[ { "title": "Latest Interview", "mainFeaturedItem": { "title": "In the studio with Commander Spoon", "slug": "brussels-highlight-w-commander-spoon", "date": "2023-02-17", "author": "Koen Galle", "shortDescription": "Studio Pyramide in Beersel is where Commander Spoon is in the midst of recording a new EP, to be released just prior to their concert in Flagey during Listen Festival. We are welcomed at nightfall on the final of five consecutive studio days and the pressure is rising. The prospect of a late evening doesn’t scare any of the members of the jazz band, although saxophonist and musical director Pierre Spataro honestly admits that fatigue is kicking in. The energy floats freely through the studio’s control room while we listen to one of the recordings. Spataro enthusiastically shouts ‘mushrooms’ during the most uplifting parts and we immediately understand why.\n\nCommander Spoon is a fivesome where commander-in-chief Pierre Spataro is joined by guitarist Florent Jeunieaux, bassist Fil Caporali, keyboardist Lorenzo Ola Kobina and drummer Samy Wallens. We all sit together in the kitchen of Studio Pyramide for tea and a chat. \n", "content": { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Studio Pyramide in Beersel is where Commander Spoon is in the midst of recording a new EP, to be released just prior to their concert in Flagey during Listen Festival. We are welcomed at nightfall on the final of five consecutive studio days and the pressure is rising. The prospect of a late evening doesn’t scare any of the members of the jazz band, although saxophonist and musical director Pierre Spataro honestly admits that fatigue is kicking in. The energy floats freely through the studio’s control room while we listen to one of the recordings. Spataro enthusiastically shouts ‘mushrooms’ during the most uplifting parts and we immediately understand why.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Commander Spoon is a fivesome where commander-in-chief Pierre Spataro is joined by guitarist Florent Jeunieaux, bassist Fil Caporali, keyboardist Lorenzo Ola Kobina and drummer Samy Wallens. We all sit together in the kitchen of Studio Pyramide for tea and a chat. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "pWARX5T7p1dHIMHjBUixM", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:42:07.501Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:35:16.001Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "commander spoon group", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/pWARX5T7p1dHIMHjBUixM/d7125305982a32e7d1b0680f833b07d8/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-7.JPG", "details": { "size": 1746934, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-7.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "pWARX5T7p1dHIMHjBUixM", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "What’s cooking for the new EP?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: An evolution of the artistic direction we took with our previous EP ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Flock, ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "released in June 2022. On every milestone of the band, we somehow challenge ourselves and try different paths. Our album ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Spooning", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " from early 2020 sounded very acoustic, while since ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Flock ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "our sound has gotten more produced. \n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2RY7rpqBOSm7vILj6guOYF", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:44:53.608Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:36:55.113Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "bz1DUXy4", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2RY7rpqBOSm7vILj6guOYF/d77a21ed687cf6b9a8ea4af30aa82683/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-26.JPG", "details": { "size": 911532, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-26.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1985GSceM2OX8WrNkeQAKd", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:58:36.671Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:40:36.260Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "BjQPkooc", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1985GSceM2OX8WrNkeQAKd/6efe403ed34dc474b4e940dcbf56ae59/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-35.JPG", "details": { "size": 1083507, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-35.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "I wonder what the more informal, less articulated roles are that each of you takes in the band? Both musically and outside of the music?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: Our guitarist Florent Jeunieaux is a major force when it comes to dealing with the dynamics, using effects and arranging the music. He guarantees harmony!", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: I’m the drummer.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Fil Caporali: And you are not in charge of the harmony! ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "(laughter)", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Florent Jeunieaux: Samy is the one who takes the lead when we need food and can’t decide what. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3uuumCgcGKlpqoCsZWGHcK", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:50:53.266Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:39:17.757Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "aJtKhl8w", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3uuumCgcGKlpqoCsZWGHcK/40e7216c40687627d636e68f0fa54cf3/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-13.JPG", "details": { "size": 1140017, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-13.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "761PFeeTr0XHO2VCbdfxVh", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:52:32.335Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:41:11.348Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "uATTUUFc", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/761PFeeTr0XHO2VCbdfxVh/0e86a45734718ec98ac488367876078e/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-16.JPG", "details": { "size": 1078750, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-16.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Fil Caporali: I play the bass and do the best jokes. ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "(general nodding) ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "One night Samy called me in the middle of the night while I was sleeping, I was worried and decided to answer the phone. The only thing he asked me was to make a good joke. See how far my responsibility as joker of the band goes?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Lorenzo Ola Kobina: I’m the newest member, I actually just joined the band. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: I first heard of Lorenzo when Samy joined the band of rapper The Color Grey for a temporary replacement job. Lorenzo is one of their members. Later we collaborated during a project for RTBF’s Tarmac and again with Reinel Bakole. \n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3AW1tgiJBI7gzbwqf8BHCb", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:51:59.645Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:42:30.372Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "kBegQugk", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3AW1tgiJBI7gzbwqf8BHCb/5e112fea9d7c4006a547c4ed09158860/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-14.JPG", "details": { "size": 1633129, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-14.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7gLG41qM1DOxy3JpFwYPY8", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:51:30.997Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:42:52.956Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "9vObEKWk", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7gLG41qM1DOxy3JpFwYPY8/846d4a7d42daeb230cb1aa961088a8d1/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-10.JPG", "details": { "size": 1464864, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-10.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7BHqswmUg4snLxlLoMupRm", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:52:54.150Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:44:57.233Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "Ay2Xkc Q", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7BHqswmUg4snLxlLoMupRm/c1be6d722f41373c17133620961a50d6/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-18.JPG", "details": { "size": 1081416, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-18.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "A band that says to ‘respectfully demolish walls between jazz, hiphop, rock and electronica’, which inspirations were brought to the drawing board for this EP? What did you listen to prior to recording?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: Sandra Kim! ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "(laughter)", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Florent Jeunieaux: I listened to my heart. ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "(more laughter) ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "I guess there is a natural tendency in the group to aim for electronic influences, while we don’t really have an electronic instrument. Especially on the upcoming EP we have been recording just now, we flirt with acid.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Is this what I heard for instance in the part where you shouted ‘mushrooms’ when we were listening to the recorded music earlier?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: Yes, that’s exactly it. Our inspirations go in different senses, it’s hard to give one example. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "The Jazz Cats compilation curated by Lefto and released on SDBAN ULTRA in 2018 gives a nice insight into what was at the time dubbed the new wave of Belgian jazz, including music by Commander Spoon. Do you still feel connected to such a caption? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: At the time it definitely felt right, we were quite new on the scene ourselves and a lot of bands were founded. Our sound and that of other bands was futuristic to Belgian jazz, apart from the pioneering work of STUFF. Over the past years, this so-called new wave of jazz has opened the ears and eyes of the more traditional jazz scene. The change has gone quite fast and resulted in us playing shows at Ghent Jazz programmed late at night or soon in March in the impressive Flagey concert hall during an electronic music event such as Listen Festival. We love it.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1YJx84nu36oASb0IiZAweC", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:57:11.502Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:45:20.067Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "WnzBEGFw", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1YJx84nu36oASb0IiZAweC/55147d1dec33862b42620b7d8f8fdfbf/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-29.JPG", "details": { "size": 1451335, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-29.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4wOd5eFM8BFC7xua6fd4VJ", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T15:57:48.231Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:45:45.982Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "BphdA6zE", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4wOd5eFM8BFC7xua6fd4VJ/4c97a40239873e51f51ba652597b6bfd/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-51.JPG", "details": { "size": 1182387, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-51.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "This open-mindedness hasn’t always been the case?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Florent Jeunieaux: Well, at least we thought so. When we first started to perform about five years ago an unconscious barrier seemed to exist within the jazz scene. But as a matter of fact, we soon discovered this wasn’t the case. We witnessed a heart-warming reception on any kind of stage in the whole country. Probably there was such a barrier before, but I guess we started off just at the right moment.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Has there ever been a language barrier between the Flemish and the French music scenes in Belgium?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: No, from our perspective there isn’t. Obviously since much jazz music is mostly instrumental, it doesn’t play a big role. We have always reached a large audience in Flanders. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: I think it can still be quite complex to cross the language barrier to be honest, but for Commander Spoon it definitely has not been the case. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Lorenzo Ola Kobina: It has become much easier these days to connect with each other.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Florent Jeunieaux: Many bridges are still relatively new. Music center Volta is a great example, bringing bands from both sides together in Anderlecht. They have done tremendous work. But I reckon that it hasn’t always been like this.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: Many musicians, both Flemish and Walloon, are now coming to live in Brussels. It has become hipagain to live in the capital. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1kcICJqKdk4bm29PRldQ59", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T16:06:57.808Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:46:10.228Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "sKUqi1dc", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1kcICJqKdk4bm29PRldQ59/2e6328d01e70f43ab239f5dfb7cea51a/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-48.JPG", "details": { "size": 1052785, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-48.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Another project uniting artists from different scenes and cultures that Commander Spoon is involved with, is Niveau 4. How has this adventure started?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: I founded the project in 2016 in collaboration with Couleur Café. The idea was to bring promising rappers and DJs together on stage during the festival. After three editions and the likes of Coely, Romeo Elvis, Stikstof and many others on stage, the idea rose to include musicians in the project. That’s when ECHT! and Commander Spoon were invited to act as the musical glue on stage. It instantly turned out great. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: Seeing people perform pogo on our music was definitely an apotheosis.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: Playing our own songs among the repertoire of rappers, was in the beginning rather frightening. But it worked well and the energy never faded out. The ears of the new generation have changed, they are open to discovering new sounds. The same goes for the rappers. They were used to the convenience of performing with a DJ only but during rehearsals always slowly but surely woke up from their hesitations against working with a live band. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Has this inspired you to work with vocalists for your own music?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Samy Wallens: For our previous EP ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Flock ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "we worked with Miss Angel, Esinam or Tristan among others. A great experience, about which we made a short documentary series.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "value": "<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/4syyaRXQ7mk\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen></iframe>", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "20wKNAE8Vwvvq9r9CR5uzH", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T16:02:39.391Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:46:37.376Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "eg24w7tY", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/20wKNAE8Vwvvq9r9CR5uzH/5993cb120737cab8345efc468a554f7f/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-27.JPG", "details": { "size": 1332163, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-27.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3DlqxFCBX1UmtHIdqr6OI", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T16:03:42.962Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:47:13.757Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "WoQ5Sxv0", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3DlqxFCBX1UmtHIdqr6OI/fff224e4c65af27a0bda2677c660fe9e/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-40.JPG", "details": { "size": 812208, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-40.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "What’s to expect of your concert at Flagey during Listen Festival?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: If all goes well, we will present our new EP live on stage. It will be the first show with Lorenzo as part of the band. And we’ll be giving an insight into the new musical directions of the band. We are very much looking forward to sharing the stage with Jameszoo’s Blind Group as well. It promises to be a huge night. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "And what to expect of tonight, your final night in the studio?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pierre Spataro: We still have to record the saxophone, so it’s my time to shine now. I think everybody will stay around to finish the recording as a group. Tomorrow I’m off to London to spend four days at Pink Bird Recording Co. Ever since our second EP, the studio’s chief Rick David is responsible for mixing our music. He has worked with many great musicians such as Tom Misch or Jordan Rakei and is vital for the sound of Commander Spoon. I really enjoy spending time in East London with him. But first, the saxophone! ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Good luck to you all!", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1OD29FSg6yaMRxQDFVWCA9", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-02-17T16:01:14.097Z", "updatedAt": "2023-02-20T16:47:46.679Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "BCp8PgG0", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1OD29FSg6yaMRxQDFVWCA9/2ca1d18cd0199cc7d03a1ba4054f8a65/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-67.JPG", "details": { "size": 780960, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-67.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Pictures by Jente Waerzeggers", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" } ], "nodeType": "document" }, "image": { "title": "commander spoon group", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/pWARX5T7p1dHIMHjBUixM/d7125305982a32e7d1b0680f833b07d8/commander_spoon_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-7.JPG", "details": { "size": 1746934, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "commander spoon - listen! - jw (web res)-7.JPG", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "pWARX5T7p1dHIMHjBUixM", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "1VO1dlI6RhDsWaNy71SsZ3", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, "carrousel": [ { "title": "From Playstation 5 to the stage of Botanique at Listen Festival: meet Jennifur.", "slug": "from-playstation-5-to-the-stage-of-botanique-at-listen-festival-meet", "date": "2023-01-19", "author": "Koen Galle", "shortDescription": "Put Hector Devriendt aka Jennifur in a basement studio for 18 months and he’ll produce every sound and all music for a videogame, that’s a simple fact. Without much experience and as the result of a pivotal encounter with adventurous Belgian game developers who wanted to put their faith in the hands of a talented young producer, Devriendt did an excellent job as the soundtrack designer of snowboard game Shredders. One year after the release on XBOX and PC and a month since Playstation 5, his music has been heard by thousands of gamers worldwide, with trailer video’s reaching a multiple audience and his name popping up on influential media such as NME. The soundtrack was also released as an album titled Nowhere, Now Here and the accompanying live show brings Jennifur to Listen Festival 2023. \n", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Put Hector Devriendt aka Jennifur in a basement studio for 18 months and he’ll produce every sound and all music for a videogame, that’s a simple fact. Without much experience and as the result of a pivotal encounter with adventurous Belgian game developers who wanted to put their faith in the hands of a talented young producer, Devriendt did an excellent job as the soundtrack designer of snowboard game Shredders. One year after the release on XBOX and PC and a month since Playstation 5, his music has been heard by thousands of gamers worldwide, with trailer video’s reaching a multiple audience and his name popping up on influential media such as NME. The soundtrack was also released as an album titled ", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Nowhere, Now Here", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " and the accompanying live show brings Jennifur to Listen Festival 2023. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "vuHDCfK1NOX2Bu68FNmt4", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:51:20.186Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:51:20.186Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-9", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/vuHDCfK1NOX2Bu68FNmt4/70552f4d8b117ec5e04d7b0c26f4bc64/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-9.jpg", "details": { "size": 1239479, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-9.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "vuHDCfK1NOX2Bu68FNmt4", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/BbLyMN3l4cQ\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen></iframe>", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=157990995/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" seamless><a href=\"https://jennifur.bandcamp.com/album/nowhere-now-here-music-made-for-the-game-shredders\">Nowhere, Now Here (music made for the game Shredders) by Jennifur</a></iframe>", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "First of all: congratulations on the video game and soundtrack. How long and what kind of work does it take to create the soundtrack for a video game?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Thanks! For 18 months I worked almost non-stop on the game. Although my contract only stipulated four days per week, I was so much invested into it I often worked all week or even on weekends. Next to the official soundtrack, I performed quite some foley work, where I recreated sounds in my studio such as for instance the sound of snowboarding in deep snow. And I processed and edited all interviews with the professional snowboarders for the game’s narrative. Looking back, I must admit I fairly miss those days here in my basement studio, truly a dream job. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2GPA3WQpRpzkKZOiLe1QMD", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:52:55.962Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:52:55.962Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-18", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2GPA3WQpRpzkKZOiLe1QMD/bf6ccedcf6348354ec728889ceb518c1/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-18.jpg", "details": { "size": 1090880, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-18.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "v8Qw64b8HWtRAF4Dv29DY", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:53:48.512Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:53:48.512Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-53", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/v8Qw64b8HWtRAF4Dv29DY/785ed0ace46a75e6768f766b11985aec/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-53.jpg", "details": { "size": 776356, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-53.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2U4RbCU9GBvbigIMZIbBJn", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:04:55.665Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:04:55.665Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-74", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2U4RbCU9GBvbigIMZIbBJn/b895d88165cd1d4635c0102909342698/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-74.jpg", "details": { "size": 848146, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-74.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Are you a winter sports fanatic yourself? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nNo, not really. As a teenager I was a skater though, but I didn’t do much snowboarding.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Then how did you end up doing the soundtrack of a snowboard video game?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nThrough VI.BE, an organization that supports young producers and musicians in Flanders and Brussels. Two of their former employees, Dirk and Joachim, are now involved in I-Illusions, a Belgian independent game development studio. Years ago I contacted VI.BE with a bunch of questions about my very first EP, on how to upload it to Spotify for example. Joachim remembered my music and offered me the job. Them believing in me was such an honor and a great gift. The whole project was an incredible learning experience and definitely a firestarter for my musical career. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Did you have to play the game a lot to get into the vibe?