Float Fall- "Someday" live version

This has been one of my favorite tracks to come out this year. Watch Belgian duo, Float Fall playing "Someday" live at Studio Brussel in Belgium.

 http://www.floatfall.com

Phosphorescent- "Terror In The Canyons (The Wounded Master)" live for Studio Brussel

Phosphorescent's latest disc, Muchacho is one of the finest 2013 has had to offer so far. One of the highlights off the album is the track, "Terror In The Canyons (The Wounded Master") which you can watch be played live on a rooftop in Belgium for the radio station Studio Brussel.

http://phosphorescentmusic.com/

The Bony King of Nowhere- "On My Way Home" + N. America Tour

An old blog favorite from my days living in Belgium, The Bony King of Nowhere is embarking on a short North American tour starting tomorrow. It's a rare appearance across the Atlantic, so if you're on the West coast or in Canada you should really try to check him out. Take a watch of this beautiful live session of "On My Way Home" he played for the folks at Bruxellesmabelle.


Upcoming Tour Schedule: 
May 21 CoHo , Stanford, CA
May 23 Amnesia, San Francisco, CA w/ Upside Drown
May 29 sam bond's garage , Eugene, OR w/ Laura Cortese
June 2 The Alberta Rose Theatre , Portland, OR w/ The Americans
June 6 Columbia City Theater , Seattle WA w/ Pocket Panda and Thousands
June 11 Melodies in Mind radio session w/ Ryan Fletcher, Vancouver, CANADA
June 20 Le Sous-Bois, Chicoutimi, CANADA
June 21 La Petite Boite Noire, Sherbrooke, CANADA
June 22 Le Bal du Lézard, Québec, CANADA
June 25 Le Quai des Brumes, Montréal, CANADA

http://thebonykingofnowhere.be/ 
http://www.bruxellesmabelle.net/

Song of the Week: Float Fall-"Someday"

I don't know much about this weeks 'Song of the Week' other than it comes from a duo out of Leuven, Belgium, Rozanne Descheemaekers and Ruben Lefever. What I do know is that this delicate piano led track with it's layers of simple beats has been lodged in my head for the past week. Give it a spin below, and stay tuned for more details hopefully soon.


http://www.floatfall.com

Isbells: 'Stoalin' Seeing U.S. Release

Last year we introduced you to the Belgium band, Isbells and their single, "Illusion" (view the article here). The track came from the bands second LP Stoalin which brought the group critical acclaim back in their native land. Building off that strong buzz from 2012 the band just recently unveiled news that their album will be seeing a release here in the States. Stoalin will be hitting stores this March 26th via (Roll Call Records). Give a spin another one of the finer songs off the LP, "Heading for the Newborn" below. 


http://www.isbells.be/ 

Song of the Week: Douglas Firs- "Pretty Legs and Things To Do"

I recently had the chance to go back and visit Belgium, a place where I briefly lived from 2007 to 2009. I discovered a lot of excellent artists during that period and I've tried to stay in touch with the musical scene there since. On this most recent trip I go turned onto the tunes of Douglas Firs, which is the work of Gertjan Van Hellemont. Funny enough I found out that Van Hellemont apparently used to be the guitar player for fellow Belgian, The Bony King of Nowhere an old favorite here on the blog. In any event this past fall Gertjan under the moniker Douglas Firs released his very own debut LP called Shimmer & Glow which features this standout track "Pretty Legs and Things to Do."
Here's a video for the song that was filmed live at the top floor of the 'Boekentoren' in the city of Ghent.
I especially love around  the 1:25 mark when the tuba and the full chorus of backing vocals kick in, watch and get familiar below. 

http://douglasfirs.be/

Oscar & The Wolf- "All I Want"

Belgium may be a wee small country in Europe, but the whole world knows it for some pretty sweet contributions like, chocolate, beer, friets & waffles to name a few. Pretty good in my book. One of my favorite new things to come from the tiny EU country is the band, Oscar & the Wolf. The Ghent based band recently released their new EP Summer Skin to some critical acclaim back in their native land, even grabbing some opening slots for bands like Warpaint and Mercury Rev.
The new disc is the bands second via PIAS records and it was said to have been recorded in an old abandoned church in Belgium over a four-week stretch. The EP is available now over on the US iTunes store, and you can give a listen to the dreamy atmospherics of "All I Want" below. 

also check out this very excellent version of their single, "Orange Sky" below. 


http://www.oscarandthewolf.com/
http://www.facebook.com/oscarandthewolf

'Song of the Week': The Bony King of Nowhere-"Travelling Man"

Not entirely that well known here in the States yet, Bram Vanparys aka The Bony King of Nowhere is a gifted singer & songwriter hailing from Ghent, Belgium. While living overseas briefly from '07-'09 I had the chance to get to know the man and his music, and he was as open and sincere as his voice is pure. His first two LP's earned him critical success across Europe and now he's readying his third album, a self titled effort which is said to have been recorded in one long creative night. It comes out in Belgium on Oct. 22nd and it should be available digitally through his website or online retailers.

