BIMPOP: BLACKIE & THE OOHOOS AND RYLEY WALKER

This edition of Bimpop is chock-full of adventurous pop music, with the mysterious songs of Blackie & The Oohoos and the psychedelic folk of Ryley Walker from Chicago.

The concert series Bimpop gives room to cheeky, adventurous pop music in the broadest sense of the word, by qualified musicians with guts, in a setting where every detail of the music can be heard. This edition features performances by Blackie & The Oohoos from Antwerp and Chicago’s Ryley Walker.

Blackie & The Oohoos is the band of sisters Martha and Loesje Mahieu, who accompany their mysterious close harmony vocals with accordion, keyboards and xylophone. Their folksy pop songs recall the films of David Lynch and the melancholic sound of The Velvet Underground & Nico, whose Chelsea Girls they have covered on their CD Song for Two Sisters. Flemish weekly Humo has described this album as ‘a macabre spectacle; a record that carves open wounds and simultaneously soothes the soul.’

With his richly orchestrated acoustic songs the 24 year-old singer/guitarist Ryley Walker follows the example of his heroes Bert Jansch, Tim Buckley and Tim Hardin, who mixed folk with psychedelic rock, chamber music and jazz. His five-piece band features drummer Frank Rosaly, an important figure in Chicago’s jazz and improvised music scene who has performed at the Bimhuis several times before.

Next to the regular á la carte menu, the Bimhuis restaurant serves this evening a Bimpopspecial for 10 Euro. The Bimhuis restaurant is open prior to the concert from 6.30 til 8.30PM (reservations via 020-7882158). After the concert, the Bimhuis Café is open (free entrance).