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nThey put a gaming computer here in my studio and installed every new update to it. I was able to fully embed myself in the digital environment and simultaneously was given complete carte blanche for the music. As a result, the album really feels like a Jennifur album that I’m proud to present also outside of a game environment. I’m actually pretty sure that if the game soundtrack job hadn’t crossed my path, my album would have sounded quite alike. A few tracks only made it into the game and aren’t on the album, while all of the music on the album also made it into the game.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nYou specifically wanted to present the album also separately from the game, with an unconnected album cover? Was it hard to convince the studio to do this?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Gaming soundtracks are often presented with the same aesthetics as the game itself, but from the beginning the studio left me fully free to present my music the way I wanted. My girlfriend Emma Raymaekers created the cover artwork. This way, the soundtrack can also speak to an audience outside of the gaming world. The studio encouraged me to do so, which is also quite unique I reckon. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1fErpdx8yhlx04sVpmW2HI", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:57:34.063Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:57:34.063Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-50", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1fErpdx8yhlx04sVpmW2HI/9e45d4a371c545ab56677cfc496dfc9e/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-50.jpg", "details": { "size": 1125792, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-50.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "cSLSyd9r9OvMf9Z2DvbHA", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:58:13.921Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:58:13.921Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-48", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/cSLSyd9r9OvMf9Z2DvbHA/1b16826ab24317c96058192a8602f2f2/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-48.jpg", "details": { "size": 948481, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-48.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Would you recommend young producers to start their career with a soundtrack for a game?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Definitely, if such an opportunity comes across you should drop everything and go for it. But in hindsight, I must admit there have been quite some moments when anxiety kicked in or when I faced a writer’s block for several weeks in a row. I was astonished that the studio risked so much with investing into a young and inexperienced music producer such as myself. But I managed to grow through these moments and I’m still happy with the final result now, almost a year since the release. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You’ll be performing live at Listen Festival in the Witloof Bar at Botanique. What’s a Jennifur live performance like?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "As it’s essential for me to give the music some depth in the form of a band, I’ll be live on stage with guitarist Michiel Ardaen and drummer Thibault Goudket. All tracks from my latest album have been redesigned for a 50-minutes-long show and music from my new yet to be released EP will also be performed. Honestly, performing live for an audience is a dream come true. I’m not classically trained as a musician, so working with musicians is very enriching.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "72rBxUdjQLcLS4xb0RMrVe", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:59:01.989Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:59:01.989Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-42", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/72rBxUdjQLcLS4xb0RMrVe/1ec828b7dbe0d0a30cf2e6d270308e90/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-42.jpg", "details": { "size": 778724, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-42.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1KdyLra5McYfcyTckkoBWf", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T13:59:50.939Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T13:59:50.939Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-69", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1KdyLra5McYfcyTckkoBWf/4f96f4f466c5efb0bb0f1da701a40429/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-69.jpg", "details": { "size": 824708, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-69.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You didn’t enroll in music school when you were young?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "No, never, although my mother always tried to push me towards music. I was more into sports and skating and didn’t pay attention to the bands that were cool at the time, such as Limp Bizkit or Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It took until my older brother and father had me listen to electronic music artists such as Aphex Twin, Crystal Castles, Burial, Four Tet and Mount Kimbie. I was instantly hooked. Not much later, I must have been 16, a friend introduced me to Ableton. I completely dived into the software and learned my skills on the fly.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What drew you to electronic music?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Any kind of sound, even nonexistent to date, can be created through electronic music and can trigger emotions. I find this process so unique and exhilarating. It’s exactly these kinds of deep emotions which I haven’t felt before and can keep on touching me for a longer period of time, I’m targeting when working on new music. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1NeKff9cQLD9OZp8ZMBG14", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:01:01.086Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:01:01.086Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-2", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1NeKff9cQLD9OZp8ZMBG14/782f452735f63e8419d98b8c2e886b7b/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-2.jpg", "details": { "size": 1070960, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-2.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6NZuNl8nmAKiBQmHFoQ5j7", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:01:31.286Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:01:31.286Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-13", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6NZuNl8nmAKiBQmHFoQ5j7/2959cf90a262cd1237135170f181d09b/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-13.jpg", "details": { "size": 1163560, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-13.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I noticed an album of Four Tet here in your studio and before meeting you had already noted him down as a clear influence for your music. In your words, why Four Tet?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Kieran Hebden is an extremely talented and inspiring artist. Since I discovered him, I have been intensely listening to all of his music. His early albums such as ", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Rounds", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " from 2003 that you see here in the studio or more recent albums such as ", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "New Energy ", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "are masterpieces. He continues to reinvent himself during all these years since he started releasing, which is truly remarkable, always incorporating new styles or techniques. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6q2Hv3j1RckysJR6rqQUvp", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:02:36.542Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:02:36.542Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-30", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6q2Hv3j1RckysJR6rqQUvp/848a60bf369a58ebd996091c39161efe/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-30.jpg", "details": { "size": 1070329, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-30.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3AFPnAOQOnLbi4IFVxNg6m", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:03:10.581Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:03:10.581Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-5", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3AFPnAOQOnLbi4IFVxNg6m/3f656d45e19447acc6ae196c1cd3673b/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-5.jpg", "details": { "size": 1616286, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-5.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6EwolO4YZ8R1rjq5A6ZPfv", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:03:49.064Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:03:49.064Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-72", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6EwolO4YZ8R1rjq5A6ZPfv/ae1d266b2d0b904e8fd5c09ae9d0c238/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-72.jpg", "details": { "size": 708524, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-72.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You released your albums with HS71, who are they?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "HS71 is a collective I co-founded when I was studying at the university here in Ghent. Among a group of friends we often hung out at a friend’s flat in Hoogstraat 71, that’s where the name comes from, and felt creatively and musically connected. When two graphic designers and a manager joined in, it became some kind of audiovisual platform for several activities such as running our own label or hosting events, exhibitions and parties. And although I’m trying my luck for my next album with foreign labels, it’s great to have set my baby steps among friends.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Sounds like a good bunch! Looking forward to seeing you in Botanique during Listen Festival!", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4g4j3EFRyX2DFyUru66acS", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:05:36.382Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:05:36.382Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-76", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4g4j3EFRyX2DFyUru66acS/a9468472748ee5abf28ded29bbc2cc98/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-76.jpg", "details": { "size": 1322605, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-76.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4rUA4p7fKSoO6vNFRB5Bz2", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2023-01-19T14:06:08.818Z", "updatedAt": "2023-01-19T14:06:08.818Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-58", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4rUA4p7fKSoO6vNFRB5Bz2/8ada20dda52b707f22183d299ed06db0/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-58.jpg", "details": { "size": 1444850, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-58.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\npictures by Jente Waerzeggers", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] } ] }, "image": { "title": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-9", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/vuHDCfK1NOX2Bu68FNmt4/70552f4d8b117ec5e04d7b0c26f4bc64/jennifur_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-9.jpg", "details": { "size": 1239479, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "jennifur - listen! - jw (web res)-9.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "vuHDCfK1NOX2Bu68FNmt4", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "1LHebYgoDDQtJXPD8Ot8m3", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "Visiting Molenbeat finest Cheb Runner ", "slug": "visiting-molenbeat-finest-cheb-runner", "date": "2022-12-29", "author": "Koen Galle", "shortDescription": "In October influential Dutch DJ Antal selected a brand new track by Cheb Runner for his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. Cheb Runner is a Brussels based Moroccan music producer and DJ who goes by the name Reda Senhaji and has been on our radar for quite a while now. The artist formerly known by the name Gan Gah - an alter ego he abandoned after being too often portrayed in an eerie and tokenizing version of global music - presented the excellent Tagnawit EP on Rebel UP Records in 2020 and somewhere along the way started Mameen 3 as member of the duo Mameen3, offering downright danceable and orientally Rai lo-fi disco inspired music through labels such as Les Disques Bongo Joe, Planet Trip and Fauve Records. Nowadays he fully focuses on his Cheb Runner alter ego again, leading to the Raï Beat System EP on Crevette Records’ affiliated label Oddball Fantasies, the record Antal cherry picked from. \n", "content": { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "In October influential Dutch DJ Antal selected a brand new track by Cheb Runner for his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. Cheb Runner is a Brussels based Moroccan music producer and DJ who goes by the name Reda Senhaji and has been on our radar for quite a while now. The artist formerly known by the name Gan Gah - an alter ego he abandoned after being too often portrayed in an eerie and tokenizing version of global music - presented the excellent Tagnawit EP on Rebel UP Records in 2020 and somewhere along the way started Mameen 3 as member of the duo Mameen3, offering downright danceable and orientally Rai lo-fi disco inspired music through labels such as Les Disques Bongo Joe, Planet Trip and Fauve Records. Nowadays he fully focuses on his Cheb Runner alter ego again, leading to the ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Raï Beat System", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " EP on Crevette Records’ affiliated label Oddball Fantasies, the record Antal cherry picked from. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6WGPOfyUFBq2uyZcsfveJy", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:20:41.404Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:20:41.404Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-13", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6WGPOfyUFBq2uyZcsfveJy/51d238e71e3092771b611d03d7bf4d4b/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-13.jpg", "details": { "size": 1080094, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-13.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2g77HZSLs9SaiPxIxNSOIs", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:21:25.837Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:21:25.837Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-69", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2g77HZSLs9SaiPxIxNSOIs/c1a13b24fadc93255dc4df42bf77e588/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-69.jpg", "details": { "size": 632783, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-69.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "2g77HZSLs9SaiPxIxNSOIs", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nCheb, the Arabic word for “young boy”, is traditionally used to describe a young generation of Raï MCs such as Cheb Hasni, Cheb Mami or Cheb Khaled. Reda’s nudge to Blade Runner, a cult specimen of an utterly Western cultural product, isn’t gratuitous at all. He openly wishes to connect his Moroccan roots in the rural Agadir region with the electronic music scenes of industrial cities such as Berlin, Detroit or Brussels. He seeks for a new sound of in-betweenness, intensely nurtured by both worlds and running back and forth in time. On ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Raï Beat System", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " EP the North-African Raï sound goes into the blender with Western underground eighties sounds such as our very own pitched down and bass-heavy new beat, the result so infectious you wonder why it took 30 years for this intercultural marriage to happen. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "value": "<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3602796669/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" seamless><a href=\"https://oddballfantasies.bandcamp.com/album/ra-beat-system\">Raï Beat System by Cheb Runner</a></iframe>", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\nWe find ourselves in Reda’s home in the center of Brussels, a carefully decorated flat he shares with his girlfriend Shirin Mirachor. Our conversation takes off on a surprising element in the corner of the living room: a lamp made out of a hair dryer, the type that seems to be designed for a Star Wars movie and mostly used by elderly women shaping their ‘permanent’. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2gCf885oAn61efzuJYM2EF", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:22:20.133Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:22:20.133Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-1", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2gCf885oAn61efzuJYM2EF/fc63a81c9b372895eb081ed85a62162c/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-1.jpg", "details": { "size": 858240, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-1.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7sDlVyOjIhKNg1ZYTxGjGs", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:23:00.538Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:23:00.538Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-48", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7sDlVyOjIhKNg1ZYTxGjGs/fa5cfd3f7b5d0db846080844b5186e8e/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-48.jpg", "details": { "size": 387031, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-48.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "What’s the story here, Reda?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "We bought it at the flea market in the Marolles last weekend. I disassembled the motor and installed a lamp. Crafting and messing around with hardware is something I tremendously enjoy and have been doing for ages. In Morocco as a kid we didn’t have many toys, so we had to invent our own using old wheels or electronic devices and wires. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Does this help you in your musical production as well? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Definitely! It helped me to create my own sound and identity. Being in between two cultures, I’m seeking for an artistic output that unites people and results into a culture where everyone is included. For this, I depend on my DIY attitude. My philosophy is maybe best understood when visiting Midi Brico, the street-wise version of the hardware store chain in Avenue Stalingrad. Unlike the original store, they allow you to buy per screw or whatever you need, instead of having to buy full sets of screws you will eventually never use. This is typically Moroccan and a less capitalist way of consumerism that I prefer much more. I made this lamp with a minimum of items, trying to reduce waste. A very hip and western concept like ‘upcycling’ has always been part of our Moroccan way of life. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Do you build your own instruments? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Rather installations, meant to evoke reflections on sociological, cultural and identity-related phenomena. Immigration remains a common thread in my work. Far away from hype and propaganda, I wish to keep the debate alive for everyone involved, not just those whose situation is temporarily relevant due to this or that mediatised event. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2bK3VrxcmdPMumo6hbm4wq", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:24:25.570Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:24:25.570Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-50", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2bK3VrxcmdPMumo6hbm4wq/32c12dba1e7629d32deb755d721e517d/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-50.jpg", "details": { "size": 526732, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-50.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1spKCVejPiiCDcWiBv3sH7", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:25:05.808Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:25:05.808Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-36", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1spKCVejPiiCDcWiBv3sH7/3bbf9f12d6a09f87f0d800b8a717e42b/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-36.jpg", "details": { "size": 778838, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-36.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "auwa66BsC8jfyo8o4ZwYx", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:25:39.455Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:25:39.455Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-56", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/auwa66BsC8jfyo8o4ZwYx/30e33d74bc7df43582b63133757a69de/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-56.jpg", "details": { "size": 375866, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-56.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Your music isn’t gratuitous, right? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "No, it always has a message behind it, I can’t lie or cover my feelings. I don’t want to feel like an imposter, there is only one version of me. Neither do I want to be tokenized, the work only belongs to me. When I present work as ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "The Angry Immigrant", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": ", I translate my anger on various levels: democratic, social, individual, … This is the story of many immigrants, including those who died while trying to cross the seas to a new and better life. The weight of the salt water is audible in the subs of my music, next to the sound of the sonar, a kind of thick sound in the silent environment, the waves, the cries of dying people, … all become somehow part of the melody. But I don’t often give explanations during my shows. ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "The Angry Immigrant ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "only exists on stage - I played it at The Rewire Festival in The Hague - and will never be released outside of a live performance. It has to be experienced in the same room with me and while seeing the crazy live visuals of Salim Bayri Projected VR Experience. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Reda reminisces about a sleepless night in his studio in Rotterdam, on the eve of their performance of ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" }, { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "The Angry Immigrant", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": " at Het Bos in Antwerp, when they accidently lost all preparations for the show. Instead of panicking, Reda and Salim simply rebuild everything from scratch in what he calls a truly Moroccan ‘on s’en fout’ manner, while simultaneously being dead serious and utterly precise. He also calls it ‘dépannage’, the French word for repair. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Is this your Midi Brico fetish again, Reda?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Haha, yes, that’s right! Staying calm and looking for last-minute solutions is something very important for me. There is no reason to stress, whatever happens. We built our own computer and hardware, which traveled with us to the show. There is so much that can go wrong, stress can become a real burden you know.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "You’re part of (A)WAKE, an organization founded by your girlfriend Shirin Mirachor in Rotterdam. What’s the idea behind (A)WAKE? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " I’m responsible for everything concerning sound and all technical and infrastructural work before and during their events. (A)WAKE’s role focuses on the West-Asian and North-African communities by trying to connect the diaspora and tackle certain unanswered questions and challenges, by being a catalyst and creating a network. Their New Radicalisms Festival is an important moment throughout the year, where I’m in charge of the musical program. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "76PUldKyDAXlQIXDrPAv9h", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:26:43.558Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:32:45.954Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 2, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-4", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/76PUldKyDAXlQIXDrPAv9h/403a6a38e3bb5fec19ab3047ddcf7145/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-59.jpg", "details": { "size": 465078, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-59.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Why do you collaborate with (A)WAKE, apart from the fact that Shirin is your partner?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " There is a group of people that is too often put aside in our society and we believe they deserve more opportunities and open doors. Artists for example, who we offer residencies to, I’m able to help by offering my expertise. Nowadays we are investigating how we can work on an international level, how the organization can play a role in various locations.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Since when are you in Brussels?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "I traveled from Agadir to Brussels in 2011 as a young adolescent, to start my studies in informatics. It didn’t turn out as I thought it would, but I’m still here! (laughs)", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Were you already making music in Agadir?