Experience a new Brussels: the electronic marathon

The Brussels Electronic Marathon (BEM) is approaching, promising incredible performances and events! It will give a unique, 360 degrees view over the electronic environment to the city, making it easier for the beginners to understand and appreciate it, and suggesting new artists and applications to those fond of the genre.

The festival is at its second edition: it started last year with around 27 venues and 44 events, shaking up the city and introducing the electronic music culture in all its multifaceted aspects to the citizens. Among the venues, there were Fuse, MIMA, Beursschouwburg, L’Amour Fou and Bonnefooi, which are going to be present once again in this edition, together with many more. This year the event is richer and even more eclectic: it holds more than 30 locations scattered around the city, and offers more than 60 events.

“The BEM aims at showing how rich and diverse the electronic music environment is, while underlining the cultural abundance and creativity of Brussels’ nightlife. It also offers a great opportunity to discover new urban spots, bars and venues all around the city, to seize Brussels’ pulsing life and surprising secrets”, confirmed the co-creator Brice Deloose.

He underlined the importance of reinforcing Brussels’ cultural and nocturnal life, making it more appealing and known to the citizens and to the visitors.

“When you talk about electronic music, people think about Berlin or Amsterdam. We have great artists, Belgian and international, who play in the city and spice up the nightlife. Offering the a platform to perform and visibility is a great opportunity: it brings up the eclectic cultural and musical scene of Brussels and it fights bias related to electronic music”.

One of the main objectives of the event is, in fact, presenting the evolution of the genre and detach it from negative and old-fashioned bias. Electronic music is not just an 1980’s creation, forgotten in the underground scene and related to drugs: it is lively, modern, multifaceted and rich in influences; it reflects, in a way, the multicultural and quickly-changing character of Brussels.

The event does not just stop at concerts and amazing parties: it offers a range of workshops and conferences to find out more about electronic music and its applications, and it is also related to a multi-sensorial exhibition hosted at Palais du Coudenberg called Synesthetics (from the 12^th to the 20^th of October). As the title suggests, the expo focuses on connecting music to the senses, making the experience more complete and enjoyable. The pieces are from Belgian and Dutch artists and combine everyday objects.

“The idea is to suggest that music and art are deeply connected and are not distant concepts from reality or everyday routine. The two subjects are a part of our day and they are linked with our lives, with the things we come in contact with, with our experiences”, stated Laurent Quillet and Martin Marique from Balaise, the curators of the exhibition.

The exhibition, as the Brussels Electronic Marathon itself, aims at giving a new perspective on art, challenging bias and prejudice and combining the pieces of the palais with music. “It is a new concept, a new way of collaborating”, confirmed Frédérique Honoré, director of the Palais de Coudenberg, “it enhances Brussels’ cultural heritage, presenting it under a new light”.

Don’t miss the chance and see Brussels under a new light!