Fuse Details...

Fuse Club, Rue Blaesstraat 208, 1000 Brussels 

FUSE is the premier techno club of Belgium and has been so since its opening on April 16th 1994. It started off as a heaven for high quality techno with a reputation for bringing in the best and most innovative DJs on the scene.

Alongside residents Pierre, T-Quest and Deg, DJs such as Jeff Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, Carl Cox, Laurent Garnier, Dave Clarke, Stacey Pullen, Sven Vath and lots of others seem to enjoy playing here as much as the crowd enjoys partying to their sets. These techno luminaries constantly come back for more and rate FUSE as one of their favourite clubs. Monika Kruse, Dave Clarke, Stacey Pullen, Technasia and DJ Hell did even accept an international residency at the club! Meanwhile, after flirtations with drum'n'bass during one year, the first floor was developed into an oasis for house-lovers with residents Smos & Baby Bee and St.Dic who almost weekly welcome famous guests such as Kenny Hawkes, Luke Solomon, Ian Pooley, Basement Jaxx, Jef K. ? Venture to 208 Rue Blaesstraat and experience a cutting-edge, exciting vibe, an atmosphere fuelled by die-hard party seekers, ready to dance well into the next day ?

Being the only Belgian club weekly broadcasted on national radio (every Friday night between 01.00am and 04.00am on Radio 21 and also regularly on Studio Brussel on Friday and Saturday evenings), all devotees of top quality techno music can enjoy the FUSE sensation. Moreover, ?-hour-sets by the residents can also be listened to on our splendid site (www.fuse.be) which also boasts plenty of pictures, information about the club, shopping possibilities and of course, the complete calendar. It is certainly worth mentioning that in the shop you are able to buy all the FUSE-compilations, some compiled by international resident Dave Clarke and DJ Hell.

So now it's up to you to get acquainted with the unique ambience of this prominent techno institute, that thanks to a persisting policy of inviting quality and promising foreign artists, next to well known artists, in combination with an outstanding team of residents, the annual summer tour, the weekly radio show on national radio, the television programme Fusion on MCM, the FUSE compilations,? can without any doubt be considered as an undeniable reference in the world of techno.

Located along the the Danube, this once squatters and alterna-cats paradise, has matured into slick and well run club. An incredible sound-system, which has been rumoured as being one of the best in Europe.

One cannot talk about Fuse without listing off some of its legacies: “the original” Dubclub on Mondays (Suga B, Gumix, Sweet Susi and the whole G-stone gang), Crazy on Tuesdays, London Calling indie party, drum & bass; regular visits by Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Patrick Pulsinger, DJ Hell, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Electric Indigo and Female Pressure.

The new Fuse Cafe extension is clean and modern, though some people miss the old bench and beer hang outs. And there are a hundred other things (Mondays Sexual Healing, Fuse Cafe DJs – Gumix, Picky Bitch, Matt Modny, Felix the Houserat) – that may yet keep Fuse “cool” well into the future. Regardless, the Fuse is still massive and well worth a visit.

Club Night Review...

Whilst sexier and slinkier than ever, there is no disputing that techno has lost some of the spirited fuck-you rebellion that charged its more formative, less corporate days when fiercely independent labels like Underground Resistance and Belgium's R&S were leading the initial charge.

But the anti-corporate techno ideologies are alive and raging at Fuse - the Brussels techno touchstone situated in the rundown streets of the city's St Gilles quarters (Rue Blaesstraat 208) that has been running since 1994.

An underground sweatbox run by ex-punk rockers, Fuse has never once bent with any passing winds and remains uncompromised in its dedication to presenting the most honest and intense techno on the planet - always pushing forward into techno's ever-breaking frontiers but never deviating from its original core ethos.

With an industrial unassuming exterior, the hallowed walls of Fuse regularly play host to label nights from Richie Hawtin's M-Nus, Ellen Allien's BPitch Control and Steve Bug's Poker Flat, whilst Sven Väth anoints the venue as the final stop on his annual Cocoon tour. Romanian Raresh, Joris Voorn, Johnny D, Jerome Sydenham, Loco Dice and Len Faki have all played the venue in the past 12 months.

But by far Fuse's most enlivened supporter is the UK's outspoken techno enigma Dave Clarke, whose 1999 'Fuse Presents…' remains one of techno's most classic mix CDs. Despite largely dropping off the touring DJ circuit, Clarke still makes time to re-connect with Fuse's electric atmosphere around five times every year, which shows just how magnetic this place is for those that surrender to it. Last September Clarke even chose the club to host his birthday night as he DJed alongside DJ Hell.

And like every big night at Fuse, the entry price was just €5 before midnight, €10 after - testament to the venue's punters-first values.

"It cares - simple as that," says Clarke on the club he enjoys a long-standing love affair with. "The crowd that come are always open-minded, enthusiastic and a bit crazy and the club doesn't bother with trends - it is just about good music and good heart.

"When money comes in the door a lot of clubs change, a lot of promoters change, they forget where they came from and that is what ultimately causes their demise. But Fuse is run by a solid group of people that have been there for years with the objective of giving and not ripping off. That, for me, is a business model for longevity."

Casting further resonance on Clarke's impassioned words, the club will celebrate its 15th birthday on Saturday 25th April, when Adam Beyer, Anthony Rother, Ricardo Villalobos, Marc Houle, Monika Kruse, Raresh, Magda and - of course - Clarke himself will play the epic anniversary party.

"The energy there still blows me away," adds Clarke. "It's like playing a temple that celebrates music. I watch my hands at Fuse and they are working without any instruction from me. It's a place where instinct runs free."