Sylvie Kreusch

Sylvie Kreusch first caused a furore in Belgium with art-rockers Soldier’s Heart and Warhaus, the project of her partner at the time, Balthazars frontman Maarten Devoldere. In 2019 Kreusch went her own way solo. And how. Even before the release of her first solo EP, she was already called the ‘grande dame of the Belpop’ by the music press.

Kreusch says she is not interested in pop music with a concrete statement: mystery, doubt and suggestion predominate. Live, her cross-pollination of up-tempo drum rhythms, electro and sultry pop is almost enchanting. The Daily Indie wrote about her show at MOMO Festival 2019: ‘Bottles of water on stage are quickly knocked over, there goes the set list. Everything had to make way for the largest possible dance floor for Kreusch.”

Now there is her full-length debut Montbray, named after the Normandy village where part of the album was created. At first glance, it has become a break-up record, Kreusch recently told the Belgian daily De Tijd – the majority of the album is about her split with Maarten Devoldere. But, she says, “For me, she’s about the healing process after a relationship, with all the emotions that come with it, like friendship and falling in love again.”