December 2018 / January 2019

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music 1.12 Palms Trax + Alfred Anders

C12, Brussels

2.12 Hoera. + Shahzad Ismaily

Het Bos, Antwerp

4.12 Shopping + Milk TV

Madame Moustache, Brussels

15.1 Phurpa + The Nent + Skrei

19.1 Atom TM + Cabanne C12, Brussels 26.1 Magic Mountain High + Levon Vincent C12, Brussels 31.1 Borokov Borokov + Sergeant

Studio CityGate, Brussels

7.12 Oli XL + Detente + Nunu + Terribilis Beursschouwburg, Brussels 8.12 Gesloten Cirkel + Legowelt

C12, Brussels

SHHT + run SOFA VOLTA, Brussels Loft + Onmens + Partners

Minus One, Ghent

9.12 Lori Goldston and Friends

La Zone, Liège

VOLTA, Brussels

film

6.12 New Optimism + Tristan

Magasin 4, Brussels

12.12 Tumbleweed #3

Beursschouwburg, Brussels 7.12 Ramen Shop Cinema Zuid, Antwerp 19.12 Ma’ Rosa KASKcinema, Ghent 30.12 Dave Chappelle’s Block Party

Cinematek, Brussels

18.1 Young and Beautiful + Yours Truly Cinematek, Brussels

theatre / dance

11.12 PAINT + O.S.H. Botanique, Brussels 12.12 Chynna Charlatan, Ghent

5.12 New Skin NTGent Arca, Ghent

13.12 AMMAR 808 + Paddy Steer

STUK, Leuven

7.12 Short of Lying KVS, Brussels

12.12 Rule of Three STUK, Leuven 15.12 Kobosil + Stanislav Tolkachev + 17.1 VOX STUK, Leuven Neila C12, Brussels 31.1 Lostmovements deSingel, Antwerp 16.12 Feng Suave Bar Mirwaar, Ghent

expo

22.12 Helena Hauff + L-Reak + Gurl

C12, Brussels

–1.12 Grafixx Day 2 De Studio, Antwerp 28.12 Detroit In Effect + Phil Back D –9.12 US OR CHAOS BPS22, Charleroi

C12, Brussels

Strolling Around Argos, Brussels 31.12 NYE: Deep in House –23.12 Histories of a picture to come

Hall + C11 + C12, Brussels

Argos, Brussels

The measure of disorder 1.1 NYD Rave C12, Brussels

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Argos, Brussels

MUSIC

thu

06.12

NEW WWWAVE with WWWATER / LYZZA / ZOË MCPHERSON AN EVENING CURATED BY WWWATER

thu

07.02 JERUSALEM IN MY HEART / SLUMBERLAND NEW ALBUM BY ARABIC AUDIOVISUAL ELECTRONICA DUO

electronica / psychedelic

SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE

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23.03 OUT THE FRAME 2019 EXPLORE THE UNFOLDING UNIVERSE OF HIP HOP

hip hop / electronica

SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE

uit.be info & tickets: voor

SAVE THE DATE

SAVE THE DATE

electronica / R&B

intro

We Are The World We Are The Children Unity, solidarity, harmony: words that have never been truly practiced, and certainly not in recent times. At least it used to be a shameful, unspoken truth that basically it’s the antonyms ruling the world. Division, antagonism, dissonance; me first, and anyone who says otherwise can suck it — pretty much the political slogan of 2018. But as we slowly trek into 2019, it may help to look back at the days when venues and radio stations and TVs were filled with chants that stated the obvious: we are all one and the same. If everything is to be commodified, here’s a resolution for ya: make goodwill mass market again. Help empathy go mainstream. Write a new jingle for kinship.

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by

This p

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tion was a c pr li b i u

Drukkerij GEWADRUPO bvba Hoge Mauw 130 B-2370 Arendonk info@gewa.be +32 (0)14.67.86.69 6 6

content

We Are The World We Are The Children

subbacultcha events 9—17 Sergeant 18—23 AMMAR 808 24—29 Oli XL 30—33 scene report 34—39 artist 40—45 style 46—49 recent finds 51—59 we visit you 60—61

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make beautiful, atmospheric improvisations with electronic and acoustic elements. It’s intriguing and soothing music for these dark autumn days.

Their previous albums, Pracht and Beestentijd, were well-received and we’re very much looking forward to their new album, ≈, which they will be presenting this evening. For this concert they’re joined by Shahzad Ismaily, a multi-instrumentalist and prominent figure of the New York improv scene, who has played with the likes of John Zorn, Lou Reed and Tom Waits. Not to be missed!

music

Palms Trax + Alfred Anders + more 1 Dec – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00 Dekmantel’s protégée, Palms Trax, is one of the best DJs around, mixing vintage house with obscure disco and general experiment. He recently contributed to the Essential Mix series, which is an excellent proof of his exquisite taste. A true virtuoso. Two locals join the line-up and will surely keep you dancing: Alfred Anders, founder of Crevette Records, and Chris Ferreira, C12 and Deep in House resident. This can’t go wrong — or rather, it probably will.

Shopping + Milk TV 4 Dec – Madame Moustache (Concert de Légende), Brussels 20.00 – €7 – free for members Newsflash: Subba is starting a new partnership, Concert de Légende.

If you’re familiar with the defunct and legendary Trone gigs you know these boys are always scrutinising the music market and bringing the la crème-de-la-crème for a memorable evening. This time we’ll meet at the hairy upper lip with the post-punk Brit trio Shopping, who are freely crossing the channel while it’s still possible. Expect sharp-asglass guitar lines with fraudulent riffs. Topping this already-succulent evening are the noise-punk Brussels boys Milk TV. Rock on baby!

Hoera. + Shahzad Ismaily 2 Dec – Het Bos, Antwerp 15.00 – €7 – free for members Those who are already familiar with brothers Bert and Stijn Cools, electronic masterminds of the Belgian jazz scene, will know that this will be a memorable evening. Together with Dries Laheye (Stuff., Brzzvll, Pudding Oo) they form Hoera. They

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New Optimism Gesloten Cirkel + + Tristan Legowelt + Simon Hold + Sagat 6 Dec – Studio CityGate (KultuurKaffee), Brussels 19.00 – €8 – free for members

Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda’s second coming, New Optimism, is a dazed experimental electronic rollercoaster of hip hop, jazz, funk, lounge and soul. Together they create a tribal-infused ambient mashfest — showcasing Hatori and Honda’s commitment to their creative potential (and pushing it further).

Joined by Belgium’s Tristan (Isolde Van den Bulcke), known for creating dark, jazz-infused electro pop, there’s a unified hypnotic sensibility tying the evening together. With Hatori and Honda’s refined music experience and Van den Bulcke’s artistic definition as a composer, there’s enough to impress even the most discerning audiophiles.

Oli XL + Detente + Nunu + Terribilis 7 Dec – Beursschouwburg (Slagwerk, Perron Zes), Brussels 22.00 – €8 free for members until 00.00 See page 30.

8 Dec – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00 Three superb acts, each with their own style, will make you dance in style. Super enigmatic and anonymous producer Gesloten Cirkel makes heavy, electro-infused techno with furious beats and impressive rhythm patterns.

