Today & the Legacy
The modern Belgian sound and its memory: the global techno of Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens, the Soulwax / Deewee world, the festival-pop of Lost Frequencies and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, the new club generation — and the archives that keep the story of where it all came from.
Part of The Belgian Sound
134 moments in this segment.
- — The PopcornOldies Story Belgium. From the Belgian electronic scene — The PopcornOldies Story Belgium. (c. 1975).
- — BELGIAN TECHNO REVOLUTION : Techno Documentary 1 ☼. From the Belgian electronic scene — BELGIAN TECHNO REVOLUTION : Techno Documentary 1 ☼. (c. 1990).
- — Eric & Tania (Out Soon Magazine). From the Out Soon magazine archive — Eric & Tania (Out Soon Magazine). (c. 1990).
- — DETROIT & BELGIAN TECHNO : Techno Documentary 2 ☼. From the Belgian electronic scene — DETROIT & BELGIAN TECHNO : Techno Documentary 2 ☼. (c. 1991).
- — Out Soon launches (1992). Out Soon begins publishing in 1992 — a Belgian print magazine of rave: covers, party listings, record reviews and the flyers of the scene. It runs until 2008.
- — Radio Soulwax: This is Belgium Pt. 2: "Cherry Moon On Valium". From Cherry Moon, one of the temples of Belgian club culture — Radio Soulwax: This is Belgium Pt. 2: "Cherry Moon On Valium". (c. 1993).
- — Out Soon Magazine x TV Brussel (1990s). From the Out Soon magazine archive — Out Soon Magazine x TV Brussel (1990s). (1995)
- — Milk Inc. — Flemish dance-pop. Milk Inc. were one of Belgium's biggest dance-pop acts, a fixture of Flemish charts and arenas for years.
- — 2manyDJs — the mash-up revolution. The Dewaeles' mash-up mixes changed DJ culture worldwide.
- — Milk Inc. — "Storm". Milk Inc., one of Belgium's biggest dance-pop acts of the 2000s.
- — Soulwax — "E Talking". Soulwax's "E Talking" from Nite Versions, a 2000s Belgian electronic landmark.
- — Soulwax — "NY Excuse" / Nite Versions. Soulwax's "Nite Versions" reinvented their own catalogue as a live-electronic record, a landmark of 2000s Belgian electronic music.
- — Soulwax — "Much Against Everyone's Advice". Soulwax's rock-to-electronic pivot, a key Belgian record.
- — Lektroluv — the green-masked label. The Lektroluv label and parties were a defining 2000s Belgian electro-house brand.
- — Goose — "Bring It On". Goose's "Bring It On" announced the Kortrijk band as pioneers of the Belgian live-electronic sound.
- — Dr. Lektroluv & the green mask. The masked Dr. Lektroluv (a Soulwax-adjacent alias) and the Lektroluv label/parties became a defining 2000s Belgian electro-house brand, green skull mask and all (2008).
- — Out Soon stops — but the archive lives. Out Soon ceases publishing in 2008. Eric and Aaguilaa digitise the archive for Kiosk Radio; AfterClub gathers it into the book Out Soon: 1992–2008.
- — Aeroplane — Belgian nu-disco. Brussels' Aeroplane brought a lush nu-disco/cosmic sound to the late-2000s, a distinctive thread in modern Belgian electronic music.
- — Vive la Fête — Belgian electro-pop. Ghent's Vive la Fête brought a stylish French-language electro-punk-pop to the 2000s, a distinctive Belgian export (2010).
- — Aeroplane — "Whatever Happened". Aeroplane's lush nu-disco, a distinctive late-2000s Belgian sound.
- — Stromae — "Alors on danse" (2010). Before "Papaoutai", Stromae conquered Europe with "Alors on danse" — electronic chanson that topped charts across the continent.
- — R&S Records — the revival. R&S relaunched in the 2010s, signing James Blake, Pariah and a new generation while keeping its Ghent roots.
