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Aka Moon
19:45 Grand Place
Aka Moon
19:45 Grand Place

At a time when we think that everything can be done with a snap of the fingers, when we favour the number of experiences over their quality, Aka Moon invites us to take the opposite view. To open up to the world. To meet. To be deeply curious.

With a solid base of three musicians Aka Moon has gone out to meet musicians around the world, on all continents. The albums that testify to this are the memories of their encounters, and cover these travels far greater than anyone could have captured on camera.

Thirty years ago, access to information was not as fluid as it is today, and Aka Moon anticipated, without being fully aware of it, what the world would become: a new era where all cultures are within reach and familiar — at least on a direct level.

It is clear that multiculturalism has become mainstream. At the beginning, these intersections were still to be imagined. Aka Moon conceived these connections through hard work, with many unknowns and risks. They first set out to discover different African and then Indian cultural veins, and the adventure never stopped: from the farthest to the closest, with trips back and forth and invitations.

They heralded an era when the need to know and relate to the other must be the result of thorough work. The quality of the process is as essential as the outcome.

Today, Aka Moon is a reference point that invites emancipation and courage, favouring the unexpected over the standard forms. Like a group with a variable constellation, it has never stopped inviting, discovering, evolving, innovating and daring.

Theon Cross
22:00 Place de la Bourse
Theon Cross
22:00 Place de la Bourse

Theon Cross is one of those rare musicians whose vision has redefined their instrument. His unique approach to the tuba has expanded the instrument’s sonic possibilities in revolutionary fashion, restoring it to a long-forgotten prominence as a crucial part of the contemporary jazz ensemble. Through his combination of technical mastery, studio smarts, deep musical knowledge and expansive vision, the power and originality of Theon’s playing has reinvented the tuba’s place in modern music.

Exploring the tuba’s possibilities in the light of diasporic bass culture – ‘Afro-Diaspora Music’ or ADM, as he calls it – Theon has worked to develop the full sonic spectrum of his instrument, transforming it into a total 21st century sound-system, powered by breath. Using the instrument’s ability to produce sub-sonics, bass, mids, and tops, Theon creates complete sound-worlds, building up from rhythm and bass to arrive at melody. Employing its oft-neglected capacity to generate complex multiphonics and sustained pedal tones, he can summon colour, texture and atmosphere. With this expanded low-end theory as his base, Theon approaches his music with a sensibility that travels freely across outernational style and genre, but which remains deeply rooted in his own African-Caribbean heritage. A graduate of Guildhall school of music and an alumnus of the legendary Tomorrow’s Warriors, he is as at home with ensemble jazz as he is when playing road marches, collaborating with grime stars, or providing bassline pressure in reggae, afrobeat or soca settings.

‘In a period of isolation, when our perception of control over our circumstances is in questionable condition, we seek moments of peace,’ says Theon of the album. ‘I believe the most effective way to find tranquillity in an era of tension is for individuals to search within themselves and gain mental clarity, through the process of meditation and self reasoning. The music of Intra-I acts as a musical depiction of this philosophy, incorporating life lessons and life experiences into the sound.’

Emile Londonien
15:45 Place de la Bourse
Emile Londonien
15:45 Place de la Bourse

Coming from the Strasbourg scene and the Omezis collective which brings together around twenty artists, musicians, D’s, videographers, Emile Londonien immerses himself in the English jazz scene of the past fifteen years to offer a personal version. Trained at the Strasbourg Conservatory, the three musicians meet during themed evenings organized by the Omezis collective, co-founded by drummer Matthieu Drago. This is followed in 2020 by a studio session paying tribute to the English scene. The name of Emile Londonien, a double nod to their UK influences and to a famous French saxophonist, springs up spontaneously.

Regularly playlisted on the BBC, their first productions find an enthusiastic echo and the praises start to rain, starting with those of the influential dj and producer Gilles Peter-son himself who sees in them heirs: "I saw these guys recently live. They are a sort of celebra-tion of the last 10-15 years UK jazz scene (…) It’s a crossroads place”. Still unknown a few months earlier, the group performed at the Worldwide Festival in Sète, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer of 2021 and at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations, confirming on stage all the good that one could think of them listening to them.

Influenced by Yussef Kamaal, The Comet Is Co-ming, Atjazz, SunRa, but also Ornette Coleman or Thelonious Monk and by the Broken Beat, Jazz, House, Hip Hop scenes, Emile Londoner perfectly embodies this "next gen of French jazz alongside Léon Phal, to whom they are close. Freed from labels, she mixes without complex the tradition and the current musics with the dancefloor as standard meter.

K.ZIA
17:15 Place de la Bourse
K.ZIA
17:15 Place de la Bourse

K.ZIA is a Brussels-born, world-raised, Berlin-based, singer, songwriter and artistic director. Her vibrant music blends up alternative R&B, Soul, Pop, Trap and afrobeats. 

Born of a Martinican father and a Belgo-Congolese mother - internationally acclaimed Artist Zap Mama - K.ZIA was raised amongst many cultures and has travelled a world of Music and Circus giving her a unique view on art and life itself.  Whether it was singing backing vocals on tour with her mother, between Japan and the States or performing alongside her father in majestic shows, the young woman was practically born on stage, and this is very much felt when seeing her perform live.

In 2017, while finishing her Masters in Public Relations and Media she decided to move to Berlin where she started her career as an Independent Artist. Since her debut EP „RED“ released in 2018 K.ZIA was invited to perform across the globe as both a headliner or opening act for artists like Sampa The Great, Omar Lyefook, Tayla Parx, Kota the friend and more. Without ever stopping to release single after single to explore her creativity. 