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Definitely. There has always been traditional music in the neighborhood, on the street and in my family, through my mother and grandmother or other relatives. On the streets we used everything we could lay our hands on as an instrument, for instance a car or garage door and practiced ancient drum rhythms. I have vivid memories of Boujloud, a sort of Moroccan carnival, where music was also a major part of the festivities, next to wearing a pelt of livestock. When as a teenager I finally got access to a computer, a Pentium III at my cousin’s house, I experimented with Fruity Loops, the free music software I had secretly installed on it. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5kVbJV4hFLlxLJotE36fP4", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:27:36.530Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:27:36.530Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-46", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5kVbJV4hFLlxLJotE36fP4/7186958074a2d5d52d444f1c9fc911f6/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-46.jpg", "details": { "size": 617419, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-46.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6ev3o1vmer71xS4eMXUf35", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:28:20.628Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:28:20.628Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-42", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6ev3o1vmer71xS4eMXUf35/221569b2ce15846e9472197193ca8970/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-42.jpg", "details": { "size": 734518, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-42.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2lmiwc3mEWXHF504Kwh9de", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:28:49.209Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:28:49.209Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-54", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2lmiwc3mEWXHF504Kwh9de/cf2a936792d326d2a22590ef7e224ba5/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-54.jpg", "details": { "size": 464046, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-54.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "On your latest EP you mix the Arab raï music with Belgian new beat. I haven’t heard such a convincing reinterpretation of new beat, a genre that had its heyday in the second part of the eighties. When did you discover the match between those genres?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Raï is originally North African folk music from the twenties. In the eighties it was popularized due to the use of synthesizers and drum machines. They were able to interpret the rhythm with these new instruments. Raï has always been a liberating movement by and for the people that touches me deeply. On the other hand, new beat has touched me on a musical level. I stumbled upon a pile of new beat records at the flea market at Het Vossenplein / Place du Jeu de Balle. And I often visit Geert Sermon in his record shop Dr. Vinyl, who has an immense knowledge of the genre and helped create the movie The Sound Of Belgium. I wanted to make an EP where I connect my roots with my current home and reflect on the dynamics of Brussels, resulting in tracks such as ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "value": "Molenbeat", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "! (laughs) ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "value": "<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3602796669/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" seamless><a href=\"https://oddballfantasies.bandcamp.com/album/ra-beat-system\">Raï Beat System by Cheb Runner</a></iframe>", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "How did you end up with Oddball Fantasies, the label run by Crevette Records boss Pim Thomas?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "The music I made definitely belongs to Brussels, so I wanted to find a local label to share the music with. Pim really focuses on artists for the scene here, which I really appreciate and where I feel welcome. I consider myself as a Belgian just as much as a Moroccan, a local just as much as an immigrant. Wherever I go I’ll have this immigrant feeling and I try to deal with that feeling. I’m kind of a Touareg traveller: where I go, I am. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Your track ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "italic" }, { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "مربوحة Marbou7a", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": " on the 2022 Listen Festival compilation was some kind of a predecessor to the Raï Beat System, right? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "This track is just as my latest EP part of a series where I reflect on the eighties, more unreleased music is waiting on the shelf by the way. And I’m also working on reflections on the nineties, focusing more on jungle and rave rhythms, really designed for the dancefloor. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5mwqEYOY8qIWIJmzhhjJO0", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:30:13.873Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:30:13.873Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-30", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5mwqEYOY8qIWIJmzhhjJO0/65e2098e4cf4af190dbe4add68ae2b0d/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-30.jpg", "details": { "size": 1083952, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-30.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "690TQdEjeRHw1WOk6iUnjj", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:33:25.112Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:33:25.112Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-32", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/690TQdEjeRHw1WOk6iUnjj/7f654c9d90d5738e26992665f78973fb/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-32.jpg", "details": { "size": 635427, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-32.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Immigration from the African countries to Belgium started already in the 1960s, but there aren't many examples to be found in the past of artists such who independently collaborated with Western electronic music labels. The only one I could find was Tunesian house music artist ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": { "uri": "https://www.discogs.com/artist/1045412-Adel-Dhibi" }, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "underline" }, { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Adel Dibi", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "hyperlink" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": " who released in Belgium between 1993 and 1996. Today there seem to be growing more connections between both worlds, do you agree?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "The most important factor to me is the access to technology: internet, synthesizers, software, computers, … These are becoming more easily accessible in Morocco, giving young kids opportunities to create. And through access to knowledge has also grown a new generation who are more interested in our own musical history and identity. As a kid for instance, we didn’t like the very popular Moroccan Chaabi music much, we wanted to listen to western music from Wu-Tang Clan or whatever. But now there seems to be more open mindedness towards local or traditional music. The remix I recently did for Dalila, the first Moroccan singer to have started merging Moroccan music with a modern style like disco & house in the nineties, is a good example. This happened in collaboration with ", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": { "uri": "https://www.instagram.com/retro_cassetta/" }, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "underline" } ], "value": "Retro Cassetta", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "hyperlink" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": ", a Moroccan digger for old and forgotten music on cassette tapes. Finally local music diggers are pushing forward local music, instead of western diggers. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": " ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "value": "<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 560px; height: 435px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/VideoEmbed?track=4109630040&bgcol=ffffff&linkcol=0687f5\" mozallowfullscreen=\"1\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"1\" allowfullscreen=\"1\" seamless></iframe>", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "So it’s also a matter of having a seat at the table?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Having that seat at the table should have been always the case. But unfortunately for a long time we didn’t. Today we grew smarter and more conscious, with more self-confidence. We earned our new position and only agree when the interest is genuine and two-sided. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "You’re a resident DJ now at Not Your Techno, the Brussels collective and event host.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Yes, it’s such a strong collective so I’m very siked to be part of the team. I’m equally excited about working with Not Your Techno founder Sara Dziri, with whom I’ll be DJing back to back but also collaborating in the studio. We get along very well, both musically and as friends. I predict a very exciting 2023 for the collective and its members. We have a lot to share, wait for it! ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "For Beursschouwburg you made a city walk podcast during the Covid pandemic. If you were asked to make such a walk today, where would it lead to?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Let’s start at the flea market at Het Vossenplein / Place du Jeu de Balle. From there we pass by Andalucia, a snack bar owned by people from Tanger, where you eat the best Harira soup in town. Other stops are the supermarket and butcher Omar at Place Anneessens and the hairdresser Anspach on the eponymous street, a real classic for me. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2xfjwcPdsDTS4aXRyBjQw6", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:32:18.577Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:32:18.577Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-34", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2xfjwcPdsDTS4aXRyBjQw6/406a900026355074281252bf7b5e3081/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-34.jpg", "details": { "size": 987376, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-34.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "And in Agadir?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Definitely in the souks, the busy marketplaces. That’s my favorite place in town. I regularly make the trip to visit my family, especially in wintertime enjoying the soft Moroccan climate. They live right next to the souks. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Is there a lot of music in your family?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "They aren’t classically trained musicians, but rhythm, music and entertainment has always been vividly part of our daily lives. At family gatherings, surrounded by good food and tea, we laugh a lot and sing and dance. Last time my mother called me, I was about to enter a club to DJ while they were having a party at home. I could hear their booming drum rhythms until Brussels (laughs). ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5ip8YkLelj2RydWktUaWd1", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:34:48.447Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:34:48.447Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-40", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5ip8YkLelj2RydWktUaWd1/ffa2b2f7de27b36a7ef0941e3938c0cb/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-40.jpg", "details": { "size": 556462, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-40.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7Er1AsGyCcy2QBO1W7q9l1", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:35:32.251Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:35:32.251Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-44", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7Er1AsGyCcy2QBO1W7q9l1/a43bf96116c85c444f6f90b1ed28370b/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-44.jpg", "details": { "size": 708298, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-44.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1ip8Tl3FDl59U3X2XUY6L3", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-12-29T11:34:20.329Z", "updatedAt": "2022-12-29T11:34:20.329Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-17", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1ip8Tl3FDl59U3X2XUY6L3/0b84bba4ae2f706b52df1a21fd7b0fc3/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-17.jpg", "details": { "size": 1312717, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-17.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\npictures by Jente Waerzeggers\n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" } ], "nodeType": "document" }, "image": { "title": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-69", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2g77HZSLs9SaiPxIxNSOIs/c1a13b24fadc93255dc4df42bf77e588/cheb_runner_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-69.jpg", "details": { "size": 632783, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "cheb runner - listen! - jw (web res)-69.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "2g77HZSLs9SaiPxIxNSOIs", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "2IB7fdUrE5XnBo6LK8EMus", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "An emerging career as DJ, programmer and feminist voice: meet Zouzibabe.", "slug": "an-emerging-career-as-dj-programmer-and-feminist-voice-meet-zouzibabe", "date": "2022-11-08", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "kong", "shortDescription": "In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity. This quote attributed to Albert Einstein also works for Zoé Devaux aka DJ Zouzibabe. While technically unemployed from her day-time job as programmer and citizenship responsible at Paradise City festival, she decided to apply as a volunteer at Kiosk Radio. This led to her first ever radio show and a monthly residency, DJ sets for crowds eager to dance the lockdown off and a rising DJ profile with sets at C12, La Cabane, Ampère, Doel Festival or our very own Listen Festival. The long awaited return to normal also allowed her to further develop rebel, the feminist collective she co-founded. And to return to her festival job, next to a fresh of the presses master degree. She is a busy bee, who was so kind to host us in her house in Ixelles for tea and a chat on a 21 degrees warm Wednesday at the end of October. (Hashtags climatechange neverforget!)", "content": { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity. This quote attributed to Albert Einstein also works for Zoé Devaux aka DJ Zouzibabe. While technically unemployed from her day-time job as programmer and citizenship responsible at Paradise City festival, she decided to apply as a volunteer at Kiosk Radio. This led to her first ever radio show and a monthly residency, DJ sets for crowds eager to dance the lockdown off and a rising DJ profile with sets at C12, La Cabane, Ampère, Doel Festival or our very own Listen Festival. The long awaited return to normal also allowed her to further develop rebel, the feminist collective she co-founded. And to return to her festival job, next to a fresh of the presses master degree. She is a busy bee, who was so kind to host us in her house in Ixelles for tea and a chat on a 21 degrees warm Wednesday at the end of October. (Hashtags climatechange neverforget!)\n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3bGxRycJmW56WWjqW6Fg2l", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:02:12.589Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:02:12.589Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-5", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3bGxRycJmW56WWjqW6Fg2l/47bb7da217e1e4fe5fd9172cc4e3181f/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-5.jpg", "details": { "size": 1357731, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-5.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2XEPGEdNAA71bWRNZyGcky", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:03:49.451Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:03:49.451Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-20", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2XEPGEdNAA71bWRNZyGcky/5d32c725e6f3f638b04e49d72bca7c25/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-20.jpg", "details": { "size": 869888, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-20.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Hello Zoé, thanks for having us. Being implied in all those projects, can you quickly walk us through them?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nFirst there is Paradise City Festival for which I have been on the payroll for four years now and one year as an intern. This year was the seventh edition of the festival, just as the first edition of our newborn babies Doel Festival and Paradies Garten in Austria. I work as artistic director in collaboration with founder Gilles De Decker and I’m also responsible for our citizenship program, which embodies everything concerning awareness, security of our visitors and equal representation of all genders and sexual and racial backgrounds on our line-ups. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Next to all this I run rebel, a feminist collective founded in 2019 with three friends. We host club nights, film projections, talks and stages at festivals. I also work as a DJ, first starting among friends but lately more and more professionally and on bigger events, which feels great. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "Lastly I just finished a second Master’s in gender studies, which is really the common thread in all of my work, a subject I wish to thoroughly implement as much as I can. Starting this Master’s was also only possible thanks to the time freed up during the pandemic.", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "\nWhat did you write your Master’s thesis on?", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "About the role of feminist collectives in the increase of female presence on line-ups of electronic music festivals. I studied four Belgian collectives: Not Your Techno, Missfitte, Psst Mlle and Burenhinder. With this research I wanted to portray the often hidden work of these collectives and the impact they have on the public discourse. Their effect is real, yet while big and international collectives such as Discwoman reach huge crowds and clear visibility, in a smaller local scene such as ours in Belgium, their impact is less detectable yet equally important. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "With rebel you try to have a similar impact?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nDefinitely. And the need is real. Before I started at Paradise City, I studied journalism which included an internship at Dour Festival. Active as a member of the festival’s radio team, I followed DJs and artists around with a microphone. During the DJ set of Amelie Lens I wanted to feel the atmosphere in the room so I went frontstage and witnessed a group of men shout ‘suck my dick’ to Amelie. The beats were louder than their voices, but I was disgusted. If this is how a female headliner is treated, we’re still a long way from home. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "33MtssXMfyzbuv94neDxDn", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:05:00.339Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:05:00.339Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-44", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/33MtssXMfyzbuv94neDxDn/98c65fa6a7818ac05a1991479e88b09b/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-44.jpg", "details": { "size": 753470, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-44.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "cMCBr5JOT96xpG56XR0Ps", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:05:24.522Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:05:24.522Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-50", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/cMCBr5JOT96xpG56XR0Ps/40e07a959fcd9b3f28312b406f8567fc/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-50.jpg", "details": { "size": 556462, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-50.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "EJcf705Mz5ah2PTr8b8sQ", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:06:05.701Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:06:05.701Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-59", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/EJcf705Mz5ah2PTr8b8sQ/cff6c3e85e59b227822269eeda3504b3/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-59.jpg", "details": { "size": 308013, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-59.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "As a programmer at a festival, do you use quota to guarantee equal representation?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nOur line-ups don’t start with a set quota, yet my taste in music, DJs and artists is completely different from male colleagues. That’s why Gilles and I run the programming together and I have an equal vote. We seek a balanced line-up in gender, all kinds of backgrounds and also local versus international artists. Statistics do help us to make conclusions though. Since I have been involved in programming, the presence of female artists at Paradise City has increased in numbers. \n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "\n\nWe need to give everyone a seat at the table and decision power, that’s a fact. The world is often designed by and for men, like for example in medical science where research is done on male bodies, temperature in public spaces or offices based on male standards or safety measures in cars leading to more female casualties. Do you also see this in night clubs? \n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nDefinitely! That’s an important body of our work with rebel. A nightclub is really designed for men and actually mostly for white men, since colored men still risk being refused at the door in some clubs. The use of light for instance in clubs is often in favor of men, being too dim. Or the toilet infrastructure, leading to long cues for female clubbers. There is interesting research available on this subject, suggesting to mix female and male toilets not only to offer the same cueing for all but also for security reasons, to have a clear overview on all. I’m happy to see C12 altered their toilets in such a manner. And finally it’s also the larger context in which a nightclub exists that can be dangerous for women or the LGBTQ+ community, such as the choice of transport to safely make it home after a night out. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Is the imposter syndrome, where someone doubts their abilities and feels like a fraud, still a psychological effect for females?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nI could already answer this question by the fact that many men have never even heard of this syndrome. It’s a question only asked to women. I still suffer from it, definitely. Last week we were at the Amsterdam Dance Event, where I had many meetings for our festivals with my co-programmer Gilles. I often felt insecure, while everyone always easily talks with him. Another example: soon I’m supposed to meet someone from a booking agency who will introduce me to their artists, but Gilles will be on holiday. While Gilles fully trusts me to do the meeting, the booking agent refuses to see me alone, asking for a new meeting when Gilles is back in the office. I wonder if he would have ever asked for a replacement date if I was the one absent. With rebel we wish to share positive messages with the world, to show minorities that they are worthy, that they do deserve their position in the music industry. As a female artist, being united in a feminist collective really leads to empowerment. \n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "14IFpmNLs3QGyvIWfmWUK0", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:06:49.651Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:06:49.651Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-29", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/14IFpmNLs3QGyvIWfmWUK0/8124ab49e8e547566f55846a881c9b7c/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-29.jpg", "details": { "size": 457887, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-29.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7MfWAapqRTW7WzSxlyEpNC", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:07:19.883Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:07:19.883Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-12", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7MfWAapqRTW7WzSxlyEpNC/091d2dbdbe534fd0a53c211cb0ac23d1/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-12.jpg", "details": { "size": 657426, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-12.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Are you satisfied with the level of investment Belgian clubs and festivals put into inequality?