By Sofia Ciechowska Illustration bi Basje Boer
Unruly Music Magazine July and August 2012
What’s Cooking
Food The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Nite Jewel, Future Islands, DIIV, Nick Nicely Page 1
just add color the chuck taylor all star color collection
The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
This is Ramona Gonzalez, who is better known as Nite Jewel. Ramona is sitting in front of an ice-cream parlour in Venice Beach, Los Angeles. The photo was taken by Suzanna Zak on a sunny day in June while the both of them were on a nice afternoon stroll through the low-rise housing of the LA seaside. After taking this photo, they bought a scoop of vanilla (maybe two – who can resist the sight of these huge ice-cream cones?) and meandered in the direction of the beach. On the way they smelled flowers, talked, looked at old motorcycles and blossoming trees. They saw curtains hanging from an open window, slowly waving in the wind, and simply thought of nothing....
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Content
The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Nite Jewel
Future Islands
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Page 24
Nick Nicely
Agenda
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Page 49
TOP 5 NEW MUSIC WE SAW YOU NITE JEWEL FUTURE ISLANDS DIIV CENTREFOLD: FRANKIE ROSE NICK NICELY
10 13 16 18 24 29 32 34
ART REVIEWS HOROSCOPE AGENDA SUBBACULTCHA SHOWS OTHER SHOWS FREE STUFF AFTER MIDNIGHT
38 42 46 49 50 55 60 61
Summer is here. And in summer we travel. We take our tired bodies and souls across distant borders to places we’ve never been before. We disconnect. We have no reference and therefore we don’t judge. We have nowhere else to be than just ‘there’. We read, eat, sleep and swipe the sand from our bedsheets. We reflect. We are new and we experience. Time does not relate to space any more. Life unfolds itself and we effortlessly float from one moment to the next. We forget, and we remind ourselves that we should never forget to forget. We will be like this for ever. We will be perfect from now on. See you on the flip! Page 6
Colophon
Who we are and what we do Subbacultcha! Magazine is published by Subbacultcha! Ghent Office Karperstraat 26, 9000 Ghent, Belgium www.subbacultcha.be. magazine@subbacultcha.be Amsterdam Office Da Costakade 150, 1053 XC Amsterdam, the Netherlands www.subbacultcha.nl. magazine@subbacultcha.nl
We are Editors: Leon Caren, Bas Morsch and Kasper-Jan Raeman Editorial Assistant: Megan Roberts Design: Bas Morsch Interns: Freek van Heerikhuize, Eden van den Bogaard and Ruud van Moorleghem Good Girls: Loes Verputten and Herlinde Raeman Printing: Drukkerij Gewa, Arendonk Contributors: Carly Blair, Brenda Bosma, Leon Caren, Zofia Ciechowska, Bobby Doherty, Kathrin Klingner, Steven McCarron, Bas Morsch, Kasper-Jan Raeman, Stine Sampers, Christopher Schreck and Suzanna Zak Distribution: Brussels: Jesse van Pée, Gertjan Rasschaert, Simon Gossiaux, Cécile Farber, Eliott Opdenbosch. Ghent: Bart Bruneel, Loes Deckers, Eline Ceelen, Fernand VanDamme. Antwerp: Antonio Marques, Jonathan Lichtfeld, Pia Levick, Egon Parmentier. Brugge: Pieter Devriese, Yolan Wuyts. Kortrijk: Sofie Devriendt. Leuven: Stefanie Devriendt. Hasselt: Sofie Marguillier. Luik: Collectif Jaune Orange Pick up Subbacultcha! Magazine here (among 200 other places): Brussel: AB, Buzz On Your Lips, VK* Concerts, BOZAR Ghent: Democrazy, Vooruit, SMAK, DOK, Music Mania Antwerp: Scheld’apen, Trix, Kavka, American Apparel, Think Twice Brugge: Cactus, De Werf, Snuffel Kortrijk: De Kreun, The Pits Leuven: STUK, Depot, De Werf Hasselt: Muziekodroom, Popacademie Luik: Jaune & Orange If you want your bar, venue, store or business to be on the distribution list, please send us an email. Advertising To advertise in Subbacultcha! Magazine send an email to magazine@subbacultcha.be Memberships Become a member of Subbacultcha!. For only €7 a month you get free access to all Subbacultcha! shows and the monthly magazine sent to your house. Plus, you get a fresh Subbacultcha! bag. Check the website to sign up. Cover by Tessa de Ceuninck Page 8
Top 5
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We recommend
Festival: Wastelands
This new festival at DOK in Ghent on 11 August is all about quality music and the best (vegan) food. On the bill are romantic pop hero John Maus, trance doll Pictureplane, cult figure Nick Nicely, 100% Silk diva Maria Minerva and lo-fi guitarist Street Gnar.
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Expo: Un-Scene II
Until 22 August, contemporary art centre WIELS in Brussels is showcasing the work of no less than 12 up-andcoming Belgian artists as part of their Un-Scene project. The perfect exhibition to catch up on some of the finest new artists in the country.
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Music: DIIV
This must be the 30th time we’ve mention the band DIIV, but their debut album, Oshin, which came out on Captured Tracks, is incredibly and utterly awesome. They’re playing a Subbacultcha! show at Madame Moustache in Brussels on 22 August. Pencil it in.
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Song: Mac DeMarco - Baby’s Wearing Blue Jeans
Wonderful summer tune from his equally amazing new album, Rock & Roll Nightclub. Listen to the song twice and then try not to sing along, the next time you hear it. Trust us: it can’t be done.
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Book: Thrill Murray
UK-based publishers Belly Kids are releasing a Bill Murray colouring book called Thrill Murray. For this project 24 illustrators created 24 images, all inspired by the great man himself. Buy it in our webshop.
