BARTEES STRANGE - NONA PROBLEMO

"Strange leaped effortlessly over policed barriers that ensnared countless artists before him"

Born Bartees Leon Cox Jr. in Ipswich, England to a military father and opera-singer mother Bartees had a peripatetic early childhood before eventually settling in Mustang, Oklahoma. Later, Bartees cut his teeth playing in hardcore bands in Washington D.C. and Brooklyn whilst working in the Barack Obama administration and (eventually) the environmental movement. Since charting a path as a solo artist, Bartees Strange has released two records in quick succession: an EP reimagining songs by The National (Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy,2020)and his debut album proper Live Forever(2020).

Where his 2020 debut record “Live Forever” introduced the experiences and places that shaped Bartees Strange (Flagey, Brussels; Mustang, Oklahoma),Farm to Table zeros in on the people –specifically his family – and those closest to him on his journey so far. With his career firmly on the ascent, Farm to Table examines Bartees’ constantly shape shifting relationship with life post-Live Forever. It also speaks to a deeper lore that says, don’t forget where you came from, and this album is why. Across 10 songs, Bartees is celebrating the past, moving towards the future and fully appreciating the present.

NONA PROBLEMO

Jenske Verhamme, Nona Huysegems and Sigi Willems met eachother during their time as students in Leuven, where they educated themselves in newly emerging academic disciplines like fungus physics and sitopian cyborg sciences. They were joined by the oracle-drummer Tijs Fastré, who is a licensed salesman of important nonsense. Their whole youth the members have been active in countless musical projects. In April 2021 they decided to join forces to form a new band, called after Nona’s nickname: Nona Problemo hatched from its stork egg. With their victory in the famous Flemish pop-contest Sound Track in late 2021, they launched themselves like a rocket (on sustainable energy) to the front of the Belgian music scene.