Whenever an artist has some good websites devoted to him/her, the links are
at the bottom of his/her own page. Here are some other more general links, some
of which provide excellent resources to discover more about Belgian music :
- FlandersMusic.be: news and information about the Flemish music scene (all genres)
- The Belgian
Band List : a very long list of Belgian groups and their presence on the internet.
- Benelux Blues Scenecool
site: Blues in Belgium.
- De Vlaamse afrekening
: an "all-time hitparade" of groups from over here.
- Belgian Independent Music
: pointers to starters.
- Belgian Underground
bands : metal and alternative.
- KKunst (Het Doosje) an initiative that concentrates
on "kleinkunst".
- Dutch
Guitar Files : Tabs & Partitures of Belgian and Dutch bands
- Belgianmusic.net, loads
of biographies
- Vlaanderen Zingt, an enormous
"collection" of dutch lyrics
- Waltertje's Lyrics site also collects
lyrics by Belgian artists, not only dutch
- Belgiummp3cool
site (formerly devhaus.be), a sort of vitaminic for Belgian bands
- Dancevibes, celebrating the (commercial)
belgian dance scene
- Deadbeattown, actually a site about
Rudy Trouvé, but his influence stretches far
- Rawbeats about the
Belgian hip-hop scene
- De Showbizzsite, info & news about
the commercial & flemish music bizz
- Demopollcool
site, three new demo's each week to be judged by you (poppunt &
Stubru).
- FlandersMusic.be: news and information about the Flemish music scene (all genres)
- Scan : daily popnews and such
on Studio Brussel
- Up To Musiccool
site : cd-reviews, music news, short biographies
- The Ticket, free pocket-sized booklet,
and a site with the same content
- Mao-geluid
cool site : Mao-Magazine offres musical freebies now and then
- Telenet-breedband - music
: Music news, streaming radio, sitelinks ...
- Move-X : another free dance-oriented
magazine with a web-presence
- Volders' Muziekquiz A very nice
music quiz.
- Ultra, one of the few decent Belgain
e-zines.
- Sonic Barrier, Belgian site about
Goa Trance, Psychedelic Techno and Drum'n'Bass.
- Namelesscool
site, nice zine from the South.
- O Flow : concertgangers kondigen concerten
aan en becommentariëren achteraf
- Thomas Van Sundert's Rock Music
Site
- GoForMusic : Online tickets & concert
news with Pay&Go
- Prog-Nose : keeps an eye out for Progressive
rock
- Hell's Laughter : black metal fans
site
- Goddeaucool site:
"your central culture station", nice articles on podium, music,
literature, comics, film ...
- Punkupdates: news about releases in
the punk scene by Hein from Schaffen.
- Ancienne Belgiquecool
site: most active concert hall in Brussels. Nice website, too.
- Beursschouwburg
: centre for the arts Brussel, including attention for new forms of music.
- Botanique
: very active concert hall in Brussels. Home of the festival "les nuits du
botanique"
- Cahier de Brouillon, café
annex music hall in Hoogstraten.
- Het Candelaershuys : a concert
room that nicely introduces all artists who pass by (only in Dutch)
- Democrazy : club in Ghent.
- Hof Ter Lo / CC Luchtbal
: in Antwerp / Borgerhout.
- Lintfabriek : (mostly hardcore)
concerts in Kontich
- Magasin 4 : Club in Brussels
- De Media : youth club in Eeklo
- Spirit of 66 Spirit of 66,
a concert hall (blues, rock) in Verviers.
- STUC : culture centre in Leuven
- Cultuurcafé : cultural branch
of the VUB in Brussels
- Vooruit : great building & concert
hall in Ghent.
- Travers : oldest jazz club of Brussels,
also programs world music & blues
- Cactus : Club in Bruges, best
known for the Cactusfestival and Klinkers.
- Nijdrop : active youthclub in Opwijk
- De Kreun : club in Bissegem
- Music Hall, organizers of mega-events
& musicals
- Alive, Rock-festival in the german-speaking
region of St-Vith
- Antilliaanse Feesten : one
of the more steaming events
- Beach Rock, the third of the big three.
At the beach in the middle of July.
- Belgian Rhythm & Blues Festival.