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By Zofia Ciechowska
This month’s recommendations
New Music
Blood Diamonds
www.soundcloud.com/blooddiamonds
Remember that whole story about Charles Taylor giving Naomi Campbell a bag of blood diamonds and Naomi just called them ‘dirty-looking pebbles’? Really unreliably shit web sources say that’s bollocks and it was actually a copy of Michael Diamond’s, aka Blood Diamond’s, new Phone Sex EP that’s coming out on 16 July. Who would’ve known? Michael Diamond makes deliriously cheery, K-Pop-inspired tracks that’ll make you trip unicorns, ice-cream lollies and kittens dipped in chocolate sauce. His latest track, also ‘Phone Sex’, produced with the superbly awesome Grimes is hitting the top of our summer playlists this year. (And to all the girls/guys looking for a cool tall boyfriend, this dude is 6’9’’!)
Protect-U
www.soundcloud.com/protect-u The Washington DC-based studio project of Mike Petillo and Aaron Leitko, Protect-U come from that group of alt-dance music buddies like Ital, Innergaze, Beautiful Swimmers and whatnot. After doing a lot of random button-pressing and crate-digging this duo came up with a sound that buzzes with energetic synths, the occasional chunky clap and melodic shuffles, all with a tinge of swirling analogue ’70s sounds. It’s sexy, wet and woozy, like a skimpy bikini that keeps on falling off after a dip in the pool. Easy now! Page 13
New Music
continued
Haleek Maul
www.soundcloud.com/haleek-maul
Floating somewhere between Barbados, New York and the Internet, 15-year-old Haleek Maul is the new cool kid on the alt-rap circuit. Apparently this dude has been pounding out beats since the tender age of 11: he got his hands on a computer before he hit 10 and now he’s giving Rihanna a run for her money as Barbados’s hottest new musical export. Gravedigging dark horrorcore beats and spitting out some hella creepy lyrics, Haleek reminds me of Odd Future, Mykki Blanco or Spaceghostpurrp, but then I remember he’s 15, which means that this little man will have even fresher tricks up his sleeve any minute now. Check out his EP Oxyconteen, released in June.
Motion Sickness of Time Travel
motionsicknessoftimetravel.bandcamp.com The solo music project of Rachel Evans of LaGrange, Georgia, has been garnering praise for a while now, but this plug is gonna make her HUGE, I swear. Inspired by cosmic/new-age stuff but not in that stuck-in-the-past type of way, Evans’s music spins a web of cosmic love and peace, but at the same time it sounds loud, strong and badass, like a super-fucking-rapid river crashing through a beautiful, serene pine forest. There are 26 (yeah, you heard me) releases on her Bandcamp, each a gem in its own right, ‘Chinaberry’ being the newest collection of drunken bird-paradise sounds. Page 14
New Music
John Jacob Niles
John Jacob Niles was born in 1892 which would have made him 120 if he were still alive today! So we’re whipping out our ouija board, tarot cards, candlesticks and witchy make-up to summon the ghost of probably the most prolific yet somewhat forgotten American balladeer. Niles’s high falsetto slowly recounts the lost tales of Appalachian folk music that he would transcribe on his trips in the Southern States back in the 1930s. And although each song becomes more heart-wrenching than the last, there’s something about this music that makes you want to grow a huge beard, wear a coonskin hat and chop down a few trees or something. Scour the Internet for An Evening with John Jacob Niles.
Kemialliset Ystävät kemiallisetystavat.bandcamp.com
Finnish is cool firstly because it uses awesome umlauts and double consonants everywhere to make super-long words; secondly because it also sounds like cool alien speak; and best of all, it has spawned this amazing recording project called ‘Chemical Friends’ by Jan Anderzén and other musical free-floaters. Since 1995 this man has been sampling everything and anything – from what sounds like meowing cats to balalaikas, mandolins, toys, Sun Ra, Karlheinz Stockhausen and droney spooky-boingy things. His Bandcamp alone will provide at least a summer’s worth of intense aural space travel. Page 15
We Saw You
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Spotted at Subbacultcha!
Photo by Stine Sampers
What is your worst travel experience ever? Anne: I came back from Tortola (an island in the Caribbean), and some people in the airport stole the rum out of my luggage. Noah: Being in the middle of nowhere in Sweden with a couple of friends and having to go home early.
Noah&Anne, spotted at the R Stevie Moore/Moon Duo/Mikal Cronin show on 13 June at Trix in Antwerp
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Features
Nite Jewel
LA’s ’80s-revivalist Ramona Gonzalez, better known as Nite Jewel, may have added production value to her sophomore album One Second of Love, but it still has the flickering prettiness we know her for. The murk-pop queen switches her divamode on/off and talks flying first class (she didn’t enjoy it), comparing her first record to losing her virginity (she didn’t enjoy it) and travelling in general (she loves it). Also there’s a guy dressed as an ox in the video for the title track (he freaked her out). Interview by Brenda Bosma Photos shot on film in Venice Beach, USA by Suzanna Zak
You seem like a lady of the world. Tell me what first-class flying is like? One time I had to fly first class, because I had missed my flight. It was the only seat they had available. I actually thought it was pretty awful. The seats are only comfortable for tall people. As I’m fairly short my feet couldn’t touch the ground. Also, you don’t get your own table, you have to share this huge island with the person next to you. I was sitting next to this snobby person who was taking Page 18
up the entire island with her papers. It’s a good thing you get free champagne. What can’t you leave without when going on a trip? I can’t leave my journals and notebooks. One time I lost one of my notebooks in Austria. I’d like to think that somebody found it and is reading it right now. Luckily I never have forgotten some of the other essential things like underwear or birth-control pills.
