Music Brussels Opening Party - Band #2 Garner


I first encountered Garner's Niko Rambaud and Laurent Stelleman playing in a band with no name, in a bar with no name just off Brussels' Grand Place. Asked by MB's own Suki Jenkins to take some pictures of the gig and forgoing the night's Champions League football, I sat enthralled by an amazing voice chased down by a couple of Barbars. The Band With No Name rattled through a set of bar room standards that night and whetted my apetite for their other band, the illustrious Garner.

The third member of the band is the renowned rock drummer Didier Fontaine who includes on his impressive CV the likes of David Byrne and Deus. Saturday's MB party sees the launch of the bands first album, and I've been giving a preview copy a spin for the last week. The overriding impression I've got is that Niko has a fantastic voice, he started voice training from the age of four, and it shows check, out this video of This Is How I Used To Live to get a taste of it.


Garner are a tight unit and the I found the complex interplay between bass, guitar, vocals and drums a joy to listen to. Rocking, soaring, diving this is a great rock soundscape and I'm sure that it will be a major success after it's MB party birthing (Suki can be the midwife).

Niko was recently interviewed by FM Brussels along with Music Brussels own Suki. You can hear it here on The George Lite Zone courtesy of Music Brussels first ever Ming Cast. Also played on the show was the excellent track ASAP, which is also how quickly you should buy the album after its launch party at the Music Brussels main event. Another track of note is the cracking Walk The Line that has the sort of urban cool that makes you want to stick on a pair of shades and strut on down the high street. The word!

Finally, having heard Niko in action and on album I'm convinced that with a voice of that quality he must be some kind of super hero. Recent unearthed footage bares this out, and suggests that he may well have a role in the next series of Heroes.


Next up to tread the boards, dIPLOMAT. Stay tuned...

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