Yearly blues-fest in Peer.
- Boogietown, blues-festival in Louvain-La-Neuve.
- Boterhammen
in de Stad : civil servants chew their sandwiches to the tones of sweet music
- Cactus Festival : quality festival (&
club) in Bruges
- Couleur Café : colourful festival
on the grounds of Turm & Taxi's in Brussels
- Dijlefeesten : Festival on the
Vismarkt in Mechelen
- Dourcool
site. Dynamic site about this vibrant festival.
- Dranouter, very popular folkfestival
with a rather clumsy site.
- Eurorock, Festival in Neerpelt
with nostalgia to 80's wave
- Francofolies : "la chanson d'expression
francophone", in Spa
- Ginsert, gratis festival in Genk tglv
Swingin' Genk
- Girls on Stage : nothing but girls,
and some women. And a few men accompanying 'em.
- Hove Live : in Hove.
- Jazz Bilzen : the legendary rock/blues/jazz
festival that put Belgium on the music-map in the sixties. In 1998 an attempt
was made to revive it, and a site was made that also features an extensive look
into the history of the festival.
- Jazz Middelheim, two days of Jazz
near Antwerp
- Lokerse Feesten, one of the better
(almost) free festivals.
-Marktrock
Leuvencool site, in the middle of August
with loads of Belgian bands scattered on many and mostly free stages throughout
the city.
- Nerorock, Free festival in Hoeilaart
(the belgian town known for the grapes).
- Maanrock : free festival in Mechelen
- Leffinge Leure : in Leffinge.
- Nandrin, rock & blues festival
in the vicinity of Liège
- Les Nuits Botanique : usually high-quality
series of concerts in Brussels, in September
- Pukkelpop : at the end of August, biggest
"alternative" festival.
- Reggae Geel : Geel is home of the Belgian
nutcases, and of Belgian rasta's
- Rock Herk : free festival with quality
international experimental rock
- Rock Werchtercool
site: previously known as Torhout/Werchter or T/W. Traditionally the
biggest festival in Belgium, internationally renound & home of the infamous
Herman "sherman" Schueremans & Stageco. First weekend of July.
- Sfinks : one of the cosiest festivals (when
it's not raining cats & dogs) in Boechout
- Suikerrock : Free festival on the main
square in Tienen
- Ten Days Off : one of the top European
techno events, in Ghent
- Verdur Rock : rock-festival
in the region of Namur
- Windorock in Oosterzele, dance, retro,
rock & metal in one festival.
- Festivalitis : Humo's
definitive festival calender
- Festivalsite : Planet internet maintains
list of festivals
- TTT: Humo's concert calendar
- Fnac events agenda
(tickets not online, but in their shops)
- In The Pocket, online tickets
for the Botanique ...
- AB Ticketshop,
online purchasing of tickets for the Ancienne Belgique
- GoFor Music,
reservation of tickets for the main musical concerts
- Sherpa, cultural agenda
- Tele Ticket Service, tickets
for event in the Antwerp Sportpaleis
- Tickets.com, belgian version of ticket bureau
- Ticket club, tickets
for big-scale events (Vorst Nationaal ...)
- Popbeleid : the Flemish policies on
pop music
- Service général des Arts
de la Scène, the policies of the French-speaking community
- Zamu - the "union" of musicians. No site, just an e-mail : zamu@ping.be
- Muziekcentrum : the "support"
of professional musicians in Flanders
- Poppunt : support & advice for amateur
musicians
- Pop in de Provincies,
overview of Provincial initiatives in this field (and their rock contests Limbomania,
Rockvonck, Westtalent, Latent Talent, Oostvlaams
Rockconcours ...)
- La Médiathequecool
site: Site of the media-collection of the French community.
- Alfa-matrix: innovative electronic
music, like Aïboforcen
- Antler-Dance : Praga
Khan, 2 Fabiola, Milk Inc, Absolom ...
- AREDJE,
independent label for walloon anarcho-punks René Binamé & Les
Slugs
- ARS productions : Technotronic,
Katastroof, M-Kids, ...
- BMG-Ariola Belgium : K3, Betty, Danaë,
Blue Blot, Johan Verminnen ...
