The most exciting (out there) jazz label of recent years is undoubtedly Chicago-based International Anthem. Quality newspaper Chicago Reader: “International Anthem brings punk idealism to progressive jazz.” A comparison with the groundbreaking Impulse! Records from the 60’s comes to mind: top-notch productions, the musical gaze ahead and an extremely well-crafted graphic design invariably packaged in an (oh so popular in Japan) OBI strip.
So it’s no coincidence that BRDCST and International Anthem have been in a blessed marriage for many years now, with previous visits by Tom Skinner (The Smile), Irreversible Entanglements, Jaimie Branch (R.I.P) and Alabaster DePlume. Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Anteloper and Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly also permormed at AB before.
In the period from 2014-2024, there were around 100 IA releases. They stayed true to their mission statement (‘to vitalize demand for boundary defying music’) and their ethos (‘always looking forward’). In 2025, AI wants to celebrate that past decade under the banner IA11 with ‘a series of releases, reissues, miscellaneous media and events’.
BRDCST has the honour of being a part of the celebrations and marks the 11th anniversary with blow-ups of their artwork exhibited in the AB Vitrine on the Steenstraat and with four prominent artists who are part of the label’s soul. The musical section will once again be impressive.
Ben Lamar Gay Ensemble
It’s always great to greet cornet player Ben Lamar Gay, who has performed at AB several times. This time, he’s coming over as Ben Lamar Gay Ensemble. Afropunk called him “strikingly original”. Pitchfork defined him as “uncategorizable”. Fellow musician and labelmate Jeff Parker stated: "Hands down, one of my favorite musicians on the planet today.”
On International Anthem, he put out three albums under his own name and was featured on other releases, including McCraven’s Highly Rare and Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die. International Anthem: “Suffices to say, Ben LaMar Gay is nearly omnipresent in the current zeitgeist of progressive jazz sounds sprouting from Chicago.”
SML
SML is a brand new quintet consisting of key figures from LA’s thriving jazz/improv/indie scene. Boomkat about their debut album Small Medium Large: “...raw grooves that takes its frenetic pulse from a diverse array of influences: from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti to Pole, Susumu Yokota and Can.” Welcome to the Belgian première!
Jeremiah Chiu
Prominent SML member Jeremiah Chiu has a healthy obsession with synthesizers (both analogue and digital). In 2023, that resulted in the International Anthem album In Electric Time, an aural account of Chiu’s visit to the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in LA. Boomkat: “He captures the outer-space mystery of some of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's best soundtrack material, touches the ramshackle brilliance of early Carl Craig, adding a trace of Jean-Michel Jarre.”
Booker Stardrum x Gregory Uhlmann
SML members Booker Stardrum (percussionist) and Gregory Uhlmann (guitarist) will deliver a one-of-a-kind improv set that evening.