The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
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Nite Jewel
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The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Nite Jewel
Have you ever taken a trip for soulsearching reasons? After my first year of college I went on a two-month backpacking trip to Europe. I was travelling with someone who was very interested in boys. That was kind of annoying. She wanted to go out clubbing every night, whereas I had a boyfriend and didn’t care to know what kind of crazy drink they had in Barcelona. One of the best trips I’ve ever had was just driving across the US with a friend. In the grandness and emptiness of it all you can really get to know yourself. The good thing about trips is that if you are open for it they can give you presents that lie outside of your comfort zone; the bad thing is the moment when you have to pack and head home again. How are you with goodbyes? Kind of terrible. I suffer from super separation problems when I end tours, like I miss my tour mates terribly, even if they annoyed me. I definitely feel happy when I’m travelling. It’s hard to say goodbye to the experience in general. Isn’t it an advantage that your husband is touring with you? That’s not always the case. He has his own musical career. But we’re used to that. We actually enjoy the time apart – I even think it’s good
Features
for us. When we get to see each other it’s really exciting. You wouldn’t know we’ve been together for seven years. Compared to your first album this one has a smoother and crisper sound. Would you say it’s a more mature and confident sound? Definitely more confident. I compare my first album to losing my virginity. It´s an exciting thing, but really awkward and you don’t need to do that again, you know? So obviously all the sex you’re gonna have after the first time is gonna be slightly more knowing and self-aware. I’m curious to know what really happened in that one second of love. That phrase came to me in a friend’s studio when we recorded the initial sessions for this album. I had a lot of time to sit down and it got me thinking about how I experienced the world. I really felt that the connections we make online are very rapid yet intense and powerful. I don’t think one second of love is something you can really find when you interact in person. In the videoclip for ‘One Second of Love’ you seem a bit left out. Is this exemplary of your everyday life? I read something about you sometimes feeling like an anxious chipmunk? I feel torn a lot in my everyPage 21
Features
Nite Jewel
day life, I really can shift into different personas depending on the environment. I wanted a video about this dichotomous relationship between in-person interaction and digital interaction. It eventually is conflated into some kind of ecstasy, which you
If your life from now on was a trip you could book at a travel agency, would you rather travel on a bumpy road without navigation or fly first class sitting next to a nice person to an all-inclusive resort? The former of course. I get off on how the world looks, not how it’s
can hear in the song as well. Yes, when the guy dressed as an ox walks in. He was the star! He just fully busted out everything. I didn’t get to talk to him. Is that the anxious chipmunk talking? I think he was a rapper or something. He was quite, um... strange.
been constructed. And then the guy dressed as an ox walks in! [Laughs] Yes, ’cause that can’t be constructed.
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Nite Jewel plays on 20 July at Charlatan in Ghent. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members.
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The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Future Islands
When Sam Herring of Future Islands goes on holiday he likes being fanned and fed fruit by scantily-clad virgins by the poolside. He never travels without his tanning oil and he enjoys the occasional cannonball. He may or may not have blacked out a few times in Ibiza. Read on to discover his darkest holiday secrets. Interview by Zofia Ciechowska Photos shot in Baltimore, USA by Suzanna Zak
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Future Islands
What is a future island? Is it one of those levitating Jetson homes surrounded by flying robots? I can dig that! I like to think of it as a person who breaks off of a group due to stress or social pressures, but it’s also geological and futuristic. Have you ever contemplated time travel? Do you think it’s possible? In the mind for sure. Going home is always like weird time travel. Even though you’re a man, you feel like a boy again, not in the all-freeing sense, but in that weird sense of solitude. Have you ever done that? Going home and flipping through old drawings or reading old journals and realising how you didn’t know a thing when you were a kid, and that maybe you still don’t? Always makes me feel weak and vulnerable. The same way I felt when I was a kid, unknowing of my place or what was going to happen. Going home you can go back into that child’s headspace and deconstruct yourself from the beginning and find yourself again. Sometimes these are bad things though, sometimes you time travel to places and feelings you don’t want to revisit. I try to avoid these old pieces of my youth nowadays. You can’t change the past, y’know! Boom! Is there a time that you’d want to travel
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back to and re-experience? I miss the days of being 10 and playing soccer on Saturdays. I miss the college days, which I ruined and have all but forgotten. Hell, I miss three years ago. I think I miss it all. I think I want to experience it all. That’s my problem. I want the past. It’s hard to move into the future when you’re always living in the past, you know? That’s heavy, man. Yeah, dude... Is there a place that you’ve travelled to that you think of fondly? A lot of places. One of the problems with touring is getting lost sometimes and never feeling home. I love to spend time in Spain, Greece, Berlin, New Orleans, Chicago, Copenhagen and Amsterdam – so many great cities and beautiful people. Travelling is good for my writing because my heart gets broken over and over by all the beautiful women I’ll never talk to or see again. So where does all that water on your latest album come from? Is it just waves of tears sloshing around in a big bucket? Gerrit and I grew up just a minute’s walk from the shore, it plays a big part in my early experiences. The water samples are sounds of ship sails hitting their masts at night in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. And then Page 25
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The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Future Islands
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Future Islands
‘Travelling is good for my writing because my heart gets broken over and over by all the beautiful women I’ll never talk to or see again.’ the beach tide rolling in on Balance and Tybee Island are from Corolla, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, about an hour’s drive from where we recorded the album. Do you ever travel by water? We’ve actually talked extensively about doing a houseboat tour with our friends EAR PWR but it hasn’t happened yet. When we next come to the Netherlands we should play a houseboat venue, link a bunch together and have a massive houseboat party! Would you wear life vests? Are you good swimmers? Is singing in a life vest even allowed?! When you have the mic or the stage you can do whatever you want... and you should! We’re pretty fair swimmers. How about drowning, has that ever happened to you? I nearly drowned in a blow-up pool as a two-year-old – scary. I’ve had some bad experiences with riptide. When my brother was about 12 and I was 8, he faked that he was drowning. I ran to the end of Page 28
the pier but I couldn’t swim that deep and so I just grabbed for him, crying, while he flailed in the water screaming my name... He came in when I was really bawling, saying he was sorry. Basically scarred me for life. So if you were drowning would you rather be saved by Flipper the Dolphin or Pamela Anderson? (I’d go for the dolphin, I like the squeaky noise they make.) Definitely Pam, but old-school Pam. She probably makes a squeaky noise too! I’m feeling this Pam/Flipper hybrid, a truly beautiful mermaid. I think the Little Mermaid and Jessica Rabbit were my first crushes so we’re on the right track of fateful heroines. That’s pretty tough, having a crush on someone who’s two-dimensional. I know. The world is against children, their dreams will never truly be real. Future Islands play on 13 August at DOKArena in Ghent. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members.
