Hooverphonic

Hooverphonic are a Belgian band formed in 1995, originally emerging from the trip-hop scene alongside acts of that era but developing a much broader, more orchestral and electronic sound over their career. Founded around bassist and principal songwriter Alex Callier together with guitarist Raymond Geerts and keyboardist Frank Duchêne, the group was initially named Hoover before a name change due to conflicts with another band and a vacuum-cleaner brand.

The band's early sound, heard on tracks like «2 Wicky» and «Mad About You», combined cinematic string arrangements, downtempo grooves and atmospheric electronics with a strong pop sensibility, placing them alongside the wave of European trip-hop and dream-pop acts of the late 1990s while retaining a distinctly lush, filmic quality of their own. Hooverphonic has gone through several lead singers over the years, most notably Geike Arnaert, who first fronted the band from the late 1990s through the late 2000s.

In 2020 Arnaert rejoined the group, reuniting with Callier and forming what fans call «The Magnificent Three» with the returning classic line-up. The renewed trio represented Belgium at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with «The Wrong Place», bringing Hooverphonic's atmospheric, orchestral pop sound to a new international audience while continuing the band's long-running catalogue of singles including «Eden», «Romantic» and «Amalfi».