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nWe’re not there yet. Plenty is said about the topic, but the appropriate actions don’t always follow. There is a change in discourse and improved awareness, but it has definitely not yet reached all festivals or clubs. I was astonished about the praise that was given to Tomorrowland this year for booking Charlotte De Witte as the first female artist closing the main stage. Finally! But the fact that it took until 2022 to reach this goal, is not something to be proud of as a society. \n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "I read somewhere in an interview with you: ‘I will definitely live in the UK one day’. Is that still the case? ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "A city like London feels like the perfect match for my hyperactivity, there are always tons of things to do on any given day or night. I lived in Paris for three months and had the same feeling. I enjoy the vast cultural offer of these metropolises compared to the smaller scale of Brussels. And most of my musical inspirations are Londoners, such as Shanti Celeste, Peach, Moxie, Saoirse, OK Williams, … All these UK DJs are very independent and autonomous.\n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "33ZogFLPUvaBV6ztY21TYL", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:08:11.435Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:08:11.435Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-48", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/33ZogFLPUvaBV6ztY21TYL/5b38078a6a660730afe8e8356cd677df/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-48.jpg", "details": { "size": 725799, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-48.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "\nWhy is that?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nThey’re not afraid to speak out and stand up for themselves. They use their voice, not abundantly but at the appropriate time. By listening to podcast interviews with them, I understood that they are also familiar with the imposter syndrome, but that they overcame the uncertainty and grew much more self-confident. Such stories inspire me. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Where were you born and raised?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nBrussels. I grew up in Watermaal-Bosvoorde/Watermael-Boitsfort. My father is Belgian, my mother is half Belgian half Congolese. My Belgian grandfather met my grandmother in Congo, that’s how she ended up here. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Were you raised with an ear for music?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nYes and no. My mother sometimes wonders why I ended up in music without any musical training, but on the other hand I was dancing already at a young age practicing many styles. We always listened to music at home and especially in my mother’s side of the family, where there are 10 brothers and sisters, used to throw great family meetings with American disco and funk music from the seventies and the eighties such as Kool & The Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire or Michael Jackson, next to Congolese or Zouk music or artists such as Koffi Olomide. At a certain point all chairs would move and everyone danced, even my grandmother.\n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "o1wAY23Vw8TU0Djl0yQrt", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:09:11.684Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:09:11.684Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-32", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/o1wAY23Vw8TU0Djl0yQrt/14af03071c963d9c5a27ce503da1b7bb/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-32.jpg", "details": { "size": 957591, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-32.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "o1wAY23Vw8TU0Djl0yQrt", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6MugXezCoO1eFTVw53lUDt", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:09:44.549Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:09:44.549Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-62", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6MugXezCoO1eFTVw53lUDt/8cdc254adcc29d91e0634945f4ed4420/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-62.jpg", "details": { "size": 554794, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-62.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "773SJWc7pEUx0rdhKFz3S3", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:10:15.107Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:10:15.107Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-41", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/773SJWc7pEUx0rdhKFz3S3/9eddc568d90a0206477017322363be96/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-41.jpg", "details": { "size": 579117, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-41.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "As a DJ you play very warm, optimistic, vocal music. What or who inspires you?\n", "nodeType": "text" }, { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\nJoyful and happy music is probably the only music I ever listen to, even when I’m living a tough moment. ‘Halo’ by Beyonce for example, really gives me goosebumps all the time. She is another great inspiration actually. Next to the DJs and artists aforementioned, I adore these kinds of divas like for instance Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, who have strong voices. Not the diva that is interpreted as negative, often typecast this way by men who are unable to control them, but the diva who is independent and strong. I come from an adolescence full of RnB and Latino music and used to go to these nights where everybody danced intensely, not turned to the DJ, but to each other. I love these dance floors. ", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "value": "Well, see you on the dance floor! Thanks Zoé.\n", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "44yDObgEIWioEnR3T8nzIJ", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:10:47.123Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:10:47.123Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-2", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/44yDObgEIWioEnR3T8nzIJ/9035575a002dd36ecc176524c8a6c831/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-2.jpg", "details": { "size": 1143879, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-2.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4T04WIfHRPinNAR9ipOinL", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-11-08T09:11:13.196Z", "updatedAt": "2022-11-08T09:11:13.196Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-13", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4T04WIfHRPinNAR9ipOinL/6f53a29b57c182e264c1e29bc929d907/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-13.jpg", "details": { "size": 563952, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-13.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [], "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block" }, { "data": {}, "content": [ { "data": {}, "marks": [], "value": "\n\npictures by: Jente Waerzeggers", "nodeType": "text" } ], "nodeType": "paragraph" } ], "nodeType": "document" }, "image": { "title": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-32", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/o1wAY23Vw8TU0Djl0yQrt/14af03071c963d9c5a27ce503da1b7bb/zouzibabe_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-32.jpg", "details": { "size": 957591, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "zouzibabe - listen! - jw (web res)-32.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "o1wAY23Vw8TU0Djl0yQrt", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "2TxqTjxBfhtBGkSVVClHKm", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "Discovered by Nicolás Jaar: the beautiful story of Antwerp based musician Dienne", "slug": "discovered-by-nicolas-jaar-the-beautiful-story-of-antwerp-based-musician", "date": "2022-10-03", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "https://koengalle.party", "shortDescription": "The passing away of her grandmother during the pandemic and its digital and uncanny memorial service inspired Antwerp based Dienne to create ‘Addio’, Italian for farewell, her coping mechanism for an aching heart. The seasoned musician sanguinely shared the collection of songs with world famous musician Nicolás Jaar, who promptly released it on his label Other People as an album. A delicate blend of ambient sounds, choral voices and fittingly deployed instruments, ‘Addio’ is nothing less of a masterpiece. So we drove to Antwerp to meet Dienne and congratulate her.", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "The passing away of her grandmother during the pandemic and its digital and uncanny memorial service inspired Antwerp based Dienne to create ‘Addio’, Italian for farewell, her coping mechanism for an aching heart. The seasoned musician sanguinely shared the collection of songs with world famous musician Nicolás Jaar, who promptly released it on his label Other People as an album. A delicate blend of ambient sounds, choral voices and fittingly deployed instruments, ‘Addio’ is nothing less of a masterpiece. So we drove to Antwerp to meet Dienne and congratulate her.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3i7NCE6o0QIX3jDUxqlB7K", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T08:37:19.162Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T08:37:19.162Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-4", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3i7NCE6o0QIX3jDUxqlB7K/60c42cfb3fd3214c9e2787199e7baee0/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-4.jpg", "details": { "size": 1946016, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-4.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "191zHBc1jaHDqi2hsyOpve", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:14:35.495Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:14:35.495Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-52", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/191zHBc1jaHDqi2hsyOpve/ca310b9cbcde457672e0fbdf69c2d49a/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-52.jpg", "details": { "size": 880381, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-52.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Dear Dienne, compliments on your album ‘Addio’!\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nThank you!", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Based on the language used for your album and song titles, I assume you have a link with Italy?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nActually not really, apart from it being a beautiful country obviously; my boyfriend and I just spent our holidays there. But using Italian for my song titles is a reference to the Italian choral music we used to hear in church on Sundays with my grandmother and the whole family when I was young, of which I have fond memories. English song titles just never fitted my music, so once I stumbled upon these Italian titles it all made more sense. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Can you take us through the creation process of ‘Addio’?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nMy grandmother passed away at the very start of the pandemic, when the measures to halt its spread were very strict, when you couldn’t even leave the house for no reason. She leaves behind a family of about 70 people, having raised 10 children herself, so there was no way we could ever gather for a proper funeral. We were forced to deal with our grief in bubbles, unable to even spend time with my own parents, which saddened me a lot. At that point I started to write and work in the studio. The memorial service was streamed live over the internet, watching it here in the apartment was an event so absurd. I remember very well wanting to translate this eerie feeling into music, adding digital crack sounds made with bit crushers to the music. Simultaneously though the funeral had also been very touching and beautiful, so I recorded my voice into layered chorals. To translate the disturbing distance of the live stream I then created a darkish sound with my oboe. The result can be heard in the opening track of the album. Translating my emotions into sounds is something I often do as a way to deal with them. \n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6WswB0tNbQYw9NsUKB6zTd", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T08:44:58.241Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T08:44:58.241Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-8", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6WswB0tNbQYw9NsUKB6zTd/b9eabdec8c2f7f959549f9018dfd5fb5/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-8.jpg", "details": { "size": 786109, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-8.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6DV8JVshHTDu1rkEBWEHDO", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T08:45:48.702Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T08:45:48.702Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-21", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6DV8JVshHTDu1rkEBWEHDO/10beb662ffb756daa1a6cf33e97df824/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-21.jpg", "details": { "size": 681816, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-21.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3VJTHC8ABXth3ULDOmK04S", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T08:46:28.637Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T08:46:28.637Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-19", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3VJTHC8ABXth3ULDOmK04S/a0590e70f3fb1e80cfd95fb3a0d91009/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-19.jpg", "details": { "size": 407552, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-19.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "It serves as a personal diary, where you leave behind your emotions to cope with them?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nDefinitely. All songs and sounds are linked with particular emotions from that period and helped me to process them. ‘Ti Saluto’ for instance was made as a warmer replacement for the pragmatised greeting ceremony, once again a consequence of the pandemic. I don’t walk into the studio with a crystal clear idea though, they are the organic result of an intuitive music making approach. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nThe oboe plays a vital role on ‘Addio’. When did you start playing it?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nAround the age of seven, it was my first instrument ever. For a long time I truly cursed the oboe, it takes such a long time to actually get a proper sound out of it, the first five years you’re only imitating a duck. But I’m very happy I carried through. Music has always been an integral part of my youth, my parents and brother and sister are also musically trained. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7zFX9NZYk3jyfxIieMtgmz", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T08:49:14.288Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T08:49:14.288Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-40", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7zFX9NZYk3jyfxIieMtgmz/344d12177b2e35ad4ba72e37a495c0a8/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-40.jpg", "details": { "size": 1130491, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-40.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2YwN6zjPPJJcoYdLKET7jR", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:13:23.075Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:13:23.075Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-35", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2YwN6zjPPJJcoYdLKET7jR/cd606bbf8f2014d5cefd6e109e718f87/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-35.jpg", "details": { "size": 346247, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-35.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "And when did music get more serious for you?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nMy brother had a serious accident at a young age and our house had to be renovated for wheelchair use. In the midst of the practical shenanigans that came with this - we had to go and live at my grandmother’s for a while - my sister and I discovered my father’s old instruments such as a synthesizer. We soon found out that music helped us deal with our struggles. Later we started our own band called Lili Grace, where my sister & I focus on songwriting with keys and vocals. I also enrolled at the pop and rock school PXL in Hasselt. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Are you able to make a living out of music?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nYes, I can. Next to our band and my solo work, I work for theater, dance and movie projects and I have a part-time job at PXL, teaching singing and band projects. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How is the response to the release of Addio?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Incredible! I've been in seventh heaven since the day of the release, really. Everything related to the album has just been a bliss. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2hnESCSdK38qG8B2RmGumG", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T08:50:30.381Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T08:50:30.381Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-31", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2hnESCSdK38qG8B2RmGumG/484a20fd210d38640bdd270f52c37907/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-31.jpg", "details": { "size": 504641, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-31.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6jwBQaPxbhqeWREKugQK8T", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:00:21.148Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:00:21.148Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-27", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6jwBQaPxbhqeWREKugQK8T/a9e18202b04b94f9d1e8b02ef8332683/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-27.jpg", "details": { "size": 766621, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-27.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How did you get it released on Nicolás Jaar’s prestigious ‘Other People’ label?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nDuring the pandemic and while working on my music, I had been intensely listening to the ‘Other People’ discography. In my wildest dreams my music was destined for the label, so I simply sent Nicolás a message, since you never know until you ask. For the first three months nothing happened, but all of the sudden I got an email from him, I remember seeing the message while teaching and being all blown over. He expressed his gratitude for sending him the music and how much he liked the music and the story behind it, so we soon got into a call. He convinced me to release the music as an album by the way, I had always considered the songs as two separate EP’s.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Who else is credited on the album?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Sander Stuer helped me finetune the synths, mixing and delicate EQ’ing of the oboe. My sister wrote a piano piece and musician Adriaan De Roover assisted in adding reverbs. Finally Gert van Hoof did the mastering. The beautiful artwork is by Other People’s designing team Africanus Okokon and Maziyar Pahlevan.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You have already performed a few concerts as Dienne, at Botanique among others and I see more shows coming up on your agenda with an album release show in Het Bos in Antwerp on December 1st. How do you translate the album to a live performance?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "It was quite the challenge to get it right! Much of it starts with live looping of my voice and instruments such as the oboe and flute, adding some effects to it. Next to this I play the keys live and add a small number of sounds from tape. The whole idea is to remain as free as possible during the performance. You won’t hear other songs apart from the album for now, but I keep my options open to extend certain parts of songs, to improvise or to react to the audience. Performing live as Dienne is definitely also a process in motion. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7KsV7DNSOnK6oY62dxNSOV", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:09:14.257Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:09:14.257Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-48", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7KsV7DNSOnK6oY62dxNSOV/7e6cfc31911ac5cf5ceb96bab73a3258/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-48.jpg", "details": { "size": 892729, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-48.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4OHRQMDupHZP5DP8zQ05Yw", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:09:42.828Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:09:42.828Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-37", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4OHRQMDupHZP5DP8zQ05Yw/09842f4779b12b82f59bf60db8068437/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-37.jpg", "details": { "size": 900973, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-37.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3cMt5V1JRJUYjlSP7R3Hj5", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:10:13.592Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:10:13.592Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-43", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3cMt5V1JRJUYjlSP7R3Hj5/f3864f463bfc034c865ff17010295594/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-43.jpg", "details": { "size": 900332, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-43.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What’s coming next for you?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nWith Lili Grace we just finished writing our second album, which will be recorded early 2023. And solo I’m working on music as well. !K7‘s sublabel 7K! asked me to create my take on ambient music for their annual compilation, an assignment I happily accepted. And I have more music ready that I would like to prepare for a possible release. Generally I’m excited to continue exploring this utterly personal path, something that Nicolás Jaar also explicitly encouraged me to do. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2NhqynGPV3MKm0WAhrlBl9", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:10:52.980Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:10:52.980Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-47", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2NhqynGPV3MKm0WAhrlBl9/6ce7f3530eeaea919ab30b5f4a59225d/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-47.jpg", "details": { "size": 695332, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-47.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7fyhgBEFqKZqGi3D2A79ol", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:12:01.667Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:12:01.667Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-29", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7fyhgBEFqKZqGi3D2A79ol/ed6c10ecd5ac13b39b449e1204847954/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-29.jpg", "details": { "size": 845902, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-29.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "BZCbVJs5tiHYMKSdioGYj", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:15:26.164Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:15:26.164Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-45", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/BZCbVJs5tiHYMKSdioGYj/024d5f7bcc690ab02b5c465f5013e57f/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-45.jpg", "details": { "size": 735460, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-45.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Looking around in your apartment, I see a vinyl collection and turntable located at a central place. What are you listening to lately? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "It’s a collection I share with my boyfriend, he is the most active record buyer to be honest. Here is a compilation album called Noises released on Cortizona, that I will probably sample for the ambient track I’m working on for 7K!. This collaborative album by Floating Points and Phaorah Sanders is so good. Furthermore we listen to Flying Lotus, King Krule, Marvin Gaye, just to name a few. We are huge Kanye West fans and have a lot of Other People records as I mentioned earlier. Lately I’m discovering experimental hip hop bands such as Death Grips, one of my boyfriend’s favorite bands. They create experimental sounds that seem to come from the future and use plenty of storytelling in their music. Amen to that. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Thanks for the tips and the lovely conversation Dienne!", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5mMv6Rtar3ynjo1sLh1xBp", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-10-03T09:13:56.389Z", "updatedAt": "2022-10-03T09:13:56.389Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-13", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5mMv6Rtar3ynjo1sLh1xBp/16410b6822d3090d8b6011bdbb850c10/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-13.jpg", "details": { "size": 848391, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-13.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "5mMv6Rtar3ynjo1sLh1xBp", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nPictures by Jente Waerzeggers", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] } ] }, "image": { "title": "listen! - dienne (web res)-13", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5mMv6Rtar3ynjo1sLh1xBp/16410b6822d3090d8b6011bdbb850c10/listen__-_dienne__web_res_-13.jpg", "details": { "size": 848391, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - dienne (web res)-13.