Hermanos Inglesos (bel)

With a moniker like Hermanos Inglesos one could secure himself a lucrative future as part of a Columbian smuggling cartel or some cheesy Anglo-Mexican mariachi act. Nevertheless, the real life brothers Cedric and Didier Engels (Engels being the Dutch word for English, hence Hermanos Inglesos = English brothers, comprende?) are none of the above. They feel best at home behind two turntables and a mixing desk, preferably in front of a frantic crowd, hungry for good times and exciting tunes. The Belgian siblings are not only united in blood but also in a taste for music like irony never happened. ..It all went very fast, maybe a little too fast for our own good.. says Cedric (at 18 the youngest Hermanos) of their blitzkrieg career as party spinners, and he isn..t being his modest self. Only five years ago the future looked entirely different for the soon to be brothers-in-arms. Big brother Didier (28) already made his name as a disc jockey in the local college circuit, playing at student parties and likeminded bars. When, after his studies, Didier left abroad, young Cedric was left at the mercy of a developing vinyl addiction and an alarming taste for trance music. When Didier returned from his journeys he recognised the symptoms and found a cure by means of a crash course in music history. And thus goes the story of how the Engels brothers became Hermanos Inglesos. Turning point was the Belgian 2004 edition of the Diesel-U-Music awards, organised in their spiritual home base, the wonderful city of Ghent. DUM is an international talent contest for all genres and tastes in music. We..re not talking about Star Academy-for-DJ..s here, nor Pop Idols-gone-clubbing. Past finalists include artists as Tom Vek, Out Hud, Infadels, Mylo and We Are Scientists. Hermanos Inglesos impressed the Belgian jury with their no-nonsense, playful yet passionate approach to mixing music and walked home with the main trophy in the category ..electronic music... As Yoda would say ..to their infant career an unexpected boost this gave... Suddenly Cedric and Didier found themselves heralded as the successors to other, famed Belgian DJ-duo..s such as The Glimmers or 2manydjs. Didier: ..2manydjs opened doors for a lot of other DJ..s, they..ve been nothing less than examples and a huge influence for us .. but don..t call us copycats, ..cause we..re not.. Cedric: ..I have great respect for The Glimmers. They..ve been at the game so long and have so much experience it can..t be grasped... There you..ve got it .. the boys wear their influences on their sleeves and are not ashamed to admit it. Ghent has a great tradition in electronic music, clubbing and bringing forth influential DJ..s. From the R&S label and the groundbreaking club Boccaccio, to Eskimo Recordings and Culture Club. Hermanos Inglesos sucked it all in and made it their own. So what about the music? They play what they like and like what they play. Didier: ..We select our records with only one thing in mind: is it any good? We won..t play tunes because of a four-star review in a hipster magazine and we don..t like the ..my collection is rarer that yours.. mentality that some DJ..s have... So what..s next? In September 2006 Hermanos Inglesos pick up a weekly residency at Culture Club, one of Europe..s leading nightlife spots. They mixed and compiled thhe five years CultureClub-Compilation. Yep, for Hermanos Inglesos the only way is up.