As a part of 40 Years of AB, the programming team deliberately relinquishes its task to others and invites various (inter)national curators and organisations to provide an exciting, varied and cutting-edge programme in their place. One of these organisations is Flood Floorshows, from Dendermonde: active since 2011, with DIY shows / a vinyl label / distro. As no other, they have really had their finger on the pulse when it comes to subgenres within the punk, emo and hardcore scenes. They have personal approach for promoting events for national and international artists, always around the three basic values: passion, independence and amplification!

“We’re passionate about working out shows whereby we do our very best to offer young artists opportunities in the larger club circuit. By ‘independence’ we mainly mean that we don’t want to be weighed down by sponsors or permanent subsidies. In this way we remain alert and active in our search for challenging and exciting new artists.” - Kristof Van den Eede, founder of Flood Floorshows.

Flood Floorshows is there for Belgian bands too. Not only do they have an own label on which they release Belgian artists, they also provide live performance opportunities to countless alternative acts. One of these acts is Slow Crush, from Leuven. The shoegaze band encompassing Isa Holliday (the frontwoman with British roots) already received Airplay on BBC Radio 1 and a full page interview in metal magazine Kerrang! before even releasing their debut album. Few Belgian bands have managed that. This winter, they are heading out on a European tour with Soft Kill, the American band that has helped to define the sound of postpunk in recent years. A not-to-be-missed dark double bill, on a dark winter evening!