Balthazar is a Belgian indie pop and rock group. The band consists of Maarten Devoldere, Jinte Deprez, Patricia Vanneste, Simon Casier and Michiel Balcaen. The band members come from the areas of Kortrijk and Ghent.

Contents 1 History 1.1 2004–2009 1.2 Applause (2010) 1.3 Rats (2012) 1.4 Thin Walls (2015) 1.5 The Break (La Trêve) Soundtrack (2016) 2 Band members 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 Singles 4 Side projects 5 References 6 External links History 2004–2009

The group started in the second half of the year 2004. In the spring of 2005, Devoldere, Vanneste and Deprez (aged 18 at the time) won the national Kunstbende competition for young people with the song Lost and Found.[1] On 3 December that year they also won Westtalent, the rock contest of the province of West Flanders, Belgium.[2]

In 2006, Balthazar won Humo's Rock Rally Audience award, the so-called "KBC Publieksprijs".[3] In August, their first self-titled debut EP was released, "Balthazar". In early 2007, after sixty performances, Joachim Quartier bassist and drummer Koen Verfaillie were replaced by Simon Casier and Christophe Claeys, and Balthazar started with a brand new set.

In July 2007, Balthazar performed at the Dour Festival,[4] which followed the release of their first single "This is a flirt". The single was picked up by Radio 1 and Studio Brussel and lingered through the summer in De Afrekening hitlist, with second place as the top listing.

In February 2008 Balthazar released their second single: Bathroom lovin ': situations. This time the song ended up in the lists of Humo, hotlist and De Afrekening. They played that summer at Folk Dranouter and Marktrock, among others. The band then started performing abroad, in Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and France. In the summer of 2009, Balthazar went to South Africa for a club tour and then work on their first album, called Applause. Upon return in the end of December 2009, the first single Fifteen Floors was released.

Applause (2010)

On 22 March 2010, their debut album Applause came out in Belgium and the Netherlands. The album was produced by the then 22-year-old Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez and was mixed in Norway by Ynge Leidulv Saetre. Applause was widely welcomed by both the press and the public, thus ending up in the top of many lists such as the best Belgian final album of 2010 (among others Focus Knack, De Morgen,[5] OOR magazine) and on 7 January 2011, Balthazar received a Music Industry Award for "Best Album 2010" on MIA's 2010 list.[6] The album Applause had four singles: "Fifteen floors", "Hunger at the door", "I'll stay here" and "The Boatman".

In April 2010, the band performed at London Calling in Amsterdam Paradiso, after several bands were canceled in connection with the cloud of volcanic ash over Europe, this was a big step forward in the Netherlands. They again performed at several festivals during the summer of 2010, including Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, Dour Festival and Lowlands. In the autumn various club performances in Belgium and the Netherlands were sold out.

In the spring of 2011, Balthazar promoted their first album in Belgium and the Netherlands with concerts the Ancienne Belgique and Paradiso. Balthazars EuroSonic 2011 did not go unnoticed and switched their European story into high gear. The band was playing more across Europe, including for The Joy Formidable and dEUS. Balthazar went overseas and played for the first time in New York. A European contract with Pias Recordings, they made their debut on 10 October 2011 which was released in France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Scandinavia.

Rats (2012)

The second album, Rats, was released on 15 October 2012 in Europe, excluding the UK. This was again produced by Jinte Deprez and Maarten Devoldere. The album was mixed by Noah Georgeson (Devendra Banhart, The Strokes) in Los Angeles. At the Music Industry Award in 2012, Balthazar again won the award for best album for their album Rats.[7] Recognition for the album went beyond Belgium and the Netherlands, in France the prestigious newspaper Libération claimed the album was the best album released in 2012.[8][9]

Thin Walls (2015)

On 26 January 2015 Balthazar released the single "Then What", which preceded the album "Thin Walls" that released two months later. Then What was generally well received, with among others a first place in Studio Brussel's Afrekening for four weeks in a row.[10] "Thin Walls" was released on 30 March 2015 and is their first album where a producer is involved. This time Ben Hillier, known from his work with Blur and Depeche Mode. The album was one of the 19 records nominated for the IMPALA Album of the Year Award.[11] The Thin Walls tour stretched over the whole of Europe, with Balthazar playing at many big concert halls and festivals in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.[12]

The Break (La Trêve) Soundtrack (2016)

Balthazar's song "The Man Who Owns The Place," from their 2012 album Rats, plays during the opening credits of the Belgian TV series The Break (La Trêve).[citation needed]

The band's fourth album, entitled Fever is scheduled to be released on 25 January 2019.[citation needed] It was preceded by the release of the title track on 31 October 2018.[citation needed]

Band members Jinte Deprez at the 2013 Haldern Pop Festival.

Current members

Maarten Devoldere – vocals, guitars, keyboards Jinte Deprez – vocals, guitars Simon Casier – vocals, bass guitar Michiel Balcaen – drums

Past members

Joachim Quartier – bass guitar Koen Verfaillie – drums Christophe Claeys – drums Patricia Vanneste – vocals, violin, synthesizer Discography Studio albums Year Album Peak positions BEL(Fl)[13] BEL(Wa)[14] FRA[15] NED[16] 2010 Applause 13 — — 69 2012 Rats 1 57 80 41 2015 Thin Walls 2 23 59 19