The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
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DIIV
Brooklyn four-piece DIIV just released their amazing debut album Oshin through Captured Tracks. Their blend of dreamy pop songs and up-tempo rock and roll grooves have been met with great excitement by the international music press, so chances are they’ll be spending the bigger part of the year on tour. Just before they hit the road, photographer Bobby Doherty met up with them in their hometown Brooklyn and took some beautiful photos. Photos shot by Bobby Doherty in Brooklyn, USA Page 29
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The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Check subbacultcha.be for the complete photo series. Page 30
DIIV
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DIIV play on 22 August at Madame Moustache in Brussels. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members. Page 31
Photo by Christopher Schreck Frankie Rose plays on 19 July at Boomtown Club in Ghent. The show is free for Subbacultcha! Members.
Centrefold Frankie Rose
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The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
Nick Nicely
The British psych-synth oddball and tortured cult-hero Nick Nicely bum-rushed the early ’80s with the two meticulously-crafted singles, ‘D.C.T. Dreams’ and ‘Hilly Fields (1892)’. Then, disillusioned about the music business, he faded into obscurity, not releasing anything for over two decades. Now he’s back with his goals slightly altered and doing it just for the sake of doing it. We spoke about re-hardwiring, feeling like a useless wanker and going on an all exclusive holiday. ‘I like cheap hotel rooms without any reverb.’ Interview by Brenda Bosma Photo from Mr Nicely’s archive
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Nick Nicely
According to Google your life story is one of undervaluement and struggle, but also great power – victory, even: stick to what you believe in. I was happy to know that at a certain point there’s always some happy stuff waiting around the corner. Or do you see this differently? I don’t know if I’ve been lucky. I suppose there were some bad times. Where I am now to me doesn’t represent any kind of happy ending. I don’t really feel that I’ve reached anything. The main thing is to keep wanting to live. Doing this seems to contribute to wanting to carry on living, that’s what it is, it’s some kind of a consolation – or no, that’s wrong: it’s a distraction, a very good one. So it’s really true about the journey being the destination instead of the destination itself ? Absolutely. And that can work on a very trivial level too, like going on holiday. Sometimes people make big plans and they try to achieve that. You need a bit of that, but I think you also just need to be there and let things hang. When did you doubt this? We’re programmed by the culture we’re living in and we do what the culture wants, which is often goaloriented. People forget about the Page 36
journey, I do too. I had an upbringing that will always make me believe that it’s all my fault, that it’s none other than me being a total useless wanker. When ‘Hilly Fields (1892)’ came out in 1982 it was simply the wrong style. It didn’t match with the fashion backdrop. I still blame myself, but that’s a good thing in a way, because it means you go back at it again and you keep struggling and work harder. What’s so special about the park Hilly Fields? Is it like Strawberry Fields? I used to go up there a lot and get intoxicated. Some crazy people go there every 18th of July. The song mentions that date several times. It’s a big day for us, an intoxicated day. With peculiar stuff like strawberries? Yeah, I don’t think we’re talking beer. I’m talking about the stuff that re-hardwires. In our very early years between one and five we get hardwired. I think you can also get some kind of re-hardwiring. Like reprogramming? I’m really talking in the artistic field. A classic example of re-hardwiring is the British ecstasy thing in ’89/’90. It’s incredible, the change it had on the people. It also made the foundation of long-form dance music. So the song ‘Hilly Fields (1982)’ is about re-hardwiring and not about a Victori-
The Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Issue
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‘I don’t really feel that I’ve reached anything. The main thing is to keep wanting to live.’ an-era UFO abduction of a junior civil servant? [Laughs] It’s about a certain Mr CG Fields who’s not with us any more. He got caught up in the fiction of it all. There’s this phrase in the song where you hear this boyish voice say something. What does he say exactly? Pimply little postboy. Was that you feeling useless again? Or it could just be random. [Laughs] I think not having a big goal is a strength. I just think it works best not having any. I read about regrets from people on their deathbed. It’s never about more sex or bungee jumps. A common regret is that they wished they hadn’t worked so hard. Did you ever regret things taking a certain path? And could you have turned it around? It’s just a silly business thing really, but I regret I didn’t manage to get the money from the early records. My ’80s could’ve been a lot better if there had been some funding to get a home studio, ’cause that’s where I come from. I didn’t have one until
the end of the ’80s. That was a logical reason for my collapse. But I think as you get older you get more relaxed, less desperate. What are you doing tomorrow? My partner and I are going to the most southern part of Europe called Gavdos to have a bit of a vacation. The ferry only goes there twice a week if you’re lucky. It’s real nice and empty, good to play some acoustic guitar. I like cheap hotel rooms without any reverb. I like that primitive lifestyle. What are you looking forward to the most? The feel, the people. There’s free camping. It’s just the vibe. I’m looking forward to a really dry deserty kind of vibe. No goals, right? That’s right. There can’t be any goals on this island, ’cause there’s nothing on it. [Laughs] Nick Nicely plays on 11 August at the Wastelands Festival in Ghent along with great acts like John Maus, Pictureplane and Maria Minerva. More info at wastelandsfestival.tumblr.com. Page 37
Art
Featured Artist
Tessa de Ceuninck
The work of artist Tessa de Ceuninck (1980) is constructed with an almost naïve simplicity, and it is exactly that what makes her work so intriguing. De Ceuninck does not need more than a couple of images and some simple cuts (and some occasional black ink) to create unique images revealing her strong sense for shape and composition. De Ceuninck’s work betrays a very perceptive and witty view on reality and - especially her mirror mirror series (facing page) - shows that she has amazing control over a large and diverse image archive. With clear and simple interventions in (seemingly) insignificant images, de Ceuninck documents the vastness, the detail, the randomness and the beauty of life. Artist selected, liked and approved by Ladda & Topo Copy. Page 38
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Tessa de Ceuninck
Featured Artist
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Music Reviews
New releases worth your while
By Carly Blair
Micachu & the Shapes Never
Twin Shadow Confess
The sloppy, loveable mess of a record that was Micachu & the Shapes’ 2009 debut, Jewellery, was one of the freshest-sounding releases that year. After last year’s live album Chopped & Screwed, this London outfit are back and ready to colour outside the lines of pop all over again with Never. Though it’s somewhat less hyperactive than their debut, the ultra lo-fi production and kitchen-sink instrumentation that gave that record much of its particular cacophonous charm remain. Leading lady Mica Levi and her measured, androgynous vocals serve as a sort of Cesar Milan-esque noise whisperer, holding the leashes of a bouncing, happy pack of instruments of all shapes, sizes and sounds. Without her it would be a chaotic mess, but with her it makes for a liberating listen.
