Womega was a Belgian jazz-rock/soul band that released the album A Quick Step on self-press Skruup Records in 1975. The band was active until 1981, releasing two locally-pressed singles after their singular album. Members: Duk Vanlessen (guitar), Jen Vanlessen (bass), Joss Vanlessen (guitar), Paul Vrijens (keyboards), Jos Bertrand (drums), Herman Merken (vocals), Paul Peters (flute, […]
Abraxis were a Belgian jazz-rock band that recorded a self-titled album for local EMI subsidiary IBC in 1976. Members: Charles Loos (piano, keyboards), Dirk Bogaert (flute), Paul Elias (guitar), Jean-Paul Musette (bass), Tony Malisan (drums), Jacky Mauer (drums) Abraxis was assembled in Brussels by pianist/composer Charles Loos (born July 29, 1951), who played on the […]
Jenghiz Khan were a Belgian hard-rock/psych band that released the album Well Cut on Barclay in 1970. Bassist/singer Pierre Rapsat concurrently cut an album with Laurelie and issued a slew of singles with the Tenderfoot Kids. Members: Tim Brean (organ, piano, harpsichord, vocals), Big Frisma [Friswa] (guitar, vocals), Christian “Chris Tick” Servranckx (drums, percussion, vocals), […]
Waterloo was a Belgian pop-psych band that released the album First Battle with accompanying singles on Vogue in 1970, followed by two non-album singles in 1971. The band’s final lineup formed the nucleus of Pazop. Members: Dirk Bogaert (lead vocals, flute), Gus Roan (guitar), Marc Malyster (organ, 1969-70), Jacky Mauer (drums), Jean-Paul Janssens (bass, 1969-70), […]
Cos was a Belgian avant-jazz-rock band that released four albums on IBC between 1974 and 1979, followed by two 1983–84 titles on Lark. Keyboardist Charles Loos (Abraxis/Julverne) appears on the first and third albums, Postaeolian Train Robbery and Babel. Former Placebo keyboardist Marc Moulin produced their 1976 release Viva Boma, which features sundry instrumentation from […]
Aksak Maboul — alternately spelled Aqsak Maboul — were a Belgian ensemble that released two albums during the late 1970s. The project was headed by multi-instrumentalist Marc Hollander and featured a revolving door of talent from both sides of the channel, including members of Placebo, Cos, and Henry Cow. Members: Marc Hollander (clarinet, drum machine, […]
Julverne were a Belgian classical/folk ensemble that was initially active between the late 1970s and mid-1980s. The revolving door line-up consisted of anywhere from eight to 12 members at a given time. On 1980’s sophomoric A Neuf album, the band were joined by pianist/composer Charles Loos, who had mined similar territory in the acoustic collective […]
Kandahar were a Belgian art-rock/jazz-rock band that released three albums between 1974 and 1978. Members: Jeff De Visscher (lead guitar, acoustic guitar, sitar, vocals), Karel Bogard (piano, clavinet, synthesizer, gong, bells, vocals), Jean Pierre Claeys (bass), Etienne Delaruye (drums, glockenspiel, timpani, cello, tambourine, vibraphone, piano, synthesizer, strings, clavinet, marimba, vocals), Jacky Eddyn (soprano saxophone, alto […]
Machiavel are a Belgian rock band, initially active from 1974 to 1982. After their 1976 self-titled EMI debut, they hired longstanding vocalist Mario Guccio and released the popular 1977/78 albums Jester and Mechanical Moonbeams. Stylistically, they evolved from symphonic/hard-rock to streamlined New Wave. Members: Marc Ysaye (drums, vocals), Roland Degreef (bass), Albert Letecheur (keyboards, 1974-79), […]
Present were a Belgian chamber-rock/Zeuhl ensemble that was initially active during the first half of the 1980s. The band was headed by erstwhile Univers Zéro guitarist Roger Trigaux and also included ongoing UZ drummer Daniel Denis, who concurrently played in Art Zoyd while recording the debut Present album Triskaidékaphobie, released in 1980 on Atem. A […]
