VUURWERK – FEUERWERK EP

Having played their debut US shows at SXSW in March, headlined festival stages at home over the summer and picked by Apple Music for their inaugural ‘Best Electronica of 2015’ playlist, 2015 will go down as a vintage year for up & coming Flemish trio VUURWERK. Capping the year the band are releasing the ‘Feuerwerk’ EP, a 5 track EP compiling the best of their releases for Lo Recordings to date.

Featuring the Industrial Ambience of ‘Black Arial’, the electronic-pop of ’Warrior’ (featuring Sylvie Kreusch of Soldier’s Heart) and their two collaborations with Climb X (aka Max Colombie from Oscar & The Wolf), ‘Wakening’ and the heartbreaking ‘G.R.I.P’, the EP shows off the depth and eclectic nature of the band.

And having spent much of the past few months winning over new fans with their live A/V show at festivals around Europe, it’s only fitting that VUURWERK complete the EP with an unreleased live version of ‘Warrior’ recorded by the band in Austin, Texas earlier this year. Currently at work on their debut album, expect to hear a lot more from this Belgian band in 2016.

Released Dec 4, 2015 on Lo Recordings.

Balthazar – Bunker (VUURWERK Endless Summer Video)

Here’s the video for VUURWERK remix of Balthazar’s ‘Bunker’. As part of a music/film/art/photography collective, Run Tell Secrecy, the Brussels-based band actually try to make videos to go with all their releases and remixes. This one was directed by a member of the collective, photographer Marie Wynants and is her directorial debut.

VUURWERK feat. Climb X – G.R.I.P. (Extended Version)

Last month saw the release of VUURWERK’s ‘G.R.I.P’ EP. To accompany it the band recorded an extended version of the title track and their friend and fellow Run Tell Secrecy member Tobi Jonson filmed a very special video for it.

Sadly shortly after filming took place one of the actors involved, Sander Vangansbeke, passed away and as both the song and video are focussed on death and coming to terms with grief there has been much debate about whether to shelve it entirely.

Having talked amongst the collective and with the families involved though the decision was finally made to go ahead with publishing the video and letting it stand as a tribute to Sander and to the collective of friends, artists, musicians, film makers and more that VUURWERK are part of.

“We dedicate G.R.I.P. in its entirety to S., and his loved ones” – VUURWERK, June 2015

Balthazar – Bunker (Vuurwerk Endless Summer Remix)

VUURWERK have just remixed the new single by Balthazar, ‘Bunker’, taking the original melancholy indie track and adding some electronic bounce and vocoder action to it. VUURWERK’s current single ‘G.R.I.P‘ is out now on 10″ via Lo Recordings and is itself streaming in full on SoundCloud too.

VUURWERK – G.R.I.P. EP

Having won fans around the world in 2014 with their acclaimed live A/V show and remixes for the likes of Bon Iver, Arsenal and School Is Cool, Flemish trio VUURWERK have signed to UK independent Lo Recordings and in February release the G.R.I.P. EP, featuring the vocals of Climb X.

With previous releases on labels such as US indie Mush under the name Jealov, and a critically acclaimed EP on Belgian label Dandelion Lotus that saw the band pick up a Breakthrough Artist award at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards, the shadowy collective have spent much of the past twelve months working on their debut album, refining their sound whilst working with a wide range of new vocalists.

Opening with the ominous ‘Black Aerial’, VUURWERK introduce us to their new work via a soundscape of claustrophobic Industrial Hip-Hop beats, rattling Techno percussion before the track bursts into life taking its cue as much from the Chicago Footwork scene as it does from the Post-Dubstep Electronica the band have mined on previous releases.

If ‘Black Aerial’ bridged the old and new then ‘G.R.I.P.’ itself is a clear indication of what is to come. Minor key pop that is stained with tears of regret, the music’s late night smudged and bleary textures are contrasted with a beat that tips its hat to the syncopated rhythms of UK Garage providing a fitting setting for Belgian singer Climb X’s weary, lovelorn vocals to bury themselves in.

Providing alternative mixes are hotly tipped Swedish trio DNKL, whose epic cinematic reinterpretation transports the track from a Brussels bedsit to the wide open and majestic Scandinavian fjords and Houndstooth recording artist House of Black Lanterns, who injects more than a hint of his hometown Berlin into the track with a dark and claustrophobic, sludge filled techno rework.