New wave revivalist George Lewis Jr, aka Twin Shadow, broke hearts with his remarkable 2010 debut, Forget, then broke some more hearts and filled up dance floors touring the world with a full band in support of it. According to Lewis, his sophomore album was inspired by the time he crashed his motorcycle with a friend on the back. ‘I remember in that moment I wanted to say everything to him,’ he writes breathlessly. ‘How could I say everything in a split second? How could I bury my words in his heart?’ While his new material is indeed often touchingly confessional, in addition to being considerably more up-tempo and danceable than his early work, it lacks the intimacy that made Forget unforgettable, and his would-be James Dean posturing comes off as overly affected to me.
(Rough Trade)
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(4AD)
Music Reviews
DIIV Oshin
Holograms self-titled
Formerly known as Dive, this Brooklyn-based spin-off of Beach Fossils got its start as Zachary Cole Smith’s solo project, though it’s now evolved into a quartet. Smith conceived the project in a Bushwick painter’s studio with no AC and no running water. While the sweltering surroundings must have made him long for a bit of refreshment, the name Dive was actually inspired by the Nirvana song. No surprise, then, that classic grunge influences are sprinkled throughout Oshin, though Krautrock and psychedelia also inform DIIV’s decidedly retro sound. The reverb that drenches everything lends their songs an appealingly dreamy quality, but it’s Smith’s engrossing guitar melodies that will make you jump right in and explore DIIV’s depths.
Sweden is typically portrayed as the paragon of Scandinavian socialist democracy, the kind of place where everyone is equal and life is generally safe and comfortable. All that orderliness demands its fair share of conformity, though, and if Stockholm’s Holograms are any indication, not everybody finds it so easy to make the necessary sacrifices. To wit: ‘We live in a sterile, boring country and have to create our own distractions.’ Armed with decrepit instruments, post-industrial industriousness, boozefuelled impudence and foolish hope for something better, Holograms wage war against the drudgery of dismal existence with their synth-driven postpunk anthems. The battery of hooks and incendiary sense of urgency they employ are potent enough to help listeners defeat boredom, too.
(Captured Tracks)
(Captured Tracks)
Page 43
Music Reviews
continued
Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan
Purity Ring Shrines
This Brooklyn-based experimental pop group have carved out a niche for themselves with their blend of ambitious experimentation, traditional instrumentation, and harmonically-complex vocals. Never resting on his laurels, mastermind David Longstreth has come up with something new once again on their sixth full-length. While previous albums were self-consciously conceptual, Swing Lo Magellan is what Longstreth refers to as ‘an album of songs, an album of songwriting’. It’s amusing to imagine this being something novel. By freeing themselves of self-imposed rules, Dirty Projectors have allowed in a refreshing sense of playfulness and spontaneity, and while they’ve always been an interesting band, that unguarded intimacy makes this their most welcoming and indispensable record yet.
Just one of the many delightful initiatives of Evangelical Christians is the practice of wearing so-called purity rings, which indicate that the wearer has made a vow of chastity. Interesting, then, that the Canadian electro-pop duo of the same name make the kind of dreamy, seductive R&B-inflected dance tracks that lonely music nerds would like to but probably only imagine having sex to. After a series of deliberately released singles, all well-received, anticipation for their debut full-length has reached a fever pitch. Since it contains all four of those great singles, it has by default more gems than your average pop album, but several of its new tracks are just as high quality, and Shrines has enough precious relics to warrant worship by its listeners.
(Domino)
Page 44
(4AD)
Music Reviews
The Tallest Man on Earth There’s No Leaving Now (Dead Oceans)
On his third full-length as The Tallest Man on Earth, Swedish folk singer Kristian Matsson sticks for the most part to the basic formula that has served him so well up to now: earnest, Bob Dylan-esque vocals, abstract lyrics, furiouslystrummed acoustic guitar and an overall aesthetic that harks back to the days of early American folk. What has changed changes a lot, though: Matsson got married, to fellow Swedish performer and frequent tour mate Amanda Bergman (Idiot Wind), and his latest offering was recorded at their home in Sweden over a leisurely fivemonth period. Accordingly There’s No Leaving Now has a more relaxed and gentle vibe than any of his previous releases, but all that satisfaction has dulled some of the urgency that makes his best songs so impressive. As Aldous Huxley put it, ‘There is something curiousPage 45
Horoscope VIRGO
23 Aug–22 Sept
You’re working on your disappearing act. ‘Now you see me, now you don’t.’ You bump your nose against the mahogany door. Who hung that poster of that window painting by Magritte up there? Oh, sweet illusions.
LIBRA
23 Sept–22 Oct
Below the kitsch painting on the cupboard in the sun, that’s where your cats always fight for a spot. It’s never for the spot next to the difficult abstract thingee you got from your artsy friend who’s into epoxy and turtlenecks. That’s how the world works.
SCORPIO
23 Oct–21 Nov
You don’t like Ally McBeal-type career girls exuding high maintenance and low serotonin; you like big butts and you cannot lie.
SAGITTARIUS
22 Nov–21 Dec
Did your heartbeat just tap the chorus of ‘La Cucaracha’? Are you in love, Sag?
CAPRICORN
22 Dec–20 Jan
Goddamnit, Cornmeister! We love your eloquence, but Page 46
By Brenda Bosma
what’s ‘chillaxing’ doing in your vocabulary? We so are not air-crashing cymbals at this.
