According to Google Maps, The Church of Our Lady of the Rich Clares – though somewhat secluded – lies only 190 metres from AB, the BRDCST headquarters. The church was built in the 17th century in Baroque style to a design by renowned Mechelen master builder Lucas Faydherbe, a student and friend of Rubens. Once again, it forms the setting for intimate BRDCST concerts.
We took over the church for the first time last year, and successfully so: audiences savoured the setting. The church even set its very own tone to the programme. Will be performing there this year:
Friday 4 April 2025
Lukas De Clerck - who was magnificent on the 2023 edition of BRDCST with Bloedneus & de Snuitkever - kicks things off. He has delved into the history and use of the aulos, a wind instrument from ancient Greek and Egyptian music. His research coalesced into the album The Telescopic Aulos of Atlas, a modern approach to postminimalism, drone and contemporary folk. The album appeared on the label Ideologic Organ (a BRDCST darling) which also represents Sunn O))) chief Stephen O’Malley.
Ava Rasti
Fans of Hildur Guðnadóttir or Jóhann Jóhannsson (A Winged Victory for the Sullen) will certainly also appreciate Ava Rasti. This Iranian composer and pianist experiments on the boundary between ambient modern classical and drone. Her latest album The River was released under the neoclassical label 130701 (which also brought us Keeley Forsyth’s The Hollow).
Áine O'Dwyer
In 1989, a fire destroyed the almost 150-year-old church organ. Fortunately, it was replaced in 2011 by a modern classical organ made by Patrick Collon, one of the most prolific Belgian organ builders of the second half of the 20th century. Last year, Sweden’s Ellen Arkbro got to play on the organ, this year it is the turn of Irish experimental artist Áine O'Dwyer. Hardly a coincidence: on her debut album Music for Church Cleaners (2012) she incorporated improvisations on the church organ in combination with the sound of the cleaning crew’s vacuum cleaners in St Mark's Church in Islington, London.
Saturday 5 April 2025
Kabas
On Saturday, the Belgians take the spotlight in the church. Kabas celebrates their tenth anniversary at BRDCST with their brand-new album Sun Dog, which is steeped in transcendental, minimalist improv.
Abel Ghekiere
Abel Ghekiere, son of the late visual artist Joris Ghekiere, honours the art of quiet beauty on his brand-new album In de verte, dit uitzicht. A must-hear for fans of Alabaster DePlume!
Milan W.
Milan W. makes for the perfect closing act. He possibly made the Belgian album of 2024: Leave Another Day, a debut that Boomkat crowned Album of the Year. HUMO described it as “The best Belgian album nobody’s listened to … A treasure trove of spine-chilling moments … A thrilling, serene and truly impressive solo debut.” De Morgen: “An incredible album reminiscent of Lee Hazlewood.”
Sunday 6 April 2025
Martyna Basta
Sunday, church day! So BRDCST makes a true high mass of it. The focus will be on two exceptional Polish artists. Martyna Basta’s label Stroom describes her music as “Hints of Caroline Polachek and Eartheater’s gothy pop surround the experimental core reminiscent of HTRK and Arca.” Her latest releases have already reaped high praise in recent years from BBC 6, Pitchfork and Dazed (that tipped her work for fans of Slowdive, Chris Watson and claire rousay).
Raphael Rogiński
The Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński’s cult following was awakened this year by the reissue of his 2015 album Plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes. Pitchfork described it as “Rogiński’s masterpiece”. Anyone who expects to recognise Coltrane classics like Naima, Mr. PC, Countdown – all from Giant Steps, Coltrane’s first album of his own compositions - or Blue Train, is in for a rude awakening.
Pitchfork: “It would take an Olympic leap of imagination” and “In some cases, even the tonal connection is as tenuous as spider’s silk” – lending even more uniqueness to Rogiński’s interpretations. For the tenth anniversary of this album, Rogiński will once again take an esoteric dive into Coltrane’s work on Sunday 6 April. Already a BRDCST highlight!
Meara O’Reilly
Sunday’s most remarkable project will no doubt be Hockets for Two Voices by LA-based composer/instrument maker Meara O’Reilly. The title refers to her EP of barely 10 minutes, on which hockets (‘a musical technique that involves splitting a single melody into brief phrases and dividing each phrase between several voices or instruments’) are front and centre. David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors) described the result as “Bach and Blade Runner at the same time”. Meanwhile, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth said: “It sends you, moves you, destroys you with beauty”. Hockets for Two Voices will be performed at BRDCST by Linnea Sablosky and the Chinese Mingjia Chen.
The Handover
We round off in style with Egyptian/Belgian The Handover. The acclaimed trio masterfully combines the intricacies of classical Arab music with the raw expressivity of Egyptian rural and Shaabi music, laced with a decent dose of psychedelic improvisation, krautrock riffs and experimental sounds. In 2024, their self-titled album was released on the American cult label Sublime Frequencies which Alan and Sir Richard Bishop founded.