The Hague’s Legowelt can handle a looot of styles, ranging from outsider house to harsh techno and acid jams.

Sagat is the local for this night, but his producing skills are world class. The proof? His IDM/percussive/techno influenced Off Center EP from this year, released on BXL records.

SHHT + run SOFA 8 Dec – VOLTA, Brussels 20.00 – €5 – free for members SHHT, the pride of Ghent, is coming to VOLTA. They play punk drenched in a fluorescent bath of fusion, Kanye West, The Beatles, Queen and autotune.

Sometimes euphoric, sometimes completely mental, they never take themselves too seriously. SHHT’s live shows are already legendary and are very unpredictable. Whether frontman Michiel starts climbing the walls whilst singing,

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Chinese twins shave each other’s hair on stage or the crew walks around the podium eating spaghetti, it’s always an experience. Fun guaranteed. Their energy levels live are also unmatched; mosh pits and head-banging are unavoidable.

Charleroi’s run SOFA will support, presenting their debut album SAY.

is heading to Liège and it might be time for you to hop on that train to make the trip to La Zone. Also on the line-up are Pilot, our homegrown soundscapes master trio, and Nystagmus, a noise duo based in Liège.

PAINT + O.S.H.

Loft + Onmens + Partners

11 Dec – Botanique, Brussels 20.00 – €18 – free for members Let’s dream away to The States’ western coast on a dark December eve with PAINT, the solo project of Allah-Las’s guitarist Pedrum Siadatian. His debut album sounds sunny, messy and catchy and is for fanciers of Mac DeMarco, Connan Mockasin, Syd Barrett and, uh, Allah-Las. Don’t forget about O.S.H., or Ode to Space Hassle: a fresh band from Liège led by Regis Germain, formerly known as one half of The Scrap Dealers.

8 Dec – Minus One (Motif Collectif), Ghent – 21.00 – €6 free for members until 01.00 Subba favourites Partners are celebrating the release of their first LP Faust, and everyone is invited! Faust sounds like a unique, unpredictable, sometimes dubby sound collage. Also joining the party: Onmens’s digital hardcore/ leftfield EBM/explicit electronica. Icing on the cake: Loft. Their single, ‘funemployed’, was one of last year’s absolute IDM bangers, for fans of Lanark Artefax or Autechre — hot tip!

Chynna 12 Dec – Charlatan (Faded), Ghent 20.00 – €13.50 – free for members

Lori Goldston and Friends + more 9 Dec – La Zone (Collectif Mental), Liège 20.00 – €8 – free for members Violinist Lori Goldston, known for her various collaborations with, among others, Nirvana, Cat Power, David Byrne, Secret Chiefs 3 and many more,

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Ford model turned hip-hop artist supported by the A$AP Mob crew, Chynna’s lyrical abilities took the internet by storm after releasing Selfie in 2013, and Glen Coco in 2014. Fast forward, she recently released a track, Xternal Locus, created with French producer Oklou. Throughout her career, Chynna has developed a lot of inner strength, as reflected in the maturity of her most recent music. Always

Feng Suave

paying homage to cultural trends, Chynna is a tastemaker worth following. Catch her on one of 20 European tour dates — she’s blowing up fast.

16 Dec – Bar Mirwaar (Democrazy), Ghent 20.00 – €10 – free for members

AMMAR 808 + Paddy Steer

Spotify plays skyrocketed when Dutch Feng Suave duo Daniel De Jong and Daniel Elvis Schoemaker released Sink Into The Floor last year. Their success was consolidated with sold-out venues home and abroad, support acts for Khruangbin, Tora and (Sandy) Alex G and fanboy Iggy Pop saying he’d ‘go for that’.

Their self-titled EP breathes contagious slacker pop and sensual neo-soul, resulting in an image of Peter Sagar making out with Nick Hakim that unwillingly pops up in our minds.

13 Dec – STUK, Leuven 20.00 – €14 – free for members See page 24. Members need to make reservations with an online code. Mail us at memberships@subbacultcha.be to get yours.

Kobosil + Stanislav Helena Hauff + Tolkachev + Neila L-Reak + Gurl 15 Dec – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00

22 Dec – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00

This night has TECHNO written all over it. Berghain resident Kobosil is one of techno’s current main voices. His style is merciless, pumping harsh 4/4 kicks, eerie synths and fascinating patterns.

Stanislav Tolkachev serves the rather experimental and complex variant of the genre: stylish sounds and hypnotising you with loops are his trademark.

Neila is the guy behind the DeepHeat activities, and digs deeeep for the better techno bangers. Brace yourselves.

Get your jack on with strippeddown techno, house and electro by Hamburg-based DJ and record producer Helena Hauff, L-Reak and Gurl.

Detroit In Effect + Phil Back D + more

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28 Dec – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00

Phurpa + The Nent + Skrei

Be sure to get some sleep before you join this sweaty night of techno by established DJ duo Detroit In Effect as well as newer artists such as Phil Back D, Azo and Session 4000.

15 Jan – Magasin 4, Brussels 19.00 – €8 – free for members

NYE: Deep in House ft. Sigha & Shifted + Altinbas + Kafim + Marcellus Pittman + Colino + Chris Ferreira 31 Dec – Hall + C11 + C12, Brussels 23.00 – €23 €10 for members until 01.00 After last year’s epic NYE, the C12 boys are inviting you for another 12 hours of rave with three rooms and guests from the UK, US and Germany.

In the height of winter, become emerged in chilly industrial drone beats from Russia’s Phurpa and Germany’s The Nent and SKREI. Each with a different approach to ambient noise, there’s a thematic commonality of both intensity and space throughout. All three acts are masters of their craft, and are ready to serve dynamic, layered electronic instrumental sets. Come out for sounds from the beyond. The night is bound to deliver a religious, sci-fi experience — elevating your mind, body, and spirit to new levels.

Atom TM + Cabanne

NYD Rave 1 Jan – C12, Brussels 10.00 – €10 – €5 for members What better way to kick off the New Year than in Brussels’ very own C12, the multidisciplinary underground club run by the Deep in House collective? Tucked in the depths of the Horta Gallery next to the Grand Place and Central Station, get ready for the year’s biggest sonic rendezvous filled with all your local DJs playing techno, deep house, and so much more music to dance to.

19 Jan – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00 Granted, he looks like a rogue Kraftwerk member, but Atom TM is a bonafide composer, musician and producer. Hailing from Germany, Uwe H. Schmidt — as he’s commonly known — has been making music since the mid-Eighties, embracing and embodying glitch-electro, IDM, electro-Latino, electro-gospel, and aciton music.

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Borokov Borokov + Sergeant

Schmidt will also be joined by the French producer and DJ Cabanne, one of Telegraph’s kingpin artists. Together with Atom TM, Cabanne is one of the most forward-thinking artists of the electronic music scene. Brace yourself for a hard night that will keep C12 burning all the way till dawn.

