Urban Trad is a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 folk music

Traditional music

Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...

 group, consisting of both Flemish and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 speaking people and a close connection with Galicia.

Members

• Yves Barbieux: flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  s and Galician bagpipe
• Veronica Codesal: vocals
• Soetkin Collier: vocals
• Sophie Cavez (previously Didier Laloy): diatonic accordion
  Accordion
  The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
  
  
• Philip Masure: acoustic guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Michel Morvan: drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
   (died 3 July 2010)
• Dirk Naessens: violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
  
• Marie-Sophie Talbot: vocals, piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
   and percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  s (no longer with the band)
• Cedric Waterschoot: bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  

Career

As the name indicates, Urban Trad is a traditionally-inspired music band, deeply rooted in the 21st century. The acoustic instruments (accordion, violin, flutes, etc.) and the singing are supported by a rhythmic section and modern stuff which endow the group with its unique colour: a music which suits a rock concert and a cultural center. The vigor and the musical quality, which emanate from the songs, catch on to people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.
The project started in May 2000, when Yves Barbieux gathered to create their first album, One-o-Four, a score of artists together, already well-known in the traditional Belgian stage (Orion, Luc Pilartz, Perry Rose, Tom Theuns, Didier Laloy).

In the beginning, it was meant to be just an album project, but the success encountered during the promotional concerts encouraged Barbieux in adding a public dimension to Urban Trad with other artists. It was during the Eurosong festival in Latvia in May 2003 that Urban Trad wins the hearts of the general public. "Sanomi", a song performed in an imaginary language (thus universal), received a surprising second place, just two points from the Turkish winner.

Further to this performance, success became a habit: more than 30 000 copies of second album Kerua (and single "Sanomi") were sold in Belgium; the CD was released in several European countries, and the concerts are increasing in Belgium and abroad (Louisiana, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Spain…)

Spring 2004 was a turning point: while keeping the modern touch which has made the band’s success, the new repertory is not any longer exclusively Celtic-inspired. Barbieux has indeed drawn his inspiration from all over Europe (Scandinavia, France, Spain, Eastern countries, etc.). The third record, Elem whose production has been left in Simon Emmerson’s hands, from the English group Afro Celts Sound System was released in 2004.

Eurovision Song Contest

Urban Trad participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Eurovision Song Contest 2003

The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...

, where they ended second with the song "Sanomi

Sanomi

"Sanomi" was the Belgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, which ranked second in the Contest, performed in a constructed language by the six-piece band Urban Trad....

", a modern folk song with vocals in an imaginary language. A few months before the contest, it was decided that singer Soetkin Collier could not participate, apparently because she had extreme right sympathies in the past (which are completely without grounds).

As a result of this, two versions of the song exist on record. One was the standard album version (4:08) and another version was released on single and on the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Eurovision Song Contest 2003

The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...

 collaboration album. Often known as the Eurovision edit, it cut down to 3:01 and it had Soetkin Collier's vocals removed.

Later that year, after an investigation, it was concluded that these accusations by the national security, were exaggerated and based on outdated information.

Full albums

• One o Four (2001)
  • 1. Subway Call
  • 2. Avreel
  • 3. La Belle Jig
  • 4. Vodka Time
  • 5. Waltzing Dranouter
  • 6. Basement Scotch
  • 7. Baline
  • 8. Brass Corto
  • 9. Bamboo
  • 10. Free Wheel
  • 11. Rap A Doo
  • 12. Mecanix (Who'S Who) (after Waltzing Dranouter)

• Kerua (2003)
  • 1. Mecanix Remix
  • 2. Kerua
  • 3. Sanomi
  • 4. Il Est Bien Temps
  • 5. Lampang
  • 6. Berim Dance
  • 7. Quimper - Moscou
  • 8. Get Reel
  • 9. The Roses
  • 10. Medina
  • 11. Leina Street
  • 12. Alto
  • 13. Sanomi (Eurovision Edit)
  • 14. Galicia

• Elem (2004)
  • 1. Rodgrod Med Flode
    Rødgrød
    Rødgrød , Rote Grütze , or Rode Grütt is a dish from Denmark and Germany.Grød or Grütze was traditionally made of groat or grit, as revealed by the second component of the name in Danish, German or Plattdeutsch...
    
     
  • 2. De Luz, Amor Y Nada
  • 3. Vigo
  • 4. Jorden/Terra
  • 5. Bourrée d'Erasme
  • 6. De L'Air
  • 7. Valse
  • 8. Two Hornpipes
  • 9. Zout
  • 10. Mind the Gap
  • 11. V.T. Intro
  • 12. Vodka Time (Mass'Mix)
  • 13. Bonus : Lampang/Mideau Rhemila (live)

• Erbalunga (2007)
  • 1. Sans garde-fou
  • 2. Hedningarden
  • 3. Oh la belle
  • 4. Le serpent
  • 5. Erbalunga
  • 6. Fields of Deeley
  • 7. L’olivier
  • 8. Bourrée Tappen
  • 9. Accovi / Onderweg
  • 10. Polaire
  • 11. Noite Longa
  • 12. Scottiche de la tête
  • 13. Asturiana
  • 14. A Terra
  • 15. Diama Den (bonus)