The first taste off the new LP is the stripped back stunner "Travelling Man" which you can get familiar with below.



http://thebonykingofnowhere.be/ 

Isbells- "Illusion"

Belgian band, Isbells came out with their second album, Stoalin this past March that features the hauntingly beautiful single, "Illusion." The new LP sees the Gaëtan Vandewoude led project expanding their sounds from their well received self titled debut. Here's some of what Vandewoude had to say on the new disc and it's cryptic title ..."While I’m tinkering with a new song, I tend to hum phonetic sounds or half-sentences which, at a later stage, will be replaced with sensible lyrics. But in the case of ‘Stoalin’’ I found myself unable to come up with an alterative way to express the feeling I was trying to convey. So I decided to keep the original word in, even though it’s a neologism. But as the meaning lies hidden in the emotion, I’m pretty confident the listener will get the idea.”   

Stoalin is out now via Zeal Records.


http://www.isbells.be/
http://www.facebook.com/isbells

New Video: The Me In You-"Low Battery"

The second single by Belgian band, The Me In You, titled "Low Battery." The track is taken from their critically acclaimed debut album Forgotten Clothes, out now via Noisesome Recordings/EMI.


http://www.facebook.com/TheMeInYou

Song of the Week: Charlie Jones Big Band- "Give Up"

I posted this one on my Twitter feed (@burnthebowery) the other day, but I wanted to spread this out to the rest of you that don't follow me on there. I honestly don't know much about this band other than that they hail from Belgium, and that they were featured on a cool site I recently stumbled across called, 'A Jerrys Joint' that produces really fantastic videos.
I gotta find out more on this one, but in the meantime watch and listen below.




www.charliejonesbigband.com/
http://ajerrysjoint.tumblr.com/

The Me In You- "Girl In Armour"

It seems like I've been on a kick lately of finding new music out of Belgium. A few weeks ago it was Yuko (read here) and now I recently found this one from a new Belgian band called, The Me In You. "Girl In Armour" is the bands first single off of their debut full length, which will see a release in the beginning of 2012 via Noisesome Recordings/EMI.



The Me In You on Noisesome HERE

Get to Know: Yuko

I had the chance to live in Belgium for most of 2007-09, and in fact it was while living overseas that I started this blog. Trying to find work and learn two new languages wasn't the easiest thing, and I needed a creative outlet, so BTB was born. While over there I had the chance to discover some new artists that I otherwise probably would have never found or heard. One of which was Yuko, who put out a great 2008 debut, For Times When Ears Are Sore. The project has been descibed as electonica, post-rock, ambient, folktonica, a pretty wide spectrum, all of which have some merit.
I just found out recently that the band is back with their follow-up to '08's debut with a new record called, As If We Were Dancing, which sees the band expanding on their already diverse sound. Here's what frontman Kristof Deneijs had to say about creating the new LP, "We kept making new versions until they felt right. But now it really is the record we wanted to make! It sounds as a huge cliché, but we actually needed the first record to be able to make this new one. I feel like we have closed a chapter, like the two records are one whole. We started out with nice, dreamy melodies that evolved into more danceable rhythms. Intimate and dreamy, the perfect mix of melancholic, yet still very lively tracks.”




http://www.yukotheband.be/
http://www.facebook.com/YukoBand

The Bony King of Nowhere: Makes American debut starting tonight

Belgium's The Bony King of Nowhere (aka Bram Vanparys) released his debut disc, Alas My Love earlier this year on Helicopter records, to both commercial and critical success back in his homeland, getting compared to nu-folk singers like Devendra Banhart. He'll be making his first ever appearances in the U.S. beginning this week in NYC, with four shows starting tonight, and running into November (the show times and dates are listed below).
You can get familiar with some of his music down below, including a 'Field Recordings' session we shot with him, while sneaking into an old Abbey called, De Sint-Baafsabdij, from the 7th century in his home city of Gent, Belgium.

