Jaune Toujours - VERTIGO
Jaune Toujours is back and better than ever! Since the mid-1990s, this Belgo-Brussels collective has been serving up a blistering mix of grooves, horns, and accordion. With the energy of a rock band (without guitars!), the improvisational flair of a jazz combo, the adventurous spirit of musical explorers, and the charisma of street performers, they deliver poetic and poignant reflections on society. Add a touch of typical Brussels self-mockery, and you’ve got the recipe for a party like no other.
Autumn 2024, Jaune Toujours released their highly anticipated new album *Vertigo*. The album continues the band's tradition of breaking boundaries - be it linguistic or musical - with lyrics in English, French, and Dutch, catchy songs, a punk attitude, drum & brass, accordion dub, and Belgian ska. On *Vertigo* the band pushes even further in their sonic adventure: the accordion is frequently run through effects pedals (ranging from organ sounds to wah-wah and delay), occasionally, a mini-Korg or piano make an appearance, the double bass regularly dives into distortion, occasionally switching to electric bass, while the drums juggle snares and various percussion elements with glee. The horns are richly layered, and the vocals are intricately produced, featuring rich backing vocals and tracks.
The lyrics on *Vertigo* provide a snapshot of the world, a world so vast it makes you dizzy (hence: Vertigo). Many things are going wrong: climate issues, social inequality, oppression, the dominance of image and discourse, the rise of the far right, wars… But if there is anything that can bring hope, let it be music! The songs on *Vertigo* aim to keep spirits up, to persevere, to make the right choices, to turn values into actions, and to make the world a better place. It seems almost impossible, but once we start, there's no stopping us!
On *Vertigo* Jaune Toujours invites you to join in on a musical journey where borders between genres are crossed, and rules are rewritten. It’s is more than just an album - it’s a statement, an invitation to see the world differently, with the same open-mindedness that has defined the band since the 1990s.
*Vertigo* was recorded at Choux de Bruxelles in Jaune Toujours' rehearsal space and mixed at Studio Planet by Jules Fradet, known for his work with Belgian rappers like Damso, Caballero & Jeanjass, Roméo Elvis, La Smala, and Baloji. Choux de Bruxelles has collaborated with him before on other productions, including Mec Yek's album *SuperDiverCity*. *Vertigo* was co-produced by Jules Fradet and Jaune Toujours' frontman, Piet Maris. The album comes on vinyl, on CD (digi-pack) and digital on all platforms. The CD has 3 extra tracks – with the vinyl comes a downloadcode for all tracks on the CD.
**Sustainability** The CD is not in a jewelcase but in a cardboard digipack, to avoid as much plastic as possible. For the vinyl, the production opted for the ecological “Rebound Compound“. It consists of 100% post-consumer records from old stocks and thrift shops, which can no longer be sold and risk to end up in the rubbish bin, transformed into new raw material that is indistinguishable from 100% “new“ in terms of sight and sound quality. For now, the process only works with black vinyl, hence: no fancy colours for *VERTIGO*, but classy black, with a grammage of 180g for optimal sound quality.