KOWARI is a duo that makes electronic beats from a classical music perspective. From working on a film to collaborating with a full orchestra, the group is carving their own space in music. This independent spirit is being brought to Dour Festival for the first time. See what Cement Magazine learned about KOWARI in a recent conversation with them.
KOWARI pushes boundaries
Classically trained musicians, Damien Chierici and Louan Kempenaers make up Brussels-based KOWARI, The project is an experimental journey born out of collaborating on a short film, titled “Souffle.” After the duo met in 2019, they started working on their own style of synth-driven looping instrumental music. When performing live, the duo incorporates a light show, which was perfected at Liege’s Reflektor venue.
Their first performance was at Le Botanique in 2022, where tracks from the album “Trail,” released by Jaune Orange were played live. As a follow up, their 2024 album “Memento” was released at Ancienne Belgique. Now signed to Flak / PIAS, they are working on upcoming material to take their evolving creations further.
KOWARI’s live show is made to suit different venues. The duo has previously collaborated with the OPRL (Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège) which comprises 50 artists. Their involvement was to bring an electronic touch to the orchestra’s show. While both Damien and Louan previously played in pop rock bands, including Dan San, Yew, Piano Club, and Aucklane, KOWARI marks a new path.
As a vision, the group imagines collaborations with cross-genre musicians, including rap and hip hop. This builds on “Memento,” which is more cinematic and is electronic than “Trail.” That said, leading up to Dour 2024, KOWARI recently participated in Ghent Jazz 2024. It’s clear KOWARI remains close to the classical scene, while pushing the limits as far as they can.
This sentiment was part of the process for “Memento,” with the duo saying. “The fact that Memento is more electronic than Kowari’s older work does not mean that the classical approach has completely disappeared.” – KNACK It’s easy to see a natural progression to where they’re headed. By next year, the evolution should be completely rearranged yet still familiar.
