- The provincial town Leuven, some thirty kilometers from the Belgian capital, is best known for two things: its university—which is one of the oldest in Europe—and its beer, Stella Artois. Located along a canal on the outskirts of the city, right in the shadows of the Stella brewery, is an old silo that was turned into a club 15 years ago. Ever since, some of the world's most cutting-edge DJs and producers have played there. At the moment Silo, as the club is aptly called, hosts several party concepts, some of which are helmed by outside promoters. They are more or less defined by different subgenres of dance music. The Sheer nights, intended to cover minimal house and techno broadly, are hosted by Silo itself. Brussels-based DJ Darko, originator of the Statik Dancin' parties and the modest Lucy Lee Records, is its resident.
On this night, where Heidi and Heartthrob were the international guests, the venue was only sparsely filled at 1 AM. The club scene in Belgium suffers from a summer crammed with festivals and big events. Despite his best efforts, Darko's set remained a chicken-or-egg question of whether the immobility and the passivity of the crowd was effected by the incoherence of his set or whether the messiness was caused by his attempts to find the right way to get everyone motivated to move.
Photo credit: Raf Gelenne
Two hours later, the situation looked completely different: The pack on the floor had doubled in numbers and as soon as Heidi had put on her first records, enthusiasm was on the rise. Heidi's has an infectious positivism, and she was able to transfer this attitude almost instantaneously. She put down a groovy house set that may not have fitted perfectly within the confines the more minimal nature of the night but was impressive for its pure party quality and almost impeccable skillfulness.
It was clear that a great deal of the public was more than familiar with Jesse Siminski's work, so it wasn't hard for him to keep the vibe in place. He played a set that, naturally, featured tracks from Dear Painter, Paint Me and his latest EP Setting Up but lost the attention of the crowd during his final fifteen minutes, as you could see that a good portion had already wandered home. At 5 AM, though, these things are to be expected: Only the diehards stayed on the dance floor to enjoy the mix of DJ Fady One from Brussels, who closed off the night well and in concordance with Heartthrob's live set. While attendance wasn't the best it's ever been at Silo, both guests made sure it was nonetheless a memorable night musically.