31 Jan – VOLTA, Brussels 20.00 – €5 – free for members

Magic Mountain High + Levon Vincent + more

See page 18.

film

Tumbleweed #3

26 Jan – C12, Brussels 23.00 – €10 free for members until 01.00 Magic Mountain High is not your average electronic trio. Consisting of three DJs, Move D, Juju & Jordash combine their powers to bring a fascinating mix of house with jazz, techno with funk, in an analogue, improvised and highly entertaining project. US DJ Levon Vincent will also be present, as will German electronic producer XDB and Deep in House’s very own Chris Ferreira. As a musicologist, sound technician and devout record collector, Ferreira can more than hold his own in a club. To verify the latter statement, however, you’ll have to come and see for yourself.

We’re looking for distributors! mail herlinde@subbacultcha.be

12 Dec – Beursschouwburg, Brussels 20.30 – €9 – free for members Tumbleweed holds the third edition of his biannual film programme, celebrating freedom and diversity on screen and focusing on ‘the extraordinary richness of the up-and-coming Belgian film and art scene’. Get ready to have your mind bedazzled by ebullient film veterans and dignified rookies, green reel enthusiasts and established movie maniacs, distinguished raconteurs and cheeky chroniclers, gifted carefree graduates, gifted heavy-hearted graduates, camera minstrels, cassette tape fetishists, severe allegorists, witty bards, etc. All from old grey little Belgium, all as good as plated gold.

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Ramen Shop

clammy close-up race between the soaked alleys of cacophonic Manila slums and the local police station where life seems abruptly distorted into a monstrous and hopeless farce.

7 Dec – Cinema Zuid, Antwerp 20.00 – €5 – free for members After his father’s unexpected death, Masato (Takumi Saito), a novice ramen chef from Japan, decides to go to Singapore to search for his culinary roots and explore the memory of his Singaporean mother who passed away when he was only ten. As the story unfolds, Masato lifts the veil on thorny family secrets. The sentimental gastronomic journey takes a deeper turn as well as a historical dimension, approaching the cruel memory of the Japanese invasion and occupation of Singapore during WWII. Imbued with sweet melancholy, Ramen Shop tackles themes of forgiveness and reconciliation with disarming finesse.

Ma’ Rosa 19 Dec – KASKcinema, Ghent 20.30 – €5 – free for members Rosa (Jaclyn Jose) a rough-aroundthe-edges den mother and her husband Nestor (Julio Diaz) run a small convenience store in the swarming underbelly of Manila. To make ends meet, they’re also the neighbourhood crystal meth suppliers, hiding doses between lollipops and candy. One day, some kid-next-door denounces them to they authorities, leading to the couple’s subsequent arrest.

Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa is a

Dave Chappelle’s Block Party 30 Dec – Cinematek, Brussels 21.00 – €4 – free for members Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is a musical documentary that is less about music than about an event.

September 2004, thousands of ecstatic souls got to shake to a tenshiny-golden-stars hip-hop and R&B line-up featuring The Roots, Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu and The Fugees, reunited for the first time in seven years on the occasion of a free concert staged on the streets of Brooklyn. Gondry zigzags with brio between concert scenes, fly-on-thewall footages of the process of putting it together and Chappelle jubilantly trying on numerous funny hats.

Young and Beautiful + Yours Truly 15

18 Jan – Cinematek, Brussels 20.00 – €4 – free for members

Short of Lying

In Young and Beautiful, Poti, Nais, Ione and Das are four youngsters who have chosen to live by their own rules. But society forces them to leave their ‘selfish’ aspirations behind, so they must rethink their identities through dialogue. This is the starting point of an intimate talk between them and Marina, filmmaker and friend. With her sympathetic camera, she grasps the most insightful and fragile moments of their everyday lives — dancing, waking up together, talking a walk in a beloved setting, crying or laughing as they seek out complicity to preserve their integrity. Yours Truly follows the trail of taxidermic pieces collected during the 19th and 20th centuries by The Manchester Museum.

Come! There’s a drink at the end ;-)

7 Dec – KVS, Brussels 20.30 – €17 – free for members Lead by Luanda Casella in a TED talk style lecture and performance, Short of Lying examines manipulation tactics used by communication and the media. Through spoken word, Casella demonstrates how misinformation spreads. Using entertainment to demystify ‘bullshit’, the performance teaches audiences to watch for lies created throughout neoliberal discourse. Beginning with the ’90s, Casella explains how we’ve come to understand the role of the media in present-day Western societies — and what its motives are. To Casella, there’s nothing to be gained, for those in charge, from telling the truth.

theatre / dance

New Skin

Rule of Three: Grip/Jan Martens

5 Dec – NTGent Arca, Ghent 20.00 – €18 – free for members New Skin is about determination, anger and love. It’s about the connection Hannah De Meyer feels with the young generation of anti-racist writers, climate activists and economists who stand up. This piece is about people born into a broken world and being angry about it. The situation forces young people to find alternative ways for success and prosperity, and De Meyer admires the anger that comes with it.

12 Dec – STUK, Leuven 20.30 – €14 – free for members A hectic dialogue between three dancers (Jan Martens/Grip) and the steamy noises delivered by our fave American hyperkinetic drummer, NAH. Members need to make reservations with an online code. Mail us at memberships@ subbacultcha.be to get yours.

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VOX

expo

17 Jan – STUK, Leuven 20.30 – €14 – free for members

Grafixx Day 2

Since 2015, the choreographer David Hernandez has partnered with Cacao Bleu vzw under the banner dh+/David Hernandez and Collaborators. As the title Vox suggests, the artist has included in his exploration between music and movement a new element: the voice. The scenographer Zdravka Ivandija Kirigin has contributed to create the set in which performers’ voices and breaths are recorded and mixed by the composer Zoë McPherson. Using their capacity for transformation, the dancers are forced to perform surrounded by obstacles.

1 Dec – De Studio, Antwerp 12.00-18.00 – €8 – free for members

US OR CHAOS until 9 Dec – BPS22, Charleroi 10.00-18.00 – €6 – free for members

Histories of a picture to come until 23 Dec – Argos, Brussels 11.00-18.00 – €6 – free for members

Lostmovements 31 Jan – deSingel, Antwerp 20.00 – €18 – free for members The artistic paths of dancers and choreographers Marc Vanrunxt and Jan Martens crossed regularly in the past and they now come together in the form of a solo for Jan. In Lostmovements the two delve into their own vocabulary, and get inspired by the greats from past and present times: choreographers, composers and other role models. They create a new work, in which the focus lies on the motivation of movement.

Lostmovements is surrendering oneself to the music, to the material and to each other, getting fully absorbed into the universe of the other.

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The measure of disorder until 23 Dec – Argos, Brussels 11.00-18.00 – €6 – free for members

Strolling Around until 9 Dec – Argos, Brussels 11.00-18.00 – €6 – free for members

music

Sergeant And then suddenly it’s there. There, under the Christmas tree, that peculiar-shaped present with the unusual wrapping paper. You talk about it with the whole brotherhood, counting down the days, fantasising about what it is and hoping that this oddity will eventually come your way. Yes, we’re going down the whole metaphoric rabbit hole to describe the feeling we had when we discovered this newborn baby called Sergeant. You can’t find anything about these weirdos on the web — no words, no sounds, no band pics. We’re lucky enough to have seen them live twice already and all we can tell you about their performance is that it was minimalistic, wild pop and lyrics such as, ‘All my friends wear jeans, and I don’t know what that means.’ Time to hook up with band leader Ferre Marnef to bring them out of incognito mode.

