When Ghent sends out its sons chances are great they are carrying a load of vinyl records and/or CDs. In the proud city of Ghent ‘Party’ is consistently written with a capital P. The party DNA is chiselled into the paving stones of the city and courses through the veins of the people of Ghent. It is not surprising that so much DJ talent is conquering the world from this windy city between the Leie and Scheldt rivers. And if they can do more than just seamlessly mix dance songs together, it becomes really interesting. That's when CityZine comes knocking at your door for a glass of milk and an interview. After hearing ecstatic reports through the grapevine about their new Villa project we go knocking on Fredo & Thang's door one afternoon. We bring the milk and a list of questions, the musical partners provide the glass and the answers.
Gentlemen, how long have you been together?
Fredo: To avoid any misunderstanding: I am a happily married man! The photographs on Facebook prove it (laughs). The musical partnership with Thang must be about ten years old, I think.
Thang: And we're still not sick and tired of each other!
Where and when did this special relationship form?
Thang: Our first night together behind the turntables was a misunderstanding. The owner of Club 69, at the same location as Suite 16 now (Oude Beestenmarkt), accidently double-booked us on the same date. And because we're not difficult people, we worked together, and it turned out great.
Fredo: Now I think about, a bar manager brought us together (laughs). Well, it happens, even in the best families!
Tell us a little more about your new project: Villa.
Fredo: It's not a new DJ project, I want to be clear about that from the start. Through Villa we make our own productions, and ‘we’ are Thang, myself and Seba, the man with the technical know-how and productional skills. He lives on a remote farm with a huge collection of musical toys.
Thang: Dirk Deruyck, of Eskimo Recordings and formerly of Culture Club, introduced us to Seba for Play & Produce, a kind of musician's day for DJs and producers in Vooruit. It's a great initiative - we went in to adjudicate workshops and walked out as a threesome.
Even Moby already ordered a remix at Villa.
Fredo: Well, what can I say to that? The click with Seba was a new impulse, we are ready to raise our music to a new level. Every time we're in the studio, we want to produce something fresh and surprising. No matter how cliché that may sound.
Thang: We had been muddling along for a couple of years with our productions and it was high time to profile ourselves. We only recently did our first set in London.
Fredo: London has hundreds of Fredo & Thangs, they pave entire streets with DJs full of good intentions (laughs). You need to offer something more and thanks to Villa we can confidently make the step abroad.
Recently you played in the renowned Fabric, just about the coolest club of London.
Fredo: We played in the smallest room, which holds about 400 people. During our set Erol Alkan and Four Tet were playing, serious competition, but we had a good crowd. The best moment of the evening was thanks to Erol: during his grand finale he played two remixes of Villa, one after the other. People went nuts, it clearly wasn't first time he's done that. I was so proud.
Through Villa you organise your own club evenings. Is it a case of anything you do yourself is better?
Thang: That's the basic principle. Not that we think we're good promoters, we’re simply meeting a demand for parties with slightly more and special attention to the music. The first Villa Night was a success and is very moreish!
How tight is Ghent's music scene?
Fredo: Very tight. Primarily because we’re so close to each other. Ghent is an oversized village but I see that as a virtue. Spontaneous contact with other artists is important; in London you're on the tube for an hour if you want to pay a visit to someone. In Ghent you go to the pub Thursday evening and half the bar is full of musicians and DJs (laughs). The Subs, Das pop, Goose, The Glimmers, Soulwax; everyone lives around the corner and eats in the same restaurants.
What specific spot in Ghent is special to you?
Fredo: The Vlasmarkt during the Ghent Festival! A unique mix of recognisable but good music, collective public drunkenness and other hippie-esque conditions. Almost everyone is on the same wavelenght, nicely illustrated when everyone starts ordering "Irish" coffees at about four thirty in the morning. Every true 'Gentenaar' has at least found one girl-friend on the Vlasmarkt and lost one (laughs). I also met my girl-friend – I beg your pardon, my wife! – on the Vlasmarkt. Hopefully in about seventeen years I'll be a worried parent who is wondering what his teenage daughter is up to on the flashmarkt.
Thang: For me, Bureau F. at the St. JAcobs meant a lot. It’s where Kung Fu's theatre crew was based. My world opened up when I went there the first time for an audition. They were doing ‘something’ with video, music and a lot of young people on a catwalk. I thought it was great! The entire Kung Fu period was pure adventure and I got to know loads of people who are still my friends.
The legendary dance store Music Man on the Steendam is no more. How important are records shops for you?
Thang: Very important! I still like to buy music on vinyl, although lately I have been looking mostly for original second-hand releases. The fact that Music Man had to shut is a great shame. I think the problem of music shops is not the rise of digital downloads but the quality of the music. If you pay money for a record, you want something back, it's an investment. Nowadays there are few instant classics; I prefer to buy a nice dance track with a lifespan of a couple of months on MP3.
You're also resident at Petrol in Antwerp. What are the most striking differences on the dancefloor between Ghent and Antwerp?
Thang: The main difference: in Antwerp it's more straightforward, they don't mind if you play house or techno all evening. In Ghent it's different, in Ghent there is variation on the dancefloor. I'd even go so far as to say it's a typical phenomenon from Ghent; far-reaching eclecticism.
Fredo: The book Last Night A DJ Saved My Life – highly recommended by the way – has a chapter on Belgium and New Beat, the period around the mid eighties. The thinking behind this movement is still very recognisable today. Boccaccio and New Beat, The Glimmers, R&S Records, 2manydjs, Culture Club... It's all related.
Thang, you're 29 and Fredo is thirty something. Shouldn't the future of Ghent's nightlife lie in the hands of the young generation?
Fredo: Absoluut, but where are they, the new entrepreneurs? The young guys making the difference? The generation of Eskimo, Belmondo, Culture Club and Club 69 have their own kids now and have evolved. Even the lighting boys at Culture Club have their own business now, and the guys who did the production now run entire festivals.
Thang: The climate has changed. The high days of Ghent's nightlife were led by cowboys who broke new ground through their actions. I don't think it's possible anymore, too many rules and stamps needed on all kinds of complicated forms.
Fredo: Do you know where the music and ambition is alive and kicking in Ghent? At student radio Urgent.fm and the radio centre (REC) connected to this. It is run by and for students, and is a great breeding ground for young people who want to be active in the media. They provide a platform to local scenes and show what kind of jungle the media landscape can be. Bram Willems, Wim Oosterlinck, Ben Van Alboom and Nadiem Shah learned the ropes here. This is where the future ambassadors of Ghent's music scene are.
