Belgium - Gent and the rest of Flanders

 As we're hanging on in the beautiful port and university city of Gent (or Ghent), we encounter some already familiar faces in instrumental folk and Gypsy jazz quintet Broes.  Their line up includes violinist Anouk Sanczuk and guitarist Florian de Schepper, which we have already met on this trip as Duo de Schepper-Sanczuk.  This is the title track from their 2015 debut album Route du Soleil:

Also from Gent were folk band Ambrozijn, who were active from 1997-2008.  Apart from traditional polkas and mazurkas, they also played Anglo-Saxon inspired folk, and they sing in English and French.  This song from their 2004 album Botsjeribo is more Gypsy influenced, and I suppose with Christmas just behind us is quite apt: Jésus qui joue l'Accordéon:

Instrumental folk band Elanor started off in Gent in 2013 and have only 1 full album to their name so far entitled A Clear Look.  Their material is very much traditional balfolk with the addition of an electric bass for a more contemporary feel.  Here's a pair of tunes from the album called Blown Away & Nuit Noire (Cercle):

Singer and sculptor Willem Vermandere was born in 1940 in Lauwe in West Flanders.  He now resides in Veurne, where he has become an honorary citizen.  His songs often have a socio-political content, which has made him a target of far-right groups.  He sings and talks in the south-western Flemish dialect.  Here's one of his songs from 1991, which is as current now with the Black Lives Matter movement as it was then: Bange Blanke Man (frightened white man).  His latest album, Confessies, is available now.

There isn't much information available on Flemish progressive folk band Klakkebusse except that they were formed in the seaside town of Blankenberge in 1984 and that they rework 18th and 19th traditional French Flemish songs.  Presumably they are now inactive, but I uploaded one of their songs some years ago, but can't remember for the life of me, which album it came from.  The song is called Guezelied.  Gueze is a style of Belgian beer:

This is it from Belgium, next stop my home country of the Netherlands.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.