A new documentary is putting the uncelebrated sound of Ghent and Brussels back on the map
While historic European scenes like Italo-disco, French house and German techno have all been duly rediscovered and reappraised, poor Belgium stands alone. For most casual listeners, the country's contribution to dance music begins and ends with 2 Unlimited's No Limit.
As a new documentary illustrates though, Belgium can lay claim to many of the hallmarks of modern clubbing. The Sound Of Belgium begins in the early 70s, with the Tuborg-and-uppers-drenched "popcorn" scene – an analogue to our own northern soul – where Belgians headed to furtive day-long rural parties accessed via an excellent motorway network, some 15 years before raving Brits hit the M25.
By the early 80s, Belgium was producing its own confrontational electronic music for post-punkers who wanted something harder and more danceable than Kraftwerk. 'New beat' was pioneered at clubs such as Brussels' Ancienne, whose rigorous door policy made stars of the clubbers – their fashion of trashy sportswear and outlandish couture could easily blend in with Dalstonites today – and its nights embodied a globalised, pick-and-mix attitude to music that is now commonplace.
"Belgium is a country looking for a cultural identity," explains DJ Eric Powa B, who is playing at the Belgium Booms launch party at Corsica Studios this weekend. "By sampling from different cultures it created one of its own."
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Three-thousand-capacity venues such as Ghent's Boccaccio presaged British superclubs. They had no statutory closing times, with clubbers driving across Europe before cheap airlines made such transcontinental party jaunts commonplace. "People slept on Wednesdays," recalls Eric.
"The hippy feeling was there; I thought we'd changed the world," adds Renaat Vandepapeliere, founder of Belgian label R&S. "It was the E, of course. I hadn't quite figured that out then."
Sadly, it couldn't last. New beat's commercial success led to a loosening of quality control, this later wave of techno-pop hitting the UK's charts and making Belgian music synonymous with inane Eurodance. However, the foundations were laid for current Belgian acts such as 2ManyDJs, Aeroplane, the Glimmers and the Magician, while the aesthetic of British labels like World Unknown and the recent Our Beat Is Still New compilation all reference those Belgian originators.
The sense you get from the film – aside from how remarkably current the footage looks – is that nobody was more surprised than the Belgians themselves at how successful they became. As one talking head says: "We are just a small country; what is there to do? Your father would say, 'Work it out yourself', so we did. And we did some stuff which influenced the whole planet."
Belgium Booms, Corsica Studios, SE17, Sat; see tsob.be for screenings
by Justin Quirk via Music: Electronic music | theguardian.com
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