- — 2manyDJs — still in the booth. David and Stephen Dewaele's 2manyDJs mash-up DJ sets remained festival mainstays decades on, a constant of Belgian dance-music taste (2011).
- — Lefto — Brussels selector. Lefto is one of Belgium's most respected DJs/selectors, a beats and broken-beat tastemaker out of Brussels.
- — Netsky — "Love Has Gone". Netsky's melodic Belgian drum & bass crossover.
- — The Magician — Magic Tape mixes. Stephen Fasano, formerly of Aeroplane, became globally influential as The Magician with his monthly Magic Tape mixes and the hit "Sunlight".
- — Stromae — Formidable. Stromae filmed 'Formidable' as a hidden-camera performance on a Brussels tram stop.
- — Stromae — "Formidable". Stromae's "Formidable", electronic chanson at its most affecting, a defining modern Belgian record.
- — Pukkelpop — the dance stages. Pukkelpop in Hasselt gave electronic music its own stages alongside the rock bill (2013).
- — Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike — "Mammoth". A big-room anthem from the Tomorrowland-era brothers.
- — Stromae — "Papaoutai" (2013). Brussels’ Paul Van Haver — Stromae — fused electronic production with chanson and African rhythm into globe-conquering pop. "Papaoutai" made him one of Belgium’s biggest-ever musical exports.
- — Stromae — "Tous les mêmes". Another global Stromae hit fusing electronic production with chanson and social commentary.
- — Stromae — the "Racine carrée" era. Stromae's landmark album made him a global francophone superstar.
- — CJ Bolland and The Sound of Belgium. From the Belgian electronic scene — CJ Bolland and The Sound of Belgium. (2013)
- — THE SOUND OF BELGIUM - Theatrical Trailer. From the Belgian electronic scene — THE SOUND OF BELGIUM - Theatrical Trailer. (2013)
- — The Magician — "Sunlight". Stephen Fasano (The Magician), once half of Aeroplane, became a globally-charting Belgian house producer and tastemaker with his Magic Tape mixes.
- — Netsky — "Rio". Netsky's melodic Belgian drum & bass, a festival favourite.
- — Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike — "Bring the Madness". The brothers' big-room anthems soundtracked the mainstage-EDM peak of the mid-2010s.
- — Lost Frequencies — "Are You with Me" (2014). Felix De Laet — Lost Frequencies — topped charts across Europe with melodic deep house, the first Belgian to hit #1 in the UK with a debut single.
- — Oscar and the Wolf — electronic pop. Max Colombie's Oscar and the Wolf became one of Belgium's biggest modern electronic-pop acts, filling arenas across the Low Countries.
- — Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike — "Tremor". A Martin Garrix collaboration, peak big-room from the Belgian brothers.
- — Lost Frequencies — the breakthrough. Felix De Laet's breakthrough as Lost Frequencies, melodic deep house from Belgium to #1.
- — Kozzmozz — Ghent's techno institution. Kozzmozz, running since the 90s, is one of Belgium's longest-standing techno event brands, still drawing the underground in Ghent.
- — Deewee — Soulwax's Ghent label. The Dewaele brothers' Deewee studio and label in Ghent became one of the most distinctive imprints in modern electronic music, with its all-white aesthetic and live-electronic roster.
- — The new techno community. A dense network of Belgian DJs, collectives and small labels through the 2010s kept the underground vital between the festival headliners.
- — Lefto — the Brussels selector. Lefto, Belgium's broken-beat and jazz-leaning DJ tastemaker.
- — Ampere — Antwerp today. Ampere in Antwerp is a pillar of the modern Belgian club scene, programming the contemporary techno and house generation.
- — Rampage 2016. Rampage at Antwerp's Sportpaleis, the global D&B flagship.
- — Tomorrowland 2016. in Boom.
- — Dour Festival 2016. Dour in Wallonia, electronic-heavy and eclectic.
- — Extrema Outdoor 2016. Extrema Outdoor, Belgian open-air house and techno.
