The BOZAR welcomes the second year of the Brussels Electronic Music Festival. Over 30 DJs, musicians and VJs perform throughout the venue over the last weekend in March. Expect famous figures spinning alongside newcomers, performances taking place in various rooms and halls and many surprises in tow including;

Cluster, Chris De Luca, Hexstatic, Johann Johannsson, Border Community showcase: James Holden, Luke Abbott, Avus, VJ Dan – Raster Noton showcase: Aoki Takamasa, Cyclo (Ryoji Ikeda & Carsten Nicolai), Atom TM – Sylvain Chauveau, Machinefabriek, Thomas Brinkmann, D * Fuse, Aufgang, Quenum, Sierra Sam, Dan Curtin, DARKO, Fader, Fady One, Marcus Vector, Rodriguez Jr., Playboy’s Bend, SEI A Monsieur Magnetik, Fonsny Mathieu, Christophe Bailleau, The activists, Odaka, Cedric Stevens, Natalia de Mello….

Check out the video (in French) from the 2009 Brussels Electronic film festival for an idea of what to expect:

BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts 26 – 28 Mar 2010. Fri 8pm-6am; Sat 8pm-7am; Sun 7pm-2am

The French band Air will be back in their homeland as part of their European Tour during January. Their music can probably be described as ‘moody electro-romantic’ with some sort of emphasis on the word ‘romantic’ as they are back in France to plug their new album entitled Love 2 – admittedly a somewhat odd title as Love 1 or just plain Love was never made but who am I to complain.

Nevertheless, Air – made up of  Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel really are a treat to listen to with the soft tones in their music making it very relaxing. As such, a venue like the Casino de Paris – an old-style music theatre in, surprisingly enough, Paris, is an excellent location for them to play in France.

Aside from being close to their hometown of Versailles, it is fitting to their style of music. For just two nights – on the 11^th and 12^th of January – it is possible to see them in Paris.

At this time of year, moody music, the moody cafes of Paris, the moody French waitresses, what more could you want?

Photo Air by Indy138

I am reminded of the time my friend, meaning to order the cocktail Frilly Tutu – instead asked for a Tutti Frutti and got a very odd look. This was because he couldn’t quite get the name right.

Much the same is probably of the Jazz Festival Marni Flagey. So-called because it takes place at the Flagey cultural centre and the Marni theatre, it is a difficult name to remember. Because of this, there is an enormous contrast between the name and the quality of the music.

What I mean by this, is the music is truly memorable because it is world-class. Obviously, there is top-quality jazz – Alexandre Cavaliere on his violin together with his band is just one example – but, particularly for a jazz festival what is notable is the other genres of music on offer. With bepop, flamenco, fusion as well as other genres, there truly is something to satisfy anyone regardless of their personal musical tastes

Taking place from the 19^th until the 30^th of January, in Brussels – a city famed for its jazz music – the Jazz Festival Marni Flagey promises to be an eleven day extravaganza. With a trip to Brussels, you can be part of it.

Photo My Violin made in 1770 by Wolfy1280

Arguably the most wonderful thing about Lille is its quirky music scene. Atmospheric venues like L’Aeronef are perfectly made for interesting bands to come and perform. If you want to hear bland pop music, then whilst Lille may satiate you in other ways, musically it won’t be the best break for you.

But if you like something a bit different, then L’Aeronef is a venue you will love.

Why? Well, here’s just one example: On Sunday the 22^nd of November, L’Aeronef will play host to In Flames, a Swedish band from Gothenburg. In Flames, despite having gone relatively under the radar, are a pioneering band who have produced ground-breakingly original music which has helped develop the Melodic Death Metal genre hugely.

But you’re probably thinking that this is still grunge music which you don’t actually want to listen to.

Well, In Flames produce a lot more than Death Metal music. For one, in their two guitarists, Jesper Stromblad and Bjoran Gelotte, they have two of the most under-hyped musicians of the generations: these two are phenomenally talented at playing the guitar and far too few people have got to see them in action – their riffs are incredible.

Make sure you’re one of the lucky few who have seen In Flames, and it promises to be a special night in Lille.

Photo In Flames by cgo2

Take a little break in Lille for the 5th edition of “Paysages Electroniques” a great mix between sound and vision. Come and see DJs and video performers in some of Lille’s and Roubaix’s most amazing venues such as the fine art museum, an intimate projection room, a cute and welcoming basement or at a crazy night club.