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "5mMv6Rtar3ynjo1sLh1xBp", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "2eF4q4OAQseDRkccesncZK", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "From Liège with love: the booming career of DJ and furniture designer Karla Böhm.", "slug": "from-liege-with-love-the-booming-career-of-dj-and-furniture-designer-karla", "date": "2022-08-26", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "https://koengalle.party", "shortDescription": "Outremeuse, on the island between the river arms of La Meuse / De Maas in Liège, we meet Fanny aka Karla Böhm in her luminous appartement. In a lively neighborhood where Ave Maria statues alternate dance bars and right around the corner of the street where her parents used to run a jewelry store when she was young, Fanny has found a nice place for herself. A beautiful wooden handmade DJ booth and record closet are the eyecatchers of the living room, objets she has meticulously designed herself. With a fresh coffee, we venture into a long conversation about her booming DJ agenda, the scene in Liège, her label and other involvements that got her to the point where she is now. ", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Outremeuse, on the island between the river arms of La Meuse / De Maas in Liège, we meet Fanny aka Karla Böhm in her luminous appartement. In a lively neighborhood where Ave Maria statues alternate dance bars and right around the corner of the street where her parents used to run a jewelry store when she was young, Fanny has found a nice place for herself. A beautiful wooden handmade DJ booth and record closet are the eyecatchers of the living room, objets she has meticulously designed herself. With a fresh coffee, we venture into a long conversation about her booming DJ agenda, the scene in Liège, her label and other involvements that got her to the point where she is now. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "9BKMHutsPLqHcR9n3ajd3", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:21:52.867Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:21:52.867Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-1", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/9BKMHutsPLqHcR9n3ajd3/2e589c6d879b1836472fe607b2d87da3/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-1.jpg", "details": { "size": 995848, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-1.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "9BKMHutsPLqHcR9n3ajd3", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Hello Fanny! ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I’m wondering, were you born and bred in Liège?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I was here often due to my parents’ shop, discovering the streets of the neighborhood on my own, but we lived about 25km out of town. Only when I was 16 I swapped schools to Liège, a move that really opened up my world and mind.\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Have you always been into music? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Yeah from a very early age on, on every possible occasion I was looking for music or something related. I used to have an Ibanez electric guitar for years as a child, not knowing how to play it. I never had any musical formation and when I started to develop my own taste, electronic music grabbed my attention. But I have always been interested in many genres and various aspects and professions connected to music. That’s why today for instance I enjoy designing furniture for record collections and brainstorming on its mental, physical and spatial organization. \n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5U8S2Pd13hOkOGehsIU9uu", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T10:03:30.008Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T10:03:30.008Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-47", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5U8S2Pd13hOkOGehsIU9uu/3377e18ccd64d6ad0daf1a31d3038e61/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-47.jpg", "details": { "size": 949042, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-47.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "71A7MDtOujIVyPF6BUYMNq", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T10:04:57.748Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T10:04:57.748Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-43", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/71A7MDtOujIVyPF6BUYMNq/049caa356442283f20be2b5027b06491/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-43.jpg", "details": { "size": 454755, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-43.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "When and how did you start to find a way into electronic music? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I enrolled in communication studies when I was 18 years old, but soon discovered that I didn’t fit into such a theoretical practice. Luckily I felt much better when I started graphic school, but my rational side didn’t allow me to consider myself an artist or at least develop this, I thought I needed to find a job and make a living. I didn’t feel legitimate in the art world, lacking an appropriate education. So after my studies I quickly started working as a graphic designer for a commercial company and soon ticked all the rational boxes I had envisioned. In the meantime I started to DJ and thanks to notorious Liège DJ and promoter Nick Moinet aka Larson, I had my first bookings at L’Escalier, a small but influential bar where many DJs from our local scene have their first gigs. It’s at this point, feeling secured by the financial stability a job had given me, that I was able to liberate myself to start believing in myself as an artist. \n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7CNjBdtYNNP6Cee7IbYIIw", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:23:38.523Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:23:38.523Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-21", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7CNjBdtYNNP6Cee7IbYIIw/3ca64fc8eee0da033d2e120a8fffd8be/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-21.jpg", "details": { "size": 1263948, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-21.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6yfq6UL9ijBZ59uPKetbE7", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:24:53.120Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:24:53.120Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-34", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6yfq6UL9ijBZ59uPKetbE7/1c1687f8229b76c4f4b453e8d9722123/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-34.jpg", "details": { "size": 592216, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-34.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2RmRL5aLmHqEnlnTNoo2Hk", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T10:02:08.818Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T10:02:08.818Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-37", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2RmRL5aLmHqEnlnTNoo2Hk/b8d602cfa9dd3929d1b8271b0e6c1e6b/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-37.jpg", "details": { "size": 774344, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-37.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How has your summer been so far?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "It has been great! As I’m not really a night bird to be honest, I really enjoy the day-time clubbing that happens in summer. It’s a different approach to clubbing, away from the standard dark dance floors, often in afternoons or early in the evening, where the sunlight strongly influences the records you play. \n\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How do you deal with the hedonistic and exhausting side of DJ life? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Stress is something I’m rather sensitive for, so I’m really focused on a balanced and healthy life during the week. Especially a satisfying amount of sleep is what I can’t fall short of, at the risk of bringing me in a state of anxiety. I’m very aware of the responsibility I have towards the promoters who book and pay me for their events, I want to bring my best game possible. After a set, I can really enjoy relaxing and spend pleasant time with people though. But I have never had moments of abundance in my life, I have always been balanced. A libra, you know! \n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5F98cSZN0hnqJJe4jS5nYV", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:30:09.011Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:30:09.011Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-27", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5F98cSZN0hnqJJe4jS5nYV/1d55edbb5b1aa630f8ba24b2160e1e14/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-27.jpg", "details": { "size": 1072164, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-27.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5PBUcqdfJKhjJt15U4d8Lh", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:46:29.227Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:46:29.227Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-50", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5PBUcqdfJKhjJt15U4d8Lh/0e329275117d4746f68152e24f767e97/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-50.jpg", "details": { "size": 747485, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-50.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4Sq9xtHutjhbys3wZqtXjE", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:47:38.976Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:47:38.976Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-23", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4Sq9xtHutjhbys3wZqtXjE/ca79f6916a3dc7c733d579323750f5f0/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-23.jpg", "details": { "size": 839690, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-23.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Can you give us a tour through the current scene in Liège?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Over the past few years a few collectives have been rising, making a name for themselves after a period of relative silence here in the city. Once again Nick Moinet and his Unrhythmic collective is at the forefront, setting things in motion and hosting parties in and out clubs and a series of exciting free parties. A bit out of town the Noname collective and their La Nature Festival are really worth mentioning as well. Somewhere in the Ardennes they created one of the best and most underground events in Wallonia, going on for 30 hours during a weekend in July. I played from 10am till noon on the Sunday of their latest edition and while it was gently raining, people danced in front of a beautifully designed stage in the middle of nature. So much fun!", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "And last but not least there is KulturA. in the city center, a nice venue with two rooms often rented by various collectives. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "The DJ furniture in your apartment is beautiful, what’s the story behind it?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nSmooth Operator is a custom designed audio furniture brand designed by a friend and me, the name a wink to Sade’s famous song. It all started about eight years ago, when I contacted a carpenter with an idea for a record closet that I had seen elsewhere. I redesigned it to my liking and he built it. Years later I started making sketches for my ideal DJ furniture and I met Amaury Cornet, who is a professional carpenter. He also enjoys nightlife, so we got along well and when I told him about my project, we decided to make the first prototype together, the one you can see here in the flat. More orders are arriving now and with each model being custom made, they take a while to be manufactured. \n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "hyperlink", "data": { "uri": "https://www.instagram.com/smoothoperator______/" }, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "https://www.instagram.com/smoothoperator______/", "marks": [ { "type": "underline" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "50ixvB3YDVAYFPRGcSPsh6", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:24:28.169Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:24:28.169Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-31", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/50ixvB3YDVAYFPRGcSPsh6/482779c5b22ab97ab925c7bdf7d8457a/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-31.jpg", "details": { "size": 755242, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-31.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3acALGjUHW8GX5l5thk4H2", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:38:23.632Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:38:23.632Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-30", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3acALGjUHW8GX5l5thk4H2/175cdc978787756773515260ec88a944/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-30.jpg", "details": { "size": 640730, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-30.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "dRm2LbiwqGGxtF9n7u2LC", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:43:50.896Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:43:50.896Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-25", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/dRm2LbiwqGGxtF9n7u2LC/7dad268f167701fd6a252c1dc5cb3032/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-25.jpg", "details": { "size": 693310, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-25.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Is it hard to find a financial balance in such projects?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Well, with the prices of wood rising these days like never before, it’s challenging to find a middle ground between making some profits versus doing your friends a favor. Passion and financial stability need to go hand in hand, which is not always easy to translate in reality. I feel lucky to be in this position, although it’s not only sheer luck, but definitely also a matter of desire. Designing furniture is yet another activity linked to music that together with my other ventures gives me the stability to live out my passion. Cumulating many projects is what makes me happy. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Speaking of another pursuit, how is your label Sous Sol going?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Sous:Sol is a vinyl label I run with my friend Arnaud Brassine, focused on deep and minimal club music. We have new releases coming up, but we’re not rushing. Here as well, resources have become more expensive and production time has immensely increased, so there is no urge to go fast. Right now we aim for one release each year. In the meantime I work with the great illustrator Elise Fauville, who makes these fun drawings for Sous:Sol. One of her drawings has now been printed on a t-shirt and will go on sale soon, with plenty of references to key actors from our Belgian scene that I admire, such as Crevette, Kiosk Radio, etcetera. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "hyperlink", "data": { "uri": "https://www.instagram.com/elisefauville/" }, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "https://www.instagram.com/elisefauville/", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5aRsQP1Lji5wR034zca5Ob", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:29:32.275Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:29:32.275Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-53", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5aRsQP1Lji5wR034zca5Ob/c888b591651f5a5d6239fbe23924f236/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-53.jpg", "details": { "size": 541776, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-53.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1RtCykDQteFaRTzpbT4DKD", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:43:09.693Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:43:09.693Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-59", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1RtCykDQteFaRTzpbT4DKD/cd30e0951ceb7ae1b71bb05fa1e1dac7/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-59.jpg", "details": { "size": 865382, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-59.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "And your own productions? \n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI’m often working in my studio upstairs here, mockingly called the spaceship by my roommate Julien for the weird noises coming from behind the door. I like spending time exploring sound design, rhythms, and many hours reading manuals of the gear. At the moment I focus on the trip over the destination, without the pressure of absolutely having to release something. My first official track has been released by C12, when the club launched its Social Distancing compilation series during the pandemic in 2020. \n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2222195635/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=2690917982/transparent=true/\" seamless><a href=\"https://c12bxl.bandcamp.com/album/social-distancing-15\">Social Distancing 1.5 by C12</a></iframe>", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Are you still doing graphic design? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Not for a living, since I quit my day-time job a few years ago. But obviously it’s a skill I still use for my label or other projects. Recently I designed the artwork for the latest event of Bruxsel Jardin, the long-lasting parties and collective I joined four years ago. They pushed me to take up my role as designer again, a motivation I had lacked for a while but I’m happy to find again. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "29FM7INWwEDOQRlcQvOMT", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:58:02.677Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:58:02.677Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-62", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/29FM7INWwEDOQRlcQvOMT/6a87a190fd9d7b8f483079405017d68b/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-62.jpg", "details": { "size": 1061885, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-62.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5v9ECkeCCeammkFwrkBGIi", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T09:42:30.723Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T09:42:30.723Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-57", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5v9ECkeCCeammkFwrkBGIi/bbedcf886b7e8c4e0b40340c355c1d3d/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-57.jpg", "details": { "size": 756333, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-57.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What are the plans for Bruxsel Jardin? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Looking back at a legacy of enormous events, we now mostly prepare smaller parties, for up to 300 people, with a social and ecological focus. A share of our profits go to Doucheflux for example, an organization giving homeless people access to hygiene. Or we make sure to cleanly leave behind the parks we temporarily occupy, with a lot of attention for the impact we have on nature. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What’s happening the rest of the summer for you?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI’m playing Tomorrowland first and later I’ll travel to Portugal to play in Lisbon at Ministerium Club with my dear friend Johan and to visit Waking Life, the beautiful festival organized by a bunch of Belgians in the Portuguese countryside. That festival really has found an inspiring way to deal with the land and resources they use, it’s really worthwhile visiting! Hope to see you there!\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1VcJRbLWcIZpDo5fbroXEx", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T10:00:50.899Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T10:00:50.899Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-5", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1VcJRbLWcIZpDo5fbroXEx/aef1b510528ea2c207e130470d8dc60c/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-5.jpg", "details": { "size": 1407337, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-5.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4xToLc1XMpdx2p67Gcae3k", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-26T10:01:14.658Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-26T10:01:14.658Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-8", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4xToLc1XMpdx2p67Gcae3k/5f9209fdc472d7d3fb9e2f4e23cbc26c/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-8.jpg", "details": { "size": 877628, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-8.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nPictures by Jente Waerzeggers", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] } ] }, "image": { "title": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-1", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/9BKMHutsPLqHcR9n3ajd3/2e589c6d879b1836472fe607b2d87da3/listen__-_karla_b__hm__web_res_-1.jpg", "details": { "size": 995848, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - karla böhm (web res)-1.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "9BKMHutsPLqHcR9n3ajd3", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "3dujRCwTvbYIyRCQCPphuO", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "Representing the underground of the underground: Chanoirs", "slug": "representing-the-underground-of-the-underground-chanoirs", "date": "2022-08-02", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "https://koengalle.party", "shortDescription": "They call themselves a bunch of fêtards or party animals. Driven by a communal thirst for nocturnal experiences from dusk till dawn, Chanoirs unites a group of artists, DJs, digital creatives and designers whose field of interest is the underground of the underground. Allergic to any kind of marketization and other forces of capitalism, they add a layer of consciousness to our capital’s nightlife scene. On occasions gently, on others radically, they challenge the ruling powers and any kind of status quo bothering them. Exported through their manifesto, photography, poetry, drawings, a 3D video game, parties or music compilations, Chanoirs remixes defeatism with hope and fresh perspectives. Indulge yourself into their world through a long conversation we had with two of their key members Antoine Grenez and Lucas aka Lux 18 at the Chanoirs headquarters surprisingly located somewhere above a luxury boutique in one of the more posh areas in town like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "They call themselves a bunch of fêtards or party animals. Driven by a communal thirst for nocturnal experiences from dusk till dawn, Chanoirs unites a group of artists, DJs, digital creatives and designers whose field of interest is the underground of the underground. Allergic to any kind of marketization and other forces of capitalism, they add a layer of consciousness to our capital’s nightlife scene. On occasions gently, on others radically, they challenge the ruling powers and any kind of status quo bothering them. Exported through their manifesto, photography, poetry, drawings, a 3D video game, parties or music compilations, Chanoirs remixes defeatism with hope and fresh perspectives. Indulge yourself into their world through a long conversation we had with two of their key members Antoine Grenez and Lucas aka Lux 18 at the Chanoirs headquarters surprisingly located somewhere above a luxury boutique in one of the more posh areas in town like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1vTMRrWqprevONhFPaJPx6", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-02T12:36:57.873Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-02T12:36:57.873Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-42", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1vTMRrWqprevONhFPaJPx6/7c0b39eb5c0c5fec4e720c7797d371a2/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-42.jpg", "details": { "size": 884434, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-42.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "1vTMRrWqprevONhFPaJPx6", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Hello Antoine, Lucas. If you were to describe Chanoirs to your grandmother, how would you start?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " It’s first of all a constellation of artistic personalities, who find each other in anti-conformist values and an urge to act against societal evolutions. Nightlife is what runs through our veins and what unites us in the first place, why we started to organize our own events where we are able to control every aspect of a night and simply have fun as a group of friends. Our events never serve commercial values, but are our means to express our musical identity. During the years our collective has turned into a vivid entity, always on the move due to ongoing projects, friendships, relationships, conflicts, high and low moments. All of the emotions produced out of this, are fuelling our artistic work. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " As a group of friends, we have shared experiences that are inexplicable. There were highlights, for example our nights in the now defunct club Formatt in Brussels which I’ll never forget and then there were crises … ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " … We have lived identity crises when we collectively progressed from adolescence into adulthood with all its coinciding flaws and troubles. While our storytelling had for a long time been based on juvenile innocence, we became aware that our art had an impact on the generations to follow. The unconscious that goes along with nightlife and its hedonism, exaltation and rule breaking philosophy is since then being questioned. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " We are always honest and don’t play any roles, we show ourselves in all our vulnerability. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " This vulnerable position is the only one we have, it allows others to identify with the messages we share through our art. Both the highest mountains and the deepest valleys are part of who we are. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "When you’re fifty years old, will nightlife still be part of Chanoirs?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " I really hope that it will, but I also hope for another version, a more conscious and less destructive one. The current version is damaging since it’s not really offering a safe place, although many people and institutions now use this catchphrase all the time. Look at the afterparty scene in Brussels for instance, a constellation of informal gatherings all around town starting when the clubs close their doors, who sometimes last up to two days. I have been part of this enough to realize that through nightlife many people flee from the real world, indulging themselves into a non-existent dream where they don’t sleep for days and consume drugs. It’s not sustainable and the general hypocrisy of the anti-drugs policy run by our government is dangerous. In the past we even have been blocked from implementing harm reduction policies for drug use at our parties, at the risk of losing financial aid we had received. They only wanted to support us when a repressive anti-drugs policy was in place. What a shame. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " Nightlife in Brussels is also often run by people who don’t party themselves. Many promoters just don’t participate in the actual dance floors. This unveils their real objectives that are commercial by heart. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6tygfE8m9bxjWvy8hTBaND", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-02T12:46:49.101Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-02T12:46:49.101Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-22", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6tygfE8m9bxjWvy8hTBaND/c17cfc9bdcc408968d470d579da28b14/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-22.jpg", "details": { "size": 701650, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-22.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5q92jNXymlYSvuiMrPUgLE", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-04T08:18:31.097Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-04T08:18:31.097Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-36", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5q92jNXymlYSvuiMrPUgLE/26c612d09b55e353715d8d6354834c76/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-36.jpg", "details": { "size": 657174, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-36.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What’s your viewpoint of our Brussels nightlife scene? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " There aren’t many parties or events left that aren't commercially driven. Everytime a new project or location pops up in town, the same small group of people appears to be behind it. Temporary occupation of buildings, which is only installed by wealthy project developers to propel gentrification, is completely globalized and a business model. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " On the other hand, these people invest and allow other people to make a living out of nightlife. It’s very ambivalent. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "With Chanoirs you also collaborate with these projects or use their infrastructure. Why?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": We still do it to be able to touch upon their budgets, to be able to invite artists from other scenes, to pay our own people a decent sum. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " But you often also feel manipulated afterwards. Club Open Air, an event space at Rue Royale in Brussels that invited us and many other Brussels collectives in the summer of 2021, proposed the collaboration to us as free of charge for visitors, while we later found out that everyone needed to be vaccinated or pay for a Covid test at the entrance. That to me isn’t free or neutral, but a clear political choice.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You can still host your own events, no?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " We have been looking for years to find a space with reasonable rental fees. We lack the budgets to enter the existing structures, with all its rules and specifications that probably have been installed for the better such as air refreshing machines to prevent the spread of viruses, but all of these measures and commercial set-ups are preventing us from finding spaces to host our own alternative nights the way we want to. The deals you have to make with existing clubs and the budgets you have to put on the table are simply outrageous. All of this devalues our scene, we are in need of a real underground scene again to promote the richness of our scene. The open air parties happening this summer are all in the same location and they look exactly the same, only the music is maybe a little bit different. Our own version happening next week at Circle Park isn’t an exception to this. But there might be surprising news around the corner, with a new venue probably opening soon. We are hopeful. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Is the 3D club space you are currently building and that is already visible in a movie clip on your website, your current alternative to this situation?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Our 3D club is born out of a punk idea to create a space where the communities of like minded alternative collectives can gather and easily share stuff. From a tourist point of view, you could arrive in another city and use the app to find out what is going on and meet the key actors of the scene. The entirety functions as a virtual labyrinth of the European alternative scene and will also allow visitors to browse in art galleries and even support artists by buying NFTs or physical artwork. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2U0RlVCMySfFFXKP9fpyos", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-04T08:19:03.656Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-04T08:19:03.656Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-43", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2U0RlVCMySfFFXKP9fpyos/cf6d28700fa88fa7a3ad9424c3a1be1c/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-43.jpg", "details": { "size": 611122, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-43.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1GiNfSrsFShcplu4YZwcgS", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-04T08:19:28.654Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-04T08:19:28.654Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-1", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1GiNfSrsFShcplu4YZwcgS/456bcb429a4087585844104d5bc34532/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-1.jpg", "details": { "size": 1407123, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-1.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What drives you to put so much effort into building such a digital space?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " The previous channels we used on the internet have become blocked behind paywalls and commercially driven algorithms, such as for example our Facebook page. Before we were able to communicate with thousands with just a simple post or event, nowadays it requires a marketing budget to invest into promoted content. We much rather now build our own social network.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "In a highly commercialized nightlife scene, is Chanoirs somehow representing the underground of the underground and taking a leading role to protect its values?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " We try to protect the richness of our scene and we aren’t the only ones doing so. Most alternative collectives are rather discrete and have their own public, rather hard to access for people who don’t know them. That’s why we are trying to collaborate with others to gain some more weight in our scene. We consider creating an ASBL/VZW and by doing so get a seat at the table of the Brussels By Night federation. The need is high, the state of our underground scene is poor for the moment. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " From my point of view, I also see some positive things going on though. There are the Gay Haze parties and there is Horst Festival for example.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " But Horst Festival is also only for an elite, the entrance tickets are too expensive for many. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " Okay, but they are musically innovating and really push forward our scene. And there is the Under My Garage collective that is also very much helping our scene. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " Okay that’s right. But any event that starts at an entry ticket of 12 euro and a drink for 3 euro, ignores 45% of the population. At Chanoirs we have always experimented with options for people who don’t have these budgets. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " For the moment we are forced to work with the existing institutions, but we will continue looking for other ways and remain independent. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " I know of a few projects that should definitely open up in the future. There is an alternative kind of anti-club opening up in Molenbeek soon. \n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2pTqY1AkjlUKh5pOUr1B1n", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-04T08:20:39.883Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-04T08:20:39.883Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-39", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2pTqY1AkjlUKh5pOUr1B1n/9511843b904e5a02ffd6f40c602921fa/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-39.jpg", "details": { "size": 852303, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-39.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Your values are anti-conformist and anti-capitalist. Is the world kaput?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " Nowadays I often pose myself the question: is this an appropriate time for partying? The world isn’t 100% damned, that’s not the point, but the world needs thorough work, there is nothing to celebrate right now. What do we really want for our future? If we don’t involve ourselves into fundamental changes of our society and our scenes here in Brussels, the same small group of people will benefit and a large number of people will be pushed out of the system. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What do you dream of? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " I would love to create a club slash cultural center in a circular economy, where the manager has the same paycheck as the bar staff, where all the profits go towards artistic production, where the club is designed for its clubbers who aren’t treated as mere drink ticket consumers and where we don’t rely on the logos of international beverage brands to survive. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " That’s what Brasserie Atlas in Anderlecht tries to do for the moment, with Lyl Radio and their cultural program.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " We need an alternative for our current capitalist system. So many people have to do shitty jobs during the week to spend all their money on clubs and drugs on the weekend, is that how we want our world to look like? The same goes for the promoter’s point of view: is this really the scene we want to contribute to? At a party we hosted for new year’s eve a few years back, we had to make four stressful emergency calls during the event. Nightlife inhibits all problems of society, simply because clubbers use nightlife to ignore their daily issues. Their injuries are part of our nightlife and we don’t treat them properly. Why not invest in psychological support in clubs, next to first aid stations. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": " ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2d5tydkG0crmkM7mms1S7P", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-04T08:21:10.527Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-04T08:21:10.527Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-50", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2d5tydkG0crmkM7mms1S7P/941730fa462c4bb920cc369d8b3e7b21/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-50.jpg", "details": { "size": 1082066, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-50.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nChanoirs has a strong musical identity, can you present to me some artists from Brussels that are part of this?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lucas:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " ", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I’m fond of the work of Maoupa Mazzocchetti, with whom I share a studio space in Elsene/Ixelles. Other very strong artists we have a relationship with are Mika Oki and Noamie Klaus. Real diversity is still needed more. For our collaboration with Listen this upcoming year for instance, we want to focus on these values of inclusivity and invite international acts that reflect this ethos. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " We use Chanoirs often as a diving board for young and local talents, for example in our residency at Kiosk Radio or during our events at Café Central. Someone as Manu aka Data Canem, who did his first set for us at Kiosk, is now playing at many parties. His talent was always there, he just needed a push to get to know the technique of DJing. \n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "H9XWjDJoDGzVoitXqxT6k", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-08-04T08:21:51.785Z", "updatedAt": "2022-08-04T08:21:51.785Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-5", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/H9XWjDJoDGzVoitXqxT6k/eebc8250a16a4eaaf839a20705ae451b/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-5.jpg", "details": { "size": 1425100, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-5.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Is the future dark or do you still see some light shining?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Antoine:", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": " Our boat keeps sailing and there is no way to jump off. We have hope for the future and we believe in ourselves, our friends, musicians, and everyone around. We remain very active and enjoy being together and seeing beautiful art emerge out of nowhere. That’s what keeps us going.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Thanks Antoine, Lucas! All the best!", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\npictures by Jente Waerzeggers\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] } ] }, "image": { "title": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-42", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1vTMRrWqprevONhFPaJPx6/7c0b39eb5c0c5fec4e720c7797d371a2/listen__-_chanoirs__web_res_-42.jpg", "details": { "size": 884434, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - chanoirs (web res)-42.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "1vTMRrWqprevONhFPaJPx6", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "7k9n9JQ9jAUF2Cfae5eCov", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "Clara!’s punk and feminist reggaeton conquering the world from Brussels.", "slug": "clara-s-punk-and-feminist-reggaeton-conquering-the-world-from-brussels", "date": "2022-07-05", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "https://koengalle.party", "shortDescription": "Having arrived in Brussels about eleven years ago, Spanish producer, MC and DJ Clara! brought a whole new sound to the city. Her fresh take on reggaeton, a genre that originated in Latin-America in the 1980s and for ages was overlooked in western music scenes, is surely remarkable due to her punk and feminist attitude and a unique blend of revolt, humor and plenty of other musical references she adds to the genre. Solo or in collaboration with artists such as Pearson Sound, Low Jack, Le Motel and Maoupa Mazzocchetti, Clara! has over the past few years been serving a string of well received releases to the world, helping to push her name in the global underground music scene like a gust of fresh air. Curious as we are to find out what position Brussels holds in her story and just simply to get to know her better, we took our bike all the way to Volta in Anderlecht where she rehearses and prepares her upcoming live performances. \n", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Having arrived in Brussels about eleven years ago, Spanish producer, MC and DJ Clara! brought a whole new sound to the city. Her fresh take on reggaeton, a genre that originated in Latin-America in the 1980s and for ages was overlooked in western music scenes, is surely remarkable due to her punk and feminist attitude and a unique blend of revolt, humor and plenty of other musical references she adds to the genre. Solo or in collaboration with artists such as Pearson Sound, Low Jack, Le Motel and Maoupa Mazzocchetti, Clara! has over the past few years been serving a string of well received releases to the world, helping to push her name in the global underground music scene like a gust of fresh air. Curious as we are to find out what position Brussels holds in her story and just simply to get to know her better, we took our bike all the way to Volta in Anderlecht where she rehearses and prepares her upcoming live performances. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4liBxPp16Wwlf3VnNPNAwB", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-07-04T14:42:55.087Z", "updatedAt": "2022-07-04T14:42:55.087Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-10clara 1", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4liBxPp16Wwlf3VnNPNAwB/364b29a2be0dc309ed42b244bbd6948e/listen__-_clara___web_res_-10.jpg", "details": { "size": 1365049, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-10.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Hello Clara, thanks for having us!", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "What are you working on for the moment?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nLately I have been DJing a lot and since I often play in Brussels, I put much effort into reworking my sets everytime again. I have a few live concerts coming up as well, including an important one at Dour Festival where I’ll be taking two dancers, Jhaya and Romain Lecharlier, and Rrita Jashari as a DJ with me on stage. So I want us to be well prepared for this big moment. I’ll be singing on other people’s productions, on tracks by Pearson Sound, Low Jack, Maoupa Mazzocchetti, Tera Octé, SKY H1 and Le Motel. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "When did you find your voice as an MC?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI was already DJing for a while, when my friend Maoupa Mazzocchetti came to see me play. He proposed to collaborate in the music studio and convinced me to take the mic, arguing that he saw me singing during my DJ sets. It’s not that I was really using my voice or a mic, more like enthusiastically dancing and mimicking the lyrics. He was sure that it would work, so at the end of 2018 we did our first gig together in Beursschouwburg, my first one as an MC. At first I was quite nervous, but it went well after all. Remembering all the words is quite the challenge, but I’m not scared to take the stage.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How did you end up in Brussels?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI enrolled for the master program at L’École de Recherche Graphique and never left. Hailing from the northwest of Galicia in Spain and after studying Fine Arts in Spain, I had no clue what to do as a depressive lost babe. My mother is French and tipped Brussels as a good destination for me, since I speak French. Moreover my grandfather René Heyvaert was a Flemish artist, so I felt some kind of connection with this country. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "And when and how did you slide into music? \n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nAt the end of my studies a classmate organized a party in a student bar in Schaarbeek and invited me to DJ. It was the start of this new wave of soundcloud DJing and I really enjoyed what was going on at the platform in those days, a very contemporary sound. There was already some reggaeton to be heard, but not so much yet as today. \n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "70cj3JXkYexCPLcKQOBs2Q", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-07-04T14:44:40.728Z", "updatedAt": "2022-07-04T14:44:40.728Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-3", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/70cj3JXkYexCPLcKQOBs2Q/c1de577a922131e18954f63e247c2d67/listen__-_clara___web_res_-3.jpg", "details": { "size": 579867, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-3.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3kAOKDXCCzQmelExz0eW3H", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-07-04T14:45:14.449Z", "updatedAt": "2022-07-04T14:45:14.449Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-6", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3kAOKDXCCzQmelExz0eW3H/9debe0a49f41875f7d65cb8ea6168c6a/listen__-_clara___web_res_-6.jpg", "details": { "size": 219357, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-6.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "64yBsHdmAPVFomBZO2JyOc", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-07-04T14:45:59.782Z", "updatedAt": "2022-07-04T14:45:59.782Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-14", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/64yBsHdmAPVFomBZO2JyOc/021106f14281791242859477a6d840d9/listen__-_clara___web_res_-14.jpg", "details": { "size": 126275, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-14.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Your mixtape for TRAX opens with a Spanish & French singer and I don’t hear much English vocals in the music you select for DJ sets or mixtapes. That’s on purpose?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nSpanish and French are the languages I feel most comfortable in, that’s a fact. Besides I find English a language so omnipresent already, that I feel more attracted to other languages. At first I was a bit hesitant, to mostly rely on a language that many people don’t know well here. But everyone understands that the music is sensual and that’s the key. ", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "(laughs)", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1137526513&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true\"></iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https://soundcloud.com/trax-magazine\" title=\"TRAX MAGAZINE\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\">TRAX MAGAZINE</a> · <a href=\"https://soundcloud.com/trax-magazine/trax445-clara\" title=\"TRAX.445 CLARA!\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\">TRAX.445 CLARA!</a></div>", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "An interview you and Maoupa Mazzocchetti did with music software Ableton titled you as “Reimagining Reggaeton”. What do you keep from the original reggaeton and what do you alter?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nFirst of all there is the choice of producers I collaborate with, all coming from the club or experimental scene, so they provide their trademarks. The vocals I write are deliberately from a feminist perspective, to provide an alternative for the male gaze that is often present in reggaeton. Luckily over the past few years, more women have been working on this new perspective in lyrics, each with their own kind of politics . My version is based on the desire motif from a female point of view. The traditional story, in all kinds of music not only reggaeton, is mostly built on a man desiring a woman. I also know what I want. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Can you share an example of the reggaeton that was going around when you were an adolescent? \n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nWe danced and sang a lot to reggaeton music by Don Omar, especially his track Dale Don will always stick with me. It’s the first reggaeton track I ever heard. We used to go to a club who had a regular pre-party for youth until 10PM and every time they played this track we went out of our heads. The accompanying dance is called perreo, a series of gestures mimicking sexuality but not to be taken seriously, really just for fun and not an invitation for more. Though essential to perreo and reggaeton, this asexual sexuallity is still rather hard to understand for people in Europe. It’s normal to dance with someone without desiring anything else. I wish people would dance more and be guided less by these sexual connotations. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/GXm-sDCY394\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen></iframe>", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Dancing means a lot to you?