- Bonzai : Belgian dance-label, now
with Lightning Records : Yves Deruyter, M.I.K.E. ...
- BYTE : Sylver, D-Devils, The Oh, 2 Unlimited
...
- Crammed : World-oriented label that started
in Brussels
- Kinky Star De Bossen, Hof van Commerce,
Mambo Chillum ...
- I Scream Records : Gwyllions, Deviate,
Paranoiacs ...
- Labelman (& Tout Partout)
cool site: Kamino, Vandal X, Fence ...
- LC Music : Riguelle & Hautekiet,
Schedelgeboorten ...
- Lowlands / Downsall : Dubtales,
Kretek, Roberto Musci, DJ Grazhoppa
- Magnet Records : Tongue, Stache,
Cunzi, All Eyes West ...
- Parsifal : Bert de Coninck, Red Zebra,
Walter Debuck ...
- PIAS of Play It Again Sam : Front 242, Scabs
e.d. in the past, nu with Mauro, Das Pop, Soulwax, De Mens & Thou.
- Play That Beat : Bart Kaell, Luc Steeno,
Get Ready!, Mama's Jasje, Willy Sommers
- 62TV Records : Austin Lace, Blimey,
Flexa Lyndo ...
- Sony Music Belgium, Gorki, DAAU, Yum,
K's Choice, Hooverphonic ...
- U-cover : electronic experimental music,
like Starfish Pool, Quench, Lusine ...
- Virgin Music Belgium : Arno, Zap Mama,
Axelle Red, Laïs, Dead Man Ray ...
- Wild Boar Music : Kadril, Shantalla,
(Bub), Fluxus ...
- (K-RAA-K)3 : Wio, Köhn ...
- Proxiscool site: Brussels-based internet shop (most
famous for it's booksales, but also with an impressive cd-department). The closest
thing to a Belgian Amazon you'll find.
- JJ Recordscool
site: shop in Leuven, specialized in some more alternative styles of
music. No online-sales though.
- HVH : site of the Dutch chain that has a few
"concrete" shops in Belgium too. Generally quite expensive.
- Azur : book & cd-shop linked to the VUM-group.
Generally on the expensive side, but some bargains.
- El Cheapo : Dutch site with a script that
searches dozens of cd-shops for the cheapest prizes. In guilders.
- Atrecordings.com: Belgian
site that gives free full-length real-audio of all the tracks (MP3 & on CD)
they're selling. Indie labels.
- Music Mania : in Ghent, "in
business for cutting edge music".
Media ...
- Cucamongacool site: the best Radio1 music-program,
that puts great care in distributing their playlists and great quality interviews
online.
- Het Belang van Limburg, newspaper that puts
up some articles on the web each day
- Gazet van Antwerpen, same structure as BvL,
but that's because it's from the same group. Emphasis on Antwerp.
- Het Nieuwsblad, no daily update, but
puts up most interviews & cd-reviews on the web.
- De Standaard, daily dose of quality
news-coverage online, with lots of culture + medianews
- Humo
cool site, Home of the infamous TTT-redaction, strong opinions
about good music since the sixties. Has a nice agenda, reviews, tv-guide &
links-section ...
- Le Soir, quality newspaper from the south,
website serves up a lot of articles from the current day, no archive.
- Studio Brusselcool
site, eclectic & youthful radio, home of "De Afrekening".
- Donna, feel-good radio with famous personalities
behind the microphone.
- Radio 1, info-radio with also some interesting
programs such as De Melkweg, Cucamonga & Rang 1 (who did an interview
with me in November '98)
- Topradio, commercial radio-station, specializing
in hitparade & commercial dance-stuff.
- UR-Gent, student radio in Ghent, live
on the web.
- VTM, commercial television in the North, home
of the infamous "Tien om te zien" & "Het gevoel van .."
- TV1, public television for the flemish part
of Belgium, home of the infamous "Muziekdoos" &"Swingpaleis".
- Canvas, second net of the public television,
home of "Nonkel Pop".
- Radio 21cool
site, french-language pop/rock radio. Home of "Rock à
Go Go" and other cool stuff.
- RTBF, the public television & radio for
the french-speaking part of Belgium.
- KRO Leidsekade, dutch radio-show
a with a lot of attention for Belgian (live)-music.
