Domino, now in its thirteenth incarnation, is a self-styled “exploratory expedition into the realms of musical innovation”. In fact it could easily be rebranded as the You-Saw-Them-Here-First Festival, given the long list of international artists whose later success was in no small part aided by an appearance at Domino. Over the years, the likes of Interpol, Isobel Campbell, Black Lips, Sigur Rós and  LCD Soundsystem – to name but a handful of the more recent examples – have given breakthrough performances at Domino before moving on to greater things.

In a way, Domino can be seen as the antithesis of mainstream pop/rock festivals such as T/W Classic or, worse, Night Of The Proms, where tired old lags regurgitate their greatest hits on auto-pilot in the most impersonal of surroundings. Much of Domino’s success is due to its inspired eclecticism and “expect the unexpected” policy. Of course, not everyone on the bill will make it big (or, in Sigur Rós’ case, go on to score the continuity indents for BBC One!), and the often bizarre blend of radically different styles on offer may not be to everyone’s taste.

Yet there is no denying it takes cojones of steel to organise an event (in the capital’s most prestigious venue, no less) which, over the course of seven nights, guarantees nothing but avant-gardism, experimentalism, youthful exuberance and – who knows? – the off-chance of watching the Next Big Thing before they sell their souls to the Empty-Vee stadium rock machine.

The line-up for Domino 09 is, as always, delightfully varied, ranging from Japanese post-rockers MONO to Austrian minimalist-electro wunderkind Fennesz, and from drum & bass semi-recluse Tom Jenkinson (a.k.a. Squarepusher) to German ambient noiseniks The Notwist. Inevitably, each night also features a host of lesser-known support acts, at least one of which must be planning their next move in their quest for world domination.

For this critic though, the undisputed stars of this year’s edition are the freshly reformed A Certain Ratio (left), the Mancunian white-funk pioneers without whom, ironically, erstwhile Domino graduates LCD Soundsystem wouldn’t exist. Day tickets cost between €12 and €18, but don’t hang about, for at these prices demand is likely to be overwhelming.

Domino 09

Ancienne Belgique, Brussels

8-14 April

www.dominofestival.be