AQUARIUS
21 Jan-19 Feb
The camera zooms in. The worms are mating. The camera zooms out. The hawk spots his snack that will only fulfill him for a couple of minutes. Oddly, you feel alive and radiant in this stupid game of games.
PISCES
20 Feb–20 March
You wish you could disappear under that rock that Caspar David Friedrich pranced around on before he painted himself as a contemplative wino. Before you go down, you’d first push him off, ’cause you don’t want no prancing looney on your grave.
ARIES
21 March–20 April
At night still half asleep yet half consciously you try to fluff up the pillow beside you as you always seem to do since the breakup. But now there’s this person lying on it gently snoring a Sam Cooke song straight into your frontal lobe. You pinch it. Yes, you are wide awake.
TAURUS
21 April–21 May
Baby, it’s not love; it’s
Illustrations by Kathrin Klingner
Horoscope
an addiction. This person keeps dangling on your lower lip like a cigarette. Ash falls. You ask for an ashtray. Can’t you reach? Quit smoking already, T-bone.
GEMINI
22 May – 21 June
On holiday you wonder if there are any aquariums in the area. You’re sick of all those overweight people with their flaky skin creeping around in circles. You long to see some fish. Oh fuck, you just want to go home.
complete stranger in a supermarket. And it hits you right there in the aisle with all the toilet fresheners; you are a good person – or at least you’ll die trying to be one. ‘No, you have a nice day, Salima!’
LEO
22 July–21 August
CANCER 22 June–21 July
Normally you enjoy being a peacock when it comes to the game of courtship, parading around your interest for weeks before hitting your target. Guess what? This month you’re like the bottom corner of a refrigerator door Nothing that we’re doing on this and your target is a magnet slidplanet is important. But what’s ing towards you like it’s the easmore important than having a iest thing. We don’t know why – laugh with a complete strang- well, yeah: gravity of course – but er who at the same time as you let us say: just enjoy the smoothreaches for a tube of squeeze ness of fate’s happy facial exprescheese? Maybe it’s coincidence, sion. maybe it’s true love. Foremost, you are having a laugh with a Page 47
DELUXE GENTSE FEESTEN 2012 12 - 23 JULI 2012 34 CONCERTEN - 54 DEEJAYS TICKETS EN INFO WWW.CHARLATAN.BE
JAMAICAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA TEDDIEDRUM HEADPHONE BLACK CASSETTE FENCE MAXON BLEWITT VENUS IN FLAMES DOUGLAS FIRS DRUMS ARE FOR PARADES RAVEYARDS HELDER THE EXPERIMENTAL TROPIC BLUES BAND PSYCHO 44 NITE JEWEL FREAKY AGE AMPLIFIER PING PONG TACTICS SOUTH OF THE BORDER NON RECORDS LABEL NIGHT FOLLIE FOLLIES (BURLESQUE) STADT KABUL GOLF CLUB…
Shows in July and August
Agenda
Agenda On the following pages:
Subbacultcha! concerts, totally free for members Page 50
Other shows Page 55 Free tickets Page 60
It’s festival season and Holy Other is hitting Belgium. The mysterious yet amazing act is performing at the 10 Days Off Festival in Ghent and at Feeërieën in Brussels. Page 49
See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.be.
Exhibition: The Aesthetics of the Photo Booth 01-31 July - Botanique, Brussels €6.50 | Free for Subbacultcha! members
Generations of artists have been fascinated by the concept of the photo booth; one flash, one frame, one setting, a million different photos. The Swiss Musée de l’Elysée created a travelling exhibition that focuses on the aesthetics of photo booth photography. By bringing together over 600 works from 60 international artists, such as Arnulf Rainer and Andy Warhol, the exhibition reveals the influence of the photo booth within the artistic community, from its inception to the present day.
Frankie Rose
19 July - Boomtown, Ghent 20.30 | €5 | Free for Subbacultcha! members
After some brief stints as drummer for Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum and Vivian Girls, Miss Rose also fronted her own garage-rock group as Frankie Rose and the Outs. Now she’s not only turned her back on the Outs, but also left her trusty garage for the gloss and glamour of a professional recording studio. On her acclaimed solo debut Interstellar she weaves dreamy synth-pop into lush arrangements, and lets her calm, comforting voice shine through more than ever. Page 50
Shows in July and August
Agenda
As a member you will also receive this magazine every month plus a stylish tote bag
Nite Jewel
20 July - Charlatan, Ghent 22.00 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members The LA scene revolving around Ariel Pink churns out the kind of music you might expect of a place that’s as suffused with irony and weed smoke as it is with sunshine and smog. Nite Jewel’s Ramona Gonzalez, as well as her husband and bandmate (and Haunted Graffiti member) Cole M Greif-Neill, can be counted among its key members. Gonzalez’s early work fell in line with Pink’s warped, AM radio funk aesthetic, and could justly be described as ‘dance music you can’t actually dance to’. However, she’s a sonic chameleon, always adapting to her changing surroundings, and while her latest album, One Second of Love, retains the slinky retro vibes of yore, it also finds her moving in a cleaner-sounding and poppier direction.
Exhibition: Sol LeWitt
01-31 August - M Museum, Leuven €9 | Free for Subbacultcha! members
The Colors exhibition presents a unique overview of the drawings of influential minimal art pioneer Sol LeWitt. Between 1968 and 2007 he has made over 1200 murals, of which 24 will be reproduced on the walls if the M-Museum in Leuven. Besides the impressive colorful drawings, the museum will also have a selection of Lewitt’s books on display. Page 51
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See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.be.
Micro Festival ft. The Chap, Räpe Blossoms, Tim Exile 03-04 August - Espace 251 Nord, Liege TBA | €10-€15 | Free for Subbacultcha! members
All balls, no bluster, this wee festival is the perfect tonic to all those summer blockbuster gatherings, from the classy, humour-tinged electro pop of The Chap to the intoxicating sax improvisations of Colin Stetson, sounding like the Earth is collapsing in on itself. Throw in Räpe Blossoms’s graffiti’d wall of post-punk and the frenzied electronic destruction of Tim Exile and you’ll definitely have a weekend to remember.
