Two new Heaven Hotel albums coming September 17th

We are very happy announce the imminent release of not one but two great albums, both coming out on September 17th through Heaven Hotel.

First up (alphabetically speaking, as both albums – as mentioned before – are coming out on the same day):

 

Angels Die Hard – Sundowner (Heaven Hotel – HH 1801)

Angels Die Hard‘s long-awaited (and superb) third album is finally being released on September 17th through Heaven Hotel and Jezus Factory Records. It will come out as a deluxe limited coloured vinyl edition of 300 copies and will also be available digitally.

Who else can explain better what this album is all about than the Angels themselves?

“Following the release of their second album Mood Ring, Angels Die Hard went into a deep and satisfying hibernation in South East Asia, followed by a tour of the bars, opium dens and beach clubs in the region. In their off time they went searching for the mythical Andaman Drongo bird, seeking to record it’s beautiful mating call.

While camping on a remote island in the Andamans, it dawned on them that the ecological impact of our Capitalist industrial civilisation reached even this idyllic place, when they saw a local sea gipsy smoking a bong made out of a Starbucks cup. This disgusted them greatly. This became a theme on their new album “Sundowner”, together with their common topics like love, making love, and the sometimes more complex sensations before and after.

Also on this island was Alain, who was on a solo survival trip, on a well deserved break from playing with Maxon Blewitt & Eriksson-Delcroix. The then three members of the Angels were impressed with his knife-making skills, muscle power, knowledge of sustainable communal living, and good looks, and that same evening they all joined a Jarawa tribal manhood initiation ritual, where Rob and Alain hit it off tremendously on drums & percussion, forming a rhythmic tandem that recalled the sound of rhinoceroses fornicating.

It soon became clear to all that Alain was going to join the Angels for their next record. It has to be noted that, when they discovered that Alain had only one cassette with him, with on the A-side ZZ Top and on the other side Ry Cooder, they immersed him in the music of The Petch Pin Thong Band, Thonghuad Faited, The Son Of P.M., Ike Reiko, Masami Kawahara & The Exotic Sounds, Masahiko Sato, Midori Takada, Haruomi Hosono, Glenn Branca, Boredoms, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Ennio Morricone, Hawkwind, The Stooges, Butthole Surfers, Can, Chrome, Amon Duul, Tim Hardin, AR & Machines, Kleg, Black Sabbath and The Pretty Things, and others. These were enjoyed on vinyl, played on their beloved solar-powered record player.

Sundower was recorded in three days in the summer of 2017 at Borrey studios, where they tried to recreate the joy, sense of wonder, but also environmental sadness they all experienced on this remote Andaman island.”

 

And if those words don’t tickle your fancy enough already, you can read some more here or take a look and listen at ADH’s latest videos below.

(Ok, the second video isn’t technically a video, but what a great track – right?)

 

Rudy Trouvé, Elko Blijweert & Mauro Pawlowski – Screen/Crossroads (Heaven Hotel – HH 1802)

As we speak, Rudy Trouvé and his companions are getting ready to premier their first ever theatre play “Screen” this Friday (September 14th) at De Singel in Antwerp. The play was directed by Trouvé alongside Simon Allemeersch and features live music performed by Blijweert and Pawlowski.

Who else can explain better what this Gesammtkunstwerk is all about than whoever wrote this text that I just found on the website of De Singel?

Rudy Trouvé and Simon Allemeersch translate 2D film footage into 3D environments, in this case a theatre auditorium. Together they write the story, a motion of no confidence in life itself, and thereby explore the ‘logic of the illogical’.
‘Screen’ is a theatre film in which reality and time blur. A man talks about the dreams in which he gets lost and no longer knows where he is. He meets a Faustian figure with dubious moral values who more or less acts as his guide. The whole thing is a cross between film noir and a psychedelic descent into hell. Accompanied live by Elko Blijweert & Mauro Pawlowski. Perception/time/reality and life itself are called into question. A Faust for a world of oversized pixels, conspiracy theories and alternative facts.”

 

There will also be a physical release with the music of the performance “Screen” combined with “Crossroads”, a collection of reworkings of Robert Johnson songs which are also integrated in the play. This release will be available on cd as well as on cassette (in collaboration with the great Jezus Factory label).

 

Live dates of Angels Die Hard, Screen/Crossroads as well as a few other projects are to be found in the Tour Dates section.

1 trailer, 1 teaser, 1 music video, 2 interviews and 2 disclaimers (but not in that order)

Elko Blijweert is this year’s curator of the Exposed Music festival. Learn all about this unique event featuring Roland Van Campenhout, Bjorn Eriksson, Dennis Tyfus, Milan W. and many more by watching the trailer below.