Univers Zéro is a Belgian chamber-rock/Zeuhl ensemble that has been sporadically active since the mid-1970s. Led from its inception by drummer Daniel Denis, the group released five albums between 1977 and 1986. After a decade-length pause in activity, the nameplate relit at the cusp of the millennium. Members: Daniel Denis (drums, keyboards), Guy Segers (bass, […]
Red Zebra were a Belgian art-punk/coldwave band formed in 1978 in Brugge, West-Vlaanderen. Between 1980 and 1982, three singles and an EP were issued on the band’s namesake self-press Zebra. The band’s singular album from this period, Maquis, appeared in 1983 on Parsley. A further EP was issued the following year on Himalaya. The 1990s and 2000s […]
Placebo were a Belgian jazz-funk band that was active between 1971 and 1974. The band released two albums on CBS and a third on Harvest. Keyboardist Marc Moulin would follow up the project with his 1975 solo album Sam’ Suffy, which has since become a Rare Groove classic. He subsequently played with the bands Cos, […]
Polyphonic Size were a Belgian coldwave/synthpop band that was active for 12 years. Between 1979 and 1982, the band released four EPs and assorted singles, mostly on the small-press labels Sandwich and New Rose. The latter also issued the band’s 1982 debut full-length Live for Each Moment / Vivre pour Chaque Instant. In 1984, the […]
Kuruki were a Belgian coldwave/electro-pop combo that released five shortplayers and one album between 1981 and 1984. The band included veteran Flemish-rock journeyman Alain Bureau, who released a praised 1975 solo album under the modified surname Buro. Members: Gerry D’Haeyer, Alain Bureau Discography: “Crocodile Tears” / “W.S. remake” (1981, 7″) “Just a Cat” / “Marina […]
Irish Coffee were a Belgian hard rock band that was active during the first half of the 1970s. Signed to the Triangle label, the band released a singular longplayer in 1971. This was followed by four non-album singles, of which “Masterpiece” became a local hit. Members: William Souffreau (vocals, bass, guitar), Willy De Bisschop (bass, […]
Mustang were a Belgian hard-rock band that was active for more than a decade, starting in 1966 as Guy Morgan & The Mustangs. In 1972, the band released a single on Ideal Records. Five years later, their singular album Born and Still Alive! was issued on Monopole-subsidiary Eagle System. Members: Staf de Peuter (lead guitar, acoustic […]
Solis Lacus were a Belgian jazz-rock band that released a self-titled album in 1975 on EMI-subsidiary IBC. Members: Michel Herr (electric piano, keyboards, percussion), Richard Rousselet (trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion), Robert Jeanne (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), Nick Kletchkovsky (electric bass), Bruno Castellucci (drums, percussion), Félix Simtaine (drums) Discography: Solis Lacus (1975)
Alain Bureau (Aug. 6, 1951—July 13, 2014) was a Belgian vocalist, guitarist and songwriter who was active with band and solo work during the 1970s and early 1980s. Bureau first recorded as a member of Benelux psych/hard-rockers Light Fire, which released two singles on the Pink Elephant label in 1970. Abbreviating his surname to Buro, […]
Mad Curry were a Belgian jazz-rock/psych band that released a self-titled album and a standalone single on the Pirate’s label at the dawn of the 1970s. Members: Viona Westra (vocals), Giorgio Chitschenko (saxophone), Danny Rousseau (organ), Jean Andore (bass), Eddy Kane (drums) Stylistically, the band paired the sassy raunch of femme-led contemporaries Goliath, Room, Mr. Albert […]
