KYLE DIXON & MICHAEL STEIN PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF 'STRANGER THINGS'
In 2018, AB brought Texan synth wizards Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (US) to Belgium for the first time as a part of the BRDCST festival. Why? Their absolutely superb soundtrack for the popular science fiction series Stranger Things. Basically: one of the most successful series-annex-ratings hits in recent Netflix history.

Noteworthy: much like the iconic soundtracks of Twin Peaks (by Angelo Badalamenti), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (by Ennio Morricone) or the work of John Carpenter, the music of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein seems inextricably linked to Stranger Things. What’s more: without this soundtrack, no Stranger Things.

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein – who also happen to make up half of the synth quartet S U R V I V E – received considerable recognition for their work, including a number of Grammy Award nominations for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. They also won an Emmy Award – the most prestigious American television prize, comparable to the Oscar for film – for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

The reviews of their soundtrack spoke for themselves. Pitchfork: “It’s a score that understands the difference between ‘retro’ and ‘timeless,’ opting for a cold, analog precision that feels both old and startlingly new.”

In 2019, Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein – aside the likes of Thundercat, SOPHIE, Jungle, James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and 2manydjs – were invited by Chic’s Nile Rodgers who curated the prestigious Meltdown festival. The Guardian wrote of them in a ****-review: “The duo quickly prove that they’re about more than just mood-setting for Eleven and co’s antics, leaning heavily into the sonic savagery of their more nightmarish motifs from the show. Synths shudder, simmer and hiss and build towards cacophonous climaxes, elevated by impressive visuals: Stein and Dixon are barely visible throughout, hidden in a wreckage of frayed cables, behind clouds of smoke and glitching red lights.”

Welcome to Hawkins! Welcome to the Upside Down!

LIGHT DESIGN BY MFO

“To elevate the performance into a fully immersive experience, they have partnered with renowned visual artist MFO (Marcel Weber). The new show features a minimal yet striking design of light and sculpted fog. Light takes on a physical presence through dreamy glows and violent, haunted movements, blurring the line between concert and cinema to make the Stranger Things atmosphere a truly tangible experience.”