Vestrock

The band were formed in 2003, having met whilst studying at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Featuring Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Daniel Haggis (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), the band quickly got to work making music, They released several Eps in their early years, including "The Hangover Sessions," "No. 3" and "The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter."

After releasing their debut, "Girls, Boys and Marsupials," in Japan only, they then released a number of singles that would bring The Wombats their first taste of success. "Backfire at the Disco" peaked at number 35 in the UK SIngles Chart, followed by "Kill the Director" which also received lots of airplay. Their debut album on 14th Floor Records, "The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation," stormed the album charts, reaching number 11 in October 2007, bolstered by the success of singles "Let's Dance to Joy Division" and a re-release of "Moving to New York," which went to number 13 in the UK Singles Chart.

In 2008, the band embarked on a number of tours, traveling across the UK, Europe and Japan. They also became a big name on the annual festival circuit, playing at Glastonbury Festival, Reading & Leeds Festival and T in the Park.Their second album, "The Wombats Present… This Modern Glitch," appeared in 2010, featuring the top 40 single "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" as well as "Techno Fan." The album itself faired well, reaching number three in the album chart.

It was three years before The Wombats returned with new music, releasing the single, "Your Body Is a Weapon," which received significant support on BBC Radio 1. To great excitement, The Wombats began a countdown till the release of their third studio album, "Glitterbug," for a January 2015 release.

He is well known for his collaboration with Avicii on the track “I Could Be the One”. The single debuted at Number 1 on the UK Dance Chart, ahead of Baauer’s “Harlem Shake”. The single was both Avicii and Nicky Romero's brush with the Number 1 slot in the UK. It also came in at Number 1 on the Billboard US Hot Dance Club Songs.

Romero began recording tracks after finishing his final semester, while he was working as a bartender. He broke out with his early track “Funktion One”, which gained him the attention of Dutch DJ and producer Madskillz, who signed him to his label Azucar.

Before long, he was contacted by Ministry of Sound to do some remixes on their label and spun a bootleg remix of the David Guetta track “When Love Takes Over”, which went viral and drew the attention of Guetta himself. Since then the two have collaborated on the tracks “Metropolis” and “Wild One Two” and a residency on the A-list at Guetta’s famed FMIF club night at Pacha/Ushuaia Ibiza.

Romero is the wunderkind of EDM, and has made an international name for himself with his high-profile remixes, as well as putting out the viral single ‘Toulouse’ and the track “Feet On The Ground” featuring vocals from the Dutch singer Anouk. He’s been a highlight at major international festivals including Ultra Music Festival, Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Sensation White and Tomorrowland.

As well as David Guetta and Avicii, he’s rubbed shoulders with EDM powerhouses Armand Van Helden, Hardwell, Calvin Harris, Tiësto and Fedde Le Grand and is the rising star of contemporary house music.

Even for a band as unique and uncompromising as dEUS is, it still makes sense to me that they began life as a covers band. How else would they be able to know the DNA of genres as disparate as punk, punk, jazz and prog rock well enough to splice them all together, sometimes in one great song, while still retaining an iron-clad sense of self and identity? That kind of open-mindedness can only come from playing a wide variety of different music and the earliest incarnations of dEUS did just that.

Shortly after forming, the band cut their teeth performing in Antwerp, Belgium’s Music Box venue, a noted hangout for artists, actors, musicians and performers from all over the city. That bohemian attitude rubbed off on the band during their most formative years, and frontman Tom Barman, along with founding bassist Stef Carlens, decided to write their own original material soon after settling in there.

Heartened by the material they were coming up with, Barman entered one of their first demos into a contest ran by longstanding Belgian rock magazine HUMO and reached the tournament finals. They might not have won the contest, but I don’t think they lost much sleep over it, as soon afterwards they became the first ever Belgian indie rock act to sign to a major international label, Island to be exact. If anything’s going to sooth the pain of losing a demo contest, becoming label-mates with U2 and PJ Harvey would do it better than most.

Their debut album “Worst Case Scenario” came out in 1994 and since then, they’ve become world renowned cult act, with their first three albums selling 750’000 copies all over the world. Six albums since that debut and they’re still going stronger than ever. They’re able to sell out arenas and multiple nights at concert halls in their native Belgium and slowly but surely they’re gaining a huge following all over Europe.

For a Belgian band to make it this big is already a good sign but a Belgian band this thrillingly unique? It’s a miracle. Highly recommended.