She describes herself as an Afro-European mineral by virtue of her cultural and ethnical background. Her music is created to fuse cultures, genres and bring people from different environments together to celebrate music, LOVE and creating a safe space for us to be free in.

Currently planning her biggest project yet, K.ZIA is introducing a whole new facet to her universe in her album Genesis. She will be introducing her alter ego ZIA who sings in French. Not to be missed!

KRANKk
20:45 Place de la Bourse
KRANKk
20:45 Place de la Bourse

KRANKk, crazy young dogs from the Antwerp urban scene. Keyboard player Aram Abgaryan, drummer Thomas Geysen and guitarist Willem Heylen study at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where they found each other through their love for electronic music. The trio grew up with jungle, drum'n'bass, dubstep, and UK Garage. "That sound just appealed to us. It was funky, skippy, bouncy." Debut single "Like That" is an instant hit. Nervous clicks and fragmentary synth waves drive to a bouncy apotheosis. Guest rappers Miss Angel and Blu Samu (see also Zwangere Guy ) provide a fresh, melodic setting. Moody successor "Crazy" with David Ngyah (see also Blackwave.) made it to Ultratop in last year's Flemish hit parade.

As students of the conservatory, the trio KRANKk is very much in touch with their instruments. Sounds - and the way they are produced - are very important. A simple push of a button to produce a digital sound is not enough. "Real" sounds and acoustic elements dominate their debut album ‘DARK’. Although that's no dogma; disembodied vocal snippets and cold synths create a futuristic atmosphere. But they remain first and foremost musicians and only then producers. Producing a strong live set is their priority, with songs that will stand strong in any circumstances. KRANKk produces party music, which you can also take home with you. KRANKk makes futuristic metropolitan blues and stands for the sound of today. But that's a sound that has a lot of respect for what preceded it: the classics of Burial of Kode9 + the spaceape shimmer through here. Fans of, say, Massive Attack, The Bug, or even "Haunted Dancehall" by Sabres or Paradise will also enjoy this.

Their group name refers to 'insanity' and indeed: KRANKk is too crazy!

16:30 Place Ste-Catherine
16:30 Place Ste-Catherine

Ão is a young and exciting Belgian fourpiece blending saudade, indie and subtle electronica, topped off with the phenomenal voice of frontwoman Brenda Corijn. Drawing on her Mozambican-Portuguese roots, Corijn sings in Portuguese and English, her lyrics entwining with Siebe Chau’s southern guitar, the ambient sounds and production of Jolan Decaestecker and the eclectic percussion of Bert Peyffers.

Ão surfaced in December 2022 with mesmerising single ‘Mulher’, which skyrocketed with a lot of airplay, even on the highly influential Seattle-based KEXP. Follow-up ‘Avo’, released on 22 March, will certainly crank up the attention, most likely in every corner of the European continent, possibly even beyond. Ão are also working on their debut album (due for release in autumn), broadening their intoxicating sound, making it deeper, more danceable and poppier, much like FKA Twigs, Lhasa de Sela, Arooj Aftab, Çeu and James Blake.

Live, Ão is out of this world, not just a good show with brilliant musicians and an amazing voice, but a mind-blowing, unique and exhilarating experience. To be witnessed next summer at your favourite festival, and on many more occasions following the release of the album.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering what Ão [ɐ͂w̃] means: depending on the pronunciation, it could be something beautiful, something sad or something painful, express wonder or plain nonsense. Rest assured, that last meaning will not apply to the career of Ão, who are a new and very promising addition to the premier Busker roster and booker Willem Vandesande.

Compro Oro
19:45 Place Ste-Catherine
Compro Oro
19:45 Place Ste-Catherine

Ghent based latin jazz collective Compro Oro, are set to release new album ‘Buy The Dip’ on the 2nd September via the grooveobsessed Sdban Ultra label. Having received critical acclaim for their 2020 album ‘Simurg’ – a collaboration with Murat Ertel, cofounder and frontman of Istanbul's cult psychedelic folk band BaBa ZuLa and his singer partner Esma Ertel – the band’s fifth album is less ethno- and more techno-logy, both on a musical and conceptual level.

With tastemaker fans including BBC 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson and Stuart Maconie alongside Jazz FM’s Jez Nelson, the band’s spontaneous quest for psychedelic sounds and jazz grooves has not stopped expanding since their formation in 2014. After imaginative musical trips to Havana, Mogadishu and Istanbul for previous releases, Compro Oro went looking for sounds and inspirations from other corners of the globe for ‘Buy The Dip’. Synthesizers and electronic effects spice up Compro Oro’s distinctive musical marriage of vibraphones, electric guitars, jazzfunk rhythms, exotic percussions and dubby bass patterns. Band leader and composer Wim Segers created these new compositions often on piano or vibes in a more analogue way, leaving enough room for his band mates to colour each track when fine tuning the song.

Segers was inspired by the world of crypto markets and the specific concept of ‘buying the dip’: bitcoin diggers who play the markets at specific ‘low’ moments to gain higher profits when prices go up again. Are we all reduced to consuming creatures, seeking for nothing more than the thrill of pointless spending and endless profits? It’s a fairly philosophical question – especially for an instrumental album – but it’s key for the punchy and eclectic sounds on ‘Ben Hur’ and ‘Bitcoins’. Apart from those synths and fx, a fair bunch of neo-noir western vibes sprout up on this album as well – think detuned piano’s, flamenco-like guitars, rattling snare drums, and imminent whistles. Add to that some laid back sunny pop sounds (‘Kayak’), off-hook and swaying Turkish psychedelica (‘Karsilama’) and even some haunted, kraut-ish vocal parts (‘Dungeon’), it’s evident Compro Oro has a musical voice without any equal in Belgium and beyond.

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