Each spring, Brussels’ cultural institution Le Botanique opens the festival season with their inescapable Les Nuits Bota. This year again and before everyone, they bring exciting, emerging and established artists to Belgium, in human-sized venues. Even if some shows are already sold-out, there is still a lot of jewels to discover and we made a small selection to help you make your program.

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First of all, let’s focus on the boiling Belgian line-up and if you’re familiar with HighClouds, all these names should sound familiar. The amazing Blackwave. and YellowStraps will make you move with their chill and groovy vibes. If you prefer cinematic and emotional electronic music, then Haring and Rari are here for you. We take the bet that the two girls of Juicy will energise the crowd with their retro-futuristic R&B and hip-hop music. Ulysse, Pale Grey and Tessa Dixson are certainly the most exciting acts on the Belgian indie pop scene at the moment.

Amongst the international acts that we don’t need to introduce, we’d like to mention the -already sold-out- concert of Charlotte Gainsbourg whose last album “Rest” was particularly good. Impossible to miss the noise-pop os U.S. Girls, the synth-pop odyssey of Porches, the style of Eddy de Pretto and the groove of Jungle.

French acts Malik Djoudi, Royaume, Polo & Pan, Bagarre and L’Impératrice should undoubtedly make memorable sparks. Amen Dunes just released one of the best albums of 2018 so far and he’ll be playing it in Brussels. South African queer artist Nakhane will bewitch you with the songs of his new album “You Will Not Die”. Be ready to dance with pop princess Mabel and to swag with Little Simz. Finally, new alternative sensation Yellow Days will also join the party.

Check the 2018’s full line-up of Les Nuits on their website and via their Spotify playlist below.

With Yumi‘s vocals and Moon Boy‘s production, the dream-pop duo mesmerize you while still puttin a message out there: women should be proud of their bodies and not listen to what we expect women to look like. That unachievable beauty standard is only there to make women feel bad about themselves. About the track, they stated:

[su_quote]It’s important to build a strong self-confidence, especially for women. A strong voice that speaks to your values can ensure awareness and manifest change. Intersectionality, diversity and inclusivity are the future.[/su_quote]
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You can follow Royaume over Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.

This week, The Deer Du Bois scream: “We are Music and We are Free!”

We need diversity, we want everybody in, we won’t ban. And this week our playlist once again brings together music from everywhere!

Softly we trigger your interest with the subtle sparkling pop of Ninajirachi featuring Freya Staer on “Pure Luck.” Chinah pulls her seductive registers even more open on “Even Love.” Dazzling power pop vibes will be running all over you thanks to Joan and their instant hit “Take Me On.”

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Some Swedish Rihanna, but done in a relevant & creative way? Listen to Sophia Somajo‘s “Mouth To Mouth” and get blown away! Back to London’s streets with AUGUST‘s new song: “G H O S T S.”

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Also the more introspective and subtle moods win this week with “Last Call” by Alessandro Ciminata and “Miho Beach” by the great Royaume.

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Our perfect tribute this week goes to the righteous Planningtorock who remixed her love into Whitney Houston‘s “How Will I Know.” You will! Lastly, Excelsior close this playlist with the debut track “Martha Graham.”

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If you want to drink a bit more until you get tipsy, you should check him on Facebook and Soundcloud, and follow his regular posts on our site.

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The duo decided that they wanted to offer a bit of music to their fans before releasing a proper first single to their next LP. “Miho Beach” follows the path already established by their previous singles: the low-pitch special voice of Yumi alongside some deep songwriting and obscure production. About the track, Royaume explained to us:

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During Yumi’s recent trip to Japan, she discovers Miho Beach, a legendary beach whose sand has blackened over the years; it inspired her. The text describes the transitions between the beauty and the darkness in human relationships. The last sentence of the text can sum it up : “Even if a smile is broad / There is a gun to load”.

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We got the chance to see them live last week for the PIAS nite and we can tell you that what’s coming next sounds really exciting. You can follow Royaume over Facebook and Instagram. Their title “Miho Beach” has also been added to our daily-updated Spotify playlist “Daily Dose for Music Junkies.”

Une photo publiée par Highclouds (@highcloudsmag) le 25 Janv. 2017 à 13h02 PST

[su_dropcap style=”simple”]E[/su_dropcap]very Wednesday on HighClouds, from now until death do us part, we publish the picky playlists of our Brussels’ friend and collaborator Deer Du Bois. He has been demonstrating a real talent in highlighting emerging and talented acts and imposes himself as a real talent-spotter. Every week, his playlist is a sharp and buzzing selection of new discoveries in indie and pop music. And lucky you: we are now your fresh and fun place to weekly seat and savor his delightful “indie.tronic.dream.pop.chill.wave” cocktail. So, do you mind a cup?

“My music-shake brings all the boys to the ice cream yard” Deer Du Bois!

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My music-shake brings all the boys to the ice cream yard. (By the way, Kelis confessed this week that she never prepared a milkshake in her life… #SHAME) Let’s get crazy with Half Japanese Half Muscle & their “Loose Fitting Girls”. Get brain-freeze thanks to the Icelandic charm of the gorgeous Kreld on “Way Low” or the beautiful pop-noir by Belgian singer Jasmin Smolders and her “First-Falling Down”.

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Don’t crash on the heartbreak interlude by the mysterious new artist imho and his break-up-love-letter track “Waiting For You”, because we shouldn’t give up hope, if we can believe in the “Endless Grace” of Paris hip duo Royaume on their brand new single. You can also discover the hypnotic Lee Triffon and her “Different Sun” over there!

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And where else to enjoy our weekly playlist than sunbathing, a Calypo in hand, by “La Piscine”, the big and sunny return of Hypnolove. Lick it, like it, play it! By the way, the band is from Toulouse, like the founder of HighClouds!

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If you want to drink a bit more until you get tipsy, you should check him on Facebook and Soundcloud, and follow his regular posts on our site.

[su_dropcap style=”simple”]2[/su_dropcap]015 came to an end, but the year was definitely rich of new talents. Every week, we introduced you to a “Newcomer” we wanted to highlight. Before starting this brand new year, which we hope will be as good as the previous one for music, we would like to do a share a playlist of all of our previous Newcomers.

From Brazil to Australia and Sweden to South Africa or from Indie to Electro and Pop to RnB our Newcomers were very diversified and came from all over the world.

Listen to the full playlist including one song of each newcomer.
Including Reece‘s single “Don’t Go” which was in the 47th position of our Top 100 of the best tracks of the year. But also Gourmet who just released his debut album “Cashmere” and many more artists to discover.

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Hope you liked them and keep an eye on them, as 2016 might be their year as many of these newcomers are ready to release new content in the following months.
Get ready !

Read our Newcomer of the week articles here.