Anton Walgrave has taken some interesting turns in his career. His 2000 debut album 'The Hum' was acclaimed by the press and knowing fans. The CD was recorded in London and produced by Kevin Armstrong, who had already worked with great names like David Bowie, Youssou N'Dour, Morrissey, and more. In 2003 there was ''Before the dawn', a dark, haunting CD perfectly combining strong songwriting and tasteful electronics. The single 'Awake' enjoyed a lot of radio airplay and made it onto several compilations. Flanders' biggest girl group Scala even took it as far as Japan. More than enough good reviews, again and again hearty applause from those in the know. Anton played live, and every time he was convincing. But a real performer always wants to go deeper and wider. Walgrave did what he had to do: write songs, scrap songs, rewrite songs and scrap some more songs. Day in, day out, rain or shine. Week after week, month after month. Lots of songs. And then more work, to make good songs into great songs. The great songs caught the attention of Frank Vander linden. Although he'd won prizes for outstanding production work on De Mens Cds, Vander linden had never dared to produce any one else's work yet. But Walgrave's compositions twisted his arm, his voice gave him shivers and the man's passion was simply contagious.

A singer/songwriter from Norway. He contributed with two songs in the film ''fritt vilt'' or ''cold prey''. Had a hit with ''Winona and I'', a song he wrote to support Winona Ryder. He released his debut monday 2/4/07, and got good reviews (voted among the 10 best releases from Norway that year in 4 different newspapers, and THE norwegian new artist to look out for in the future according to several german music magazines). The Magnetic Tapes EP is recorded in GrandSport Studio, and produced by bigbangs Øystein Greni. Bright Late Nights is produced by Bertolini, the same guy who produced Riot on an Emty Street by Kings of Convenience.

Susie Ledge is an up and coming singer-songwriter and guitarist. Renowned for her evocative lyrics and emotive yet chilled out style, she creates songs that are soothing to the ear and vivid for the imagination, and her music has the unusual ability of being instantly recognisable whilst remaining original and engaging. 2007 was an incredible year for Susie, having played just about every small live venue around central London over the past few years, growing media attention (including being hand-picked twice to be a featured artist on Myspace) and her fan base growing with every performance, Susie was invited to support Kosheen at their sold out London show at Koko, and following her touching performance, was then ask to support them on their European tour. Playing to tens of thousands of people, Susie captivated and mesmerized audiences through Europe, leaving extreme interest for returning shows and releases. Susie has recently began working on a co-writing project with Darren Stokes (Tin Tin Out) and Phil Larson (Manhattan Clique) Darren has previously produced artists such as Emma Bunton, The Corrs, Shelly Nelson and Phil was awarded a Grammy in 2004 for his remix of Kylie Minogues' 'Come into my world' and also co-wrote and produced the debut solo album for Andy Bell (Erasure) featuring Jake Shears(Scissor Sisters) and Claudia Brucken. Recently she hooked up with Ben Preston for some very danceable tracks, Ben Preston feat. Susie

Jonathan Vandenbroeck is the 29 year-old singer-songwriter, otherwise known as Milow. This last year has seen Milow have enormous chart success right across Europe with his cover of 50 Cent's 'Ayo Technology'. Milow's career began in 2004 when he was a finalist in the biggest rock contest in Belgium 'Humo's Rock Rally'. Within the next few years, and acting as his own manager, Milow achieved 2 gold singles and 2 gold albums in Belgium, eight Music Industry Awards (MIA), and he has released two albums The Bigger Picture and his second Coming of Age. In 2008 it was time for Milow's career to truly skyrocket. It began with a Belgian radio station who asked Milow to play a cover song as part of a live session. Milow opted for 'Ayo Technology', an acoustic guitar cover version of 50 Cent's original 2007 hit which featured Justin Timberlake. And it worked, to striking, creepy effect. Milow's everyman yearning and the eerie desperation in his vocals and acoustic-guitar interpretation of the track work incredibly and ingeniously, especially considering its total transformation from a 50 Cent/Justin Timberlake/Timberland strip-club jam. The cover became such a lauded success that it was released as an official single through Milow's own indie label, Homerun Records, in September 2008 and went straight in at number 1 in both The Belgium and The Netherlands singles chart. The phenomenon soon spread to the rest of Europe, where the track has had massive top 3 successes in Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria. The cover has now achieved bigger success than the original in Europe, with both higher single and airplay chart positions. The sexually charged, tongue-in-cheek video for 'Ayo Technology' has proved a huge sensation online where it has received over 20 million plays on Youtube alone and has been blogged about extensively, including by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton who said of the song, "Milow improves on the original tremendously. His version is sooooo good." Kanye West also gave it his seal of approval by posting the video of it on his blog. And what does the man himself want to achieve? "To keep surprising myself, to convince people that I'm more than 'that cover', to write an even stronger album and to play concerts in as many different countries as possible."

