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This is a concert within the celebratory series of 20 years of Ha Concerts. Throughout the season, we bring together different artists and genres in new creations and look back nostalgically as well as far ahead.
The summer solstice is in sight and we celebrate it with The Shortest Dance Night. Midsummer has been known in our regions for centuries as the Feast of St. John. Not coincidentally, the saint after whom is also named the infamous dance plague or choreomania, which in the Middle Ages stirred up an insatiable urge to dance in thousands of people at once.
From sunset to sunrise, dive into the contemporary version of this choreomania, with the pan out grooving concerts of Compro Oro and YĪN YĪN, steamy beats by DJs Kuryakin & Lian V, spoken word by Loeke Vanhoutteghem and shamanic surprise acts.
Those in need of a midnight refresher can indulge in massages and delicious snacks and drinks. Those who then lose their existential north through the dancing can turn to our mystical house oracle for soul salvation and answers to all life's questions. And all sorts of other surprises weave through the smokescreens of the night. Expect nothing short of the unexpected!
And if things get out of hand, there are still pistolets and croissants at breakfast.
After imaginary trips to Havana, Mogadishu and Istanbul earlier, Compro Oro found the sound and inspiration for their fifth album in yet another corner of the globe. This time synthesizers and electronics spice up their typical musical sound, inhabited by vibraphone melodies, guitar riffs, jazz funk rhythms, exotic percussion and dubby bass sounds.
Also floating throughout this record are a host of neo-noir western vibes - think creepy detuned pianos, flamenco-like guitars, rattling snare drums and menacing whistles. Listen and it becomes immediately clear how Compro Oro created a musical identity that has no equal in Belgium and far beyond.
Compro Oro
Wim Segers (vibraphone, marimba, synths, vocals, compositions), Bart Vervaeck (guitar, lap and pedal steel), Matthias Debusschere (el. bass), Falk Schrauwen (percussion), Frederik Van den Berghe (drums)
YĪN YĪN's full-length album The Age Of Aquarius is a simple, direct call to dance. In this band from Maastricht, the members found each other organizing and deejaying DIY parties. When they decided to make a cassette tape with references to South and Southeast Asian music, that was when the gate really opened.
'The Age Of Aquarius has a patchwork aesthetic, pulling together loose strands
of music from across the globe and placing them in service of the dancefloor' - Uncut
YĪN YĪN
Kees Berkers (drums), Remy Scheren (bass), Robbert Verwijlen (keys), Erik Bandt (guitar)
By day, Ghent native Kuryakin works as a label assistant at the renowned jazz label Sdban Records and promotes artists like Black Flower, REAL! and more. At night, he is one of the residents of the music collective HUNA and a versatile DJ who is always on the lookout for exciting tunes. Lian V (formerly known as Nicky B or through his techno alias Hersey) is the new alias of Nick Baeyens.
In recent years you saw them in the Belgian music scene through collaborations with and for organizations such as Radio Ruit, Democrazy, Monterey and Theresia. If there is one thing that binds them - besides their friendship - it is their eternal love for quality music, vinyl and grooves. Their psychedelic tunes will lead you through the night!
Photo © Juliane Noll
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