“There are few moments as fun as Lefto firing off all cylinders...” - Boiler Room

Underneath the warm sun that hangs over Brussels, a tiny three-by-three metre shack pumps out tunes day and night to a dancing crowd of onlookers. Lefto is at the controls of Kiosk Radio, a perfectly placed wooden hut in the centre of Parc De Bruxelles. “Good day to you all outside the Kiosk, live from the park. Thank you for coming through,” says the soothing voice of Lefto. The chatroom pings with hundreds of messages from around the globe as the crowds gradually tune in for another session out of leftfield from the Belgian music connoisseur.

Lefto Early Bird fuels a hub of listeners with an appetite for new sounds, week in, week out. Becoming a household name at Kiosk Radio, as well as mainstay station Studio Brussel, Lefto always has his finger on the pulse. A quick peek at the DJ’s Mixcloud reveals a hearty range of genres – with everything from house to rap to jazz and more. Fusing sounds from Belgium’s melting pot of musical talent with his relentless passion for new sounds, Lefto has gone on to work with major names and labels including Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings, Blue Note, BBE, Universal Music, SDBAN and many more.

Cutting his teeth on jazz and new beat, a genre that moulded the shape of electronic music in 80s Belgium, Lefto formed his early tastemaker know-how via his dad’s record collection. “My father mostly played jazz at home, he had a serious collection which I still own myself. I was probably 14 years old when I asked him for money to buy some records,” he says. “With a certain pride, most of what I liked was made in Belgium”. More a selector than anything else, Lefto continues Belgium’s tireless musical legacy through his extensive palate, brimming with flavour.

lfto