Unique two-day event around the equally unique Swiss (but mostly worldly) Bongo Joe label

With the support of Liveurope and Pro Helvetia.

BONGO JOE RECORDS x 10th ANNIVERSARY

“After seeing many of our artists* perform at Ancienne Belgique over the past decade, we’re truly honored to host two nights in this iconic venue as part of our 10 Year Anniversary Tour. The connection between Les Disques Bongo Joe and Brussels is a special one, as we’ve collaborated with some of the key players in the local scene - including Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers, DJ soFa, Cheb Runner, Funky Bompa, as well as local collectives, radios, venues, and record stores. Coming to Belgium to celebrate this anniversary together means a lot to us!”, said Cyril Yeterian, musician and boss of Bongo Joe.

(*Altın Gün, Baby Berserk, Chouk Bwa, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, Lalalar, Meridian Brothers, Meril Wubslin, Nyati Mayi & Astral Synth Transmitters, Pixvae, Societé Etrangé, Nunsantara Beat, …)

8:00 pm
Alice (CH)
Alice is a Swiss trio with a distinctive mother-daughter dynamic: Lisa and Yvonne Harder form the heart of the band. Bongo Joe: “Alice’s music subverts French and Occitan folk music to create a unique sound that combines art-pop, folk song vocals and synth experiments.” Their album L'Oiseau Magnifique is striking evidence of this. Expect “a thrift-store synth, bizarre wit and arresting vocals with an intergenerational, all-female micro-choir”.

9:00 pm
Cyril Cyril & Le Syndicat du Futur (CH)
How great can a story be? Cyril Cyril consists of two gents who are both called Cyril, including Bongo Joe-boss Cyril Yeterian. Le Syndicat du Futur are their children Jeannot, Zoé, Marilou, Marlowe and Lénaïs. Their instruments: vocals, a typewriter and ping-pong balls. With their first feat and single La Meteo / Le Monde Embêtant they present “sharp and joyful manifesto-like texts to express how absurd and boring the adult world seems to them”.

10:00 pm
Lalalar (TR)
The heart of Lalalar is Ali Güçlü Şimşek, who is no stranger to AB. As guitarist of Gaye Su Akyol, he has already appeared four times on our stage and was also here in 2022 for a true Bongo Joe label night. Lalalar combines modern synth sounds with traditional Turkish instruments. Their latest album En Kötü lyi Olur (2023) translates as ‘at its worst, it will be good’. It is their “beacon of hope in our ever socially, politically, and climatically challenged world”. Everyday reality indicates that this is needed more urgently than ever. Highly explosive and danceable last time. Can they take the roof off?

Fun fact

"We decided to name our store and label in tribute to the very unique American street musician George 'Bongo Joe' Coleman (1923 – 1999) who was very popular in Texas and despite lucrative offers from established venues, for 30 years, preferred playing on the streets of different US cities and recorded his only album in San Antonio: George Coleman: Bongo Joe, in 1968 with producer Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records.

His self titled record is one that we have always cherished and was reissued years ago by our friends from Mississippi Records. His music was created with a pure DIY attitude and his message and the way he sung was in our opinion very ahead of its time. George 'Bongo Joe' Coleman's family were over the moon after seeing photos of our record store in Geneva, named and were very excited that European music lovers, so far away, decided to honor the name of their loved and long-lost relative."