More information and an early peek inside tomorrow’s magic can be obtained by watching the interview/report on Antwerp’s local tv channel ATV here. Caution: the video is Dutch spoken and features Flemish folk dancing.

 

The Mechanics (Evrard, Hiele, Pawlowski, Thielemans, Trouvé) announce their debut album by presenting its first video. Listen to and watch “Out Of Lovetown” below.

You can learn more about The Mechanics by reading this interview. Caution: the interview is in Dutch and features references to free jazz.

 

Lastly, a mysterious teaser video turned up on Rudy Trouvé’s Facebook page, pseudo-promoting the even more mysterious project “Screen”. You can watch it here.

Elko B.’s first solo album

So here’s the news we weren’t allowed to disclose in the last update: Elko B(lijweert) is releasing his first ever solo album on the 8th of February through Ekster! You can take a look at the artwork, read the tracklist and promo text and, most importantly, pre-order here.

The official record release concert will take place on 5 February at 1 pm (!) at Bosbar. This Saturday, 28 January at 4 pm (!), Elko will already play a semi-improvisation preluding a “displacement of works” by Luciano Mergo at said artist’s exposition at Haecken & Ooghen, Klapdorp 35, Antwerp.

Exactly one week later, on the 4th of February, Rudy Trouvé will play live at the same location for the next displacement of works.

Elko and Jeroen reunited at Radio Centraal this afternoon. Hear the result below.

Happy New Year

Although this website has been suspiciously silent for a while, Heaven Hotel’s key members certainly haven’t.

The follow-up record to “Pawlowski, Trouvé & Ward”, which came out ten years ago, has finally been released through Jezus Factory and Heaven Hotel. You can stream it and buy a digital copy here. Cd and vinyl copies are available through Jezus and should soon be stocked in our shop as well.

Elko Blijweert is featured as Elko B. on Ekster‘s eksellent (sorry) second instalment of its “Exo” compilation series. He is currently finishing the follow-up record to “Left Bank Drive” together with Joris Caluwaerts, Simon Lenski and Frans Van Isacker.

Rudy Trouvé has arranged and produced Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung‘s 25th anniversary album. On top of that, he is currently slaving away at the album’s artwork as well as the band’s new live visuals. The release date is set for the 12th of May and will be accompanied by a concert at De Studio in Antwerp.

Never busy enough, Mr. Trouvé also collaborated with Intige Taluure (aka Phlitman & Kang) on a cassette tape which was released in November of last year through Bananafishin’ Records. We will hopefully be stocking some copies soon.

Keep an eye on this website for some very exciting news which I’m not allowed to disclose as of yet.

While you’re waiting, enjoy the most recent Mixcloud episode of Elko & Jeroen’s “Het Kralenspel” radio show.

Happy New Year!

Rudy Trouvé drops Chinese cat

The friendly folks at Jezus Factory Records have announced the forthcoming release of Pawlowski, Trouvé & Ward 2, the follow-up to the first volume which was released ten years ago.

Rudy Trouvé has dropped a digital single with accompanying video (featuring one of those funny Chinese cat dolls) as a nice little teaser for this joyful event.

You can preorder the album, which should come out late November/early December, by clicking here.

Below, you can listen to Elko & Jeroen’s latest episode of Het Kralenspel, featuring special guest Milan Warmoeskerken.

 

Tape Cuts Tape, The Tone Zones, 20 years of Heaven Hotel Compilation and new site

20 years of Heaven Hotel Presents releases

Exciting times, 3 new Heaven Hotel releases, 5 Heaven Hotel label nights with live Heaven Hotel bands..
We’ll start by proudly presenting The Tone Zones, a 2 man surf-electronica band featuring Elko Blijweert and Milan Warmoeskerken, check their band page here

thetonezones Their brand new vinyl is ready, and can be pre-ordered in our shop There are original interpretations of The Pyramids, The Ventures, The Shadows and – cultband avant la lettre – The Jokers and Front 242.
You can see them live on our label nights!

 

tapecutstape_lostfootageThen there is the new Tape Cuts Tape vinyl, expected around March 13.
Also available for pre-ordering in our shop. This one can be obtained as vinyl or CD, your choice.

Tape Cuts Tape improvises, and are Rudy Trouvé – Eric Thielemans – Lynn Cassiers

 

heavenhotel_claus

And then, to celebrate, there is a double vinyl (comes with free CD), God Owes Us a Swimming Pool.
26 tracks with a pretty good overview of what has been released on Heaven Hotel.

 

What’s more, the whole compilation album can be streamed  for free!

We hope you enjoy our new site, new releases, and hope to see you on one of the label nights!