The Belgium band Hooverphonic released on the 18^th of March the new album In Wonderland. They will present the new songs with orchestra on the 25^th of May in Prague’s Lucerna Music Bar. The concert is part of the Conference series.

Throughout its two decades’ existence, Hooverphonic has acquired a legendary status in its motherland. Indeed, the hit-making band is nothing less than a cherished national cultural institution in Belgium. The recent success of funky Badaboum, to which sensuous French singer Emilie Satt (Madame Monsieur) lends her voice, contributes to this reputation. Since 1995, the Belgian band has never ceased to make cinematic pop music that some still insist on calling trip-hop although Alex Callier, the group’s creative mastermind, prefers the term retro futurism. After listening to the band’s latest opus, no doubt that this word will stick.

The band spins around the creative heart of the group: bass player and producer Alex Callier and guitarist Raymond Geerts.  Over the past twenty years, Hooverphonic was joined by ever-changing line-up of vocalists including Liesje Sadonius, Kyoko Baertsoen, Esther Lybeert, Geike Arnaert and Noémie Wolfs.
Alex enthuses: “Until now, we always made an album for a Cinderella. We were always trying to find the right slipper for the right princess – the right song for the right voice. So we decided to turn the rational around and to look at a wide variety of slippers”. Thence the male and female voices on the album. Alex continues: “Sometimes you write songs that aren’t right for a woman, so this time we thought: why not use a man?” On the new album you will hear Janie Price AKA Bird, Felix Howard, Litlo Tinz, Emilie Satt and Christa Jérôme.

Strings are the red thread of Hooverphonic’s work and can be found in early tracks Mad About You and Eden, The Night Before and Anger Never Dies and now Badaboum. On In Wonderland, nine songs out of ten have strings. This goes to explain why Hooverphonic need a 17-person band when playing live!