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nFor me the act of dancing is very liberating, helping both my body and soul. Without it, I would probably be staying depressed in a psychiatric hospital. Whether it’s alone in my room or in a club or on stage, I need it on a regular basis. Taking dancers with me to my shows is also to show people the way. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Are you musically educated?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nWhen I was younger, although I was interested in music, I lacked any kind of self-confidence to try out music. There weren’t any musicians in my family or network either. But I danced a lot in my room as a kid, listening to my discman. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I hear many influences from different music genres: obviously reggaeton, also bass heavy hip hop and dubstep, 90s rave, drum & bass, … your DJ sets feel so free that genres become irrelevant. Do you agree?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI never really think in genres, but I always look for a feeling in music. As long as the music makes me dance and a sense of humor is present. I tend not to follow any rules or satisfy purists. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "This really feels like a standard for the current generation of DJs and producers, growing up with the Pioneer CDJ player and Ableton software?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nA CDJ has definitely much to offer in terms of freedom and flexibility for DJs. And my mixtapes are often made in Ableton, allowing me to carefully edit them track by track. It took me a long time to learn how to work and feel confident with a CDJ though, since they are so expensive and hard to get your hands on. I’m not really technically skilled, a position that was probably thought to me as a female, so the process to learn how to mix was rather stressful to be honest. I accept technology since our modern society demands it, although I don’t find it easy. But even my female friends who are technically skilled, are still oftentimes confronted with a male know-it-all technician who thinks he unsolicitedly needs to explain the functioning of something like for example a frequency. We know how a frequency works, huh! ", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "(laughs)\n", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You’re a mother in the music business, I saw on your Instagram. How do you deal with the combination of work and motherhood, the lack of sleep, etc?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nIt’s complicated, but that’s probably the case for any kind of job in combination with motherhood. The hours are hard though, having to perform mostly in the evening or night hours. Thanks to clear agreements with the father, a vast network of friends and neighbors or paid babysitters, I can handle it. But even if all is well worked out, still unexpected issues like sudden illness may arise and make everything even more complex. Last week I was all set to leave for my performance when such a situation occurred. Thanks to his father I was able to finally make it to my gig one minute prior to stage time.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2v8k0kYuR4EhL2iTLfcHBH", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-07-04T14:56:30.024Z", "updatedAt": "2022-07-04T14:56:30.024Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-4", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2v8k0kYuR4EhL2iTLfcHBH/1ebf67f20da501ffe85a1f5a71f20e44/listen__-_clara___web_res_-4.jpg", "details": { "size": 770776, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-4.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "JWNdhLNwYTLg0YH2ZRXid", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-07-04T14:56:05.254Z", "updatedAt": "2022-07-04T14:56:05.254Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-5", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/JWNdhLNwYTLg0YH2ZRXid/9fdb5f861c38783e918e9ccfc5b119df/listen__-_clara___web_res_-5.jpg", "details": { "size": 351634, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-5.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nHow do you feel about Brussels as a city?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI really like the city, even more since traveling often to other European cities. Unlike the major capitals such as London or Paris, I feel there isn’t that fatuiging sense of continuing competition in Brussels. The people are nice and friendly and a melting pot coming from all wind directions. And the governmental support for culture is much better than in Spain.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "With whom did you connect most here? \n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI recently signed to Culte Agency, who help me with my career. Via Culte I met SKY H1, a very strong artist with whom I’ve been working. Also from their team is Rrita Jashari, she’s supporting me as DJ at my concerts. And again from Culte, I’ve connected well with Fabien aka Le Motel, we did the track “Rápido” together. Another family from Brussels that I really like is the Poxcat crew. They are good friends and throw lovely parties.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Where do you hang out most?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI wish I could go out more, but as a mother it’s not always an option next to my work at night. Beursschouwburg, VK and Recyclart are venues that I visit frequently and I adore Kiosk Radio. At the Parc Royal, where the radio is located, there is an amazing vibe where I enjoy hanging out and having a coffee.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Imagine you get to program a festival day, which five artists would have to be present?\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nTomasa Del Real. She is a Chilean female neo perreo singer that I really adore. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Six sex is a new act on the scene, an amazing MC. Her tracks are always co-produced with other artists and have a unique something special. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "King Doudou is a French producer who works for many artists, sometimes also as ghost producer. I play his tracks during almost all my sets. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Sangre Nueva is a collaboration between Florentino, DJ Python and Kelman Duran. I love their separate work and as a group they are amazing as well. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Lazuli is a French MC with Chilean roots. She is conquering the scene with a great flow and inspiring energy, having already worked with Brodinski and King Doudou. Great things await her! ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Duly noted! Thanks Clara!", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\npictures by Jente Waerzeggers", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] } ] }, "image": { "title": "listen! - clara! (web res)-25", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2iBPwpyCvVjBARafYIOq8Y/3b6656b77ae3f2bae970d0229e06f92d/listen__-_clara___web_res_-25.jpg", "details": { "size": 1112455, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "listen! - clara! (web res)-25.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "2iBPwpyCvVjBARafYIOq8Y", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "K0vna0tgaN5rQwV8NfFoL", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "Gay Haze, a freedom to be weird in Brussels.", "slug": "gay-haze-a-freedom-to-be-weird-in-brussels", "date": "2022-06-02", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "https://koengalle.party", "shortDescription": "Spek is Antwerp’s monthly-not so monthly queer dance party, for freaks by nature, as they describe their audience on social media. Gay Haze is their Brussels twin sister, a household name in the capital’s party scene since 2017, a place for the whole queer community based on a freedom to be weird and to dance together against any kind of discrimination, as they mention their mission statement online. To find out more about the infamous Gay Haze parties known for their mysterious artwork, exhilarating line-ups and state of the art scenography, I sit down with founders Guillaume Bleret and Diego Cozzi.", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "A closing day tradition during Listen Festival, the Sunday afternoon party hosted by Gay Haze and Spek was a once again one for the books. More than 1300 clubbers were present at the industrial warehouse Buda - right next to the canal in the north of the city - dancing together for twelve hours until 2am. It's quite difficult to describe the exuberant atmosphere that hung in the room, but I'll try anyway. They moved, tripped, stretched and pulled as if it were a delight, with great respect for each other's bodies, to hard acid house, melodic trance or uplifting techno. They created an exciting vibe that crescendoed as it got later, culminating just before the end, where they expressed their climax jointly and theatrically. They provided the party of the year, at least according to everyone who attended. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Spek is Antwerp’s monthly-not so monthly queer dance party, for freaks by nature, as they describe their audience on social media. Gay Haze is their Brussels twin sister, a household name in the capital’s party scene since 2017, a place for the whole queer community based on a freedom to be weird and to dance together against any kind of discrimination, as they mention their mission statement online. To find out more about the infamous Gay Haze parties known for their mysterious artwork, exhilarating line-ups and state of the art scenography, I sit down with founders Guillaume Bleret and Diego Cozzi. Diego is well-known behind the DJ booth as Fais Le Beau and cuts hair during the day. Guillaume works for visual artist Ann Veronica Janssens and is an active member of 24H Brussels, an initiative to improve dialogue between the actors of the Brussels night. We meet in Guillaume’s appartement in Vorst with the most beautiful view over Brussels. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "mOP0xPZOJvD0FvF8gQm8R", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T12:36:58.489Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T12:36:58.489Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-6", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/mOP0xPZOJvD0FvF8gQm8R/53c3ac7405f9e1c522101fc13604aa69/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-6.jpg", "details": { "size": 527408, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-6.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "mOP0xPZOJvD0FvF8gQm8R", "locale": "en-US" } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How do you look back at the party in Buda?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": We had been looking forward to this event for such a long time. Apart from a few small events this was the first rave we held in our prototypical circumstances since the pandemic, so our expectations were really high. But it was well worth the wait. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": The whole thing was quite spectacular. As it was our first time in this venue, such an undertaking is always thrilling and it turned out really well. We are a Sunday afternoon party, so the relationship to daylight is really important for the ambiance. At Buda, the balance between all elements - our audience, the music, the light and scenography - somehow was completely right.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "From the first parties on in 2017, the relationship with the locations has always been a strong point for Gay Haze. Has this always been the idea?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Yes. We try to appropriate a location and give it a twist through scenography, which is definitely one of our specialities and allows our audience to bond with a space and our esthetics every time again. On the other hand, we’re craving for a place where we can set up camp on a more structural basis, since reinventing yourself every time again is also time and energy consuming. So if anyone has a place, please do let us know. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": We always need to make a space more gay, that’s for sure! (", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "laughter", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ") Buda for example is a big room so a strong intervention was quintessential. We turned to Neversceno, a collective of architects and scenographers, who came up with the idea to hang huge balloons in the form of chains. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Using chains as a party decor continued building on the decor of our previous Sunday rave at Listen Festival three years ago at Quay 01. Diego initially came up with the idea of chains hanging behind the dj booth. One of the goals of our collaboration with Neversceno this year was to reactivate the reference, turning the chain into something new.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6KetIYJQAEFIPnDAHnqUsy", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:16:55.994Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:16:55.994Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "Listenfest gayhaze YaqineHamzaoui-8434", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6KetIYJQAEFIPnDAHnqUsy/fd6069826aaa155fea26737310a3be44/Listenfest_gayhaze_YaqineHamzaoui-8434.jpg", "details": { "size": 20346855, "image": { "width": 6240, "height": 4160 } }, "fileName": "Listenfest_gayhaze_YaqineHamzaoui-8434.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7mVIa6fJ4WkcLUQFHmJKJM", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:15:47.074Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:15:47.074Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "Listenfest gayhaze YaqineHamzaoui-8105", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//downloads.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7mVIa6fJ4WkcLUQFHmJKJM/5b7d7ec2d46184fde8ca4e2ba5a0c8cd/Listenfest_gayhaze_YaqineHamzaoui-8105.jpg", "details": { "size": 39100977, "image": { "width": 4160, "height": 6240 } }, "fileName": "Listenfest_gayhaze_YaqineHamzaoui-8105.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume, a few days after the rave in Buda you posted two pictures. One showing a balloon chain taken on Sunday at the party and another one showing a glass sculpture by Belgian visual artist Ann Veronica Janssens. Why did you post these together?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume: ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I work for Ann Veronica Janssens, the second picture was taken at her show in St-Paul de Vence in France, where I had to be the day after the party with just a few hours of sleep in between. Ann Veronica teached me a lot about occupying spaces and utilizing natural light. I made the post as I was seeing a relationship between these 2 cool jobs", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "So a Gay Haze in a dark club will not happen soon?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": It would definitely not be the same for us. I don’t mind the light changing during a party and seeing a room go darker at dusk, but somehow I experience the vibe of a dark nightclub more hectic and aggressive, while seeing people dance and smile in a bright space adds a great layer to a rave.\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nI once was very disoriented during one of your DJ sets due to the excessive usage of the smoke machine. To my liking! That’s also a Gay Haze classic, right?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": haha, yeah. Using fog to fill the room allows us to create a discrete atmosphere, we rely heavily on it. It’s our way to play with intimacy on a dancefloor in a room filled with daylight. And when I DJ, I always ask the promoter to go hard on the fog machine. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume: ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "We actually borrowed our first smoke machine from Ann Veronica Janssens, fog is also part of her art practice. At a party in Molenbeek at a certain point we lost track of the smoke machine, someone had displaced it without warning us. The room was quickly filling with dense vapor and it didn’t take long before you couldn’t see who was dancing next to you. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": I remember being a bit freaked out about this, becoming worried about the safety of our audience. I browsed the floor with my smartphone’s light until I was able to locate it and switch it off, only to realize a couple of minutes later that literally no one had really cared about the extravagance of smoke and everybody was just kissing or dancing their asses off.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "5gAWSro4j7KVLLotTNMsmL", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T12:43:58.370Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T12:43:58.370Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-27", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/5gAWSro4j7KVLLotTNMsmL/80c8a439ce0a19fb2d9a9461714703b6/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-27.jpg", "details": { "size": 817345, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-27.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4rqdpKo3kmjygWa8VPeCTQ", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T12:44:46.046Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T12:44:46.046Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-40", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4rqdpKo3kmjygWa8VPeCTQ/22e6298c2a905a97b677bbf277716cf7/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-40.jpg", "details": { "size": 406288, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-40.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Fog or smoke can create a haze, but where does the name Gay Haze comes from?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume: ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "A haze has different meanings for us. There is the fog, but also the haze we smoke and the state we can be in. And hazing also refers to a way of initiation or baptism into for example a fraternity or a group of students, which in our case can be liberating. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": We needed a name and Guillaume came up with it. Actually we had a friend in common who at the time commented on the cannabis that Guillaume grew at home, for it being too soft in his opinion. He than mockinlgy referred to the weed as gay haze. (", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "laughter", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ") \n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "75Emi7djuUMYO4Q1jRBfW9", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T12:47:44.454Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T12:47:44.454Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gayhaze web", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/75Emi7djuUMYO4Q1jRBfW9/bce16c9d063913d4dde7cd4d099922b3/gayhaze_web.jpg", "details": { "size": 299393, "image": { "width": 1400, "height": 731 } }, "fileName": "gayhaze_web.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Now I understand why the flyer you made for the first Gay Haze party in 2017 has a leaf of cannabis on it. Your artwork is often mysterious, not given much details about the party or even lacking the line-up and often also using sexually suggestive imagery. I remember a picture which added a giant penis to the Schtroumpf statue in front of the entrance of C12 for example, a quite hilarious intervention. Who is responsible for the artistic direction of Gay Haze?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume: ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "It’s definitely a team work between the both of us and a few designers. The Schtroumpf picture was a Photoshop joke I made when we hosted a party in C12 in 2018. Our first ever flyers were all designed by Georges Chaulet, who sadly passed away in January 2021. He really helped us to define our visual identity and a mood for our communication, with humor and mystery. Later we started to work with several talented creatives such as Steve Jakobs, Nicolas Stolarczyk, Waldo De Keersmaecker and David Crisci, but Georges definitely set the direction. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": We often started with an amusing image, such as a dog or a parrot. Or a guy peeing on another but with the urine stream erased, stuff like that. By not revealing too much about the party, we also wanted to make sure not to sound like boasting our events or promising the best or safest parties. Today our philosophy has changed a bit though, we now communicate more about our DNA and values. Certainly society has changed over the past years and there is much more attention now towards important issues such as sexism and diversity. By the way, I believe Listen Festival did a great job in communicating on the matter of safer spaces and organizing the night signals panels.\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6bgY9baS0kiqZ32q2twY2J", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:01:58.336Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:01:58.336Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-35", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6bgY9baS0kiqZ32q2twY2J/b4efe8bcf88edd0cab69edc099501f81/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-35.jpg", "details": { "size": 768817, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-35.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nGuillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Although we never had any incidents, complaints or accidents, we wanted to create a context for our parties, outlining what kind of behavior is okay and what isn’t and speak more openly about it through our social media. But we have been doing this since the very start of our events, since we soon noticed that some people at our parties wanted to get really wasted and instead of censoring them, we decided to set up a dialogue. Already at the door, our staff is carefully trained to welcome people and explain our values. And we share short messages through playful media, for example a t-shirt saying ‘Your G-Hole Is So Unsexy’ to tackle the excessive use of drugs. That one was a bit shocking, I admit, but it worked and clubbers gave appreciative feedback about it.\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4zI7RulIgRKntbhGQ3D0Kq", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:17:20.404Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:17:20.404Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "Schtroumpf", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4zI7RulIgRKntbhGQ3D0Kq/1625c5f25f439313a0a99ec9fb60c51c/Schtroumpf.jpg", "details": { "size": 6898344, "image": { "width": 8400, "height": 11200 } }, "fileName": "Schtroumpf.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6oVGf6RfBoOZMBbbiSzcBq", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:00:15.921Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:00:15.921Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-34", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6oVGf6RfBoOZMBbbiSzcBq/1d865763fcd5602c5297d48dd8a5689f/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-34.jpg", "details": { "size": 812400, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-34.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4nhovuNGwzeca7E9Y0GzjJ", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T12:57:00.003Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T12:57:00.003Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "Carte4 recto", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4nhovuNGwzeca7E9Y0GzjJ/90f86bad7887cdc39ef70df251acbaf6/Schermafbeelding_2022-06-02_om_14.56.18.png", "details": { "size": 4787066, "image": { "width": 2768, "height": 1652 } }, "fileName": "Schermafbeelding 2022-06-02 om 14.56.18.png", "contentType": "image/png" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nWhen you created Gay Haze in 2017, did you found it to create your own space, something that didn’t exist yet in Brussels?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego: ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "For me the reason to start Gay Haze was to claim our own space and by doing so add a new kind of events for and in the queer scene in Brussels with a vibe and musical identity that didn’t exist yet before. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": I really wanted to create a day-time event, but apart from that, we actually never really had long-term plans. The gay scene at the time was a bit out of breath and we felt like giving it a boost.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nI as a heterosexual always felt welcome and included at Gay Haze, you are definitely not a strictly queer space. Would you agree that what unites everyone at your parties is a freedom to express themselves with their bodies?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Definitely yes! We never aimed at any kind of exclusivity or privacy. The gay in Gay Haze also refers to joy and freedom, everyone is welcome. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego, as a DJ do you think there a difference when playing for a dominantly gay or rather mixed crowd?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego: ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "A queer crowd is without a doubt more able to unleash and let loose and as a DJ, such an audience relaxes me more. I’m able to take more risks, with a higher fun factor. Minorities celebrate life more, somehow! (", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Laughs", "marks": [ { "type": "italic" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ") \n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "3guVidmiBNKuIbdMLV6npF", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T12:59:37.842Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T12:59:37.842Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-19", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/3guVidmiBNKuIbdMLV6npF/17316e8e6b6677d48aa3d596c9903a63/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-19.jpg", "details": { "size": 942514, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-19.