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AMNESIA : New Beat band number 2. Sales-wise their Ibiza was comparable to The Sound of C, but it sounds a lot more refreshing. The album "Hysteria" doesn't really create what the title would suggest.
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AMUSEMENT NOUVEAU : First New Beat product on the ALFA-label owned by Walter Capiau <a Belgian TV gameshow host>, amusing and guaranteed without any Hoger/Lager-samples.
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BARCA INTERNATIONAL : Arbeid Adelt <a Dutch saying meaning one should not be lazy> but New Beat brings in the money ! With The Sound of Olé Olé, David Salomon puts a football (or soccer) tune inside a beatbox and brings out a record with the result.
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B-PROJECT : On Blow Out they're bringing Bogart and Bergman where they always wanted to be : in bed. This kind of sex might be good for your health.
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BX8017 : A Brussels company, which specialises in Acid-productions. Especially their CCCP-HOUSE and NOISE BOYS Megabeat 12-inches are quite good.
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CARAVAN, THE : Somewhere in Arabia is the oldest Belgian NB-predecessor, appeared in February 1986 and was picked up by DJ's instantly. When afterwards the song turned out to be of Dutch origin, TARGET-records became the first copyright NB-target.
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CIM : Smaller label situated in Ekeren, with THE MAXX, BASIC TWO, CHEICK MADANI and YVAN MARKEWICH, definitely not unimportant.
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CLIP RECORDS : Aalst <Belgian city in East-Flanders> lead the way in the New Beat-wave with this label. Are a bit slow with their releases, but deliver most interesting material, although the more recent products by KASH IN THE EAST, ZEROCKS and TUNQ don't reach the same level as their predecessors or as the older NUX NEMO and ACTS OF MADMEN. A nice selection of their publications can be found on the compilation called New Beat Sampler released by Indisc.
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CODE 61 : Drop The Deal appeared around Christmas 1987 and almost instantly became a New Beat classic. The nice "web of voices" <most of those taken from the TV-show Miami Vice> can already be found on no less than eight international House-compilaties. In London DJ's would pull out their knives to get a copy of the original and just for New York alone 300 copies were recently re-pressed. The successor Stand By was a not so well succeeded copy of Pump Up The Volume <(by M.A.R.R.S.)>.
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CONFETTI'S : Big exercise in boasting this one. The Sound of C proves by being the absolute NB-hit that "dumb, but well presented" can be the ideal method to sell a product. The record was actually produced by the guys from THE MAXX and the faces from Peter, Marleen, Marion, Tania and Natascha just took care of the necessary marketing afterwards. Also C in China, comparable with Gaston & Leo in Hong Kong <a movie featuring a Belgian comic duo>, came into existence in exactly the same way. Irony at its best : the band is about to break up due to ego-problems.
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DIT IS BELGISCH/C'EST BELGE : 12-inch, on which STEPHEN MURPHY, a DJ in Antwerp, pastes all the recent New Beat-hits together. This record is exceptional because it hasn't appeared illegally, as is the case with most of these kind of mixes. They've stayed on the most official roads possible and everything was very nicely reported in full to SABAM <this is the Belgian association for audio copyrights>.
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DR. PHIBES : In the real world known as : Bruno Sanchioni, brain behind the products of the label DIKI-records from Moeskroen. His band is called DR. PHIBES, but if one of the other members has an idea it can appear using band names like CHICO CREW, JENNIFER CREW, DOC AND CO. or BAZZ. Especially remember the last two and the "doctor" himself.
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EVIL KID : B. Marrissal and B. Vangarsse from the Amnesia production team supplied us with Alarm using the name Evil Kid and with Big Tits as BOZO. Not all that sensational.
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FATAL ATTRACTION : Excellent idea to have Alfred Hitchcock do a little speech-cameo at the beginning of the track. Music To Be Murdered By belongs to the best running productions of the moment, isn't disturbed by high-pitched acid-cries and can therefore be categorised as Old Style New Beat.
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FERRARI : The younger sub-section of the Antwerp based R & S records, which has concentrated its efforts on dance music for about seven years now. Supplied some of the better NB-tracks like SPACE OPERA with Mandate My Ass, CODE 61 with Drop The Deal, PUBLIC RELATIONS with Eighty 8 and GHENTLON's Cheebala and Technodream.
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HITHOUSE : Is actually a Dutch project <the producer is called Peter Slaghuis, who sadly got killed in a car accident in the early nineties> and only connected sideways to New Beat, but their Jack To The Sound Of The Underground was both recorded and released in Belgium. Didn't make it into the British top ten but nevertheless it was the first Belgian product to get that far in more than twenty years. The previous one had been SOEUR SOURIRE <that was in 1963 with "Dominique">.
