Thanks to all the artists and friends that supported us on this crazy journey we can celebrate the first year of our creative sonic hub Dropa House, and are looking forward to many more. Join us for an afternoon curated by our friends of By the Bluest of Seas with live sets of Ignatz and Gwen Sainte-Rose, homemade slow food: rich flavours and pure ingredients carefully picked and prepared by the Dropa House crew, drinks and plenty of merch. Come early, doors open at 14.00 !

This is a pay what you can event 5 EUR-10 EUR-15 EUR, capacity is limited, get your tickets while they last !

By the Bluest of Seas:

Running parallel to 10” label Okraina Records, Brussels based label By the Bluest of Seas explores connections between new musical territories and photography.
Next to live sets label artists Ignatz (piano, voice, guitar) and Gwen Sainte-Rose (cello, electronics) we will have a small expo with photographs by Beata Szparagowska, related to the releases.

IGNATZ (BE)

Since 2005, Ignatz — the alter-ego of Belgian artist Bram Devens — has navigated a prolific career, releasing over 20 albums on labels such as KRAAK and Ultra Eczema while touring across Europe, Japan, and the United States. His work is defined by a masterful tension between the familiar and the unknown, offering a recognizable sonic universe that consistently manages to surprise through subtle reinvention.

This evolution reaches a new milestone with the album ‘I Don’t Know’, where Devens trades his signature guitar for a family piano. Recorded at his home in Landen after years of self-taught exploration, this ‘haunted’ piano record remains true to his mysterious aesthetic while venturing into entirely new territory. The physical LP, released by By the Bluest of Seas, honours this transition with a unique folded poster featuring silver-ink photography by Beata Szparagowska.

For this occasion Ignatz will play a part of the set on Fred Van Hove’s piano…

GWEN SAINTE-ROSE (FR)

Named Sainte-Rose by her Martinican father after a town in Guadeloupe, Gwen grew up within a rich, dual musical heritage. Despite her modest roots, she began the cello at age eight, later moving to Paris to study musicology at the Sorbonne. While her training was classical, she soon gravitated toward the margins, exploring improvisation and found sound composition at CFMI Paris 11.

Since moving to Brussels in 2008, Sainte-Rose has balanced a dual career as an educator – designing concerts for the ONB and Bozar – and an experimental performer. Her work, including pieces like ‘Reflets mirage’ and the quadraphonic ‘Souffles et cris’, bridges the gap between structured composition and spontaneous play. As a synesthete, she treats sound as a physical medium, crafting immersive sound sculptures that explore the tension between movement and stillness. Ultimately, her research strives to weave complexity into accessible, deeply sensory experiences for her audience.

For By the Bluest of Seas Sainte-Rose released ‘Collines, Racines’, two long, captivating soundscapes conjured by cello and Loop Station, inspired by the landscapes of Gaume and the Forêt de Soignes. The disc is nestled in a wooden box, also containing multiple photographic inserts by Beata Szparagowska and the graphic designer Corentine Jaunard, as well as scraps of nature — feather, stone, leaf, moss — gathered by Sainte-Rose and friends.