Shampoo were a Belgian jazz-rock/pop band that issued the album Volume One on Disques Motors in 1971. Despite the album’s title, it would be the only proper album by the band, which subsequently linked with vocal trio Hearts of Soul for the 1973 single “All of Us” / “Today Is the First Day” and the 1974 […]
Open Sky Unit were a Belgian post-bop/jazz-funk sextet that released a self-titled album in 1974 on Duchense. Members: Jacques Pelzer (saxophone), Micheline Pelzer (drums), Ron Wilson (vocals, Fender Rhodes), Steve Houben (saxophone, flute), Janot Buchem (bass), Michel Graillier (percussion) Discography: Open Sky Unit (1974)
Banzai were a Belgian jazz-rock/art-rock five-piece that was active during the mid-1970s. The band released three singles and one album, Hora Nata. Members: Peter Torfs (organ, piano, strings, Moog, vocals), Evert Verhees (acoustic guitar, bass, bass pedals, piano, vocals), John Mc O (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals), Ludwig Kemat (tumbas, metallophones, marimba, vibraphone, percussion), Erry […]
Pazop were a Belgian avant-jazz/rock band that was active during the early 1970s. In 1972, the band issued the single “Captain Black” / “Morning” on the French Barclay label. That same year, an album’s worth of material was recorded that would ultimately be shelved until 1996 when Musea issued the archival CD Psychillis of a […]
Marc Moulin (Aug. 16, 1942—Sept. 26, 2008) was a Belgian keyboardist, composer, and producer who was musically active from the early 1960s to the mid-2000s. He is best-known as the mastermind behind early 1970s jazz-rockers Placebo and as part of the early 1980s electro-pop trio Telex. His 1975 solo album Sam’ Suffy has gained rare-groove classic status […]
Snowy Red was the performance moniker of Belgian coldwave musician Marcel Thiel, aka Micky Mike. He released two self-contained albums — Snowy Red and The Right to Die — circa 1981/82 on small-press Dirty Dance. The moniker represented an actual band on two subsequent ’80s releases, Vision and The Beat Is Over. Thiel briefly resurrected the Snowy […]
Nuit Câline à la Villa Mon Rêve was a Belgian chamber/folk ensemble that formed in 1970. Active through most of the decade, the band released its singular album in 1977 on EMI Belgium-subsidiary IBC. Members: Éric Chale (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals), Alex Furnelle (electric bass), Jeannot Gillis (violin, trumpet, tuba, trombone), Michel Moers (acoustic […]
The Honeymoon Killers were a Belgian New Wave/zolo band from Brussels that released the album Spécial Manubre! on Marc Moulin‘s Kamikaze small-press in 1977, followed by Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel on Crammed in 1982. Two shortplayers followed in 1983; one credited to vocalist Véronique Vincent. Keyboardist Marc Hollander previously appeared in Cos […]
Full Moon Trio were a Belgian avant-jazz/rock band that released self-titled album on Dwarf Records in 1975. Dutch-born saxophonist André Goudbeek appeared on the first Kandahar album and subsequently played with the Willem Breuker Kollektief. Members: André Goudbeek (saxophone, violin, [Tunisian] bagpipes), Pol Feyaerts (bass), Ronny Dusoir (drums, percussion) Discography: Full Moon Trio (1975)
Act Big Band were a Belgian avant/modern-jazz ensemble that released a self-titled album on PIAS-subsidiary LD Records in 1981, followed by the album Extremes on Amplitude in 1987. Members: Félix Simtaine (drums, leader), Michel Herr (piano, musical director), Philippe Aerts (double bass), Kurt Van Herck (tenor saxophone), Eric Verhaeghe (trumpet, flugelhorn), Serge Plume (trumpet, flugelhorn), […]
The S.S.O. Orchestra were a Belgian studio-based funk ensemble that released two albums on RKM/Shady Brook in 1975 and 1976. Members: John Sluszny (producer), Ralph Benatar (arranger) Discography: Tonight’s the Night (1975) Shine Your Light (1976)