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IN-D : The Moricone family of the North. A team from the Subway plant with a sense for atmosphere. Sooner or later one of their tunes will conquer the movie business. While waiting for that to happen they've already served Inspecteur Clouseau for MAC SAMPLE's House Inspector.
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INGER/KHAN/VAN OEKEL : Subway-producerstrio which hasn't put down their masks yet. Are hiding behind ELECTRIC SHOCK, SHAKTI, JADE 4U, MAJOR PROBLEM, DIRTY HARRY, LORDS OF ACID, NASTY THOUGHTS, MISS NICKY TRAX and SAVE SEX.
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IT'S OFFICIAL : The NB-Dylan is called C. Vloeberghs. We Are Responsible is a digital "Save the environment"-poster.
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JARVIC 7 : Bush Of Love is what the most recent product is called by the New Beat Tarzan, Patrick De Meyer. He yells "yuhaha" on every track he produces and JARVIC 7 is his Acid outlet. However, he's really at his best as FATAL ERROR with Fatal Error, the way it originally appeared on the Ferrari label. The later versions for the label Who's That Beat? (as TRAGIC ERROR) doesn't even come close to that and neither do his projects as T 99 and BLACK KISS.
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KAOS : Acid-division of Subway, with about a dozen releases by now, most of those are on the compilation "This Is Acid New Beat". Almost all tracks are produced by the two tandems Inger/Khan and Maron/Nowe.
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KEVIN SAUNDERSON : Key figure of the Techno-scene. Currently remixing the entire FERRARI-catalogue, to be released as 12-inches on JIVE-records.
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LA ROLLS : Percussion-exercise of the most likeable record salesman of Brussels. His Sure Is is heavy acid on a rhythm and tempo that an average typist should be able to follow. Possibly it could be called BLUE NUT as well.
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MARK NORRIS : Reporter who came over to Belgium to have a closer look at the New Beat activities for the purpose of an article in NME magazine. He's also active as a musician and among his work there's an acid-LP with Genesis P. Orridge (from Throbbing Gristle). He recently came back to Dendermonde <a city in Belgium> to work together with Patrick De Meyer (T 99 + TRAGIC ERROR).
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MAXX, THE : New Beat the way it should be, young kids with keyboards and a personal computer. Dominic Sas and Serge Ramaekers supplied the hit material for CONFETTI'S and by now they should have a nice balance on their bank account because of it. Their own company is called THE MAXX and Cocaine & Your Highness didn't do all that bad either the last couple of months. Whenever they hire a voice to be heard on their tracks they are called FOOLISH MIND, but we wouldn't want to wish anybody a listening session of those records.
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MG RECORDS : Young subsidiary of Indisc. Stylish covers, filled with outstanding material. Next to some four New Beat releases (PHANTASIA, REJECT 707, MR. WHITE and EDWARDS & ARMANI) the label also has room for some more classic tunes from other House-styles.
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MORTON SHERMAN BELLUCCI : The Emperors from Aarschot <their hometown>. Their Beat The Box CD-compilation has 21 tracks and that's not even half of what they recorded... during the past year that is. They are active on every possible area and if Will Tura <best known Flemish male singer> would ever consider making a New Beat record, they will probably be his first choice.
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NEON : Already made a kind of New Beat version of VISAGE's Fade To Grey back in 1986. Currently their Voices remix and Baby Wants To Ride is more important. This month a first album will be released and the band is thinking of, surprise surprise, performing live.
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NEW BEAT CLUB : TC MATIC in their early retirement, that's Ferre Baelen in EDWARDS & ARMANI and Serge Feys at NEW BEAT CLUB. Neither of them gives a lasting impression. Nonetheless CBS seems to have paid quite a bit of money to get the little club signed up. DJ's don't go wild about it though and if The Age Of Shit is meant to be a New beat-comment then Serge has crapped on his own head.
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NEW EGYPT : The first New-Beat Englishman, Rick Smith, has two 12-inches out at Clip Records.
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NEW GROOVE : Seriously oversexed label based in Antwerp. Have about a dozen releases, among which NEW BEAT EXPRESS, B-PROJECT (with Casablanca as prelude), THE DJ GANG I Like Your Pussy, DREAMS Rhythm Of My Dreams and a real Christmas New Beat : New Beat Bells by CLOCH ART. Before the NB-wave started they already had released the interesting compilation New World Beat, with a number of tracks which inspired New Beat producers, like the German 16 BIT <known from Where Are You ?> and the Flemish BEAT BOX BOYS (with Einstein).
