Photo credit: Manuel Obadia-Wills
Today, the Belgian pop star Angèle (born Angèle Van Laeken) returns with a new single “Bruxelles je t’aime”, an homage to her hometown. This is the first solo release after collaborating with the international pop star Dua Lipa on the infectious track “Fever” and their London-shot music video late last year. “Bruxelles, je t’aime”'s accompanying music video shows the young artist in a train traveling from her current Paris home back, and back in time, to her birthplace.
Angèle’s heart cannot decide between Brussels and Paris! Even if she loves Paris, where she lives most of the time, Angèle continues to be very attached to her hometown where all her family and childhood friends live. Belgian or French, all Parisian women stay attached to the city they come from. Angèle’s rise in France is extraordinary (1.5M albums sold) but she remains the young woman who started in Brussel’s bars, playing on the piano and performing songs that were becoming famous on Instagram. She created her new album, which includes this first single, with Tristan Salvati, her acolyte since early days. The American mixer Josh Gudwin (Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, J Balvin) joined the team to finalize the song’s production.
Angèle says: "Bruxelles je t’aime" came to me during the first lockdown. I had already composed the melody and started the production, but it’s only when I realized I was going to stay away from my city for a while that this declaration of love was born. I love the idea of talking to my city as if it was a lover, like in a relationship, we love, leave, miss each other, but we never forget about each other. And Brussels is a lover in whom I can see my past and my future. I know her flaws and I accepted them. I spent a few years away from her and I always missed her so much, then when I get back to her, I’m reassured. I think that's what it feels like when you come home. That’s why this song is a celebration. I dreamt of dancing with my friends in Brussels, and today it’s finally possible.”
Besides working her music, Angèle is the face of Chanel's 2021 Eye Makeup Collection and is an overall Chanel ambassador. Angèle is a bedroom music producer with an in-your-face “Do It Yourself” emblazoned on her oversized sweater. She writes her own lyrics, creates her own sounds, and hones a graphic feel that mirrors her own personal style: hard-hitting and direct. Angèle set up her own label (Angèle VL). Angèle is a spokeswoman for her generation, a feminist, fluid and all-encompassing, a pick-and-mix artist working in a world in which musical genres are a distant memory. Pop, rap and electro are all thrown into her musical blender.
Her breakout debut album Brol (2018, 1M sold in France, 500k in the rest of world) made her an instant, fresh Francophone star. The album title is a Belgian slang term that is particularly close to her heart. “I just wanted to have a Belgian word in my title, and this one always made me smile. Brol means mess or chaos, but it has a light, optimistic feel, it’s not a negative word at all. The word reminds me of my childhood and my country. I find myself spending less and less time in Belgium, so it feels very comforting to me.”
Born into a family of artists, Angèle has music in the blood. After studying jazz, Angèle began releasing covers of pop classics via Instagram and built up an incredible following. Free-spirited and independent, she goes against type time after time, sticking fingers up her nose and covering her hair in pasta. Her first three hits (“La Loi de Murphy”, “Je veux tes Yeux” and “La Thune”) serve as a refreshing introduction to her musical identity.
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