In Circles from Sweden win Imagine 2015

The 2015 edition of Imagine International, held at the Botanique, Brussels from the 26th to the 27th of June saw for the third time a winning band coming from Sweden, after Algot in 2011 and Gustaf in 2012, this year is the turn of In Circles, from Östersund.

It was a weekend of great musical performances, but it also represented the realization of the goal of creating a platform for emerging young bands from various countries, backgrounds and musical styles to get together, share experiences, gain knowledge and perform their hearts out. The educational and social dimension of all the events, that included also workshops and masterclasses beyond the competition, promoted the combination of musical quality to the concepts of diversity and intercultural exchange.

The winners of their respective national competitions gave shape to a contest where talents from all over Europe had the chance to compete for a unique prize: an International Imagine tour of 2016, a once in a lifetime chance to travel across Europe and participate at all the Imagine National Festival.

In Circle showcased their original style in which different genres come together through a harmonic combination of beautiful piano melodies, fast guitar solos, exotic beats and frequent signature changes. Many different influences mix and this diversity is represented by the ten minutes instrumental song Alaska, which combines various styles and tempos that blend together the metallic brew with more classical tunes.

The four Swedish guys impressed the sold out audience by showing not only significant musical skills and originality, but also a great stage confidence and a disconcerting ease, moving their long hair at the speed of the music without a glance for the instruments.

We would like to congratulate ThIED who won the Belgian Finals on Friday and who will compete at the International Final in 2016. We would also like to thank the bands who participated and gave shape to an exciting competition among some of the best talents in Europe: MILO MESKENS from Belgium, FIRESPARK from Croatia, L’ENVIE from France, THE PURPLE DANDIES from Romania and guest band HELSESKADE from Norway for their great performances and full hearted participation in the all the festivals activities.

Imagine Festival 2015 is brought to you by JMI (Jeunesses Musicales International) together with Jeunesses Musicales Wallonie-Bruxelles and Jeugd en Muziek, their Belgian members. We would like to thank all our sponsors and partners for making this event such an amazing experience for all who attended. They are:

• The Belgian National Lottery

• The Creative Europe Program of the European Commission

• BELSPO

• SABAM

• Mediaraven

• The Flemish Government

• The Federation of Wallonie-Bruxelles

• .be

• Joetz

• Botanique

• Flagey

• De Casino

• Arco-Music

• Muziekmozaïek

• Hearing Coach

• Variphone

• ADAMS

• ROLAND

Read more at http://www.imaginefestival.net/