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NUX NEMO : Their Hiroshima was the very first real New Beat record. It already got into the national charts during the Summer of 1987. Chinatown, the first New Beat album, groups together a lot of better inspired "New Age Dance Music", together with the three 12-inch releases. Everything is produced by JO BOGAERT <yes, the one from Technotronic>, who also did the outstanding rock-soundtrack for the Riot 88 play. He also operates going by names like ACTS OF MADMEN (excellent 12-inch, The Dream), ZEROCKS, 4 FOR 4 and KASH IN THE EAST (Kamaleio is a very neat eccentric track).
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OTTI : Smaller Ghent based label, which has releases by CAVEMEN <Boccasourus> and JC'S PROJECT <Andromedia>. Less optimistic, but still fascinating.
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PDW <these are a persons initials> : Gives out quite some gibes when writing for a fairly well-known Belgian radio- and TV-magazine <its name is HUMO>, also plays the drums in Belgium's most successful reggaeband. According to our singing detective he roams the record shops hoping to get some New Beat crums. His "Beatlemania"-attempt to abuse John Lennon's heritage posthumously seems to be failing though.
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RENAAT VAN DE PAPELIERE : Big Boss from the Ferrari label <and R & S> and central person of an Antwerp-Ghent dance-conglomerate. Had his personal share in B-ART, CODE 61, TC, THE PROJECT, GHENTLON,... and could very well become the first New Beat-producer who takes the big step across the Channel <is what the sea is called between mainland Europe and the U.K.>. Has been spotted more in ferries than on the subway lately anyway. Tries to get together with the WEE PAPA GIRL RAPPERS-producer AMISH MACDONALD for the B-ART project.
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RO MARON : Belgian without a face, but with a history in rock-music. Ranked second on the list of New Beat-producers, after Morton, Sherman & Bellucci. About a dozen Acid 12-inches on Subway and MG-Records. With names like : PHANTASIA with Welcome In My Acid House (acceptable), REJECT 707 with Brainkiller (a bit flat), BEAT BEAT BEAT with Beat In The Street (threatening but well-done), S.M. with S.M. (heavy), MR. WHITE with Gimme Some Acid (outstanding), ZSA ZSA LABOUM with Something Scary (fascinating on , ehm, 33 rpm), KAOS 607 with Rock On Acid and MISS NUDE with Taste My Acid Fruit (me first!).
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SLIM ABDELADIM : Has delivered us two exceptional 12-inches on the CIM-label. Laya Habibi is attractive Islamic Beat by CHEICK MADANI and Stalingrad by YVAN MARKEVICH introduces the Ruski-beat.
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SNOWY RED : Already in the early eighties he had himself dragged along by his sequencer like a dwarf by a Great Dane and hasn't learned much more since then. Luckily his computer plays more smoothly by now.
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SOUND OF BELGIUM : Brussels-based label, connected to the SHIVA-studios. Have about five releases using the same number of names and also the same production-team every single time : CCCP-HOUSE, NOISE BOYS, BX8017, BRAINSTORM
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SUBWAY : New Beat-factory from Aarschot in a Brill-building style. A bunch of anonymous production teams are responsible for a quarter of the national New Beat productions, in some kind of 9 to 5 musicians-job.
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TARGET : the city of Aalst, yet again. The New Beat predecessors NEON and THE CARAVAN already appeared on this label in 1986. Other releases are by the hand of TEDDY 33 (formerly THE ARCH), L & O, PLB SYSTEM, HI-HAT, COLD SENSATION, TABOO, BALI HAI and NO EXCUSE. Most of their productions can be found on the compilation "The Target New Beat Story, 1st chapter". Main figure is JP Bulté, producer with a not completely blameless behaviour.
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TOM JONES : Is recording an electro-dance-album at this very instant without ART OF NOISE, but with two New Beat-tracks <don't ask which ones, I have no idea>. Chances are those will be fabricated by Belgians.
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TUNQ : The first New Beat-pizza, Dino Majore, very recently released Close Encounter, but the movie was better.
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USA IMPORT : Antwerp-based label having CONFETTI'S and the Dit is Belgisch 12-inches. As a record store they also have a leading part in the distribution of the alternative New Beat and also function as a meeting place for DJ's and test-center for a lot of Subway-recordings.
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WHO'S THAT BEAT ? : Dance label from the bigger PLAY IT AGAIN SAM <a.k.a. PIAS>. They make obscure foreign New Beat club favorites like PHUTURE's Acid Tracks and WESTBAM's Monkey Say Monkey Do (re)-available and offer room for PATRICK DE MEYER, with his work as T 99, TRAGIC ERROR, JARVIC 7 and BLACK KISS.
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WORLD TODAY : Putting a rhythm on ethnical music is in this case like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. The Musica by BULGARKA is still a bit justified, but what Morton & Co. are doing as EI MORI and TRIO BALKANA is violent theft.
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