Paul Weller (born 25 May 1958) is an English singer / songwriter, leader of two successful bands: The Jam and The Style Council. In England, he is recognised as something of a national institution yet, because much of his songwriting is rooted in English culture, he has remained essentially a national rather than an international star. Born John Paul Weller in Stanley Road, Woking, he was also a central figure in the Mod revival. As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod-revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983. As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience %u2014 by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the UK, where he had previously been worshipped as a demi-god. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain. By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums which were both critically-acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad-rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans that had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career.

Dan Sartain is an American rockabilly musician from Birmingham, Alabama. He has released records for Swami Records, One Little Indian, Skybucket Records, Cass Records and Bent Rail Foundation. Although he has released several self-produced albums over the years, his first commercially-available studio album Dan Sartain Vs. The Serpientes was released by Swami Records in 2005. This was followed in 2006 with Join Dan Sartain on the same label. As of June 2007 he is on tour as support for The White Stripes.

Johnny Dowd (born March 29, 1948 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American alternative country musician from Ithaca, New York. Typical of his style are experimental, noisy breaks in his songs and strong gothic (in the sense of dark and gloomy) elements in the lyrics as well as in the music. There is also a strong undercurrent of black humor and the absurd in his work.

Jim White is a southern gothic alt-country singer-songwriter. He has released four albums as a solo artist. While his music is based in americana, he borrows elements from rock, rhythm and blues, and even electronica, often piecing sounds together in the lo-fi cut-and-paste fashion of artists like Tom Waits. His albums have featured a wide variety of collaborators, such as Victoria Williams, Morcheeba, Aimee Mann, Barenaked Ladies, and Joe Henry. He is signed to David Byrne's Luaka Bop label and appeared in the BBC documentary, Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, which looks at musicians inspired by the culture of the American South. Not be confused with the acclaimed Dirty Three / Cat Power / Smog / P. J. Harvey / Nina Nastasia drummer, who also had a recent collaboration album "You Follow Me" with Nastasia under the name of Nina Nastasia And Jim White [url=http://www.jimwhite.net/ nofollow=yes]http://www.jimwhite.net/[/url] [url=http://www.myspace.com/officialjimwhite nofollow=yes]http://www.myspace.com/officialjimwhite[/url]

Gert Vlok Nel is a South African poet, as well as a singer / songwriter. In South Africa he is quite famous, and ever since a Dutch documentarist decided to film a portrait of this artist in the summer of 2006 he is being discovered by more and more people. Because of the strong relationship between Afrikaans and its inheret background rooted in Dutch, the lyrics are just as powerful for Dutch speaking listeners. The lyrics and the music complement eachother in a serene and harmonious way. His first CD is called Beaufort Wes Se Beautiful Woorde (2006). Really rare music. In his lyrics he uses a mixture of Afrikaans and English.

Former lead singer from Dutch band The Scene. After a break up from this band in the late nineties, The Lau released two solo-albums.

The Bear That Wasn't is Nils Verresen, een jongen met een gitaar en angelieke stembanden. Zijn naam ontleende The Bear That Wasn't aan een kinderboek van Frank Tashlin, met zijn liedjes leunt hij aan bij Gravenhurst, Elliott Smith en Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens ook. The Bear That Wasn't tokkelt en fluistert over en voor fragiele zielen, warm en zacht en stil in drukke, donkere tijden.

