Virtually a year to the week, we find ourselves once again preparing to party with our Antwerpian amigo’s for what will be the third season opener for the Propaganda World Tour, the Belgian based brand that has its home at Red & Blue and shows its first 2014 hand with its “Deep Down The Rabbit Hole” party, we delving into all the detail ahead of this our next European excursion.
From the very first time we stepped foot in the adorable Antwerp some three Christmases ago, at the time we touring with Lovechild, we felt an immediate affinity to this charming city and its captivating club Red & Blue along with everything that went with it, from the impressive individuals to the amazing atmosphere & stylish surroundings. Indeed, with a long distance love affair seeing us return the following February very much cemented what has turned out to be an enduring relationship with this venerable venue, although it would be our acquaintance with clubbing concept come brilliant brand Propaganda World Tour that would send this love affair with Antwerp simply soaring, the stage shows & the whole spectacle elevating it up among the ranks of Matinee, WE & SuperMartXe, while in the heavenly music hands of its main resident, we couldn’t ask for more. So, having soaked up every single scintillating morsel of the “American Dream” delectation last year, it was fate that we would return twelve months on, this time to savour the splendour of its third season opener, “Deep Down The Rabbit Hole”, we extoling the virtues of this exceptional event & the brilliant brand in this special international focus feature.
So to the brand first & Propaganda is a brand name more commonly associated with Moscow, while the Berlin party is in the same ilk but an entirely separate entity to the Russian club as is the Belgium outfit, the latter having been born in 2012 out of the desire to offer Belgian’s something not only controversial but innovative and in doing so, generate a unique party experience like never seen in the country before. And with one of its maxims being “…obey the freedom, whatever it takes…”, the Propaganda World Tour has certainly achieved much of that in its first two years of operating, welcoming some truly international star D.J.’s/producers to its parties such as Nacho Chapado, Ivan Gomez &, of course, Danny Verde, while its core resident team of Max de Principle, Gust Morris & the terrifically talented Elof de Neve fly the Belgium flag, Elof having toured with the brand, fitting it in & around a hectic international D.J.’ing schedule. But the individual that inspires the brands principles, which also includes “…where porn meets humour, sexual freedom can be found…” is the wild & whacky promoter Lennart Valgaeren who optimises the outrageously overt offering this prolific party propels, his stage sow choreographing & performances a superb sight to behold.
Now into its third season, Propaganda World Tour kicks it all off this coming Saturday (15th Feb) with their overt & opulent “Down The Rabbit Hole” extravaganza and one which looks set to be its biggest & best yet, our insider information revealing extravagant plans for the most colourful of costumes & sparkling stage shows, while the music is sure to be as top draw terrific as ever, the fabulous threesome of D.J.’s on duty extending to Red & Blue resident Gust Morris & occasional special guest Max Del Principe. However, it is main man Elof De Neve’s performance that we are most looking forward to, we having closely followed his developing international career over the last two/three years, one that has seen him land residencies aplenty including for Muccassassina in Rome & The ES Collection tour, while he has featured at a whole host of festivals across Europe, but especially in Spain & Portugal. Moreover, with a tour of Asia mere weeks away & bookings for massive global giant Matinee in Paris for Easter on the cards, not to mention a string of summer sessions for this Spanish superclub, and you can see why he remains very much a prized possession by Red & Blue who have been generous in allowing him to stretch his wings and take in all these international gigs & openings. And his music very much does the talking, we often comparing him to London superstar Steve Pitron, such is the similarity in styles, Elof a prolific producer as well as a D.J., a plethora of podcasts & tracks on his Soundcloud site evidence of this, while he has pressed a special compilation for this “Down The Rabbit Hole” event, one which you can stream now at https://soundcloud.com/elofdeneve/elof-de-neve-vol-39-2013-propaganda-edition.
So, that’s the music & brand pretty much wrapped up, but what about the event detail itself? Well, the terrific team have plenty of superb surprises in store for this season opener, they telling us “…our 3rd season is promising to be even more bombastic than the previous ones…” adding of tonight’s party, “…it’s hard to expect the unexpected, so prepare yourself for an unforgettable night filled with x-trava acts, anabolic mermaids and dick-sucking pageant kings…” and having had a sneak preview of some of the costumes, we can visualise just how overt & opulent the shows are going to be, choreographer Propaganda promoter Lennart the epitomy of all things outrageous. Indeed with him extolling “…be whoever you want to be (yes, that includes Miley Cyrus too), we don’t care about your lack of elegance; things will get fucked up anyway…” we are certainly prepared for pretty much anything, not least after all the antics of our last visit. As for the D.J.’s, well Gust is on first, with Elof taking the headline set strain, Mr Del Principe finishing it all off, Red & Blue’s doors for this “Down The Rabbit Hole” event opening at 11 p.m. this Saturday (15th Feb) & the party running through to a planned 7 a.m. finish, while admission is € 10 before midnight (the same price as the advance tickets) while its € 15 thereafter, more details should you need it up via the events page at https://facebook.com/events/636856833047642/, while for more info on the Propaganda World Tour itself, check out their website, http://propagandabelgium.com/ or head to their Facebook page at https://facebook.com/propagandaworldtour.
Well, what more can we say about this exceptional event than concurring with the promoter that, come Saturday night, things will never be the same again, we looking forward to the change with gusto as we once again appear in Antwerp and, as we are making the journey effort, we reckon you should do too. (DISCO MATT)