- — Goose — "Synrise". Kortrijk's Goose pioneered the live-electronic band format in Belgium with tracks like "Synrise" — a key bridge between the dancefloor and the festival main stage.
- — Laundry Day 2016 — Antwerp. Laundry Day, Antwerp's electronic street festival — Laundry Day 2016 — Antwerp (2016).
- — Lost Frequencies — "Reality". Another global chart-topper for Lost Frequencies, confirming Belgium's place at the centre of melodic dance-pop.
- — Regi — Belgian dance-pop hitmaker. Regi Penxten, formerly of Milk Inc., became a prolific Flemish dance-pop hitmaker and producer.
- — Soulwax — "Belgica" soundtrack. Soulwax composed an original soundtrack for the Belgian film "Belgica", inventing fictional bands.
- — Rampage 2017 — Sportpaleis. Rampage in Antwerp's Sportpaleis, the world's biggest drum & bass and dubstep event.
- — C12 — Brussels' modern underground. C12, beneath Brussels Central Station, became one of the most respected modern Belgian clubs, a home for cutting-edge electronic programming.
- — Amelie Lens — "Contradictions" EP. Amelie Lens's breakout techno releases.
- — Tomorrowland 2017. two weekends of global dance music.
- — Laundry Day 2017. Laundry Day, Antwerp's electronic street festival — Laundry Day 2017 (2017).
- — Charlotte de Witte — Boiler Room. Charlotte de Witte's breakout Boiler Room sets in the late 2010s announced the new Belgian techno generation to the world.
- — Lost Frequencies — "Crazy" era. Lost Frequencies kept charting worldwide through the late 2010s with melodic, radio-ready dance pop.
- — Regi — Flemish dance-pop. Regi Penxten, the prolific Flemish dance-pop hitmaker.
- — KNTXT nights — the hard, fast era. Charlotte de Witte's KNTXT events became a flagship for the harder, faster techno that defined the early-2020s Belgian sound, hosted at venues like Antwerp's Sportpaleis (2018).
- — Charlotte de Witte — KNTXT. Ghent's Charlotte de Witte built her own label and event brand KNTXT into a global techno institution, headlining Tomorrowland's mainstage and topping the DJ polls — the defining Belgian techno artist of the era (2018).
- — Angèle — Belgian electro-pop. Brussels' Angèle brought a fresh electro-pop to the late 2010s, one of Belgium's biggest modern stars.
- — Extrema Outdoor — the Flemish open-air. Extrema Outdoor brought house and techno to the Belgian open-air calendar, a fixture of the modern festival summer.
- — Kompass Klub — Ghent's warehouse. Kompass Klub in Ghent became a leading modern Belgian techno venue, a sprawling warehouse drawing the best international DJs.
- — Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike — Garden of Madness. The brothers' own headline spectacles, the peak of Belgian big-room EDM.
- — Charlotte de Witte — the new techno. Ghent’s Charlotte de Witte became one of the most in-demand techno DJs in the world with a stripped, hard, fast sound — the new face of Belgian techno on global mainstages.
- — Deewee — the roster. Soulwax's Deewee built a distinctive roster (Asa Moto, Charlotte Adigéry, Bolis Pupul) from its Ghent studio.
- — Tomorrowland 2018. at De Schorre.
- — Asa Moto — Deewee duo. Asa Moto, the Ghent duo on Soulwax's Deewee label.
- — Pukkelpop 2018 — dance stages. Pukkelpop in Hasselt, electronic stages alongside the rock bill.
- — Laundry Day 2018. Laundry Day, Antwerp.
- — Amelie Lens — EXHALE. Amelie Lens launched her EXHALE label and event series, a hub for the modern Belgian and international techno community.
- — Rampage 2018 — Sportpaleis. Rampage, the world's biggest drum & bass event, in Antwerp.
- — Angèle — "La Loi de Murphy". Angèle, the Brussels electro-pop phenomenon.