The Sunset - The Bony King of Nowhere

Bony King U.S. dates:
Oct 12 Rockwood Musichall NYC, NY
Oct 15 Crash Mansion NYC, NY
Oct 25 Arlene’s Grocery NYC, NY
Nov 2 The Living Room NYC, NY

Creepy new video: Hickey Underworld-"Blond Fire"

Here's another band I had the chance to get familiar with when I was living in Belgium, The Hickey Underworld. The band broke onto the scene in their homeland after winning Humo’s Rock Rally in '06, which is Belgium's big rock contest, that has launched bands like dEUS. Their self-titled debut, dropped in March and was produced by Das Pop, featuring the bands devilish, dark, post-hardcore sound, which is all too fittingly captured in their new video for their latest single, "Blond Fire" below.


watch their hit single "Future Words" performed at the Rock Werchter festival:


The Hickey Underworld on myspace.

The Bony King of Nowhere making U.S. debut

For those that may or may not know I had the chance to live in Brussels, Belgium for much of the past two years. While it was sometimes difficult navigating and finding my way thru the music scene over there, I did manage to stumble upon some great local artists, one of which was The Bony King of Nowhere. The Bony King (Bram Vanparys) released his nu-folk debut, Alas My Love earlier this year on Helicopter records, to both commercial and critical success back in Belgium, getting compared to singers like Devendra Banhart. He'll be making his first ever appearances in the U.S. next month, with three shows at the end of Oct. and beginning of Nov. scheduled so far in the NY area (check the dates below).
In the meantime you can get familiar with some of his music down below, including a 'Field Recordings' session we shot with him, while sneaking into an old Abbey from the 7th century called, De Sint-Baafsabdij in his hometown of Gent.

Bony King U.S. dates:
- October 12th @ Rockwood Music Hall
- October 15th @ Crash Mansion
- October 25th @ Arlene's Grocery
- November 2nd @ Living Room

The Sunset - The Bony King of Nowhere




check out The Bony King of Nowhere on myspace.

an interview w/ Trixie Whitley

Besides spending time workin' on the blog, I've had the chance to do some corresponding for Spin Magazine's new site, called Spin Earth.tv. I wanted to share one of the recent interviews I did for the site with the amazing young singer, Trixie Whitley. You may recognize the name from her father, Chris Whitley, who tragically passed in 2005, but at the young age of 21, Whitley has grown up fast, doing everything from acting, and DJ'ing, to touring Europe as a Dancer. She is currently working on a new trio project with famed producer Daniel Lanois and drummer Brian Blade, which should be out this Fall.
Check out the interview below to learn more about Trixie, and to hear some of her songs live.

Special thanks to Host Kevin Pearson for helping w/ the piece.
See full report...

Trixie Whitley on myspace.

'Field Recordings' pt 2 with THE BONY KING OF NOWHERE

In this second part of our 'Field Recordings' session with THE BONY KING OF NOWHERE, we catch Bram performing the emotional track, "Maria" in the Sint-Baafsabdij, from the 7th century, in his hometown of Gent, Belgium.
His new album, 'Alas My Love' is available now on Helicopter Records.



and in case you missed it, here's (pt1) of our session:


The Bony King of Nowhere on myspace.

our 'Field Recordings' series, featuring THE BONY KING OF NOWHERE

In the second installment of our 'Field Recordings' series we caught up with the young, nu-folk sensation out of Belgium, Bram Vanparys, aka The Bony King of Nowhere. In this first of two parts we capture Bram playing the title track off his new album, "Alas My Love" in an old Abbey from the 7th century, De Sint-Baafsabdij in his hometown of Gent.
(part two to follow next week)

His album 'Alas My Love' is out now on Helicopter Records.



The Bony King of Nowhere on myspace.

Video & Song of the Week: Trixie Whitley-"I'd Rather Go Blind"

Armed with a killer voice and fantastic musical genes, soulful singer Trixie Whitley is a name you should be hearing a lot more of as the year goes on. Whitley is currently hard at work recording her debut, which has seen her working with the legendary Daniel Lanois at the helm. This weeks 'Video & Song of the Week', "I'd Rather Go Blind" comes from some of those recent sessions in late '08, that captures Trixie working with drummer Brian Blade and a very Rick Rubin looking Daniel Lanois. If you head over to her myspace you can also hear another one of the new track's that might make the disc, "Undress Your Name."

Trixie Whitley-"I'd Rather Go Blind":


Trixie Whitley on Myspace