Prelude were a Belgian symphonic-rock band from Verviers, Liège, that released the album Voyage on small-press Europroduction in 1979. Members: David Piron (vocals), Vincent Fis (guitar), Michel Crosset (keyboards), Vanderstraeten (bass), Paulus (drums) Discography: Voyage (1979)
Phylter were a Belgian symphonic-rock band from Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, that released a self-titled album on Parsifal in 1978. Members: Patrick Philips (organ, Fender Rhodes, piano, strings, synthesizer, vocals), Marc Van Bortel (guitar, vocals), Paul Van Bortel (bass, vocals), Christian Zaman (drums) Discography: Phylter (1978)
Mariavah were a Belgian symphonic/art-rock band that released the album Les Heures Incolores on MD in 1979, followed by a self-titled album on Polydor in 1983. Guitarist Christian Boissart hailed from chamber-psych legends Laurelie. Members: Luigi Facella (Bass Guitar), Marc Van Neyghem (Drums), Christian Boissart (Guitar), Francis Dozin (Lead Vocals, Flute), Gérard Jouffroy (Lead Vocals, […]
Malachi were a Belgian psych-rock band that released a self-titled album on Columbia (EMI) in 1971. Organist Barry Kirsch subsequently produced albums for Ramases and Spiteri. Members: Barry Kirsch (organ, piano, vocals), Robert Wilson (bass, guitar, vocals), Paul Pinder (drums, flute, cymbals), Jon Ashford (congas, bongos) Discography: Malachi (1971)
Isopoda were a Belgian symphonic-rock band from Aalst, Oost-Vlaanderen, that released the album Acrostichon on Twinkle in 1978, followed by Taking Root on Lark in 1979. Members: Walter De Berlangeer (guitar, 1974-81), Arnold De Schepper (bass, 12-string guitar, guitar, vocals, flute), Marc van der Schuerren (drums, percussion, bass, vocals, 1974-82), Guido Rubrecht (Hammond organ, 1974-78), […]
Lagger Blues Machine were a Belgian hard-rock/jam band from Itterbeek, Vlaams-Brabant, that released a self-titled album on Amber Soundroom in 1972. Four lengthy tracks from a 1971 concert recording were later released on disc by archivists Ficrivan. Members: Christian Duponcheel (organ, keyboards), Jean-Luc Duponcheel (drums, percussion), José Cuisset (guitar), Michel Maes (bass), Carmelo Pilotta (saxophone, […]
Tideline were a Belgian symphonic-rock band from Bruxelles that released the album The Crowded Room in 1979. Sixteen years later, the band reconvened for the album Siren Song on Musea. Members: Hadi Al Gammal (lead vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar), Christian Gilbert (drums), Didier De Roos (keyboards, acoustic guitar, background vocals), Sam Mackinney (bass) Discography: The […]
Palass were a Belgian hard-rock/metal band from Charleroi, Hainaut, that released two singles on Robert Derycke Productions circa 1980/81, culminating with the album Private Property on Imavox. In 1989, the nameplate was resurrected for the album Queen of the World on Powerhouse. Members: Daniel Duvieuart (vocals), Bernard Cambier (piano, strings, synthesizer), Jean-Claude Manderlier (lead guitar), […]
Laurelie were a Belgian psych-rock band from Verviers, Liège, that released a self-titled album on Triangle in 1970. Bassist/vocalist Pierre Raepsaet concurrently played with hard-rockers Jenghiz Khan and subsequently launched a solo career. Most of his 1977–84 solo albums feature contributions from Laurelie guitarist/vocalist Christian Boissart. In 1979, they partook in the symphonic/art-rock project Mariavah. […]
Dragon were a Belgian symphonic-rock band from Ath, Hainaut, that released a self-titled album on Acorn in 1976. The following year, the band demoed material for a second album, Kalahen, that was twice released years after the fact: on Ficrivan/Fanny in 1986 and in expanded form on Mellow in 1992. Members: Georges Vanaise (drums, vibraphone, […]