Interview by Dries Robbe

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Photos shot by Aurélie Bayad in Schaerbeek

So, who are you — if you want to tell us?

Sergeant is my brainchild and a vehicle to perform all the songs, demos, bits and pieces of sound that I recorded in the past four years. After the split of my former band, Soldier’s Heart, and since I left Glints, I missed making music a lot so I thought this was the perfect moment to start something new.

That didn’t result in releasing anything to date?

No, my main focus was to play live. I think it’s important

‘We really want to focus on that live part, because I have the feeling that it’s really overlooked by a lot of bands these days’ for a band to be able to play live before you pretend you can play live, which somehow now is a trend. So I asked Benjamin Cools and Jasper ‘Japie’ Segers — ex-Soldier’s Heart — if they would join me, since we’ve played together a lot and know each other so well. We’re aiming for January for a release, recording everything ourselves.

Can you tell me about the creative process?

Firstly, I make loop-based demos in Audacity and then we rehearse them together. Live, 50% of the set is fixed; the rest we improvise. We really want to focus on that live part, because I have the feeling that it’s really overlooked by a lot of bands these days. I personally enjoy that the most, and I never enjoyed it more than now.

Sure. A lot of bands focus on marketing before playing live, but in the case of Sergeant, by not doing that you also sort of create a buzz. Is that deliberate?

with limits to get to the essence.

For instance: I have to be able to listen to every single line for ten minutes straight without getting bored — without all the ‘producing’.

Can we see the lyric ‘All my friends wear jeans and I don’t know what that means’ in that light?

Ha-ha, strangely you can.

A lot of bands just try to get radio air time and way too few are looking to get past that, which is totally understandable. The problem is that there’s no real scene or platform for those under-theradar bands that don’t get this air time. There’s an underground scene, but that is immediately very niche.

Ha-ha, not at all, it’s just because we’re lazy. I believe when you try to create that artificially, you can forget it. The now ‘standard’ procedure of having a premiere, releasing your video at the right time, etc. is just not what interests me at this moment.

Can we see that move as a commentary on the musical landscape?

Somehow, yes. We also made a very conscious choice by not using Ableton; otherwise, I believe you start sounding like everyone else. I’d rather work

Did you have in mind what you wanted your music to be when you started Sergeant?

In the beginning, I didn’t.

Now it’s getting clearer: I want it to be organic and repetitive, rhythm-based. We had a big discussion about whether the output should be a collection of structured songs or more free, self-contained flows; I think we have to go for a hybrid form — pop music, but with experimental touches. The challenge is to get this organic feeling on the recordings.

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The two times I saw you live I was impressed by the unusual way you perform, which probably has a link with your background as an actor.

What about that part of your life?

I make money with it and not with music — ha-ha. I started acting pretty young, got selected for Theater Aan Zee (with De Snor) and rolled very organically into the theatre scene. Lately, I’m playing a lot with Tibaldus. That’s why I’m probably more conscious about the performance side of a music gig.

Any bands you look up to regarding this performance aspect?

The Birthday Party did a killer job by playing with their backs to the crowd. But I can’t do that anymore. Borokov Borokov is doing a superb job too.

Can I see this in the traditional discussion of form vs. content?

Yup. The form has to change and not the content. That’s what has to happen with the world too: banning plastic straws is okay, but it’s not the point. The general form has to change. That is something I learned in theatre, and it’s what I’m trying to do that with my music too.

And finally, any Christmas presents you’re hoping for?

I recently saw a speaker that you can place in the shower. Look no further.

Is there a clear difference between theatre and music?

I think theatre is way more political. By doing an infinite range of things on or off stage you can let people think and fantasise about what they’re watching. They have to make something from it. Music somehow stays in the ‘entertainment sector’, while theatre for me is more human, social based. You can try to break free from the norm or reflect on it and when you do that, I think you’re dealing with power and politics.

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Borokov Borokov + Sergeant 31 Jan – VOLTA, Brussels 20.00 – €5 free for members

music

AMMAR 808 Picture this: a blade runner sent overseas is looking for replicants in Tunis, Tunisia. The manhunt ends in a sweltering basement club where a Roland TR-808 drum machine is pumping over gnawa trance music.

The floor is packed with Pan-like creatures — part man, part goat. The target crawls through the crowd, before vanishing without a trace. Outside, street protests demanding the alien government step down are getting grim. This might be one of the scenes AMMAR 808 envisioned when producing his debut album, Maghreb United. Who knows? Let’s find out.

Interview & text Hannes Rooms

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Photos shot by Stine Sampers in Brussels

About half a year ago at a Subba show, a friend suggested we check out AMMAR 808 and his drumheavy sound. I wasn’t familiar with his music back then, but soon after the concept album Maghreb United dropped, introducing me and other music lovers to his carefully sculptured universe. Fast forward five months, and we met Sofyann Ben Youssef, the man behind AMMAR 808, for a coffee the day after his gig at Le Guess Who. ‘Promoters sometimes have difficulty placing us, since we’re a bit in between concert and club, but playing festivals like Le Guess Who is the best. You easily see if an audience doesn’t know what to expect, but it’s a pleasure to see everything unravel and feel they’re totally into it by the end. I like a good challenge.’

Sofyann Ben Youssef was born and raised in Tunis before moving to Vienna and ultimately settling in Brussels 12 years ago. ‘I like the pace of life here,’ he says.

‘There’re a lot of opportunities but at the same time it remains kind of chilled out. You’re not feeling pressured in general; you can slow down if you want to and as a creator slowing down is the moment when all the projects happen in your head. It gives more depth to my work. There are cities where you run and cities where you build.’

Maghreb United is a collaborative effort built together with singers Sofiane Saidi, Cheb Hassen Tej and Mehdi Nassouli from the Maghreb countries Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco respectively. So is the album a symbolic collab questioning the artificial (post-) colonial borders of northern Africa? ‘Above all, the album is a relationship between the four of us,’ Ben Youssef explains. ‘We felt connected, as a clan. It was not the starting point but you can add a political layer on to it. When you do something as a musician on an international stage, like showing your culture, and share it with other people, it becomes a political statement automatically. The enemy in the Maghreb world is ignorance.’ He recalls a conversation with an agitated stranger who challenged his and other post-revolution music and skeptically wondered if this was the so-called future. ‘When music lasts, it must be valuable to people. Time will tell. But it has to be meaningful, it has to bring me, apart from satisfaction, meaning.

That transcends time, even when you don’t know what it is, you can sense it.’

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‘Music has to bring me, apart from satisfaction, meaning’

‘As a creator, slowing down is the moment when all the projects happen in your head’ Afrofuturism is a well-known and longstanding cultural and philosophical movement, and we were familiar with Sophia Al Maria’s Gulf Futurism but Sofyann coined the term North African Futurism in a conversation with his girlfriend about shaping his next project.

It had to be about something he was passionate about — which includes sci-fi and technology.

So he imagined different timelines for the Maghreb. What if Tunisia hadn’t been colonised by the French, for example? What if this or that didn’t happen? He was inspired by the idea and then looked for a sound that embodied the proposition. ‘The electronic part was only adjusting to the traditional and not the other way around: translating folkloric rhythms to drum machines from inside out.’