Stream in full below. Get it here.

Video: VUURWERK – Warrior feat. Sylvie Kreusch

Having spent a week driving around Texas being threatened by angry machine gun wielding locals and pissed off country bands, hotly tipped Belgian electronica trio Vuurwerk are back home and have just unveiled the video for their current single ‘Warrior’. It’s a stunning short and almost got the band killed in the making of it (they had to be rescued by the French coastguard at one point), but the risk to life and limb was worth it.

Warrior EP is their first proper release for Lo Recordings, featuring guest vocals from Sylvie Kreusch, lead singer of Soldier’s Heart.

VUURWERK – Warrior EP

Ahead of their debut US live shows at SXSW hotly tipped Belgian electronica trio VUURWERK return with their first proper release for Lo Recordings, the ‘Warrior’ EP, featuring guest vocals from Sylvie Kreusch, lead singer of Soldier’s Heart. The band debuted the track live last week at a special show at the David Lynch designed Silencio club in Paris in a performance collaboration with up & coming Belgian fashion house Krjst.

Kicking things off with ‘Mirrors’, an all to short but oh so sweet rush of euphoric sighs, trance like synths and half-time beats that builds and builds before breaking into ‘Warrior’ itself, where Sylvie’s plaintive vocals find a perfect home amongst VUURWERK’s fractured electronics and bass heavy rhythms. Her world-weary yet defiant chant ‘I used to be a warrior’, bursting like a ray of sunlight through a dark and stormy cloud.

Finally the EP ends with ‘Lux’, six tense minutes of industrial noises, acidic squelches and off-kilter percussion, the soundtrack to some hellish automated factory working through the night to some infernal plan.

Stream in full below. Order here.

VUURWERK x DNKL x Nick Nicely

Below you can stream two brand new remixes by Flemish electronica trio VUURWERK.

First up we have their mix of ‘Warm Dark Night’ taken from Swedish indie/post-rock/electronica act DNKL’s critically acclaimed debut EP ‘Wolfhour‘. The remix is available for free below.

The other remix is of Psych pioneer Nick Nicely’s new single, ‘Rrainbow’ (released next Monday). VUURWERK have just signed to nick’s UK Label Lo Recordings and this was them getting settled in. They’ve basically rebuilt the track from scratch and created something that sits nicely between the extremes of sepulchral ambience and industrial noise.

Video: VUURWERK – Wakening ft. Climb X

Following a massively successful 12 months that saw them remix Bon Iver, Arsenal and School Is Cool, Flemish electronica trio Vuurwerk have signed to UK independent Lo Recordings, home to the likes of Luke Vibert, Black Devil Disco Club, The Proper Ornaments and the first British label to work with acclaimed US artist Grimes.

The band have spent much of the past 12 months working with a close circle of vocalists on their debut album and to mark the signing are giving away a new song ‘Wakening’, featuring the vocals of Belgian singer Climb X, who also guests on the band’s debut for Lo, the ‘GRIP EP’ due for release on blue 10” vinyl and digital in March this year (and featuring remixes from Houndstooth artist House of Black Lanterns and hotly tipped Swedish trio DNKL).

A busy month for the band, March also sees Vuurwerk make their Paris debut, playing live at the David Lynch designed Silencio club in Paris, where they will also premiere a new video the band have been working on in collaboration with up and coming Belgian fashion designers STUDIO KRJST. Following their Paris show the band will then head off to the United States where they have been invited to perform at the prestigious SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.

With the band’s debut album due later in 2015 Vuurwerk are fast establishing themselves as one of their countries most exciting new acts and in the words of leading US electronic music website Thump, “on a fast-track to becoming one of their nation’s notable exports”.

Watch the video for “Wakening” and download it for free below. Video directed by Tobi Jonson.

Arsenal – Temul (Lie Low)(VUURWERK Remix)

Last week we gave you remixes from Aashton and Faisal of Arsenal‘s new single ‘Temul (Lie Low)’, now bringing up the rear we have a third and final remix from Belgian trio VUURWERK. All the remixes are available as free downloads (the Aashton mix via XLR8R), you can also check out the video for the original song which features clips from Arsenal’s new film, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ set to be premiered in October at the Gent Film Festival.