News
Everything changes... (07-07-2008)
Dear friends and fans, I want to thank all of you for 20 years of support, but I'm very happy to tell you I will now take a break from working under the 4T4 name for a while. I feel working under this alter ego is sincerely being slowed down and rather too much uncontrollably orchestrated by everything I've already done in the past, while I want to focus on a future of new horizons. I've found a new energy to do new and fresh stuff in different projects, that require a new start. An emptyhanded jump into the void, this contains a big risk for my financial situation. I have chosen to take the risk for better or worse and go for the artistic value and new inspiration. I suppose that's how you know me to be. In a way I need to change in order to stay the same, I need to stop an evolution to be able to grow further, lose some balast to climb higher. The expectations that come along with the name 4T4 have become too much of an obstacle for my artistic freedom. They keep me from doing what needs to be done. I will however continue to make music and dj at parties, just not as 4T4 for an unlimited amount of time. King DJ will gladly come and rock your parties from now on, and I'll be releasing dancefloorjams under that name soon. I will be concentrating more on quality and originality and less on recognition and expectations. booktheking@gmail.com Go to www.myspace.com/yourdjking if you want to get an idea. I have also founded a new group called "Monsters From The Id", with bassist Mirko Banovic and guitarist Thomas Vanelslander. www.myspace.com/thosemonstersfromtheid Cheers everybody, and see you soon, because I'm far from gone and preparing to come back blazing and ultrafresh with some stuff that'll blow you away.
Banquet (01-07-2008)
I've recorded a cover version of Bloc Party's "Banquet" for Studio Brussel's 25th anniversary. It's featured on their double cd called "Rendez-Vous", which contains a cover from every year since '83 by some of Belgium's finest. I did it with a very talented singer called Gustaph, who's working on a solo album that I'm also producing some tracks for. Check out his myspace by clicking the link down here, if you want to hear it. You'll hear it on the radio every now and then, it gets incredibly positive feedback.
Juno (26-05-2008)
All my downloadable stuff is available on Juno now. Rather cheap (cheaper than iTunes for starters). The price is right AND and you have the option to go for top quality wav files.
TWO new mAGIK BALLET ENSEMBLE albums! (03-05-2008)
There's a brand new mAGIK BALLET ENSEMBLE album online! It's called "Lost In Time", and is truly some of my finest work yet, I believe! Check it out if you really like to get down to the deep experimental bottom of my hiphoproots... With lots of very deep & dark soundscapes in true Biosphere or NIN style. Some of the music on it was made 3 to 4 years ago, since there were plans to release this album in the spring of 2005, but you wouldn't be able to tell if I hadn't just told you, believe you me. The release never happened, so I decided to work on some of the stuff and added some new tracks, and now here it is after all!
And there's more: ANOTHER mBE album (E.P.) is also downloadable. It's called "Chill Out", and it's a tribute to the KLF's equally titled cultclassic. Nothing but over a half hour of crickets, waves, radiotuning and other ambient noises for which I used the multitracks of the 4 first mBE albums and a whole bunch of field recordings I made all over the world. All this is draped in a sauce of spacey ambient pads. Very cool chill out stuff for your sunday mornings!
And that's not all...
The mBE's two first (cult) albums, "Do You Believe In Magick?" (1996), and "What Do You Mean" (1998) are... yes, also available digitally!
Now don't blame me for not giving you enough stuff to spend that iTunes gift voucher on, right? Well, you don't really have to load it all down right now, it'll be there next week as well...
Music From The Ultravault (12-03-2008)
Jippyyeay, everybody, there's a new 4T4 album online!
This album is a collection of songs recorded somewhere between 2000 and 2005, a time when I was mostly working on songs for my Ultrasonic (7) project, hence the title...
These songs came up going through the vaults of past productions that either never made it onto any release for one reason or another, or didn't get further than being obsure b-sides, promo's,... In any case, they're tracks that in my opinion never got the attention they deserved. If nothing else, it's something I wanted to share with you, the fans, who often prefer the honesty and purity of the b-sides over the "hits" (as I do myself).
Myspace (30-04-2007)
Click this link for the 4T4 myspace-page.
Biography
Bio 4t4
The man behind the name is Kristof Michiels, born in \'73, deejaying, producing, and simply active as a musical artist since 1987. His first platform was hiphopmusic, which was of course a much more open style in those days and as a crossbreed included house, funk and whatnot. It all really started for him after the Beasties and Run-DMC came to town in \'85... In 1996 he released his first record, \"Do you believe in Magick?\", under the name of Magik Ballet Ensemble, which, along with its successor \"What do you mean\", gained him critical acclaim, but the greater succes only came with \'t Hof van Commerce, a hiphopgroup rapping in flemish, together with mc\'s Serge Buyse and Flip Kowlier. They have scored big with 4 albums and a number of singles since then, with sales and succes topping some of the biggest pop/rockbands in Belgium. Around the year 2000 the interest in dancemusic took the upperhand over the hiphop-oriented occupations, with the exception of the activities with \'t Hof, of course. This manifested itself in two ways: as a deejay he would choose a more specific direction and personality and he founded Ultrasonic (7), a soulful danceproject featuring vocalists Tom Derie and Nia Saw which scored hugely on a national level with the hit \"Lips They Move\" in 2003 and a couple of other smaller hit records. The group was 8 strong on stage, with very memorable sets on some of the biggest festivals in Belgium. Come 2005, the whole Ultrasonic-thing had grown over 4T4\'s head and distantiated itself much too far from his original ideas and intentions, so this group was buried despite (or maybe according to) its succes. Work on the very first real 4T4-record, \"Fortification\", started, come what may. The album reconfirmed 4T4\'s status as one of Belgium\'s leading electronic music artists/producers. He\'s toured Belgium and other small parts of he world a few times over as a dj, blowing dancefloors away with his very particular blend of sounds, a specific mixture of soul food that only a dj with his experience can offer, a unique experience that never feeds on hype or gimmicks. Not as much playing records as setting the right vibes, always guaranteed to set the party on fire. Starting july 2008, Kristof Michiels is chilling out from being 4T4 for 20 years and is exploring new horizons. He is shedding skins and refreshing everything, not very active under this pseudonym anymore, at least not for a while. He can not be booked as (DJ) 4T4 anymore right now, but is willing to come and rock your party as King DJ. booktheking@gmail.com . He\'s also founded a new group, called Monsters From The Id. Go to http://www.myspace.com/yourdjking or http://www.myspace.com/thosemonstersfromtheid if you\'re interested.
Agenda
Bookings
4T4 can be booked by:
Tel : (+32) 03 4430669
Fax : (+32) 03 4430660
e-mail: peter.boonen@clearchannel.be