Future Islands
13 August - DOKArena, Ghent 19.30 | €9 | Free for Subbacultcha! members
This Baltimore synth pop trio’s latest album, On the Water, was (perhaps not surprisingly) recorded at the seaside. Waterfront life is present throughPage 52
Shows in July and August
Agenda
As a member you will also receive this magazine every month plus a stylish tote bag
out the album, from field recordings to the tempo, which has mostly slowed down to match the ocean’s tranquil rhythm. While it’s mellower than the songs on 2010’s excellent In Evening Air, OtW has plenty to keep us moist, its songs filled to the brim with all the romance, throbbing rhythms, addictive melodies and stirring vocals that earned these guys a special place in Subbacultcha’s hearts in the first place. Singer Samuel T Herring’s frenzied onstage antics and the band’s tightness make their live shows well worth witnessing.
DIIV
22 August - Madame Moustache, Brussels 20.00 | €8 | Free for Subbacultcha! members
Formerly known as Dive, this Brooklyn-based spin-off of Beach Fossils got its start as Zachary Cole Smith’s solo recording project. Nowadays, DIIV is a quartet which includes drummer Colby Hewitt, formerly of Smith Westerns. The name Dive was actually inspired by the Nirvana song. No surprise, then, that classic grunge influences are sprinkled throughout their music, though Krautrock and psychedelia also inform their decidedly retro sound. The reverb that drenches everything lends their songs an appealingly dreamy quality, but it’s Smith’s engrossing guitar melodies that will make you want to jump right in and explore DIIV’s depths. Page 53
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Het Entrepot presenteert
VAMA VECHE 30 juli > 4 augustus ‘12 gratis zomerfestival
astridpark brugge > 14u - 01u
www.vamaveche.be
Shows in July and August
Agenda
Twin Shadow
Sean Nicholas Savage 04 July - Cafe Video, Ghent A maestro of rapid-fire releases, this Edmonton-raised and Montreal-based singersongwriter shirks away from flippant genre definitions, as he has less of a ‘sound’ than just ever-evolving song types. From his early beginnings in confessional folk to global guitar rhythms, to his raw DIY spirit, there’s a great deal of freshness about the music he’s been producing, captured most recently on Flamingo.
Les Ardentes (Ft. Twin Shadow, Yeasayer, Sharon Van Etten) 05-08 July - Parc Astrid De Cornonmeuse, Liége There’s plenty of commercial sheen at this four-day festival, which is fine provided you’re okay reliving that youthfully awkward Marilyn Manson phase you went through. But of course there’s a suitable spree of more independent talents – apart from the faves listed above, there’s acts like Shearwater, M83 and Rustie.
Cactusfestival (Ft. Blonde Redhead, Kurt Vile, Yeasayer) 06-08 July - Minnewaterpark, Bruges A lower-key event than Les Ardentes, this
gathering offers up a mixture of the old guard (Low, Grant Lee Buffalo and Woven Hand) with comparatively younger challengers (Kurt Vile, Explosions in the Sky and Yeasayer). Expect a suitably charming atmosphere, but it’s still probably worth skipping the Friday lineup completely, as your stomach isn’t likely to recover from a Paulo Nutini/Razorlight double bill.
Wooden Shjips 09 July - 4AD, Diksmuide SF’s monsters of space rock are back in Europe, with guitarist Ripley Johnson splitting plectrums with side-project Moon Duo. But this is all about the full-on fiery psychedelia, whipping up a sonic swell from 2011’s West.
Dour Festival (ft. Teengirl Fantasy, Pantha Du Prince, Caribou) 12-15 July - La Plaine de la Machine a Feu, Dour Belgium’s sacred summer gathering, trouncing pretty much all competition from either the Netherlands, France or Luxembourg. Every year its lineup reads like an event that’s been programmed by music fans for music fans. Imagine that! Amidst Page 55
subbacultcha_helepaginathenight_2012.pdf 18-6-2012 11:45:23
Shows in July and August
an onslaught of indie giants (Bon Iver, Franz Ferdinand) and an unassailable collection of rock, dance and hip-hop talents, there’s barely time to stop for a beer. But we’re sure you’ll find a moment...
Rock Herk (ft. Dum Dum Girls, Eskmo, Dinosaur Jr) 13-14 July - Park Olmenhof, Herk-De-Stad So what’s the alternative to the alternative? Rock Herk is a comparatively small gathering, but nevertheless, it’s an inspired one. Stripping away the big-name bombast of Dour and focusing primarily on exciting independents, you get a challenging mix of guitars, electronics and more. Where else would you find the brilliance of Dinosaur Jr followed up by Dum Dum Girls in a headline spot? Perfect style.
10 Days Off (ft. When Saints Go Machine, John Talabot, Holy Other) 13-23 July - Vooruit, Ghent Perhaps the most strenuous dance event in the world, 10 Days Off isn’t taking the piss. Launched in 1995 as 10 Days of Techno, it’s evolved into a massive celebration of every form of electronic music going. As always, there’ll be plenty of contemporary art and noise to experience around the main programme of ear-splitting beats.
Boomtown (ft. Frankie Rose, Slow Club) 17-21 July - De Kouter, Ghent Across five stages in Ghent you’ll find a pretty diverse mix of young acts, international indie stars and established bands from the Benelux. Events are mainly free (two of the stages require the purchase of two drink tokens as a means of entry), but there’s no pre-sale and limited space, so make sure you’re in on time.
Agenda
Nite Jewel 20 July - Charlatan, Ghent Nite Jewel’s Ramona Gonzalez gives friend Ariel Pink’s warped AM radio vibes a poppier and cleaner-sounding twist. Read more on page 51.
Bruksellive (ft. Nouvelle Vague, Matias Aguayo, Cupp Cave) 28 July - Groentheater, Brussels Unlike the vast majority of music festivals, which are carnivorous money-grabbers, there’s a nice little story behind Bruksellive, as it’s run by volunteers who give up their time to help youths. And not only is it free, there’s sweet programming too, from French bossa masters Nouvelle Vague to the brilliant avant-beats of Floating Points.