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "15gHU88QTSVpvbca0g1g5u", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:05:57.365Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:05:57.365Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-33", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/15gHU88QTSVpvbca0g1g5u/803b0bc6358f2ed0b6187b1075f27d7a/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-33.jpg", "details": { "size": 1007160, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-33.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\nHow do you prepare the line-ups for Gay Haze?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": By searching for small names, not really well-known yet, who are habitués in their own local scenes, mostly queer as well. Somehow we were always lucky to book DJs before they got bigger, expensive headliners are not really our cup of tea anyway. And our latest event was 100% locals only, held during the PRIDE weekend in Brussels.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nIs Brussels a gay-friendly city?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Well, let’s say that we are gay, we live in this city and we organize parties, so it’s not impossible to live and work here, but nevertheless we still cannot walk hand in hand with our boyfriend in the streets. Some people have the courage to do so, but we stopped because of too many bad experiences. The city invests throughly in promoting Brussels to tourists as a gay-friendly and open-minded city, but in my opinion these budgets should instead be allocated to education and orientation in schools, instead of city marketing. Also the PRIDE festivities are for me too much part of a marketing, product placement and event policy, with a lot of branding going around. While at the foundations of the movement lies a story of emancipation and liberation of gay rights, the original focus has been forgotten somewhere along the way. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Already at school at a very young age, children should be told about the many different identities , colours, sexual orientations, etcera that are part of our society. I’m sure that little by little change can be made, with a new and more woke generation that is growing up as we speak. But there is still a long way to go. And until real change happens, we won’t be walking hand in hand. It’s not even about courage, but about being prepared to lose plenty of time dealing with other people’s opinions, getting involved in senseless discussions on the street, and so on. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nIs the key in the hands of politicians?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": On both the right and left side of the political spectrum, plenty of LGBTQ+ people hold important positions and their presence in society has become somehow mainstream, but the shift now must become embedded in every corner of our society, not only in favor of LGBTQ+ groups, but on many other issues as well by the way, such as the deconstruction of the patriarchy. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\nAre there cities where you feel more at ease as a gay?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Definitely! London, Berlin, Cologne, …", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Diego", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Madrid as well. You feel so much more relaxed on the streets, less stared at. On the other hand, Brussels has a great structure when it comes to protection of human rights. Many things are happening or have been changed over the past years, which is hopeful.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Guillaume", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": ": Belgium still is a pleasant democracy with good foundations and mechanisms to protect people from extreme ideas. I recently discovered there is a law prohibiting the media concentrating in the hands of just a few people for example, something that doesn’t exist in France. So it’s not a bad country to live in. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "But we still have work to do! Thanks Diego & Guillaume!\n\n", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ] }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "6sSudRGdBFZapb2CKc3cla", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-06-02T13:04:25.150Z", "updatedAt": "2022-06-02T13:04:25.150Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-7", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/6sSudRGdBFZapb2CKc3cla/382ba9915b164cfdf9327e19f3e0ed74/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-7.jpg", "details": { "size": 1011710, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-7.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } }, "content": [] }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\npictures by Jente Waerzeggers", "marks": [], "data": {} } ] } ] }, "image": { "title": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-6", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/mOP0xPZOJvD0FvF8gQm8R/53c3ac7405f9e1c522101fc13604aa69/gay_haze_interview_-_listen__-_jw__web_res_-6.jpg", "details": { "size": 527408, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1536 } }, "fileName": "gay haze interview - listen! - jw (web res)-6.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" }, "id": "mOP0xPZOJvD0FvF8gQm8R", "locale": "en-US" }, "id": "3xl3ROWPjk02EwnoLl8h2Z", "locale": "en-US", "type": "news" }, { "title": "At home chez Sara Dziri", "slug": "at-home-chez-sara-dziri", "date": "2022-02-16", "author": "Koen Galle", "authorUri": "https://koengalle.party/", "shortDescription": "Hosting one of our nights at the Brussel Congres station is Sara Dziri, a 30-years-old multifaceted artist, resident DJ at Fuse and Kiosk Radio and the founder of feminist, POC and queer underground party Not Your Techno, born to a Belgian mother and Tunisian father and soon releasing her debut album on Optimo Music. Time for a chat with the busy bee. ", "content": { "nodeType": "document", "data": {}, "content": [ { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Why is it that during half of the conversation Sara Dziri and I have, we discuss topics that aren’t directly linked to her music but focus on her identity, her roots and the struggle as a queer female artists in a white male dominated world? Yes, this is a rhetorical question, but a necessary one. Let’s build a society where Dziri can wholly focus on what she does best: produce music, DJ and bring people together whether it's on a dance floor, in a theater’s audience or in a record shop, without having to fight or reclaim anything. The responsibility is not hers by the way, but ours.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "BCtxYcJQN864d2rW6Dnll", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:43:48.102Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:43:48.102Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-7", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/BCtxYcJQN864d2rW6Dnll/f9cdb2cdefd4e430a0f84458f089add0/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-7.jpg", "details": { "size": 279955, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-7.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "21wZpAb2ZvLqQ6e5Xk9422", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:44:13.158Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:44:13.158Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-14", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/21wZpAb2ZvLqQ6e5Xk9422/59c44ed17dae36779519d22c5acbf93e/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-14.jpg", "details": { "size": 242655, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-14.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "That being said, I’m climbing up what seem to be the endless stairs of an apartment building close to Gare Midi, with a beautiful view of the Palais De Justice as a trophy for my physical work. The height also fades out the noise of the ever buzzing city, it’s here that Dziri has created a minimalistic yet warm and welcoming home for herself. Some music hardware is laid down nonchalantly in the corner of the living room, two potent studio monitors face me from the cupboard and a remarkable framed photo graces the wall. Apart from some furniture, there isn’t an object too much in the room, which seems to reflect well the thoughtful and elegant nature of my host.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Sara Dziri is a 30-years-old multifaceted artist, a resident DJ at Fuse and Kiosk Radio and the founder of feminist, POC and queer underground party Not Your Techno, born to a Belgian mother and Tunisian father. We have a chat looking forward to the NYT night she will be hosting at Listen in April and the latest (big) news she has to share.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "61GuIUxRy1Q959UAgl6UMi", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:44:44.392Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:44:44.392Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "0", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/61GuIUxRy1Q959UAgl6UMi/bc99fef71aec586f77baaf5f065e6c85/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-16.jpg", "details": { "size": 301024, "image": { "width": 1536, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-16.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I’m impressed by the amount of output you have produced over the past years, whether it’s music, nightlife, events, talks, DJ sets, … What’s happening right now for you?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Well, DJing is a bit hard for the moment, but Covid did push me towards a more multidisciplinary take on my practice as an artist, that’s for sure. I had always considered exploring other art scenes, but locked out of clubs the process got immensely speeded up. Last year I collaborated with renowned choreographer and director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui on ‘Walk With Amal’, a performance where a giant puppet representing a young Syrian girl and through her all the displaced children in the world passed through Brussels on a long journey through Europe. I created the music on which dancers performed in front of the puppet, quite an intense and gripping moment. Based on this music, I’m planning now to make an integral dance performance in collaboration with a choreographer from Tunisia. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "1uJtU6LmVuxThebrbJOtDK", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:44:51.184Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:44:51.184Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "bYgzYSaw", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/1uJtU6LmVuxThebrbJOtDK/ab2e2e451de2e1475bff75687c266001/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-9.jpg", "details": { "size": 255537, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-9.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "In April you’ll be hosting a Not Your Techno night during Listen Festival. What’s the story behind the name Not Your Techno?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I started NYT with Yasmine Dammak in 2019 and we have hosted six parties so far. It’s a wordplay on I Love Techno, with an intersectional philosophy behind it to reclaim space for people that aren’t represented well enough in our scene: females, POC and the queer community. Techno doesn’t only belong to white people with a lot of money, but belongs to all of us. We try to make our point without sounding too hostile, in a soft and moderate manner, but we do claim our space. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "4dbaFjNDbXeJ1sLutjkHr1", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:07.510Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:07.510Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "tQYAN4OA", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/4dbaFjNDbXeJ1sLutjkHr1/66ebfc93ca8d4194471a686c87eca874/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-1.jpg", "details": { "size": 246346, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-1.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Can you describe a personal highlight during a Not Your Techno night, what defines your events well? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "In August and September of last year we hosted two events in two weeks time. First an intimate party for about 100 people in Decor Atelier in Molenbeek, then a huge open air rave in collaboration with Catclub in the center of Brussels. Both events were great and left us behind fully energized, especially the familiar context at the former was exactly what we intended to offer: a feeling of freedom and open mindedness. Such freedom for everyone is still utopian, looking back at what happened when the Instagram account Balance Ton Bar was created. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How did you feel when Fuse, the club where you just started working as a resident DJ, appeared in a testimony on Balance Ton Bar? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I was obviously shocked and immediately contacted the staff, realising that their reaction would be crucial for the continuation of my residency at the club. But I was relieved to notice that they reacted well and immediately addressed the case seriously. Unfortunately, despite the goodwill of the staff, there is still a long way to go when it comes to changing a certain mentality among a part of the clubbers.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How did you experience your first two months as a resident DJ in Fuse? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "They booked me three times: for the opening night, the closing night and a night I was allowed to curate myself. Each and every night I had a great time. Fuse has gone through a redevelopment with a new team behind the scenes and has given me all the confidence by showing the will to take risks and make adventurous bookings although the financial pressure for such a huge club is always high. So I’m grateful in every possible way, the audience has shown a lot of love and it only takes 10 minutes for me to make it home afterwards.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "19B9FNKoRdseivjzIKBDnm", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:13.610Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:13.610Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "ffm 5- A", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/19B9FNKoRdseivjzIKBDnm/9aec287aec9b3151ca44b715c0aaefcc/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-37.jpg", "details": { "size": 267182, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-37.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "As the host of a queer party yourself, do you feel connected to Fuse’s queer concept La Demence? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "La Demence is a very sexually oriented event only for gay men, I have never been there. I have always expierenced the gay scene in Brussels as quite introvert to be honest. When in my twenties I was going out often, I was at numerous occasions intimidated, both directly and indirectly. I wasn’t welcome, simply because I’m a woman and gay men can’t score me. That’s exactly the kind of scene or event that we don’t intend to host with Not Your Techno. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "How and where did you find a way into the rave scene yourself? ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Mostly through Catclub. I started going to their parties about 10 years ago, it was one of those places where I felt comfortable and free. The host Lady Jane first started to do parties for her girlfriends, but soon it became a quite popular queer night open to all kinds of people. Their talent was to find special locations for each event. I have fond memories of a Catclub party during Pride in an abandoned Fortis building, the same space where food market Wolf is located today. The whole premise was open to wander around, such an amazing vibe. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "7BtESECoSqz4bK3FZGbyy5", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:21.378Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:21.378Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "ZpNz2HFw", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/7BtESECoSqz4bK3FZGbyy5/567a93390d7a6d14efdc50196235ed2b/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-8.jpg", "details": { "size": 277884, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-8.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "During the lockdown you started hosting debates on diversity and inclusivity called ‘Sound On’ in collaboration with queer event host Misfitte. How would you describe the current state of affairs?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Quite simply, there is still a huge lack of diversity in our society. It’s not because the topic is hot and much debated, that all issues are solved, quite the other way around. The statistics on women and POC on line-ups of electronic music events are still very depressing, our scene is still dominated by white males. The current attention for this topic must be more than just a trend. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Your layered identity as a Belgian with Tunisian roots has for a while been explicitly part of your identity as a musician and DJ, using Arabtechno often as a hashtag or hosting the Souk Sessions. But over the years I noticed an evolution where you dropped the hashtag. How do you see this?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "It’s true that there has been quite an evolution in my musical identity. When I first started working with music the identitary part wasn’t there yet. In 2016 I was living in Toronto for a while and I was completely hooked to electronic music with Arabic influences, but there weren’t any events where I could connect with. So I decided to launch Souk Sessions and started coining the term Arab Techno. But lately I have left behind these explicit links with Arabic culture, since they started to limit me. It took a while for me to feel confident enough to make this move and still hold on to my roots, to have my whole identity balanced out. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "2R0mr38dGdrVKcln0kE4qI", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:30.093Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:30.093Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "YhBq5s6g", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/2R0mr38dGdrVKcln0kE4qI/719d12bf24fd7bde375c3244fc0962c2/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-3.jpg", "details": { "size": 232289, "image": { "width": 1920, "height": 1280 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-3.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "02jv4imdMygi98PFilw6Y", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:36.526Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:36.526Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "zv7t6Lpg", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/02jv4imdMygi98PFilw6Y/214cfe45a519ef024b95c2dead6f9b26/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-10.jpg", "details": { "size": 284518, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-10.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "You don’t want to become the next Acid Arab?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I don’t want to be stuck in a box. Regardless of my roots, I’m interested in any kind of electronic music, whether it’s coming from the Arab world or from Detroit. My identity is much more complicated than a simplistic term as Arab Techno can signify and on the other hand, the Arabic connotation can easily be used to exoticize. Step away from the Western perspective on electronic music and you’ll easily notice so many interesting and unique scenes from Asia or Africa, while we still use our Western glasses to look at these scenes, which is imperialistic and even post colonial behavior. That’s why the term Arab Techno isn’t appropriate anymore for me, it puts people and scenes in an unjust order.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "From Arab Techno to I’m Not Your Techno! Speaking of techno, I see some gear piled up in a corner here in the apartment. Do you have a studio space and what are your favorite conditions to produce music?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "I have a studio space, but it’s being renovated for the moment. I'll soon be able to install all my gear again. Much of my music so far is completely made digitally though, only using my computer and Ableton. But lately I’m experimenting much with analog gear, mostly to limit the endless digital possibilities somehow, noticing an increase in inspiration when I have a limited set of options. Once I get into a good workflow, I can continue working for days and all else in my life is paused, until I feel satisfied. I usually start working in the morning until late at night. A current challenge for me is to find more structure in my work and improve my skills to finish a track, to find satisfaction with the result instead of trying countless other alternatives.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "NnnCId1hTUidyYAe6aMVa", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:43.476Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:45:43.476Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment" } }, "revision": 1, "locale": "en-US" }, "fields": { "title": "i-l KJWg", "description": "", "file": { "url": "//images.ctfassets.net/yqwwvdqobm5n/NnnCId1hTUidyYAe6aMVa/6dc176a51fbb5bb1bddde1f24223328c/at_home_-_sara_dziri__web_res_-6.jpg", "details": { "size": 291599, "image": { "width": 1280, "height": 1920 } }, "fileName": "at home - sara dziri (web res)-6.jpg", "contentType": "image/jpeg" } } } } }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Have you got any releases in the pipeline right now?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Yes, actually I do. I have just released the first single ‘Fille De Racaille’ of my upcoming album ‘Close To Home’ on Optimo Music, the Glasgow label run by Optimo's JD Twitch. Racaille is an old French term referring to a group of society which isn’t accepted by the establishment. Throughout the album I’ll be exploring this theme of belonging in an introspective way, it will be out at the end of March. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n", "marks": [], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "<iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1069395758/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=2679210853/transparent=true/\" seamless><a href=\"https://saradziri.bandcamp.com/album/fille-de-racaille-pre-release-single\">Fille de Racaille (pre-release single) by Sara Dziri</a></iframe>", "marks": [ { "type": "code" } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "text", "value": "\n\n", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Wow, very much looking forward to that, congratulations on the release. ", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "As a party host and DJ, how much do you allow a hedonistic lifestyle, do you find moments to let the pressure go?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Less and less hedonistic since I turned thirty, but I definitely still enjoy it. Partying was very important in my twenties though, as an important road to self discovery. Not the hedonistic part per se, but the idea of letting go, of finding more open-mindedness. I grew up in a rather closed environment in Antwerp, where everyone went to the same clubs and dressed matching. Moving to Brussels when I was 19 years old and discovering the rave scene meant the world to me.", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Who is the woman in the framed picture in your living room?", "marks": [ { "type": "bold" } ], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "Sherihan, an Egyptian Egyptian actress, singer and classically trained dancer who was pictured in a cinema in Cairo in the eighties. I find it a beautiful and strong image, loaded with symbolic value about the position of women in the Arabic world. I wish to work more with female Arab artists in the future, to broaden my spectrum as a Belgian woman with mixed identities. In most Arabic cultures female artists are underrepresented. Artists are badly commented on in the first place, seen as hedonistic and subordinate, so imagine being a female artist. The actress in this picture shows strength and focus, while also just being pretty and well-dressed. Though I don’t want to purely romanticize this kind of portrayal of Arab women, there should be just as much room for women who stick to a strong Islamic identity and a headscarf. ", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "paragraph", "content": [ { "nodeType": "text", "value": "", "marks": [], "data": {} } ], "data": {} }, { "nodeType": "embedded-asset-block", "content": [], "data": { "target": { "metadata": { "tags": [] }, "sys": { "space": { "sys": { "type": "Link", "linkType": "Space", "id": "yqwwvdqobm5n" } }, "id": "67nbFaMW9Kk4ou39YulNl", "type": "Asset", "createdAt": "2022-02-15T14:43:19.074Z", "updatedAt": "2022-02-15T14:43:19.074Z", "environment": { "sys": { "id": "master", "type": "Link", "linkType": "Environment"