Western Europe
The sound of Belgium
Small country, outsized influence on electronic music — new beat and EBM both started here and both fed directly into techno. The jazz scene is older and still going.
393 artists in the catalog.
What Belgium does that nowhere else does
Genres far more common here than across the rest of the catalog. The multiplier is how much more common, weighted by how many artists carry it.
Five records to start with
Not a canon — a way in. Each one links to what it is, who it's for and where to go next.
Belgian artists worth walking into
Ordered by how much we can tell you, not just by how well-known they are.
Wim Mertens
Where to start →Hooverphonic
art rock · chill-out music
Where to start →Will Tura
Where to start →Lara Fabian
operatic pop · pop music
Where to start →Natalia
rhythm and blues
Where to start →Jacques Brel
chanson
Where to start →Toots Thielemans
jazz
Where to start →Suicide Commando
electro-industrial
Where to start →Dana Winner
pop music · schlager music
Where to start →Francis Goya
Where to start →Vidna Obmana
ambient music
Where to start →Soulwax
indie rock
Where to start →