In 2007 werd hij genomineerd voor de MySpace Award van Focus Knack, vorig jaar haalde The Bear That Wasn't de finale van Humo's Rock Rally net niet. 'Omdat daar traditiegetrouw slechts tien groepen mogen aantreden, viel hij net buiten de prijzen', schreef de jury. 'The Bear That Wasn't had songs, een sterke stem. Tot over twee jaar.' Deze zomer duikt The Bear That Wasn't de studio in. Zijn debuutplaat verschijnt in het voorjaar van 2010 via PIAS. In oktober al vertrekt hij voor een vol jaar op tournee door België. Via Facebook zocht en vond The Bear That Wasn't 365 vrienden die hem elk een dag onderdak willen bieden. In ruil zal The Bear That Wasn't zijn gastgezinnen verwarmen met zijn fluisterliedjes. Van dit unieke project verschijnt later een film van TRS, het talentvolle Brusselse productiehuis dat eerder meewerkte aan 'Part of the Weekend Never Dies', de tourdocumentaire van Soulwax.

Rapper of the West-Flemish hiphopcrew 't Hof van Commerce who one day got a guitar in hand and suddenly turned into a sort of singer-songwriter, as he says himself a musical crossing between "Urbanus and Ween".

'Ik heb altijd muziek gemaakt omwille van het spel', zegt Flip Kowlier. 'Het is een kriebel. Van zodra ik een instrument zie wil ik het vastpakken. Dit is het vak dat ik als kind al wilde doen: dat vond ik gewoon evident.' The MC in question was Filip Cauwelier, aka Flip Kowlier (or "Levrancier"), who had already given proof that he had something more to offer than rhyming in the dialect of West-Flanders, by playing the bass in the formation My Velma (the band that Jan Leyers founded after the demise of Leyers, Michiels & Soulsister). After the second Hof van Commerce album he (and the rest of the band - e.g. 4T4's "Atomic") craved for something else, and more precisely a solo-adventure "Because I'm kinda lazy, thing dragged on for quite a while though. One day, however, I drove to a music shop and bought me a microphone stand and a 4-trackrecorder and started writing songs. These were quite close to the things of 't Hof: lots of rap, lots of beats. I've stil got these at home, I can do something with them later. But the real spark came when i was offered an acoustisc guitar after one of the last gigs of 't Hof by a girl ... It was just a nice girl who happened to have some guitars at home she didn't play on anymore. I first wanted to buy it of her, but she didn't want anything else than me taking her to a gig of 't Hof. OK I said, that's a deal. It was then and with that guitar that I started to write popsongs.". So, the song "Gele Stylo" on the second Hof Van Commerce-cd ".herman" got a sequel. A band was put together, with as the drummer Joost van den Broeck (who played with Flip Kowlier in his early days in the West-Flemish crossover band "The Prophets of Finance", and later drummed with De Mens, My Velma, Riguelle & Hautekiet or de Laatste Show-band), bass-player Pieter van Buyten (see also Marianne Debaene, the 2000-incarnation of punk-band The Kids, and the country-outfit Chitlin' Fooks) and keyboard player Peter Lesage (Moiano, Krewcial, Magik Ballet Ensemble, Atomic ...). With a few demo's, they also stirred the intrest of producer Wouter van Belle (see eg. Axelle Red, Dead Man Ray, Gorki ...) and Dead Man Ray drummer Karel de Backer, who got involved in it. The name of the band eventually became simply "Flip Kowlier", after "De Barabassen" and "Bernard & Edwyn" didn't pass the test. The plan was to release a full-cd in September 2000, but to all kind of circumstances, it took till September of the year after for these plans to materialize. A first time Flip Kowlier introduced himself to the audience through a gig in the Ancienne Belgique opening for Laïs (spring 2001), and by spreading an MP3 of the folkpop song "Kwestie van Organisatie" (with the "wist je da in bad zitt'n schreien een vorme van besparing is" line - did you know that crying in bath is a way of saving). Just before the summer, he released a first single, the angry "Welgemeende". Especially this 2nd song - despite the very incomprehensible lyrics for anyone not born in Izegem - became a breakthrough - on modest scale - through the anger and energy that shined from this "sincere fuck you" (it was even dubbed a "West-Flemish Nirvana"). In September 2001 then came the longawaited CD, with the self-mocking title "Ocharme Ik" (translated that would be "Oh poor me"), with an number of melancholic popsongs and some firmer tracks. "I know what atmosphere the album had to have when we started recording. It had to sound like a gig in a small pub, withouth minding a creaking amp or so. The CD has to give you the feeling that we're playing right next to you." As Peter van Dyck wrote in Knack : "For some, who know Kowlier only as the rapper Levrancier, the folky popsingle Kwestie van Organisatie will have come as a complete suprise. But the mixture of folkrock, bossanova, punk, country, gypsy music, reggae and Tom Waits on the full-cd Ocharme Ik will surprise them even more. The young lad demonstrates what born artist he really is". Good to know also is that there's finally a lyrics-sheet included in the album, so that people from outside the Westhoek can also get a glimpse about what the heck he's singing. Members : - Flip Kowlier (gitaar, zang) - Karel de Backer / Joost van den Broeck (drums) - Peter Lesage (keyboards) - Pieter Van Buyten (bas)