Interestingly enough, AMMAR 808’s next project might explore Nigerian- or Indian-inspired futurism. ‘I believe it’s good to start with what you know best and then expand to other places,’ Ben Youssef says. He acknowledges cultural appropriation

lurks around the corner but is convinced suppressing the ego is key. ‘You have to be careful. Start from scratch, become a student again, spend time in the culture, learn to play the instruments. Take it slowly. Even if I’m not supposed to play it on stage or to manipulate it, I can grasp the significance from an inside perspective, understand why this person is playing this music.’

‘I’m careful even with my own music from Tunisia. I don’t know everything about it, but there’s a familiarity. Indian music, on the opposite side, first felt mysterious. But when I studied and learned to play sitar and tabla, I understood what they did, what it is Indian people find interesting about their own music. It takes a lot of effort to go to another country without understanding the language or culture. You just gotta do the work.’

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AMMAR 808 13 Dec – STUK, Leuven 20.00 – €14 free for members

music

Oli XL

Children today grow up with the secrets of the world at their fingertips, linking with each other and entertaining themselves in just a few clicks. This generation reinvented the way certain movements work, like today’s worldwide and versatile progressive club scene. It’s a scene in which Oli XL manages to stand out. He and the others on his label W - I — think: Chastic Mess, Celyn June — are bringing a refreshing take on experimental club music with a pop sensibility. With three coherent EPs under his belt, Oli XL’s groovy syncopated drums continue to make him instantly recognisable. Oli has, however, decided to bring label W - I to an end, and the time to move on draws near. His new label, Bloom, will, ahem, bloom in the spring of 2019 with his own debut album. In anticipation, we caught up and talked jungle music, Beavis & Butthead and alternative music formats.

Interview by Dennis Meersman

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Photos shot by Oliver Sehlstedt & Uber driver in a car

What’s behind the moniker?

Oli is my abbreviated name.

Growing up, I played the snowboarding game SSX3 a lot. The best track in the game, obviously, is ‘Emerge’ by Fisherspooner (Junkie XL remix). I thought Junkie XL was a cool name, so I stole it.

You’re based in Stockholm.

How’s life over there?

Well, I’m basically living as a recluse these days [Laughs].

There really isn’t a lot going on here in general, but also musicwise. There are a few really dope musicians, but the few venues and clubs we have rarely, if ever, book them. To me it’s just a pretty boring place.

The Soundcloud page of your label, W - I, says it’s inactive.

I ended the label maybe two months ago. It just felt fully concluded.

In what sense did it feel concluded?

I started it when I was like 18 just to appear more ‘serious’ when posting music on Soundcloud [Laughs]. But since then it’s become so much more.

There are many things I’d do differently if I were to start a label today, like the name. The name sucks! It was first called Worldwide International as a dumb joke, and quickly changed to just W - I. But the acronym W - I doesn’t sound nice to say and is two very boring letters to stylise. So, I’m pretty set on starting a new label now.

Well, I read somewhere that the new label will be called Bloom? How will it differ from the last one?

Didn’t know that was out!

[Laughs] But it’s true! I’ll try to make it everything I wanted W - I to be, but couldn’t because of a lack of time, money, experience etc. Like the Relic project I started along with the Celyn June release ‘Location’. Relic is a physical music format in the shape of sculptures that functions as a music player. I thought I could make them on demand, instead of making a batch before the release. Also, I had this naive idea that I wanted the Relics to be an actual alternative to vinyl.

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I’d love to continue that project on Bloom, but for now I’m focusing on new music.

You announced your debut album on Twitter. What can we expect?

I guess I did [Laughs]. It was mostly to enforce an otherwise arbitrary deadline. I feel I have a pretty defined idea of what I want my music to sound like. I don’t have any formal music training or know much about music theory.

But I guess I think about music in a pretty ‘theoretical’ way, but instead I follow my own completely made up rules, often with silly analogies. But lately I’ve been having these Beavis and Butthead thoughts all the time that will probably influence my music in a horrible way. Like, the other day I thought it would be funny to have a voice just negging every track on the album, like, ‘Laaame!’ or, ‘Dude, that snare sucks!’

Jungle breaks appear in various ways in your music. Why is that?

I didn’t think it did, but maybe it does! Jungle and D’n’B

are probably the only genres I have a completely uncritical love for. I don’t think it’s fun to listen to a DJ playing just one style of music for an entire night, which is mostly the case. Except if it’s jungle. Although I feel I’d destroy the magic of it by trying to make more jungle-influenced music, but I guess it sneaks in subconsciously. Recently I realised that my track ‘Stress Junkie’ is close to basically being a slowed down, late ’90s Photek tune.

You describe your music as somewhere between Source Direct and Basement Jaxx…

Well I strive to! It’s another rule I follow. I think you’ll end up with pretty dope music if you pick one track of each as your inspiration source. Rooty was the first CD I owned, and probably the first piece of music I could really enjoy the way I enjoy listening to music today. I came back to it a few years ago and appreciated it even more. Every track has lots of ideas going on. And Source Direct still feels like black magic to me…

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Oli XL 7 Dec – Beursschouwburg (Slagwerk, Perron Zes), Brussels 22.00 – €8 free for members until 00:00

scene report

Brussels Always been curious about scenes in other cities outside your own little cocoon? We assumed you were! As much as we can, we’ll feed your hunger for insights and secrets in the Scene Report. There are thousands of ways we could look at Brussels. This time we’re taking you across the city built on a swamp through the eyes of Bledarte, a collective of women of colour that wants to put the spotlight on minorities through art and culture. These women are DJs, promoters, speakers on social and racial matters; they’re directors, photographers and even fashion designers. But above all, they’re six hybrid identities with different opinions and tastes, all call Brussels home, and all have an unconditional love for this city.

Text by Bledarte Collective

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Photos by Imane Azizi & Femi Kidjo

Brussels is a bit like the first love you never forget: it’s not necessarily the biggest city or the most beautiful, but it is the most charming. You can go from one neighbourhood to another in a few minutes and cross all kinds of invisible borders. A lot of different scenes coexist: those that have always existed but which the media neglects, those that created themselves and draw attention and all the new ones coming up.

We spend most of our time at the basketball court in Dansaert. Stuck between the 5-blocs and the Dansaert neighbourhood, this place is a meeting point for all kinds of people, which is a real representation of Brussels. We can stay there for hours drinking litres of CapriSun and getting something to eat at Midi-Minuit, the snack bar on the corner. All that with music from Brussels in the background like Moka Boka, Tawsen or Youth Panda. Just by crossing the street you’ll find one of the city’s best cultural meeting points, founded by Rachida Aziz: Le Space. It’s incredible that a place so little can host so many types of events, like openmics, conferences, workshops and exhibitions.

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A few steps from there, you come across the Beursschouwburg where the H E 4 R T B R O K E N parties take place — although not as often as we’d like. The Bledarte girls can’t get off the dancefloor while Liyo and Steff are behind the decks.

