Europavox Festival Brussels 2023

MARINA SATTI (GR)

Describing music as ‘multicultural’ can be an easy way out when talking about music that sounds foreign to our western sensibilities. But for Marina Satti, the description is apt: the Greek singer has Sudanese roots and was raised on Crete, and her sound is influenced as much by hip hop and electronica as it is by traditional Arabic and Balkan music.

The result is debut album ‘Yenna’, a record that will instantly get you moving, and, if you know your Greek, singing along as well. Because on hits like ‘PALI’, Satti sings about connection and the endless game of emotions we’re all familiar with when someone starts becoming close to you. Global yet down-to-earth: Marina Satti’s music is a colourful celebration that you don’t want to miss.

SURMA (PT)

Surma is inspired by silence to create her own universe of songs in jazz, electronics, and a multiplicity of influences to explore paths that are not always obvious, but with a strong identity, her own phonetics, and unique moments that can take us from the nordic fjords to cosmopolitan cities. Surma has a special and rare light, highlighted by the addition of impressive awards and achievements that explain the scope of her music, her ideas and her personality. The debut "Antwerpen", edited in 2017, took her to a three-year tour, performing more than 250 times across fifteen countries, between small clubs to imposing open-air festivals.

Surma has also accumulated countless side projects - soundtracks, sound design projects, music for theater and dance, collaborations with other musicians -, showing her energy, but also her generosity and will to go further, doing more and, above all, different. The new album "alla" is a challenge without barriers, in which she is surrounded by several participations of various musical genres to deepen and consolidate even more her own unique universe. On stage, "alla" is presented in trio format, and Débora Umbelino is accompanied by her accomplices João Hasselberg and Pedro Melo Alves, surprising the audience with the freshness of a renovated, intense and free Surma, and taking the public to the discovery of a new aesthetic.

BRANDT BAUER FRICK (DE)

Reminiscent of pretty much all sweat-inducing, body-shaking, floor-filling styles of music, Brandt Brauer Frick have come full circle – they’ve completed the loop and are ready for more repetitive goodness. Some 13 years into their unlikely evolution between propulsive Dance bliss and full-blown orchestra experience, they’re back to where it all started: RAVE. Handmade & hard-hitting Body Music.

Although coming from somewhat different backgrounds, they’d arrived at an intersection of Electronic/Dance/Minimal/Techno. BBF’s handmade, irresistible dancefloor-ready sound got people raving around the globe in no time, so be a part of it at Europavox Festival Brussels!

JANUS RASMUSSEN (IS)

From his work in electronic pop quartet Bloodgroup, to his output as one-half of Faroese- Icelandic duo Kiasmos, alongside Ólafur Arnalds, Janus Rasmussen knows a thing or two about crafting nuance and restraint. Released via Christian Löffler’s Ki Records, Rasmussen’s solo debut album, Vín, marks a new leap into uncharted territory. It’s a record that finds the producer delving deep to reveal the full scope of his talents. “I often work really quickly and I tend to be drawn to really strange ideas. I have this kind of obsession of finding something that really should not work and make it work. It’s very satisfying.”

As a whole, Vín is a solo debut that certainly “works”. Recorded in his Reykjavik studio, it’s full testament to Rasmussen following his creative instincts in order to make a record that luminously explores new sound-worlds within the realm of experimental minimal techno. Whether you look to the balmy downtempo groove of Wisp, the understated bliss of Lilla or the insistent rhythms that make December a fitting curtain call, Vín has a range that peaks and lulls in all the right places.

UCHE YARA

UCHE YARA is a unique artist, which is hard tofind. The 20-year-old multi-instrumentalist with Nigerian roots grew up in Austria and now lives in Berlin.Her profound songwriting and energetic live presence with a full bandcreated the strong growing hype around UCHE YARA.

Discovered by artists such as Marc Rebillet, Bilderbuch and Parcels, shestarted touring the veryfirst day after graduating from school. Herfirst gigwas at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, followed by appearances at varioustastemaker festivals. Together with the Austrian band Bilderbuch, she recentlyopened the stage for The Rolling Stones. All this happened before havingreleased a single track.

2023 will be a successful year, as UCHE YARA opens up to the public with hermusic.