Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (KCB) features pianist and composer Piergiorgio Pirro in their latest Researcher Spotlight.

The feature tracks his artistic doctoral research into jazz improvisation, exploring the fluid thresholds between structural analysis, multi-layered listening, and real-time performance codes.

Read the full interview on KCB →

Following their album WE.ARƎ.FOꓘd,OK? with the electro punk-rap outfit FOꓘKOP.EЯA, rapper Herb Cells, pianist Martin Daniel, drummer Ben Tequi, now together with Nicolas Thys on double bass (on stage with Manolo Cabras) created their alter-ego FOꓘKOP.UNPLUGGD and as of today their debut album The Imposter Acoustic is out via Igloo Records.

FOꓘKOP.UNPLUGGD strips back the electronic framework of FOꓘOPEЯA and lean into a modern jazz piano trio sound yet in a highly groovy and soulful approach, adding another layer to the jazz and hip-hop/spoken word conversation coming out of Brussels.

An emergency call for our era The Imposter Acoustic is out now!

Laurence Cousseau Quintet‘s Les Groseilles de Novembre unfolds within an aesthetic of magical realism, moving between the tangible and the dreamlike. Inspired by Andrus Kivirähk’s literary universe, the album traces states of transition and memory as they pass through bodies, landscapes, and inherited gestures.

The quintet’s sound is shaped by the dialogue between alto flute and bass clarinet, expanding into a fluid field where composition and improvisation intersect. Across five pieces, the music moves between structure and openness, density and air, fragility and intensity.

Macondo Trio will perform at Citadelic Festival 2026 in Ghent on Friday 29 May at 20:00 as part of the festival programme.

The concert is part of the five-day open-air festival running from 27 to 31 May 2026, dedicated to jazz, improvisation, and experimental music.

Citadelic Festival brings together a wide range of local and international artists across multiple stages in a park setting, offering an open platform for adventurous live music experiences.

Laurence Cousseau Quintet will perform at Citadelic Festival 2026 in Ghent on Thursday 28 May as part of the Ensemble showcase programme in collaboration with Koeketiene and Citadelic Festival.

The performance takes place at 14:00 and opens a day of adventurous music within the festival’s multi-day programme

Citadelic Festival 2026 runs from 27 to 31 May in Ghent and presents an open-air programme dedicated to jazz, improvisation, and experimental music, bringing together a wide range of local and international artists.

The quintet’s appearance is part of the festival’s Ensemble showcase series, highlighting projects emerging from contemporary improvisation practices.

Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito with Alexandra Grimal at Ham Sessions

Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito together with Alexandra Grimal will perform at Ham Sessions in Ghent on 24 May as part of the festival’s second-day programme.

Presented by Ha Concerts, the performance is scheduled for 15:00 and will open a day that also features Panoply (O'Gallagher/Formanek/Williams) and Muze Jazz Orchestra.

The project began in Chalon-sur-Saône, Burgundy (France), and developed further in Brussels, particularly around the legendary Sounds Jazz Club. Bringing together musicians from the Belgian capital, the ensemble led by Pierre-Antoine Savoyat creates an organic and surprising music in which improvisation and reinterpretation become a way of telling stories, shaping atmospheres, and expressing human emotions.

Laurence Cousseau Quintet will perform at Werkplaats Walter in Brussels on 14 May 2026, as part of a double bill evening with Sam Comerford’s Thunderblender with Ultan O’Brien.

Laurence Cousseau Quintet has been selected by Werkplaats Walter in Brussels as part of Belgian Music Week 2026. The ensemble will present work from its debut project Les Groseilles de Novembre, an exploration of magical realism through composed and improvised music.

Led by composer and flautist Laurence Cousseau, the quintet features a distinctive instrumentation centered around alto flute and bass clarinet, together with piano, double bass, and drums. The project develops a sonic language that moves between jazz traditions, contemporary classical references, and free-improvisation.

Formed in 2024, the ensemble has developed through residencies and performances across Brussels and has been recognized through several institutional selections, including Jazz Station, CC Kultkom in Eupen, and MetX.

The project’s debut album released in May 2026 on Off Records.

soniqApart is proud to present:

The debut album of FOKKOP. UNPLUGGD (alter-ego of FOꓘKOP.EЯA) The Imposter Acousticwill be released on 19 May 2026 via Belgian Igloo Records. And the most exciting news is that as part of Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend, FOKKOP. UNPLUGGD will take over the Bourse Stage in the center of Brussels on 21 May 2026 at 19:00 for their debut release concert.

Following their most recent album with FOꓘKOP.EЯA—an electronic punk-rap project—rapper Herb Cells, pianist Martin Daniel and Ben Tequi return with a stripped, re-grounded version of their music. Joined by Manolo Cabras on double bass (with Nicolas Thys on double bass in the album), a piano trio influenced yet groove-driven and soulful contemporary jazz-rap revisit of FOꓘKOP.EЯA’s universe, with clear nods to jazz history and beyond.

They’ve opened for Akua Naru at AB, for clipping at M4 Brussels, shared the stage with AUSGANG at Les Nuits 2021, and held an artist-in-residence position at VK in Brussels.

But FOꓘKOP.EЯA isn’t something you neatly summarize.

Driven by Nina Simone’s mantra — “It is the duty of an artist to reflect the times” — the band navigates a world bloated with spectacle and hollow authority. Herb Cells and his crew are not here to decorate the room. They’re looking for the emergency exit.

Orchestrated by a schizophrenic KORG MS20 bass, razor-sharp, neck-snapping live drums and immersive visuals, the lyrics unfold like an Escher staircase — disorienting, layered, slightly unsettling.

This is not a random outburst.
FOꓘKOP.EЯA points to an era ruled by failures and impostors.

Different BPMs. All live. Inspired by Afro-American rhythms. A stubborn, genre-bending UFO of a band.

Following their EP SPITCOINS, their debut full album WE.ARƎ.FOꓘd,OK ? has now been unleashed. Experience the unique live intensity during the official vinyl release at RITCS-café Brussels.

The concert takes place at RITCS-café, a joint initiative by AB and Erasmus University College Brussels, which hosts this special vinyl release night.

WE.ARƎ.FOꓘd,OK ?
Live. Loud. Unfiltered.
Join us at AB x RITCS-Café

On 20 February, Pierre-Antoine Savoyat & Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito were featured on Au Coeur du Jazz, broadcast on France Musique, hosted by Nicolas Pommaret.

The programme highlights their latest album, Thousand Shades of a Clown, exploring the many nuances of sincerity behind the clown’s mask.