- — TEASER: The Sound Of Belgium (Documentary) | Coming Sun 18th Feb. From the Belgian electronic scene — TEASER: The Sound Of Belgium (Documentary) | Coming Sun 18th Feb. (2018)
- — Farrago — Belgian techno's new wave. Farrago is among the fast-rising Belgian techno DJs of the 2020s, part of the dense Lenske/KNTXT-adjacent Antwerp–Ghent scene driving the country's contemporary sound (2019).
- — Lost Frequencies — global chart pop. Felix De Laet's Lost Frequencies turned melodic deep house into chart-topping pop across Europe, one of Belgium's biggest modern dance exports (2019).
- — Angèle — "Balance ton quoi". Angèle's electro-pop anthem became a generational hit across the francophone world.
- — Lost Frequencies — "Where Are You Now". Another Lost Frequencies global smash, melodic dance-pop from Belgium to the world.
- — Charlotte Adigéry — Deewee's new voice. Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul became one of the most celebrated modern Belgian electronic acts on Deewee.
- — Charlotte Adigéry — "Paténipat". Charlotte Adigéry on Deewee, a fresh modern Belgian electronic voice.
- — Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike — Tomorrowland mainstage. The Willebroek brothers became the faces of Tomorrowland's mainstage and repeat "world's #1 DJ" winners — the commercial peak of Belgium's festival-EDM era.
- — Charlotte de Witte — Tomorrowland 2019. Charlotte de Witte's 2019 Tomorrowland appearances confirmed her as the face of the new Belgian techno.
- — Tomorrowland 2019 — 15 years. Tomorrowland's 15th anniversary edition.
- — Rampage 2019. Rampage continuing to dominate the global D&B calendar from Antwerp.
- — Dour Festival 2019. Dour in Wallonia, one of Belgium's most eclectic and electronic-heavy festivals.
- — Amelie Lens — pandemic-era livestreams. Amelie Lens's livestreamed sets kept the Belgian techno community connected through the pandemic.
- — Amelie Lens — the rise. A portrait of Amelie Lens's rapid rise to the top of global techno.
- — Charlotte de Witte — "Formula" / KNTXT releases. Charlotte de Witte's own KNTXT label releases, like the "Formula" EP, define the stripped, hard, fast techno of the 2020s Belgian wave.
- — Amelie Lens — EXHALE label sound. The EXHALE label's modern Belgian/international techno.
- — Lenske Records — Milo Spykers “Belgian Bass”. Amelie Lens’s Lenske label gathered the new generation of Belgian techno — Milo Spykers’ “Belgian Bass” (Lenske017).
- — Stromae — "Santé". Stromae's 2021 comeback single, electronic pop with a global reach.
- — Belgian techno on the world stage. Belgian techno DJs headlining the global club and festival circuit in the 2020s.
- — Charlotte de Witte — "Doppler". Charlotte de Witte's "Doppler" EP on KNTXT exemplifies the hard, hypnotic modern Belgian techno sound.
- — AIROD — hard techno. AIROD, closely tied to the Lenske world, is part of the wave of Belgian-scene techno artists pushing the faster, harder sound of the 2020s.
- — Bolis Pupul — Deewee. Bolis Pupul, the Ghent producer on Deewee, half of the Adigéry duo.
- — This is Belgium Part 1. From the Belgian electronic scene — This is Belgium Part 1. (2021)
- — Age Of Techno - the current state of techno in Belgium. From the Belgian electronic scene — Age Of Techno - the current state of techno in Belgium. (2021)
- — Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul — "Topical Dancer". The Deewee duo's acclaimed album "Topical Dancer" was a modern Belgian electronic landmark.
- — Charlotte de Witte — "Return to Nowhere". A Charlotte de Witte KNTXT release exemplifying the hard, hypnotic modern Belgian techno.
- — Stromae — "L'enfer" / the return. Stromae's 2022 return with "Multitude" reaffirmed his place as a defining modern Belgian artist.