Building, deconstruction, rebuilding:  this is the main theme of this famous festival which justifies this eclectic line-up divided in 4 evenings. Discover young Parisian DJs for the ‘Laptop is Burning’ evening (Lazy flow, Riot Kid…), dance all night long with the famous “non birthday” parties with the Birthday Party Berlin team (Dj Donna Summer, Mr Ouzo…) or with the mythic label Trapez (Alex Under, Piemont…).

The festival also has a mix video workshop for kids from 10 years old on the 11th of November

Events are taking place on the 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th of November, and you can find out more information here: http://www.myspace.com/paysages.

Photo Venzha (Indonesie), Electrocore by Gabyu

Esa-Pekka Salonen and his Philharmonia Orchestra end their nine-month series, City of Dreams (Vienna 1900-1935) with this performance of Berg’s first opera, Wozzeck at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

Built in 1913 for impresario Gabriel Astruc by Perralt, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées is a rare example of Art Deco in Paris. It boasts an exterior bas relief by Antoine Bourdelle, a dome by Maurice Denis, Édouard Vuillard paintings and a Xavier Roussel curtain.

Simon Keenleyside sings the title role, with Katarina Dalayman as Marie. Alongside Keenlyside and Dalayman, Salonen’s cast includes Anthony Dean Griffey (Drum Major), Robert Murray (Andres), Peter Hoare (Captain), Matthew Best (Doctor), Anna Burford (Margret), David Soar and Leigh Melrose (workmen) and Ben Johnson (Idiot). The chorus is the Philharmonia Voices.

Wozzeck, composed between 1914 an 1922, follows our eponymous soldier as he is driven to murder, having become paranoid after he finds that his girlfriend, Marie, is having an affair.

Berg heightened the expressionist drama by composing almost deliberately non-lyrical music and there have been no more forceful marriages of music and story in the whole of opera.

While not as popular as Verdi or Bizet, Wozzeck is worth catching for its raw emotion.

Performing at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on the 12th October, you’ll have to be quick to catch this last performance.

Photo  4JX Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai by MITO Settembre Musica’s

After our little breaks to Paris, Brussels and Lille we decided for our last little break of the summer to pull something special out the bag. So for our ‘Little Music Break’ we decided to make a whole weekend of it and head to the Rock en Seine Festival in Paris for August bank holiday weekend.

The Rock en Seine festival is situated in the Pont de Saint-Cloud area in the suburbs of Paris. Unlike festivals in the UK that are normally situated in a random field in the middle of nowhere Rock en Seine is situated in the city so is easily accessible whether you want to stay on site or not.

A short ride on the metro and we arrived at our hotel, everyone secretly relieved that the camping on site had booked up so quickly so we could have the benefits of comfy beds, and warm showers everyday.

Heading down to the festival it took us a while to realise that conveniently there was a tram to take us to the other end of the festival where we could pick up our VIP passes and get in through the back entrance. Whooo for VIP!

Going through every band and story from the weekend will probably to bored you silly while making you green with envy, so to save your sanity I will give you a snap shot of each day.

The line up for the weekend was amazing with bands and DJ’s such as Oasis, The Prodigy, Bloc Party, Birdy Nam Nam, Metric, Vitalic, MGMT, Calvin Harris, Vampire weekend – I could go on but I’m sure your already suitably envious.

As you’re probably already aware on the Friday night Oasis were a no show as they decided this was the night they were going to break up for good (we heard rumors that apparently Liam broke Noels guitar). Despite this we had a great time and consoled our selves with a great set from Vitalic and drunken dancing in the VIP tent.

The next day feeling slight worst for wear we had a leisurely picnic and gradually recovered from the day before to do it all again.

The line up for the second day was equally impressive as the day before with Calvin Harris, Birdy Nam Nam, The Offspring, Faith No More, as well as Kitty, Daisy and Lewis.

Birdy Nam Nam were my personal favourites of the day and I have now become slightly obsessed and am planning to get back Paris to see them again soon.

By the final day quite a few people were starting to feel the affects of the last few days late nights and shenanigans.

Metric were the first act on of the day and were perfect for getting us all back in the mood while we sprawled out under a nearby tree with our picnic. As the majority of acts we wanted to see were performing later on we moved back to the VIP area and spent the afternoon lazing in the sun, while drinking and chatting.

Recovered and ready to make the most of the last day we headed down to have a bit of a dance and warm up for the evening ahead. Les Petit Pois were surprisingly unexciting considering the legendary names that make up the band and MGMT despite a bit of a sing along to their well known hits were a bit flat.

For me personally this was all generally insignificant as the one act I’d been looking forward to seeing all weekend were The Prodigy, who were the final act on the main stage.

Waving our VIP passes we slipped into the butterfly wings at the side of the stage, while Paul and Sam actually manages to get on stage and watch from the sidelines – only a little bit jealous about that.

