Brussels Summer Festival: Mumbai Science

Mumbai Science’s electronic music is causing a stir at festivals and in clubs, both in Belgium and abroad. Reaction to their debut album, Déjà Vu, moreover, has been really positive. Interested in some serious partying? Check them out at the Brussels Summer Festival.

Maarten Elen and Jonas Kiesekoms, together Mumbai Science, owe a lot to Sound of Stereo. They passed on their demos to Dr Lektroluv, who has been bringing their singles out on his own label, and to international DJs, who have also started to play them in their sets. Says Elen, “It’s thanks to those guys that we are here now, talking about our debut album. That Brodinski picked out our first single was just amazing. We have become good friends too.”

Déjà Vu is getting good reviews, also in the foreign press. Why is it that this album has caught on so well?
Jonas Kiesekoms: Five years ago, an album was just a distant dream for us. At that time, our singles were entirely aimed at the dance floor. But two years ago we realised that we had started making tracks that sounded that bit different: with more melody and less focus solely on the beat. And the collaborations with Peaches, Mixhell, Gustaph, and DJ Spank-Spank of PHuture may have had something to do with it too.

For me, “The Call”, with Gustaph singing, was the most striking collaboration. He gives the song a really funky and groovy twist, doesn’t he?
Kiesekoms: Gustaph is an exceptionally talented singer. He always knows how to get lyrics across in such a way that you can’t get them out of your head.
Maarten Elen: He also sings with Hercules and Love Affair. Extraordinary, what he does there. And he is surely going to become even better known. He certainly deserves to.

People sometimes talk about the “Belgian sound” in electronic dance music. Have you noticed that?
Elen: We did indeed come across that when we went on tour. There really is a lot of talk about it. New beat, rave, and Soulwax’s techno is something very special for them. We should be proud of it.
Kiesekoms: We didn’t really go through that rave and new-beat period ourselves. So it was only later that we followed up that music. And that’s partly thanks to what we have heard from Dr Lektroluv, who has lots of juicy stories about it. [Laughs]

Mumbai Science’s music is tailor-made for festivals and big clubs. Is that what you enjoy most?
Elen: I think it does indeed work better with a big crowd rather than a small one. On the other hand, the tracks on Déjà Vu are versatile too: some of the tracks also work well in a small club. It depends a bit, too, on how you incorporate them into a set. But if there are five thousand people in front of us, then they’ll certainly have a good time. [Laughs]

9/8, 22.00, Kunstberg/Mont des Arts

BRUSSELS SUMMER FESTIVAL • 8 > 17/8, Pass: €15 > 60, Paleizenplein/place des Palais, Kunstberg/Mont des Arts & Magic Mirrors, Brussel/Bruxelles, www.bsf.be