I H8 Camera (I hate camera) is the enigmatic improv collective led by master of ceremonies Rudy Trouvé. Gazet van Antwerpen: Rudy Trouvé created I H8 Camera around 2005: "Since then, different musicians have played with us all the time. We don't really have a fixed line-up and that's a great advantage. Some members have busy schedules or other commitments. So sometimes I don't know in advance who's going to be on stage that night. But we always plan our activities. When people think of improvisation, they often think of free jazz, but that's not really what we do. Sometimes jazzy elements appear, but that's more by chance. We play everything: funk, post-punk, rock... It can really go in all directions". Singing also requires improvisation, of course. "I try to find something on the spot. You could describe it as a kind of slam poetry, but in pop music there's also a long tradition of parlando singing. So it's nothing new. Writer Jeroen Olyslaegers is a big fan: "The least you can say about I H8 Camera is that they play, they play for the pleasure of playing, they play for the pleasure of playing and they hope that the audience will enjoy their playing. They improvise like life itself. The group was originally formed around 2009, when one or two members of Love Substitutes had to leave, but there was still a chance that the planned concert could go ahead. The result of a combination of circumstances, I H8 Camera is pure improvisation with an ever-changing line-up of musicians, mainly from the Heaven Hotel label. One hundred per cent improvisation and at least two hundred years' experience on stage. - I H8 Camera knows no songs, only the obscure indications of track master Rudy Trouvé (like "You're a Bulgarian trumpet player now travelling in South Africa") indicating the direction to follow. And this direction leads the brass players and the audience present down new musical paths, sometimes with very sharp turns along the way, interesting, stimulating and often brilliant. Each jam is launched by a different musician, who steers the show towards pure noise, distanced electronics or solos on a bucket of water. Anything goes in this exploration of the limits of improvisation".
And after a few more concerts: "... with this band, you can hear so many things: krautrock, Bill Laswell in the 90s, shady jazz (what a beautiful colour this talented saxophonist has given to the sound), punk, horny 70s funk, transversal post-rock, dreamy pop and Rudy being Rudy with Rudy's catchphrase: I don't feel like dancing". Let's bet you'll feel like dancing?
Band: Roland van Campenhout, Rudy Trouvé, Stef Kamil Carlens, Nikkie Van Lierop, Rahmat Edmons, Wim De Busser, Teun Verbruggen, Teuk Henri.
RIP Matt Watts (1987-2024 )