Spinvis, is Erik de Jong, a Dutchman living in the suburban jungle of Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. In 2001, he produced his first album, Spinvis, in his attic with computers, samplers, musical instruments and other objects laying around. Most remarkable are his poetic lyrics, that are at times nonsensical and non-consecutive.

His third album, Dagen van gras, dagen van stro (Days of Grass, Days of Straw) was released in 2005. August 2007 saw Goochelaars en Geesten (Conjurers and Ghosts), a collection of earlier work including B-sides, unpublished tracks and songs produced under assignment.

In 2006 Spinvis teamed up with Simon Vinkenoog. Together they released a new album, titled Spinvis Combo / Ja! (Yes!). In 2007 they joined their performances in a festival act called Noga.

The Popprijs 2006 was awarded to Spinvis at the Noorderslag Festival in Groningen for his contribution to Dutch pop music.

www.spinvis.nl

Lyenn's style can't be placed in a box: a singer-songwriter, double bass player, free improviser who taught him self a lot of what he knows is demanding our attention. His music, like his identity has many different roots; born in Belgium but with a British mother Lyenn has been exposed to a rich variety of cultures and sounds from a young age, and these influences are clearly heard in his music. No two sets are ever the same, which is definitely part of the appeal: you only have to have listened to Lyenn play for a few minutes to see that the improvisation is instantaneous, and the enjoyment genuine. Having been inspired by diverse music from experimental to popular music and everything in between: each note comes from deep inside; these are not calculated, manufactured songs but raw emotion and passion which is expressed differently each concert, depending on his mood and surroundings. The music is pure and instinctive. Lyenn's repertoire of sounds and instruments is extensive: his musical aides include a baritone guitar, Irish bouzouki, double bass, an organ bass pedal not to mention an impressive vocal range. (Heather Bailey)

Essex born-and-bred beauty Gemma Ray is a singer-songwriter with a difference: her songs beguile you in the same way classic melodies do, yet somehow defy comparison. The heart-on-sleeve craftswomanship of her tunes allows full rein to roller-coasting intensity and twisted humour as she wraps her velvety vocals around little gems of pop, country, blues and gospel-inflected beauty. http://www.myspace.com/gemmaraymusic http://www.bronzerat.com/gemmaray Bronzerat Records is very pleased to announce the release of GEMMA RAY's new album, LIGHTS OUT ZOLTAR! Released in the UK 7th September 2009. Such is the breathtaking scope of this album that its epic multi-layered sound has, you assume, the dedicated workforce of a full blown orchestra behind it, yet this beguiling mix of pop, country and blues is the work of Gemma Ray at home with co-producer Michael J Sheehy. Spontaneous and uncontrived, Gemma is a natural product of her influences and while Lights Out Zoltar! is an eclectic work of broad ambition, never does it fail to sound anything other than the work of Gemma Ray - from the latin-tinged pop noir of 100mph (in 2nd Gear), to the surfed-up swagger of Fist of a Flower, the rollicking shanty-like (You Got Me In A) Death Roll to the mesmeric folk horror of If You Want to Rock and Roll. Gemma's first album, "The Leader" though critically acclaimed, was fraught with setbacks. Recorded against a backdrop of illness, tours were cancelled and for the sake of her sanity the only way to abate the frustration was to keep recording and writing at home in London. Despite the circumstances, the darkness of her songwriting is seamlessly interlaced with humour, playfulness and beauty throughout. Make no mistake, doubters and stragglers will be converted and convinced by the kick-ass live show in which Gemma (now back on track and in good health) and her band take the songs to an even heightened level of hypnotism and drama. Recent shows saw audiences captivated by Gemma and her band, not least when she plays slide guitar not with a slide, but with a very intimidating "Psycho" style knife. The album is preceded by the single 100 mph (in 2nd Gear) released on September 7th, and backed with 900 Miles, the Odetta cover that was used as the soundtrack to the BBC psycho-flick Mum & Dad.

