Pop capital
The capital of East Flanders has usurped Antwerp’s position as the place to be for rock and pop bands. The artists themselves will tell you it’s no surprise: Ghent’s counter-culture attitude is nurtured in both art and music schools, and the most avant-garde from both are accommodated by denizens of the city, who proudly embrace their bohemian reputation. Flanders is becoming known internationally for its wealth of pop and rock talent (see page 13), and Ghent is, for the time being, the throne of its kingdom. Here are bands to watch out for from the music Mecca.
Ghent is breeding bands at an alarming rate
Das Pop
Thanks to lead singer Bent Van Looy’s smashing result in the extremely popular television quiz De slimste mens ter wereld, Das Pop recently enjoyed a sudden surge of popularity. But Belgium’s most British band – there’s a clear lineage from The Kinks and Bowie via Blur and Pulp – deserves the attention first and foremost for their music: compact pop songs with bittersweet melodies, driven by zestful drums (played by Van Looy) and adorned with imaginative guitar or piano arabesques. Since winning Humo’s Rock Rally in 1998, Das Pop has released three albums, with a six year gap between their second and their eponymous third of last year. Christophe Verbiest
www.daspop.com
Sioen
Sioen isn’t a band, but the nom d'artiste of Frederik Sioen. Son of a music teacher, Frederik discovered early that could more easily could write songs at a piano than on a guitar, although it is, in his hands, as much a percussive instrument as a melodic one. He was only 21 when he made his first self-released EP, the now heavily sought after S: extravagant songs, not so different from the output of drama queens like Hawksley Workman or Gavin Friday. In the last few years, Sioen has changed gear: invited by Oxfam, he went to South Africa in 2007, which resulted in several tours and the album Calling up Soweto, the Flemish answer to Graceland. CV
The Bony King of Nowhere
The Bony King of Nowhere (aka Bram Vanparys) was just 22 when he released his debut Alas My Love but already his name had been buzzing around for years, partially because nu folk icon Devendra Banhart had great words for him, but also because the few songs the King had unleashed on MySpace made people long for more. Much more. They were not disappointed by the album, a heartfelt collection built around his big trump: a dreamy voice that makes people forget their sorrows and and feel that life, after all, might be beautiful. On stage, The Bony King is a quintet that wanders from jazz to Radiohead, halting at different stops along the way. CV
Next gigs: 1 March, Departuur benefit concert, De Therminal, Hoveniersberg 24, Ghent; 6 March, Musical Instruments Museum, Hofberg 2, Brussels
Barbie Bangkok
At times Barbie Bangkok wears its influences (Talking Head, The Kinks) on its sleeves, but its songs are as irresistible as a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer day. Not bad for a band that started out on the wrong track. After a little memorable first EP in 2003, the line-up thinned out to two members, and it took them until 2008 to release their first album, People and Geometry. No grand lyrical revelations, but when it comes to silly lyrics, Barbie Bangkok has little competition. And they have one of the best band names in the world, a drunken subversion of Herbie Hancock. CV
www.barbiebangkok.com
Absynthe Minded
The first time I saw Absynthe Minded, I was in a renovated chapel located In The Middle of Nowhere, East Flanders. And it was filled to capacity with hundreds of 20-somethings who had trekked out from Ghent and Bruges to see the cutest guys play the coolest pop you will currently find in Flanders – I say boldly. I return again and again –albeit in urban settings – to see this fivesome that, because of string instrumentals (violin, cello) mixed in with the normal guitar-driven catchy pop music, edge themselves ahead of the competition with a good-time oldies kind of sound. The Flemish Music Industry Awards this year says it all: Absynthe Minded won Best Song (“Envoi”), Best Album and Best Group. A Studio Brussel poll, meanwhile, called their big hit “My Heroics, Part One” the best song of the decade. Lisa Bradshaw
Next gigs: The band’s next three shows – in Brussels and Ghent – are sold out, but if you can wait until next month, they’ll be at the Chimay Spring Festival (6/3) and at Novarock in Kortrijk (20/3).
Madensuyu
We almost called The Germans Flanders' most dangerous band, but that honour in fact goes to the twosome Madensuyu (their name is Turkish for mineral water). Their concerts aren't really gigs so much as guerrilla attacks, their records aren't albums but cluster bombs that explode in your face. Their two amazing CDs – A Field Between and D Is Done – dwell in our pantheon of uncompromising and unyielding pitch-dark rock albums next to Big Black's Atomizer and PJ Harvey's Rid of Me. Their scarce concerts are an intense, life-altering experience. You get the idea, right? Madensuyu absolutely ain't for sissies. But that’s no excuse for missing them. CV
www.madensuyu.be
The Germans
OK, we cheated with this one. The Germans, strictly speaking, are not from Ghent but from a hamlet nearby that even most Flemish people have never heard of: Dikkelvenne. But what the heck, they have scorched the city's stages like few other bands. Their ominous music ranges from acoustic lullabies to mesmerizing krautrock, music for which the Germans, the other ones, have invented the word rücksichtslos. Their songs are at the same time groovy and horny, incensed and devilish. Last year they followed up their debut Elf Shot Lame Witch with the limited vinyl-only release Grote Meneren/Straffe Madammen. Yes, stubbornness is their middle name, yet The Germans are a must see. But, please, don't mention the war. CV