- — Dour Festival 2022. Dour Festival, a Belgian summer institution.
- — Tomorrowland 2022 — the return. Tomorrowland's return after the pandemic hiatus.
- — Amelie Lens — Lenske. Antwerp's Amelie Lens and her Lenske label lead a hard, hypnotic strain of Belgian techno that fills arenas across the world, mentoring a whole new generation of Flemish producers.
- — Extrema Outdoor 2022. Extrema Outdoor, a fixture of the Belgian open-air house and techno summer.
- — Fuse — three decades on. Fuse in Brussels remained the spiritual home of Belgian techno into the 2020s, its residents and parties a through-line from the 90s rave era to today.
- — Stromae — "Multitude" era. Stromae's acclaimed 2022 return album.
- — Rampage Open Air. Rampage expanding to an open-air edition, Belgium's drum & bass flagship.
- — KNTXT — the event brand. KNTXT grew from Charlotte de Witte's label into a flagship Belgian techno event.
- — Kompass Klub — Ghent warehouse techno. Kompass Klub, a leading modern Belgian techno venue in Ghent.
- — Tomorrowland today — the global pilgrimage. Two decades on, Tomorrowland remains the world's most coveted dance-festival ticket, drawing 400,000 to Boom each summer from every continent.
- — Belgian techno today — the global stage. Belgian techno artists headline festivals from Tomorrowland to Awakenings, a scene that went from the Boccaccio floor to the world's biggest stages.
- — Rampage 2023. Rampage continuing its reign over global drum & bass from Antwerp.
- — Soulwax — the live band & Deewee. The Dewaele brothers' Soulwax reinvented themselves as a live electronic band and built the Deewee studio and label in Ghent — an enduring creative engine of Belgian electronic music (2024).
- — Lost Frequencies — Tomorrowland mainstage. Lost Frequencies graduated to the Tomorrowland mainstage, a melodic counterpoint to the festival's big-room sound (2024).
- — Netsky — Tomorrowland. Netsky bringing melodic drum & bass to the Tomorrowland stages (2024).
- — Amelie Lens — EXHALE night. An EXHALE event, Amelie Lens's label and party series and a hub for the modern scene (2024).
- — Charlotte de Witte — mainstage techno. Charlotte de Witte commanding the biggest festival stages (2024).
- — Fuse at 30 — the club lives on. After a brush with closure, Fuse marked three decades as the beating heart of Brussels techno, a living link from the rave era to today.
- — Amelie Lens — Tomorrowland. Amelie Lens bringing hard, hypnotic techno to the Tomorrowland stages of the early 2020s (2025).
- — Netsky — drum & bass live. Boom's Netsky carried melodic Belgian drum & bass to global festival stages with a full live show, a distinct lane in the country's modern output (2025).
- — KNTXT festival — de Witte's own stage. Charlotte de Witte's KNTXT grew from a label into its own festival/event brand, headlining Belgian arenas and Tomorrowland stages (2025).
- — Charlotte de Witte — Tomorrowland mainstage. Charlotte de Witte headlining the Tomorrowland mainstage symbolised techno's return to the centre of Belgian festival culture (2025).
- — Lost Frequencies — Tomorrowland. Lost Frequencies's melodic deep house on the Tomorrowland stage (2025).
- — Soulwax — the live show. Soulwax's acclaimed live-band electronic show toured the world's biggest festivals (2025).
- — Charlotte de Witte — the new face of techno. Charlotte de Witte profiled as the leading figure of the modern Belgian techno wave (2025).
- — Rampage — drum & bass / dubstep at the Sportpaleis. Rampage in Antwerp's Sportpaleis became the world's biggest drum & bass and dubstep event, a Belgian-built global flagship (2025).
- — Tomorrowland 2025. Tomorrowland into its third decade.
- — The Sound of Belgium (Director's cut). From the Belgian electronic scene — The Sound of Belgium (Director's cut). (2025)