Vama Veche (ft. Dynooo, Cupp Cave, Mittland Och Leo, Young Colour) 30 July-04 August - Astridpark, Bruges This free park gathering has plenty of homegrown independent live music that’s worth getting your teeth into, as well as films and other performances.
Thurston Moore 01 August - Rivierenhof, Antwerp Sonic Youth are in a weird place at the moment following the split of Moore and Kim Gordon. But don’t be sad, pretty much all the members are producing relevant art in their own respective corners, and they’re sure to return as a unit... eventually. In the meantime you can experience a pretty lush solo show from Moore at this outdoor pavilion. Expect him to pay much attention to last year’s Demolished Thoughts, a criticallyacclaimed and definitely enjoyable acoustic folk/blues record. It’ll be performed with full band, making this all the more special. Page 57
Contemporary Art Centre Brussels www.wiels.org
22.06 – 26.08.2012
Agenda
Shows in July and August
Micro Festival (ft. The Chap, Räpe Blossoms, Colin Stetson) 03-04 August - Espace 251 Nord, Liege This wee festival is the perfect tonic to all those summer blockbuster gatherings, veering from electronic destruction to cheeky electro pop. Read more on page 52.
Esperanzah! (ft. Cocorosie, Crystal Fighters, Staff Benda Bilili) 03-05 August - Abbaye de Floreffe, Brussels Flowery, French and full of quirkiness, expect plenty of summery beat pop, but stuff like Cocorosie and Crystal Fighters are definitely highlights.
Ty Segall
to subtle disco diva Maria Minerva. With some crooning by Street Gnar to top it all off. Most probably the only festival not to be missed this summer!
Future Islands 13 August - DOKarena, Ghent On their recent album On the Water, Baltimore synth-pop trio Future Islands once again combine throbbing rhythms, addictive melodies and stirring vocals. Live, frontman Sam Herring goes all out! He will sweat and cry all over you. Don’t miss. Read more on page 52.
Yellowstock Festival 17-19 August - Jh De Bogaard, Geel This is a festival. There will be bands. Beer. But no vans or campervans, please. One for camping purists, or field lovers.
09 August - Trix, Antwerp Ty Segall’s been on particularly fine form of late, recording a stream of content and popping up in all sorts of collaborations. With three albums pegged for 2012, the second of which, Slaughterhouse, was freshly released in June, his ragged ’60s guitar pop is proving to be as evocative as ever. All the more perfect for a sweaty summer night.
22 August - Madame Moustache, Brussels Freshly evolved from Dive to DIIV, this Beach Fossils-related project has those familiar chiming guitars and a hazy coating, which occasionally bursts into dreamy psychedelia and waves of joyous melodies. Read more on page 53.
Wastelands Festival (ft. John Maus, Pictureplane, Maria Minerva, Nick Nicely)
Feeërieën (ft. Holy Other, Cold Specks, Black To Comm)
11 August - DOKArena, Ghent From the depths of the wasteland in Ghent comes a new festival, aptly named Wastelands. Though only on their first edition, Wastelands have managed to put together quite the lineup, programming no less than 5 quality acts for your ears. All of them completely exclusive too: from the enigmatic, cathartic John Maus to cult figure Nick Nicely. And from trance doll Pictureplane
27-31 August - Warandepark, Brussels This annual gathering is what happens when the AB folks decide to head outdoors. But being the delightfully contrary bastards that they are, rather than teasing the bees with summer indie pop, they put on a dark and challenging programme that touches on drone, doom folk and baroque opera. It’s subtle, unpredictable and pretty damn exciting to its core.
DIIV
Page 59
Free Stuff
Free Tickets and Goodies
To win, sign up to our mailing list on www.subbacultcha.be
1X2 TICKETS ROCK HERCK
2X2 TICKETS 10 DAYS OFF (DAY 2)
2X2 TICKETS ESPERANZAH FESTIVAL
13-14 July Herk-de-Stad
14 July Vooruit, Ghent
03-05 August Abbaye de Floreffe, Brussels
2X2 TICKETS YELLOWSTOCK
3 ALBUMS BEAR BONES, LAY LOW
2X2 TICKETS SUMMER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
17-19 August Jh De Bogaard, Geel
Page 60
Until 16 September BOZAR, Brussels
Submitted photos
AFTER MIDNIGHT
Send photos that were taken after midnight to aftermidnight@subbacultcha.be If your photo gets published, you win a good goodie This month’s photo was submitted by Dineke Cornelissen Page 61
Overview of all Subbacultcha shows in July and August
19 July
13 August
Frankie Rose
Future Islands
Boomtown Festival, Ghent 20:40 | €5 | Free for members
DOKArena, Ghent 19:30 | €9 | Free for members
20 July
22 August
Charlatan, Ghent 22:00 | €7 | Free for members
Madame Moustache, Brussels 20:00 | €8 | Free for members
Nite Jewel
DIIV
22 July
Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Party ft. Flamingods and DJ’s
Espace Ngafura Moba’s, Ghent €6 | Free for members and if you sign up to our mailing list and RSVP
All month
The Aesthetics of the Photo Booth
03 - 04 August
Micro festival ft. The Chap, Tim Exile, Räpe Blossoms Espace 251 Nord, Liège TBA | €10 - 15 | Free for members
Botanique, Brussels 01-31 July €6.50 | Free for members
Expo: Sol LeWitt
M-Museum, Leuven 01-31 August Daily 11:00-18:00 | Thursday till 22:00 | Closed on Wednesdays €9 | Free for members
See all these shows for free. Join at www.subbacultcha.be Page 62
JauneOrange présente
................................................................................................................................
3-4 AOÛT 10 / 15 euros
4000
LIÈGE
B
Espace 251 Nord-Rue Vivegnis, 251
www.microfestival.be Préventes : FNAC / La Carotte / Livre aux Trésors / Free record shop / L’Enseigne du commissaire Maigret
Slub summer tee available online!
www.originaleskimo.com