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The luck of the draw: being an artist in Belgium is almost tantamount to be living on dire straits. A small country equals a small audience, and before you know it, you've played every available venue. Meanwhile, making it abroad requires a small miracle: nobody's waiting for the next big thing from Belgium.
Belgium is nowhereland. Oddly, though, that's what makes it so interesting as well, because that's exactly where the best music comes from: nowhere. When nothing special or spectacular’s anticipated, anything and everything goes. Besides, living in a country where every musical ripple is noticed, has its advantages too. Especially if that country also possesses an intense and varied nightlife. Which, by the way, it does.
This complex balance between economic bleakness and artistic freedom regularly proves more fruitful than expected. The will to survive often drives Belgian artists to contradictory approaches; they either try to copy a formula that has proven successful elsewhere or, alternatively, try anything at all, hoping it will catch on. Inevitably, a lot of garbage is produced. But when it does work, the results are often bafflingly good.
In that respect, the first half of the seventies should be regarded as a Golden Age, when a generation of extremely good (session) musicians experimented with funk, jazz, latin and other groovy genres. Unearthing these treasures, though, takes a lot of time and a pair of well-trained ears, since most of them are hidden on single B-sides or obscure editions of library music.
In 2014, Sdban Records collects a first selection of these lost gems on ‘Funky Chicken: Belgian Grooves from the Seventies’. This compilation (4 LP/2 CD) combines lesser-known tracks of well-known artists (André Brasseur, The Chakachas) with newly discovered names (Leo Cavallo, Les Hélions) and bona fide diggers gold (Hein Huysmans Kwintet, Super Funk Special). All over the world, people are baffled, but nowhere as much as in Belgium. That good? From around here?
‘ ‘Funky Chimes’ is the logical continuation of ‘Funky Chicken’. Not just a fast sequel or a gathering of leftovers, but a different smell from the same perfume. The music’s quality matches that of its predecessor, but the treasure hunt was even more adventurous, and the stories behind some of the nuggets even more gripping.
Take ‘Experience’ (performer unknown), for instance: this one was found on a 5-inch flexi disc people in Belgium could obtain by saving points from cookies and pasta packages. Georges Hayes Philharpopic Orchestra simply must be the weirdest big band ever to have seen the Belgian light of day, if only for its name. And The Sumos, a band brought into existence to cash in on Carl Douglas’ world scorcher ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ (1974), decide to go the whole hog and release an entire album filled with oriental bubblegum.
But let’s not jump to wrong conclusions, here: ‘Funky Chimes’ is not a freak show, but a two-hour collection of excellent and unique grooves. The Free Electronic Concept is a rare blend of soul and budding electronic music. Skelorptak is a one-off collaboration between the Polish saxophone player Jan Wróblewski and the skilled jazz orchestra of the Belgian national broadcast corporation.
Just as on ‘Funky Chicken’, you will find some lesser-known top tracks from grandmasters, here. The late lamented Marc Moulin is featured in three totally different performances: as a pianist on the debut of his friend Philip Catherine, as a master arranger on the only album by the Belgian chansonnier Lieven and with ‘Mona Call’, a hitherto unknown radio tune he produced under the moniker Kiosk.
A final word of welcome… For the newcomers: ‘Funky Chimes’ proves why Belgium is still considered a unique and fertile breeding ground in the world of dance music. This is where it all started, more than 40 years ago. And for the more advanced: this is ‘Funky Chicken’, level next. Call it the connoisseur’s edition. |
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