September! Time to get the systems back up and running! To give those who were sound-deprived during the summer a relaunch (and of course also for those enthusiasts who never break the sound inflow), we are serving a varied menu to celebrate la rentrée:
Brussels local Laura Conant is hosting a post-residency presentation, sharing reflections on developing an audio plugin trying to challenge conventional, highly technical, and often exclusionary narratives when it comes to audio software and hardware. A week later, we invite her label MONTAGE for our Second Sundays listening session. Upcoming is also the presentation of Amar Ruiz who will share his research and reflections about Kadoudja, an Algerian female singer of the café-concerts in 19th century Paris. And subsequently, we’re launching new soundwalksby Margherita Brillada and Francesca Hawker, exploring the neighborhood surrounding our offices.
For those of you for whom these time-space-restricted happenings come too soon, we also would like to remind you that this year’s Oscillation ::: Materia Forma festivaltalks can still be listened to on our soundcloud. Aaand our yearly open call for the Showcase Emerging Sound in collaboration with STUK and Musica is online now – as is our call for interns for who wants to help organise the 2025 Oscillation festival edition.
Post-residency presentation 6 September – 18h – @ Q-O2 – free Laura Conant
In this presentation, reflections will be shared on developing an audio plugin trying to challenge conventional, highly technical, and often exclusionary narratives when it comes to audio software and hardware. This tool is conceived not just as a sound manipulation device, but as an open-source, accessible environment that prioritizes user experience over technical precision, inviting musicians and developers alike to explore sound in a playful way. The software fosters a creative dialogue with the user, sharing control and inviting unexpected outcomes. Laura’s residency has been organised in the framework of tekhne, funded by the European Union. [read more]
How have Algerian artists been allowed to exist in France? How were their existences and practices framed? Through what lenses were they viewed?
This presentation will focus on the 19th century Algerian female singer Kadoudja, who performed in the Parisian café-concerts, an early form of music industry. Although she was celebrated during her career, she disappeared into obscurity after her death. The presentation will discuss the traces she left behind, her personal story, how orientalism shaped her music and how she was perceived by the public and in the press.
The work carried out during this residency is part of an ongoing artistic research project on Kadoudja. [read more]
Second Sundays #53 15 September – 17h (doors 16h30) – @ Q-O2 – free MONTAGE
Second Sundays is a monthly series initiated by Q-O2. Each session a new guest is invited to share an insight into their own listening, playing and speaking about a selection of sound and music that is important to their thinking or practice. The sessions try to put value on listening to recorded music in a social setting as a space for [removed];Each session is paired with a cocktail-of-the-month, as decided by the invited guest.
MONTAGE is a Brussels based collective and label focusing on experimental electronic music. MONTAGE derives its name from a love for what they call edited music: music that manages to surpass genre-boundaries for narrative structure and [removed]; Cocktail of the month: Blackberry Purple Haze. [read more]
Q-O2’s chouchous Francesca Hawker and Margherita Brillada have each created a new soundwalk for the area surrounding our HQ. Their walks can be experienced through the new soundwalking app Tracks, and will be launched on September 21st from 14h to 18h. Stop by our place, have a drink with Fran and Margherita, and get all the necessary instructions to explore our [removed];Bring your smartphone and headphones—if you don’t have a smartphone, please let us know at [More info soon]
Open call Showcase Emerging Sound
STUK, Q-O2 and Musica present an annual showcase of emerging sound artists in Belgium. The showcase shines a light on the diversity of the Belgian sound art landscape, and gives a boost to an upcoming generation of makers. We are looking for recent, existing sound work in any format: performance, installation, soundwalk, radio piece, intervention or other innovative formats. The deadline for the call is 15 October, the selected works will be presented in STUK on Thursday 8 May 2024. [more info]
Listen Oscillation ::: Materia Forma – discourse program
During the discourse afternoon of the Oscillation festival Bojana Cvejić, Gabriel Paiuk, Giulia Rae, Rim Irscheid, and Tim Ingold provided various perspectives on the festival topic, with contributions on, among others, immersion, technology, cultural conventions, and [removed];These talks can now be listened to on our podcast series. [listen here]
Call for interns Oscillation 2025
Next year’s Oscillation festival is taking place from May 1st to 4th. As always, we have space for interns both during the festival and beforehand to help make it happen. If you’re interested in getting some practical experience with organising a music festival—everything from setting up a PA system, coordinating travels, meeting artists, communicating the program, to observing how such a festival comes together—then don’t hesitate to get in touch via
Open call Open call for residencies in 2025
The call for residencies in 2025 at the Q-O2 workspace is now open. Next year, we offer two types of residencies for artists, researchers, art educators and cultural workers working in and with sound:
=> 7 thematic residencies of 6 weeks in the framework of the European collaboration tekhnē => 10 open research residencies of 4 weeks for artists working with sound in any field. Deadline for application is September 15th. Please find all info on our website. [read more]