‘I find it really heart-warming that a festival like BRDCST highlights all the similarities between the so-called differences in music and in the world.’
- James Holden in BRUZZ
#1: APPARENTLY YOU ARE A BRDCST-FAN: VARIOUS CONCERTS ARE ALREADY SOLD OUT
Dear visitor to BRDCST: definitely don’t underestimate your impact. It is due to your turnout in droves last year that we have gotten even more adventurous for this 3rd edition and have dived into musical scenes that we didn’t even know existed a year ago. And apparently that is to your taste. The presales – there are more than 5,000 tickets sold already – already exceed last year’s end-result. Due to the huge demand, we have already increased the capacity for the ‘Stranger Things’ concert a few times and the concerts by Vels Trio plays Madlib’s ‘Shades Of Blue’, the Danish female black metal of Myrkur, and the Turkish psychedelica night with BaBa ZuLa and Altin Gün are already sold out.
#2: BRDCST & (CINEMA) PALACE GET TOGETHER
From 1913 to 1974, you could find ‘the biggest cinema in the city’ diagonally opposite AB: Pathé Palace. It was named after the French pioneer in film distribution Charles Pathé. Whereas His Masters Voice chose a dog called Nipper as logo, Pathé opted for a rooster that still adorns the facade. Palace has recently reopened its doors and rediscovered its original calling: a cinema and nightlife complex.
BRDCST and Palace get together for a first time, there where music and image meet. So we are presenting, under excellent circumstances, the avant-première of ‘Nico, 1988’. This biopic about Andy Warhol’s muse revolves around the last years in Manchester of the singer who made the debut of The Velvet Underground into a classic. This perfectly completes the evening focusing on the celebration of 50 years since the release of The Velvet Underground’s ‘White Light/White Heat’.
#3: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND TRIBUTE GETS OUT OF HAND
What initially began as a listening-session for the celebrated second album by The Velvet Underground has gotten a little bit out of hand due to the enthusiasm of all parties involved. So BARST is going to transform the nineteen minute long original version of ‘Sister Ray’ into a sound orgy lasting three quarters of an hour. But there is more: in ‘Sister Ray’, Lou Reed played eight characters that will come to life in cartoon form during the live-performance. What’s more, you will receive these in print form afterwards, including a download code as the concert will be recorded in its entirety.
#4: ARTIST TALKS BY NINA POWER (THE WIRE)
BRDCST is has long been a fan of excellent monthly mag The Wire – with those wonderfully subtle Adventures In Modern Music – and that’s why we’ve invited none less than journalist/writer Nina Power to grill a number of artists in the AB Salon on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 April. The Guardian has also published pieces by her. Be sure to follow the updates on www.brdcst.be. Already confirmed: an artist talk with Nadah El Shazly on Saturday 7 April at 6:00 pm.
#5: PARISIAN INDIE SHOP BALADES SONORES SATES YOUR MUSICAL APPETITE
Recently visited in Paris: the fantastic indie shop Balades Sonores (www.baladessonores.com) that has displayed many BRDCST artists in their shop front. They were instantly enthusiastic about opening an actual shop during BRDCST. Do you want to immerse yourself in Turkish psychedelica, indie stuff or South-African gqom? Balades Sonores will sate your musical appetite. Or increase it, depending on how you look at it.
#6: SLEAFORD MODS: SPOKEN WORD SET BY JASN WILLIAMSON
Sleaford Mods curates not only an entire evening at BRDCST, but also show themselves in other forms for the first time. So frontman/singer/ranter Jason Williamson will, amongst other things, be reading from ‘Slabs from Paradise’, his latest book containing five short stories that appeared via Amphetamine Sulphate, the imprint of Philip Best (Consumer Electronics).
#7: SOUNDTRACK BY (FEMALE) DJs
The defining tone of the night. BRDCST was already noticeably female tinted, with a remarkable collection of female artists (from Moor Mother via Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares to Nadah El Shazly …) but we also chose resolutely for Nina Power (The Wire / The Guardian) as host for the artist talks. And – there’s no such thing as coincidence – the screenings of ‘Bunch of Kunst: A Film By Sleaford Mods’ and ‘Nico, 1988’ are both from female directors.
We continue in the same vein behind the turntables too. So it will be NiXiE – known from the famous Nixie’s nights in Brussels’ Beursschouwburg and far further afield – who will throw herself into Turkish psychedelica before, during and after the concerts of BaBa ZuLa and Altin Gün. In Utero DJs – three women who liven up Mechelen with their concerts – will brighten up the evening around Myrkur, and regular AB in-house DJs Het Gevogeld Bekdier do the same on the ‘Stranger Things’ night.
You can find the entire line-up – with the likes of Babylon Doom Cult, DTM Funk, Gerd De Wilde plays Boussiphone Records , DJ Nail ... – at www.brdcst.be
#8: INDEPENDENT LABEL MARKET @ WIELS
This weekend, Independent Label Market lands in Brussels for the very first time: more than 50 Belgium and European labels reunited to share the best of independent music! Tons of great indie releases, vinyls, tapes CDs, but it’s more than just a record fair : Dj’s, showcases, artists signing, conferences… and much more! And it’s free.
If you’re ready, then we are too!
Kurt Overbergh
Artistic Director AB