- Essentie : Cable-radio of Gust De Coster,
wants to become Radio Roxy.
- TMF, belgo-dutch clip station, with attention
for the local produce
- Jim-TV : youthful tv-station from the commercial
chain, with lots of clips & music
Apart from the web, there are also some excellent books, publications, magazines
... to learn more about the History of Belgian Pop. Here are just a few :
- La Belle Gigue by Thierry Coljon: Journalist of newspaper Le Soir tells
the stories behind the principal artists from Wallonia & Brussels with (a
bit too much) attention for their "belgitude". From Brel to les Snuls.
Came with a double CD at release. (Editions Luc Pire)
- Rock over Belgium by Kris Dierckx : this collector of Belgian
music has made up a discography of Belgian Music from 1957 to 1997 that contains
a listing of over 8000 singles and 2800 albums. The book costs 450 Belgian fr.
and can be bought at record fairs, record shop Vynilla in Ghent or by getting
in touch with the author himself : Kris Dierckx, Veldbraak 1, 2431 Laakdal or
vynilla_fairs@unicall.be
- Oor's Eerste Nederlandse Pop Encyclopedie. Published every
two years, this Dutch pop encyclopedia contains always quite some information
about Belgian pop groups and artists. The Latest edition is number 11 and is of
1997. The information is precise and extensive, but sometimes quite elitist in
it's approach.
- Wit-lof from Belgium - 40 jaar popgeschiedenis in België, by
Gust Decoster and Geert De Bruycker. Excellent resource published in 1990 by the
BRT. The book was accompanied by a series of four CD's covering the fifties to
the eighties. At the back of the book there is an exhaustive (yet incomplete)
discography for most Belgian artists. This book can only be bought at record fairs
or at the adresses that are mentioned under "Rock over Belgium". Very
few are left, so hurry up to pick up your copy !
- Big in Belgium, by Jan Delvaux (ed. Hadewijch, Studio Brussel).
Another book accompanied by a CD, but of a more recent nature. The book provides
a look into the backstage area of Belgian Pop. The form is a series of 10 chapters
(almost essays) on various topics, such as independent record labels, the media,
the government, one-hit wonders, Belgians abroad etc ...
- Het Belgisch Hitboek 1959-1989, by Robert Collin, edition :
Boek, Zonhoven. Book containing all the songs and artists which made it into the
Belgian hitparede between 1959 and 1989. There is also a newer edition of this
book, ranging from 1957 to 1997.
- De Komplete Kleinkunstgeschiedenis, by Manu Adriaens - Globe, 1998 -
focuses on the artists singing in Dutch (both from Belgium & Holland).
- De Vlaamse Show-Encyclopedie, by Marc Bungeneers & Marcel Dickmans
- Uitgeverij Van Hemeldonck, Turnhout, 1994 - also has biographies of Flemish
(mostly commercial) artists singing in Dutch.
- Humo. Belgian weekly magazine that was one of the first to
really give some serious attention to Rock Music. It's also a very objective referee
for Belgian Bands and always compares these with the international groups around.
The critics of Humo can make or break a serious rock band. Humo has an excellent
website, on which you can find quite a lot of musical resources.
- Télé-Moustique - French-speaking equivalent of Humo, with
the same influence south of the language border.
- Knack. Another magazine which occasionaly features articles
on Belgian (and of course international) music (especially when Jacky Huys, who
died in 1998, was still writing for the magazine). Also home of Jan Delvaux, who
wrote a nice article about this site.
- Joepi. One of the oldest music-only magazines in Belgium. Focuses
on "popular" music and is aimed at pre-teen and teen audiences.
- VERN. musical magazine (founded 1998) with a CD inside -on which mostly
Belgian artists- and lots of interviews & record reviews. Apperently gone
broke after two editions.
- Stage (formerly Backstage) music-info for & by musicians (interviews,
cd-reviews, instrument-tests)
- Muziekkrant : Another music
publication that only lived a few editions (in 1999).
- Teek : youthful magazine with quite
a bit of attention for musical happenings.
- RifRaf. Free monthly magazine, yet good in quality. Volunteer writers
review & interview everything & everybody that dares to come near a microphone
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