The start of a new year has also started on the right note for a Belgo-Brussels musical collective.
Since the mid-1990s, Jaune Toujours has been serving up a blistering mix of grooves, horns, and accordion.
The group is an infectious mix of horns steamy rhythm section, danceable accordion lines and tons of energy.
Vertigo is now the Belgo-Brussels collective’s seventh studio album.
On the new album the band pushes further in their sonic adventure.
The accordion is frequently run through effects pedals (ranging from organ sounds to wah-wah and delay), occasionally, a mini-Korg or piano make an appearance.
Elsewhere, the double bass regularly dives into distortion, occasionally switching to electric bass, while the drums juggle snares and various percussion elements with glee.
The horns are richly layered, and the vocals are intricately produced, featuring rich backing vocals and tracks.
The lyrics, meanwhile, provide a snapshot of the world, a world so vast it makes you dizzy (hence: Vertigo), but they aim to keep spirits up and to persevere.
Vertigo was recorded at Choux de Bruxelles in Jaune Toujours’ rehearsal space and mixed at Studio Planet by Jules Fradet, known for his work with Belgian rappers like Damso, Caballero & Jeanjass, Roméo Elvis, La Smala, and Baloji.
The album has won a German Record Critics’ Award (in the section “Jury Weltmusik”) an award for high-level music productions determined by an extensive committee of music critics and journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Vertigo has also been nominated as best album at the Flanders Folk Awards and for the public’s vote at the Belgian Worldwide Music Awards.
The album recently made it to the ‘Best of 2024’ at Mondophon, Radio Ara (LU) and the music blogs Podwireless (UK) and Luminous Dash (BE).