Doctor Downtrip were a Belgian blues-rock band from Brussels that released a standalone single on Disques Vogue in 1972, followed by three 1972–73 singles and a 1973 self-titled album on CBS. The band shortened its name to Downtrip for two further albums on Epic and Philips between 1976 and 1979. Members: Jean-Paul Goosens (vocals), Michael […]
Autumn was a Belgian coldwave trio that released three cassette albums and the single “Synthesize” on self-press Micrart between 1980 and 1984. Two-thirds of the band concurrently recorded as Linear Movement. Members: Peter Bonne [aka Ense] (drums, guitar, synthesizer), Geert Coppens [aka Sen] (vocals, synthesizer), Peter Koutstaal (1981-84) Discography: Seven Days Autumn (cassette, 1980) “Synthesize” […]
Telex were a Belgian electro/art-pop trio that released the album Looking for Saint-Tropez on Vogue/RKM in 1979, followed by Neurovision in 1980. Two tracks from the former were appended to the latter for a U.S. issue on Sire. In 1981, the band enlisted the lyrical services of Sparks for the Ariola release Sex. Two further […]
Wallace Collection were a Belgian chamber-pop/psych band that released the album Laughing Cavalier on Odeon in 1969, followed by Serenade in 1970. Both albums were issued eponymously in select territories. Also in 1970, the band recorded the soundtrack for the film comedy La Maison. The nameplate was taken from the collection of 15th–19th century art […]
Recreation were a Belgian organ-psych trio from Liège that released the album Don’t Open on Triangle in 1970, followed by a standalone single and the album Music or Not Music on Barclay in 1972. The first album was given an eponymous issue on the German Bellaphon label with Italian fresco cover art. Drummer Francis Lonneux […]
Raymond Vincent is a Belgian violinist and composer who recorded three albums with the chamber-pop/psych band Wallace Collection at the turn of the 1970s. In 1972, he released the solo album Metronomics on Izarra. He then teamed with pianist Bruno Libert to spearhead the multinational flamenco-rock project Esperanto, which produced three albums for A&M between […]
Sunhouse were a Belgian jazz-rock band that released a self-titled album on JW’s Records in 1977. Bassist Alain Gouthier was also a member of Cos throughout the second half of the 1970s. During the 1980s, he frequently appeared on solo recordings by Tuxedomoon mainstay Blaine L. Reininger. Members: Alain Gouthier (bass, fretless bass, backing vocals), […]
Koen De Bruyne (? — 1979) was a Belgian keyboardist and composer who released the album Here Comes the Crazy Man! on Vogue in 1974, followed by In Kluis on Hans in 1978. In 1975, he teamed with French library musician Janko Nilovic in the jazz-funk studio project Mad Unity. As a sessionist, De Bruyne […]
Chris Craft was a Belgian space-funk studio project that yielded the album Discosmic Dance on Eurodisc/Vogue in 1978. Members: Philippe Renaux, Christian Noefnet, Danny Boddin Discography: Discosmic Dance (1978)
Crossfire were a Belgian hard-rock/metal band from Aalst that released three albums on Mausoleum Records between 1983 and 1985, followed by a live album on Metal Enterprises in 1987. Members: Peter DeWint (vocals), Marc VanCaelenberge (guitar), Jacky D’Hondt (guitar), Patrick Van Londerzele (bass), Chris DeBrauwer (drums), Rudy Van de Sjipe (guitar, 1982-86), Nero Neerinckx (guitar, […]
Mad Unity was a Belgian jazz-funk studio project that yielded the album Funky Tramway on Vogue in 1975. Members: Dan Lacksman, Gérard Sabbe, Janko Nilovic, Jean Pierre Onraedt, Koen De Bruyne, Nick Roland, Patricia Maessen, Pino Marchese, Richard Rousselet Discography: Funky Tramway (1975)