When we’re in more of a hip-hop mood, events organised by Lowkey Radio are really worth going to. We should also mention the Merhaba Funky Party for queer people of colour and their friends, with authentic DJs giving us the best raï, oriental and Arabic pop tracks for a queerly safe night.

Sometimes we like to end our night at the Garnet’s smoking a hookah with Tiw-Tiw playing in the background.

We can also rely on the Leaving Living Dakota collective to party. Founded by Wu-Tangu and Golce Dabbana, this collective organises parties inviting artists from Brussels and beyond such as Miss Beurette, Jardin, Moesha 13, Buga, MIMI or Kurama. Their goal is to create artistic connections throughout Europe by organising exhibitions and they also have their own monthly radio show, on The Word Radio.

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We also feel very close, in terms of values, to the recently founded music label 2240Hz, founded by a hardworking and ambitious group of friends. They already signed four artists that can satisfy any kind of musical taste: urban pop, hardcore rap, R&B, soul, Afrotrap/zouk ect. Check them out.

It’s nearly impossible to talk about Brussels without mentioning Saint-Gilles, which is the commune of the moment. We love it here because of the rapper Aze2dine and the La Petite Epicerie, the best place to buy organic food and receive pure, genuine love from the owner.

The best way to discover Brussels is with the help of Collectif MĂŠmoire Coloniale et Luttes Contre les Discriminations. They organise guided walking tours around Brussels in order to decolonise the city by informing us about the colonial history of Brussels. Everyone in Brussels should do one at least once. The capital city

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of our country is full of inspiring icons who tackle real societal problems such as Aïchatou Ouattara (afrofemnnista. com) and Latifa Elmcabeni (comité des parents contre les violences policières à Saint-Gilles).

Revolt and creativity go hand-in-hand with art. That’s maybe why we found so many talented artists in our city. In no particular order of preference, here they are: Izaya Mod, Amalyah; Summer Santana, G.A.N, Genesis Addiction, Clara! Mika Oki, Gan Gah,…

The Brussels rap scene is expanding at an incredible rate. On the Flemish side, we have Jay MNG, who is doing great right now. In the South of Brussels, we feel obliged to mention Mc Django and 6zone.

Our latest coup de coeurs are the boys from 34a and Shisen.

And a producer

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currently owning the game is BBL, the man behind many famous rappers’ songs. In a different style you have Sunrise Dealer, Aoru The Juicemaker and Loumana who should be followed closely.

What do we wish for the future of Brussels? More initiatives coming from minorities so that everyone has his/her place in the art world, music and the nightlife scene, which needs to be reclaimed from the elite.

Essential Listening: Hip Hop/R&B, Mi Gyal — Hamza, Frank — Mood (Prod. by Glodi-San), Dawdaw — Tiw-Tiw, Bonaventure’s new ep ‘Mentor’ Festivals: Bledarte Zone Festival, Couleur Café Venues: Beursschouwburg, Botanique, Le Space Record shops: Pêle-Mêle, Second Hand markets Labels and promoters: 2240Hz, Leaving Living Dakota, Topnotch België, H E 4 R T B R O K E N Bands: Tawsen, 34a, Jay MNG Food: Summum, Snack Mimoza, Makifornia, Msemmen with nutella and grilled almonds

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artist

Egon Van Herreweghe & Thomas Min These two Ghent-based artists drove us all the way to Atec, a metal bending workshop in Assenede, to meet the technical brains behind their spatial intervention, Crisis of Masculinity, which will be inaugurated at the (re-)opening of Kunsthal Gent. Amidst an invisible cloud of metal dust and the pounding noise of the machinery, we talked about their bromance, Muscle Beach Venice and the underrated value of labour.

Interview by Isaline Raes

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Photos shot by Tiny Geeroms in Assenede

From time to time you work together on art projects, yet you’re not an artistic duo.

How would you describe your relationship?

Thomas: Our collaboration has taken off quite naturally. When we met five years ago, we had a connection and decided to try out some things together.

However, we still operate apart from each other.

Egon: It’s a bromance. Together we can work on a bigger scale and at a higher pace. We share the same work ethic and pleasure, and we have a similar style and language. Finally, it’s very comforting that we’re not on our own having to call the shots. Usually, I tend to see the complexity of everything, but then there’s Thomas who’s very determined.

Can you tell us bit more about Crisis of Masculinity?

E: As it’s a new venue, we wanted to implement a fresh line.

Next to that, the site specificity of Kunsthal Gent, which is the former Caermersklooster, a monumental open space full of history, and its plans to host a bunch of artistic activities, screams for some clean borders. For a long time, we’ve been

playing with the idea of building a replica of Muscle Beach, the gated outdoor weightlifting platform constructed in Venice, California. It has a fascinating history and a remarkable shape: a fence made of blue metal tubes bursting at the seams as if they did some bodybuilding. Our intervention will be very minimal, made of just one colour, one material, one shape. But at the same time it’ll be of a scale that will be annoying for the visitor. At the opening you’ll have to walk around the cumbersome installation to reach the bar or your friends. Because of its scale, it

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can’t stay at Kunsthal so we’ll let it slowly disappear by cutting off pieces which will be installed in private gardens. It’s interesting to leave a Hansel and Gretel’s trail of crumbs and to be able to see something again.

T: Our fence encloses a melting pot of narratives. It’s about Muscle Beach, deformation, our physical culture, our relationship with our body, and, as the title suggests, the crisis of masculinity. The masculine identity is no longer self-evident and has become very complex. The traditional gender roles have been shaken up, which was necessary.

But I think that there’s no harm in pointing out the difficulty of this transition. In addition, our installation is about the crisis of labour. We’re both fascinated by labour and love to work, otherwise we’d get bored. However, it’s important to have a connection with a sort of end product. It ensures pride and satisfaction. In many jobs that tie has been cut.

E: I find the crafty potter rather annoying, although I don’t know why. Maybe it lacks the connection with ordinary life.

Labour simply means ‘work’. The sort of work you never see and always looks evident as it’s not an attraction. Masonry, for example, is super complicated. We both can’t spread mortar on a stone, while there are people who brick a vault without support. They get their mortar so good that if you throw it, it sticks. Our blend, on the contrary, although composed of the same ingredients, is a soup.

We can’t mason nor weld nor fold

Why are you both so intrigued by labour?

T: There isn’t really a good Dutch translation for the word ‘labour’. It’s often translated as ‘craft’ but then it gets a glorifying connotation.

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metal tubes. In the end it’s one big lesson in humility. An adventure in which we, slowly but steadily, learn how to work with materials.

T: By calling upon the expertise of professionals, you reduce and depersonalise yourself. Our society revolves around individuals, but we like to see it differently.

We don’t believe that our personalities are that relevant. We are not artistic geniuses; rather we’re mediums in which things collide.