As you’d expect The Prodigy were awesome and the atmosphere amazing, living up to all the expectations that I had been building up over the weekend, making it a perfect end to an amazing little break.

To top it off on our way back to London the next day we actually met and had our photos with Keith (from The Prodigy) who was also traveling on the same Eurostar train as us!

A big thanks to everyone who came with us on our final Little Break of the summer and made it a special weekend to remember! Marcus from Stero Kill, Boaz from Cougar Microbes, Mark and Paul from Fried My Little Brain, Sam and Joe from Hush House, Terry and Nicki from Buzzin Music blog and Buzzin Pop Music, Paul and Gareth from Vice, Stuart from My Chemical Toilet and Niall from Nialler9.

Massive Attack return with the Splitting the Atom EP, a taste of what is to come on their much-anticipated forthcoming album. The band’s current tour brings them to Lille’s Zenith Arena.

Massive Attack emerged from Bristol in the late Eighties with a hypnotic sound influenced by soul, hip-hop and dub.

The group released the single, Unfinished Sympathy, prior to the release of their classic 1991 debut album, Blue Lines. That album featured rapping by Tricky, soon to become a performer in his own right. Subsequent guest vocalists have included Tracey Thorn, Elizabeth Frazer and Sinead O’Connor. Reggae singer Horace Andy remains a regular collaborator.

The band’s 1998 album, Mezzanine, was a tour de force that took their claustrophobic productions to darker depths, with heavy dub basslines and pile-driving rhythms. Five years later, 100th Window mined similar sonic territory.

Whether you’re already a fan or just want to do something different on your Little Break, check out Massive Attack on the 14th November at the Zenith Arena in Lille.

Photo Massive Attack Domplatte by Presley Jesus

Those of you who entered our Rock en Seine competition and weren’t successful should look away now as our winners Sophie and Selina are about to share with you the amazing time that they had partying over the bank holiday weekend at Rock en Seine in Paris.

Sophie

I wanted to share our fantastic weekend we just spent at Rock en Seine in Paris. After being picked as the winner of this fantastic competition the next day we were on the Eurostar to Paris drinking champagne with brunch and chatting about which bands we wanted to see.  The lineup was brilliant – Oasis, MGMT, The Prodigy, Vampire Weekend, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  I couldn’t believe we were there – it was so spontaneous!

Saint Cloud encapsulated what you see when you think of France, it had some wonderful street cafes and winding streets, we even saw a wedding at the local church.

We then had 3 days at Rock en Seine where we were treated to music from Keane, Vampire Weekend, the Klaxons, Prodigy, MGMT, Calvin Harris, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Madness, and The Offspring but sadly not Oasis!! This festival was set in the grounds of a spectacular park including old ruins and statues upon the River Seine.

The sun shined for us all weekend, and with Rock en Seine being on a much smaller scale than those in England, you could really get involved and for us even to the front row for a couple of our favourite acts.

So after a long weekend of jumping around in the sun on my picnic blanket to the likes of Vampire Weekend and Calvin Harris and crowd surfing to MGMT, I’m feeling pretty exhausted but it’s all well worth it!

I had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend Rock en Seine for those looking at going to a festival next year, you should try a European festival as it was truly a great experience.

Selina

In the last year I have had a pretty difficult time of it – my father passed away really suddenly and then my stupid (ex) boyfriend of 8 years just broke up with me.  I have had amazing support from my friends and family and I have been trying to keep really busy doing things I love.

Me and my best mate Soph had been emailing each other all week to try and decide what to do for the bank holiday weekend.  Then Soph found out about a Little Break Big Difference competition through facebook.

She entered on my behalf because she knew I really wanted to go to the Rock en Seine festival anyway and that I needed cheering up.  I am passionate about music and I absolutely love festivals, so it was a genius idea to enter, but I didn’t think we’d win.

We were so excited when we found out a few days later that we had won!  I screamed!

I am so grateful to Eurostar for giving me this amazing gift – i really had such a good weekend.  And also to my brilliant friend soph who made it so fun!

Jazz à la Villette is a musical celebration with an emphasis on innovative and experimental jazz. Performances are held at the Parc de la Villette and other venues around Paris.

Highlights of the excellent 2009 programme include free jazz legend Ornette Coleman leading his quartet, bandleader and composer Hank Jones, avant garde saxophonist and composer John Zorn, influential pianist Ahmad Jamal and Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80’s scintillating Afrobeat.

If you fancy going to see Jazz à la Villette you better be quick as it is only running till the 13th September.

Photo Jazz Band by Tavallai