Divan & the House of Quoi

TV interview at AVS (July 27, 2020)
https://www.facebook.com/325339907508320/videos/369666354019804

Concert review at Luminous Dash (July 27, 2020)
 https://luminousdash.be/live/live-review/divan-gent-de-loge-27-7-2020/

Interview at De Standaard (July 4, 2020) 
https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20200703_97423420

Interview at Dansende Beren (June 25, 2020)
https://www.dansendeberen.be/2020/06/25/interview-divan-the-house-of-quoi-iedereen-bouwt-mee-aan-de-wereld-van-morgen/

Track-by-track interview at Luminous Dash (June 21, 2020)
https://luminousdash.be/interview/divan/

Review 'Jason Who' at Come Here Floyd (June 19, 2020)
https://comeherefloyd.com/divan-the-house-of-quoi-jason-who/

Review 'The Way It Was' at ParaPOP (April 20, 2020)
https://parapop.net/divan-the-house-of-quoi-the-way-it-was/

Review 'The Way It Was' at Dansende Beren (April 20, 2020)
https://www.dansendeberen.be/2020/04/17/nieuwe-single-divan-the-house-of-quoi-the-way-it-was/

10 Essentail Songs at Luminous Dash (April 17, 2020)
https://luminousdash.be/belgisch/spotify-tien-essentiele-songs-divan/

Concert review at No Butterfly (July 2019)
http://nobutterfly.blogspot.com/2019/07/gf19-cafe-de-loge-divan-house-of-quoi.html

Review  'Manifesto (We The Gays) at Luminous Dash (May 10, 2019)
https://luminousdash.be/reviews/divan-the-house-of-quoi-manifesto-we-the-gays/

Interview at Het Nieuwsblad (April 10, 2019)
https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190326_04282705

Review 'Blame It On The Drums' at Luminous Dash (October 8, 2018)
https://luminousdash.be/reviews/divan-the-house-of-quoi-blame-it-on-the-drums-eigen-beheer/

Review 'Blame It On The Drums' at Come Here Floyd (October 2018)
https://comeherefloyd.com/415-indie-fascination-lyfe-indoors-lara-antebi-dirt-farmer-the-window-in-floyd-alex-dunaway/

Divan & the House of Quoi is the newest chapter in songwriter & performer Divan's eclectic career. After some poprock years as Divan, he started the electro project The Go Go Prophecy (Amsterdam Dance Event; club shows in Belgium, France & The Netherlands; support Zoot Woman), followed by the pop project C. Love Detectives (recorded with Joan As Police Woman producer Bryce Goggin in New York; gigs in the UK, Belgium and The Netherlands). In between, Divan's acoustic project Hermitage, in his native tongue Dutch, got a lot of touring opportunities after winning the public choice award at the famous Amsterdams Kleinkunst Festival. Divan also wrote music for theatre, organized festivals and parties, and co-wrote some songs for other artists.

But there was this one thing Divan talked about for years, but never pursued it until now: making 'The Gay Tapes'. It took almost 10 years between idea and end result. June 19th, 2020 "the album I had to make" finally saw the light. Singles 'Blame It on the Drums', 'Drag Queens in Limousines', 'Manifesto (We The Gays)' and 'The Way It Was' revealed a piece of what The Gay Tapes will sound like. The idea of combining original compositions (songs that were left on the shelf) and cover songs (gay classics and songs normally sung by women, getting a twist because a man sings them) were recorded in a studio far away from the city noises, surrounded with music friends who understood the importance of this project and contributed with their music skills, talent and enthusiasm.

While preparing this project, Divan felt like he was building a house. With rooms where friends could stay for a few days, playing some notes, singing backings vocals. Or where friends could live for a longer period, joining him on tour, bringing the songs to different places (Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany so far, but there's a world out there...). Divan called this imaginary place The House of Quoi. The French word 'quoi' means 'what', making it cryptic and bizar. 'The house' also refers to the queer community, where houses are battling in the infamous balls and 'mother' create safe spaces for their choosen children.  

Divan & the House of Quoi live concerts are played by Divan, together with Iskander Moens and Achilles De Raedt, who also had a big role in the recording of The Gay Tapes. 

With The Gay Tapes, Divan & the House of Quoi bring a diverse story about queer life. The joy, the sadness, the searching. Songs about same-sex love, about sex in general, about emotions finding their ground to flourish. 

In 2021, Divan & the House of Quoi will release the 'Ball' EP. First single 'I Don't Wanna Wanna Dance' will see the light March 31st. 

Besides four singles and the forthcoming album, The Gay Tapes is also a podcast. Find The Gay Tapes-podcast on all digital streaming services and listen to the interviews Divan had with queer activists, artist and other gay voices.