Opening Crisis of Masculinity 25 Jan – kunsthal.gent

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egonvanherreweghe.be @m.inlove

style

MA collection, TOXIC: Kim Van Tricht Styling / Photography: Femke Fredrix Models: Jitse Roels, Liezl Vervloet, Audrey Borely, Milena Gerlach

Corset: @pomchi.li

CINEMA CENTRE FOR FINE ARTS BRUSSELS

10 — 16 DEC. ’18

TV SERIES ON A CINEMA SCREEN

THE ONLY TV SERIES FESTIVAL IN BELGIUM

PALEIS VOOR SCHONE KUNSTEN BRUSSEL PALAIS DES BEAUX-ARTS BRUXELLES Rue Ravensteinstraat 23 1000 Brussels +32 2 507 82 00 / bozar.be

by Isabel Elwood

recent finds Primitive Skateboarding Belgium 1978 editionsducaid.com

‘Primitive Skateboarding Belgium 1978’ is an archival art book with a retro-zine feel. Complete with a 9-track cassette of punk music and a sticker, the photographs celebrate the first wave of skate culture in Belgium, a raw, naïve and innocent time. The story behind the book is as fascinating as the book itself. Passionate collector, Marco Laguna, found his luck in the form of about 300 photo slides of skateparks and skaters in colourful 1970s outfits during an afternoon stroll around the flea market of Jeu de Balle. It took him ten years to assemble the book and discover the stories of Belgium’s first skate pioneers. This rare and intimate archive is the result of a collaboration with Fil Plastic.

Varnrable soundcloud.com/varnrable

Camilla Myrhre, aka Varnrable, is a Norwegian artist and producer living in Copenhagen. Her first single, ‘On/Off’, was digitally released in September on Escho, a Copenhagen record label that offers new, unusual and vibrant sounds from Denmark and beyond. The record’s use of retro synth melodies and unfolding hypnotic vocals hovering around the words ‘on,off’ is perfect for those commutes spent in a daze staring out the window at a forgettable landscape. Slick synth pop with Chicago house roots, Varnrable establishes a musical universe of weaving harmonies and ethereal atmosphere. A promising artist with little digital footprint, Varnrable’s debut album will be released on Escho in early 2019.

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IFFR.com

Welcome to Dongmakgol by Park Kwanghyun, Official Selection IFFR 2015

rebellious

by Loïs Rijgersberg

recent finds Jerrausama soundcloud.com/jerrausama

The king of synergising everything from heavy-bass hip hop to future funk with the ambition to play house music and be the next Mr. Worldwide: Jerrausama. From casually dropping that he wanted to start DJ-ing about a year ago to performing with Sam Gellaitry and spinning at Solar, Lowlands, Soulection and Splash!. After learning to DJ from YouTube tutorials and trying it on virtual DJ, he’s now even hosting his own event called ‘Lettuce’ in Amsterdam. With four volumes out on Soundcloud and a playlist on Spotify, I’m sure he’ll be as big in the future as the beats he’s synergising. An abundance of happiness, energy and comfort, this man delivers more sauce during his shows than your local pizza guy. Definitely a must listen to!

Puckwietveld instagram.com/artbypuck

Raw, realistic and shocking. Pure femininity is what describes Puckwietveld — and her work — best. The type of person you want to check out real quick and all of a sudden you’re eight years deep liking a picture from 2010. Oops. This 19-year-old illustrator and all-round creative draws everything that comes to mind without erasing or perfecting her work. Puck Rietveld, aka Puckwietveld, aka artbypuck, has mastered shocking art. With being held back by teachers and getting a lot of negative responses to her work, she managed to find a way to continue making some great pieces. Her artwork puts you in her shoes and shows you the world from her perspective. Want to take a trip to Puck’s lane?

Check out her work and get the full Puck experience.

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v.u. Nadja Vananroye, Groenplein 1, 3500 Hasselt

photos by MARLEEN DANIËLs

BACKSTAGE

FRONTSTAGE

22.9 18 ~ 17.3 19

by Hannes Rooms

recent finds Club Late Music x GUN Project clublatemusic.com

Club Late Music (CLM) is an open-sourced and collaborative music label that reflects a contemporary, post-internet attitude and personifies the instantaneous and global nature of today’s culture. It seeks to reinvent the ways of producing and promoting musical projects.

In June 2017, CLM initiated the Global URL Nation (GUN) collaborative community, gathering a diverse society of artists and musicians to work together on experimental projects using various mediums and processes inherited from contemporary cyberculture. To back their message, CLM published a weighty paper on the economies of creation, collective intelligence and new structures of music production and promotion to give others the keys to building a new record company model. To give you a taste, producers like LYZZA, Kid Cala, WRACK, LaBok, Nahshi and Celes7e have contributed in the past.

Black Femme Electronica blackfemme-electronica.com

Ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of online radio shows and DJ sets that are piling up on your ‘to listen’ list? The bottomless pit that Mixcloud and other platforms have become leaves listeners with an excessive supply of mixes without any specific impulse to consume it right here and now. Enter Black Femme Electronica, which is reintroducing some urgency to the radio experience as a monthly pop-up radio station. It’s dedicated to providing a platform for black and brown femme and womyn-identified electronic musicians and each pop-up episode streams for just 24 hours. Last month’s show featured Jersey queen KAYY DRiZZ. The channel comes without social media, so keep an eye on their web domain and try not to miss out on the next episode.

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14.10.18-13.01.19

J A NU A R I

1 6 • Dez M ona 18 • Bert Dockx 24 • MDC III + Esinam DEC E MB E R

05 • Phoenician Drive + Statue 08 • Tsar B 12 • The Antler King

F E B R U A R I

15 • Whispering Sons + Rumours 21 • Calva Louise (UK) 22 • Beraadgeslagen M AA RT

07 • Shht + It It Anita 14 • AK/DK (UK) 21 • Typisch Belgisch: Jan Delvaux VZW NOSTA - KLOOSTERSTRAAT 9, 1745 OPWIJK

recent finds Clues (a speculative present) Klaas Rommelaere x Frederik Heyman

by Isaline Raes

DMW Art Space, Borgerhout Until 16 December Free entrance dmw-artspace.be

High-tech art meets the world of old-school craftsmanship at ‘Clues (a speculative present)’, the duo show of Klaas Rommelaere and Frederik Heyman, currently running at Borgerhout’s DMW Art Space. Digitally animated 3D scenes carefully assembled by Heyman and invaded by analogue, neo-folkloristic objects originating from Rommelaere’s mind dialogue with the colourful hand-embroidered, -knitted, -knotted and -crocheted textile pieces made by Rommelaere and his club of nimble-fingered grannies. Though each in his own way, both artists create multi-layered universes inspired by human rituals and stories from far and near.

Thanks Anyway pt. 2 In De Ruimte, Ghent 14 – 16 December Free entrance inderuimte.be

Let’s talk about sex. Inspired by quotes like. ‘I don’t like kids’ from 101 Ways to Say NO to Sex, a sex education brochure found on the internet which made them laugh their heads off, the TMH or Tieten Met Haar collective created a series of posters which are on view at In De Ruimte from mid-December. The Friday evening vernissage will be coupled with the release of TMH’s new anthology, an open-mic curated by Self-Ish where you can share your most embarrassing and funny stories of your first kiss, your first time, your coming out or coming of age, followed by a Bebe Books educating lecture on safe sex and, top of the bill, a karaoke party finishing off this evening devoted to an open dialogue on sexual and emotional growth.

