Beijing and Shanghai party promoters The M Agency are bringing a little bit of Belgium to China. For their first show at Haze on January 14, they've got the help of the Belgian Embassy and are bringing over ATTAR! and Mickey - both eclectic electronic artists who are excited to show what Belgium can do. Belgium was a big part of the nascent electronic scene in Europe, and continues to get influences from all its neighbors. Antwerp hosts the mega Laundry Day party and is home to Belgium's current most famous DJ Netsky. Oh, and "Pump up the Jam" (that immortal dance tune by Technotronic) is a Belgian production. Maxime Bureau from The M Agency and Renaud Deru aka ATTAR! give us their thoughts on this Belgian production.

Maxime Bureau, The M Agency

What is your goal with this Belgium-themed night? 
Belgium has been in a slump for the past year and a half or so. We've survived because of our solid foundations, immovable cliche symbols like chocolate and beer, topped off with a kind of Belgian attitude (us Belgians refer to it as Belgi-tude). Sid Gulinck and I wanted to invite DJ's who represent said attitude and build a concept around it to get people really interested in Belgian culture and arts. The goal is to go beyond political bickering and bring people together to create unity and feel-good vibes within the laid-back confines of Haze, but also inform people about our country and present people with some Belgian eye-catchers and tastes. We want people to actually get to know the real Belgium anno 2012, because I think most people have but a very faint idea about that weird dot on the map. To do this, we asked and got support from not only the Belgian embassy (including the Tourism Offices of both Flanders and the Walloons) but also BIJ, a Walloon institution that provides funding for initiatives undertaken by young, French speaking Belgians. Being a Flemish speaking Belgian, it's great to see this kind of dual support that rises above language barriers.

How do you feel about Chinese awareness of Belgium? I don't think anyone ever really refers to it in a negative way. Most Chinese seem impressed at how a country of tiny size is able to play such an important role in international politics. It must be unthinkable when living in this mastodon of country: to live in a country which is roughly the size of Beijing municipal area. The language diversity is much lauded as well: because of it's comfy location amidst all those other European countries, most Belgian have a sort of inbred capacity for speaking languages well. Chinese seem to be aware of that and seem to equate it with cultural wealth, which I assume is a good thing. Obviously, Chinese people also know all too well about the cliches, like chocolate and beer. What they tend to forget though - and what's to blame considering the ubiquity of McDonalds and KFC restaurants here in China - is that Belgians invented the French fries. And they're damn proud of it!



What have you got planned for upcoming Take Me To Belgium events? The concept is bigger than just a party: we hope to make it into a semester event and have Belgian DJ's and Neon/M Agency DJ's and maybe even VJ's collaborate, which I think The M Agency is and has been good at. But in comparison to our other events, this one will always have a cultural twist: there's a whole demographic of party people that we think can be targeted in a new, interesting way to arouse their interest in Belgian culture.

Do you think that the DJs for your first show give a fair representation of electronic artists from Belgium? Belgium has always been good at flaunting it's diversity, so in the case of these two DJ's it seems like they're also very capable of maneuvering within their broad genre preference to bring a great variety of tunes. They're in the same clique as Aeroplane, Villa and 2ManyDJ's, and are very profusely known in the Brussels going out scene for their parties, as well as globally for their mixes. But basically they're both quite eclectic, which could also be said of the Belgian's taste in music. It's like choosing one already excellent chocolate to represent them all. Impossible! Basically the question is linked to the goal of our event: to have people explore and find out for themselves what there is to like about Belgium, both musically and as a whole.


Renaud Deru aka ATTAR! (ex Mustang)


What are you most looking forward to in Beijing? Beijing seems like a very dynamic and central city in the world at the moment (and I'm sure for a long time). It also seems like a double-faced city, traditional and so modern in the same time; I like this kind of contradiction! Of course, I'm also very excited to come back and meet my friends from M agency again, eating duck (as you can't find a very good one in Belgium) and making people dance like last time!

If you had to describe your style in one word, what would it be and why? Eclecticism. Because I love lots of different things, and like to find dangerous combinations of them, mixing different things from different spaces and trying to have a harmonious result! You know, I get bored very quickly, so I always need some new personal challenges. So eclecticism describes my whole life!

DETAILS

What: Take Me to Belgium

Where: Haze

When: Jan 14, 9:30pm

Tel: 186-1197-0409