Tom Van Laere is een nieuwsgierig en gedreven artiest die zichzelf graag uitdaagt. Songs (2005) is bijvoorbeeld deels gebouwd op de spanning om in 7 dagen een straffe plaat te maken met een vreemde groep in een verre stad (Los Angeles). Voor The Honey and the Knife (2010) vond hij zijn drijfveer te voet. Kent u The Walk Anyway Day? Vrij te vertalen als 'blijf wandelen, ook als je/het geen zin hebt/heeft'. Van Laere liet zijn gitaar thuis en componeerde in zijn hoofd tijdens lange stadswandelingen. Het nieuwe materiaal testte hij zonder aankondiging op plekken waar niemand hem kende. Amsterdam was zijn favoriete onderduikadres. Admiral Freebee houdt er een debuutgevoel aan over. Een warme herinnering aan het niemandsland tussen het zilver van Humo's Rock Rally 2000 en de release van 'Admiral Freebee' (2003). Hij volgt zijn gevoel en zoekt Jo Francken op, de producer van dat debuut. Vele gevaren liggen op de loer. Maar hij weet precies wat hij doet. 'Niemand weet beter wat ik kan dan Jo. Hij is namelijk ook tien jaar mijn geluidsman geweest en producer van het eerste album. De twee nemen op een paar dagen de basistracks op in Motormusic (Koningshooikt) Daarna hadden ze de luxe om de tijd te vergeten in Studio Dam (de huisstudio van Francken) iets wat Van Laere voordien nog niet gedaan had. The Honey and the Knife is de dwarsdoorsnede van a) een debuutgevoel, b) tien jaar evolutie én c) het leven dat voorbij komt. Zonder dat het expliciet wordt uitgespeeld, voel je dat het hier over diepere dingen gaat. Freebee laat in het midden wie de verteller is. De titel is beeldspraak voor het jezelf tegenspreken. 'The Honey' beeldt zich in dat hij zichzelf kent. 'The Knife' beeldt zich in dat hij de anderen kent. Tegenstellingen regeren het album. Hij/iemand is altijd onderweg (Always on the Run) maar zoekt ook een vaste plek (Home). Hij/iemand keert zijn lief de rug toe (The Last Song about You) maar bouwt ook de hemel met haar (Fools Like Us). De muzikale geografie van Admiral Freebee blijft onveranderd. Maar het spectrum was nooit eerder zo breed. Opener Blues for a Hypochondriac is een potige fantasie over Grinderman. My Hippie Ain't Hip is swingende danceblues die verbroederen kan met Kill All Hippies van Primal Scream. The Last Song about You heeft genen van The Replacements en Always on the Run pendelt tussen eighties-Bowie en Scissor Sisters. Hymns For Demons begint bij de behaaglijke luiheid van Lambchop en mondt uit in gitaarrazernij. De glanslaag komt van Karolien Van Ransbeeck, een Anversoise die klinkt alsof ze het bos weet liggen waar de elfen wonen.

Singersongwriter die pendelt tussen Malmö, Parijs en Berlijn. Heeft al flink wat flinke platen uitgebracht en komt 't beste daaruit voor jou ten gehore brengen in Petrol.

Started playing guitar with Evil Superstars. They made 2 albums and then stopped. After his career with Evil Superstars he was asked to play guitar for dEUS, mostly at their tours. He did this until 1999 when he started his own band Millionaire. They made 2 albums. Apart from his activities with Millionaire, he also has some side projects like Coca-Cola Met God and Eagles of Death Metal. His first solo album "Welcome to the Blue House" was released early February 2008.

Trixie Whitley & Band