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DEMOCRAZY MUZIEKCLUB GENT 04.12

NORDMANN, GO MARCH

05.12

IT IT ANITA

12.12

TSAR B, MEDS

14.12

MICHELLE DAVID & THE GOSPEL SESSIONS

16.12

FENG SUAVE

18.12

BENT VAN LOOY, TIM KNOL

18.12

HUNA SOUNDS: ALTIN GÃœN, PHOENICIAN DRIVE

VOORUIT

18.12

YG

VOORUIT

21.12

LIVE & DIRECT: THE TWINKLE BROTHERS

VOORUIT

07.01

MEURIS: TIRADE

19.01

ADRIANNE LENKER + SQUIRREL FLOWER

07.02

DEZ MONA

24.02

ANGELO DE AUGUSTINE

VOORUIT CHARLATAN DE CENTRALE CHARLATAN BAR MIRWAAR HANDELSBEURS

MINARD DE CENTRALE MINARD TREFPUNT

26.02

BRENDAN PERRY (DEAD CAN DANCE) SOLO

27.02

ELIZA

05.03

GEPPETTO & THE WHALES

07.03

DANNY BLUE & THE OLD SOCKS

10.03

AND THEY SPOKE IN ANTHEMS

15.03

VITO

19.03

URAL THOMAS & THE PAIN

TREFPUNT

23.03

EVIL EMPIRE ORCHESTRA

CHARLATAN

23.03

SX

17.04

BIG NEXT: MALENA ZAVALA

23.04

NOVASTAR

01.05

BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWITCH

HANDELSBEURS CHARLATAN VOORUIT TREFPUNT MINARD MINARD

HANDELSBEURS

DEMOCRAZY.BE

TREFPUNT HANDELSBEURS VOORUIT

recent finds The Glamorous Boys of Tang

by Helena Kritis Helena Kritis is (audio)visual arts programmer at Beursschouwburg and member of the selection committee of IFFR’s Bright Future Short

IFFR Bright Future Short, Rotterdam 23 Jan – 3 Feb 2019 – iffr.com

The Bright Future Short section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam is one of the most significant showcases for moving image works by visual artists who refuse to be pinpointed to existing genres or styles. One title already confirmed is The Glamorous Boys of Tang by Su Hui-Yu, who over the past decade has established himself as one of Taiwan’s leading video artists.

I was still only a visitor of the IFFR festival in 2016 when I saw Hui-Yu’s Super Taboo, a delicious fever dream of a film based on a pornographic book from the ’80s. It was unlike anything I’d seen contemporary artists do, recreating the erotic imaginations of this random white-collar worker in a dreamy forest: think kinky tableaus of river-stream orgies in slow motion.

This time I was excited to be personally involved in selecting his new film, The Glamorous Boys of Tang, which is a further step in revisiting old books and films that were censored or misunderstood due to their scandalous content. The film is a recreation of the 1985 homoerotic movie aptly titled Tang Dynasty Beautiful Male. Hui-Yu’s version is again set in this magical forest and includes a parade of flirtatious men and women in period dress as well as a ritual killing of a female warrior. A peculiar film brimming with naked bodies, gender ambiguity and lots of blood and glitter, it’s going to look absolutely bonkers on the big screen.

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we visit you

Name: Célia Radafshar Age: 27 Zodiac sign: Gemini Instagram: @celiaradafshar Subbacultcha member since: 2017

Tell us, what do you do in life?

I’m a florist and I would like to conduct a workshop for elderly people. Besides that, I’m interested in art in general, and in particular, I’m into collage making.

Finally, I hope to study psychotherapy next year.

If you could be famous, what kind of celebrity would you be?

I’d be famous for a good reason like art or a revolutionary idea. And if it was for art, I wouldn’t want my real name to be known and I’d keep my life as quiet as possible.

What do you like best about your place?

My bed, my fireplace and my friend who lives two floors down.

Have you experienced any regrets recently?

No regrets. What had to happen, happened.

What kind of music are you listening to at the moment?

I love sad songs. My favourites at the moment are ‘Song to the Siren’ (This Mortal Coil), ‘La Noyée’ (Serge Gainsbourg), ‘Italove’ (Emmanuelle) and ‘Above Thee Below Thee’ (Qual). And I also listen to Rival Consoles, classical music and Nitzer Ebb.

Which future Subbacultcha show are you looking forward to?

Chynna at Charlatan.

What’s the first record you bought?

I can’t remember if it was one by Britney Spears or Marilyn Manson.

What’s your favourite pastime?

Watching movies in my bed, drinking beers with my friends and working on my collages.

Any guilty pleasures?

Doing absolutely nothing, Harry Potter audiobooks and taking public transport for no reason when it’s empty.

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Photo shot by Yaqine Hamzaoui in Brussels

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front cover: Sergeant shot by Aurélie Bayad

copy editor: Megan Roberts

partners: C12, Het Bos, Madame Moustache, Concert de Légende, Studio CityGate, KultuurKaffee, Beursschouwburg, Slagwerk, Perron Zes, VOLTA, Motif Collectif, La Zone, Collectif Mental, Botanique, Charlatan, Faded, STUK, Democrazy, Magasin 4, In De Ruimte, Cinema Zuid, KASKcinema, Cinematek, NTGent, KVS, deSingel, BPS22, Argos, De Studio, GEWADRUPO, Vooruit, Nosta, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, IFFR, CC Mechelen, Bozar & Modemuseum

design: Chloé D’hauwe

A heartfelt thank you to all our distributors, interns & volunteers.

advertising & partnerships: kasper-jan@subbacultcha.be

office: Subbacultcha Belgium, Dendermondsesteenweg 80A, 9000 Ghent

editors in chief: Herlinde Raeman & Kasper-Jan Raeman magazine editors: Julien Van de Casteele & Isaline Raes

distribution: herlinde@subbacultcha.be memberships: memberships@subbacultcha.be printer: Drukkerij GEWADRUPO, Arendonk, Belgium

editorial: magazine@subbacultcha.be memberships: memberships@subbacultcha.be

contributing writers: Gabriela González, Isaline Raes, Julien Van de Casteele, Hannes Rooms, Dries Robbe, Helena Kritis, Isabel Elwood, Loïs Rijgersberg, Dennis Meersman, Eléonore Kenis, Wannes Dewit, Jacob McPherson, Asli Ozyurek, Glen Van Muylem, Giulia Menegale, Anaïs Violet Van Eldere & Bledarte Collective contributing photographers: Stine Sampers, Tiny Geeroms, Oliver Sehlstedt, Oli XL, Femke Fredrix, Aurélie Bayad, Yaqine Hamzaoui, Imane Azizi & Femi Kidjo contributing artists: Egon Van Herreweghe & Thomas Min

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Join us for €8 a month. subbacultcha.be

Tentoonstelling

Nick Hannes 15.12.2018 – 3.03.2019 Donderdag tot zondag 13:00 – 18:00u De Garage Onder den Toren 12A 2800 Mechelen cultuurcentrummechelen.be

Garden of Delight

festival hosted by B.O.X Baroque Orchestration X za 5 jan 2019

muziek

Richard Reed Parry CAN Hanna Benn USA PĂŠtur Ben IS HĂśgni IS Lyenn BE

deSingel is een kunstinstelling van de Vlaamse Overheid

mediasponsors

pop x klassiek indie x barok oud x nieuw