A word with Chanoir
Published on May 03, 2019
Brussels based collective Chanoir has many cards to play. Music, video, graphic design, street wear, haute couture, styling, photography, … they wish not to be narrowed down into one creative outing, choosing a pluridisciplinary approach. Before their first C12 takeover, we sat down with Antoine, Thomas and Luca.
Thomas: “Chanoir was born in Paris about seven years ago. We were organising huge dark techno rave parties in big venues such as Palais De Tokyo. The name comes from ‘Le Chat Noir’, which was a was a Parisian nineteenth-century entertainment establishment where people like Victor Hugo used to go, thought to be the first modern cabaret. I moved to Brussels to get out of nightlife, but the collective stayed active and got a new interpretation over the years. Funny enough nightly events quickly became part again of Chanoir. We just like to throw parties I guess.”
Luca: “I’m the booker and resident dj, I’ve been around now for a year and a half. We have been doing a residency at Café Central for years, our nights were always packed and sweaty. We’re very excited to do our first C12 takeover which will stay very close to our musical DNA of electronic body music and dark industrial techno. We prefer to stay away from big expensive headliners though. Our focus is on interesting scenes worldwide and upcoming talents.”
Antoine: “For this edition we invited ‘Metaphore Collective’ from Marseille for example. We feel very connected to the scene over there, the have a similar spirit. We are even working on a collaborative project called BM844, the exact number of kilometers between Brussels and Marseille, managed by Alex Aynie.”
Thomas: “Graphic design and visual identity is essential for Chanoir. We have evolved into a textile brand, we are selling streetwear. Malika Rotchild is involved, together we do the sewing and print. Antoine, who is a photographer, has been taking thousands of photos. Our archive of pictures, scans and designs is the engine of our visual identity. As with our taste in music, we wish not to take things too seriously. Our favorite dj’s are the ones able to play a rap track into a dark industrial techno set!”
